Rhythms of Love: You Sang to Me / Beats of My Heart

“Yes.”

Jamal was accustomed to women hitting on him, and he could see Trina sizing him up. “What’s Reggie’s real name?” he asked.

“Regina. Regina Vaughn.”

“Will you let her know how serious I am? All I want to do is to put her in the studio, nothing more.”

“You must be blind then, because girlfriend is gorgeous, even though she refuses to work it.”

“No. Not blind. Just professional.”

“Okay. I’ll track her down and see if I can’t hook you up. Just remember I get to carry her moneybags once she gets famous.”

“Noted.”

“Good. I’ll come back and clean your room after you finish your breakfast. Ciao.”

“Ciao.” A pleased Jamal closed the door. He now had an ally.

Seated at the piano, Reggie stopped playing in the middle of the song and glared at the reason. “Shana Thomas, why are you singing with the sopranos?”

The nine-year-old tried to look defiant for a minute, but in the face of Reggie’s obvious displeasure seemed to think better of that approach and looked away.

Reggie sighed. “How many times do we have to do this, girl? You have a beautiful alto voice, please use it the way you’re supposed to.”

“Yeah, you’re making the rest of us sing flat,” ten-year-old Alta Wayne snapped at Shana.

Grumbles sounded from the rest of the twenty-five-member choir of the Madame Sissieretta Jones Elementary School of Music. It was unanimous; Shana was getting on everybody’s last nerve.

“Okay, settle down,” she warned the grumblers.

Shana’s twin, Shanice, gave her sister an impatient look. “Quit it, or I’m telling Mama.”

Good, Reggie thought to herself. Mrs. Thomas wasn’t going to be happy hearing that her joke-loving daughter was cutting up at rehearsal again.

“All right, let’s start over.” Reggie played the opening chords and the children raised their voices in the singing of “Peace Be Still.” The sweet angelic tones filled the old gym and the purity gave Reggie goose bumps. They were fine-tuning the gospel concert scheduled for tomorrow evening. “Beautiful,” she said quietly as she accompanied them.

Madame Sissieretta Jones, for whom the school was named, was one of the most famous singers of the nineteenth century and the first black woman to sing at Carnegie Hall. The staff’s emphasis on academic excellence and music had resulted in much praise, but like most big-city schools, it struggled to pay its bills. There were infrastructure issues, too. The old building they were using was in dire need of a new furnace. The staff and parents hoped tomorrow’s fundraising concert would help with the purchase of a new one.

The choir was in the middle of Kirk Franklin’s “Brighter Day” when Reggie noticed Trina’s quiet entrance into the gym. Trina waved and Reggie smiled in response, but the jaw-dropping sight of Jamal Reynolds entering on Trina’s heels almost made Reggie lose her place on the piano keys. How in the world? Focusing on the faces of the kids in an effort to calm herself, she did her best to concentrate on the music and not on the tall, dark and handsome man standing by the door, but it was hard.

As the rehearsal continued, Jamal and Trina took seats on chairs positioned a short distance away from where the kids were practicing. Sitting quietly, an enthralled Jamal watched and listened. He couldn’t decide which was more impressive, the voices of the choir or the musical skills of the woman seated at the piano. He knew her name now—Regina Vaughn. From a producer’s point of view, the name had a good sound. Trina had described her as about five foot three, ponytail, cute little body, and that was in her favor, too. He could already envision her draped in a gorgeous gown on stage. He noted the flawless autumn-brown skin and ran his eyes over her erect posture at the piano. He could tell by the way she was beaming at the students that she loved what she was doing.

This wasn’t what he’d expected when Trina invited him to tag along. She’d told him Regina volunteered at a school on her days off, and he assumed that meant in a custodial capacity. Was he ever wrong. He was blown away by her expertise on the keys and the way she directed the children’s intonation and pace. Regina Vaughn was multifaceted; something else he found surprising. Where he came from people were about one thing—getting that break and making it to the top by any means necessary. No one he knew had ever volunteered their time to work with an elementary school’s choir unless there was something in it for them, but that didn’t appear to be the case here. She seemed genuinely enthused.

He also noted that after initially making eye contact with him upon his entrance she hadn’t looked his way again, not even once. More accustomed to women clamoring for his attention, he was beginning to see that a man’s ego was not Ms. Regina Vaughn’s priority, and he kind of liked that. A rousing rendition of “Wade in the Water” ended the rehearsal. Before the children could disperse, Reggie stood and asked, “What time does the concert start tomorrow?”

Twenty-five kids answered as one. “Seven.”

“And what time are you supposed to report to the music room?”

“Five-thirty.”

She cupped her hand around her ear. “I didn’t hear you.”

Giggling, they shouted, “Five-thirty!”

“Great. I’ll see you tomorrow. You sang like angels today.”

The grinning kids grabbed up their coats and backpacks and headed out the door. Only after they were all gone did Reggie turn to Trina and Jamal. “Trina, can I talk to you outside for a minute?”

Trina told Jamal, “If she kills me, my flatirons go to my cousin down in Atlanta.”

Reggie rolled her eyes. “Will you excuse us for a moment, Mr. Reynolds?”

He gave her a nod and she led Trina out into the hallway.

“What the hell are you doing with him?”

“He wanted to see you again, so I obliged. All he could talk about was you. Promised him I’d hook you two up.”

“And suppose I don’t want to be hooked up?”

“Do you know who he is?” Trina asked as if she couldn’t believe they were even having this conversation.

And before Reggie could respond, Trina went on a two-minute tear, ticking off a verbal list of all the singers he’d worked with. “And that’s just the folks I know about from reading Essence and People. Not only is the man gorgeous, but he really can make you a star, Reg.”

Reggie sighed. “Trina, you know I don’t want anything to do with the music business.”

“I do,” she said with sincerity, “but I also know that you’re wasting what the good Lord gave you and it’s gotta stop. Think how much you could do for Gram if you had some real cash to work with. Think about this school. You owe it to yourself to at least hear him out.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Well, you’re going to have to. It’s not like you can snap your fingers and make him disappear.” Trina’s phone sounded and she fished in her big black tote until she found it. Opening it, she read the message and said to Reggie, “It’s Brandon. He’s outside.” Brandon was Trina’s current man du jour and owner of the building where she styled hair on the weekends.

While Reggie looked on, Trina texted him back a reply. Done, she looked up. “Gotta go. He’s taking me to dinner.”

“You’re leaving?”

“Yep.” Trina gave her a quick peck on the cheek, followed by “Love you,” and hurried down the hall in her high-heeled boots toward the doors. “Keep an open mind!’ she called back.

Reggie couldn’t believe this. Outdone, she glanced back at the gym doorway and there he stood, dressed in all black and looking like a man out of GQ magazine.

“Guess it’s just me and you, huh?”

His low-toned voice vibrated through her like a softly plucked bass string. His disarming smile didn’t help. She fought to keep herself focused. “Did the two of you plan this?”

“Not that I know of.”

Reggie understood that Trina thought she was doing the right thing by hooking this up but…

“I just want to talk to you, Ms. Vaughn. That’s all.”

“I thought you were flying back to L.A. today?”

“I am. Taking the red-eye.”

He was persistent, she had to give him that. Dark-chocolate gorgeous, too, an inner voice crooned. She pushed that aside. It was also obvious that he wasn’t going to go away until he had his say, so to hasten that, she said, “Okay. You can talk to me on the walk home.”

“How about we take my car. It’s out front.”

“You’re a stranger, Mr. Reynolds. We walk or we don’t talk.”

Tough lady, Jamal noted admiringly. She was right about him being a stranger, no getting around that. However, it was freezing outside. Being a Californian, he wasn’t accustomed to temperatures in the twenties, and he was not looking forward to being out in the cold, even for a short walk. But to allay her fears, and to keep her from rescinding her offer, he agreed. “We walk.”

“Fine. Let me get my coat.”

Moments later she returned wearing a long blue down coat, a bulky knit hat and gloves. He had a coat, too, but it was lightweight cashmere, more suited for show than warmth, and it was in the town car. “Mind if I get my coat?”

“Nope.” That said, she walked off down the hall toward the doors.

Shaking his head with amused amazement, Jamal hurried to catch up.

Jamal was freezing. So far, they’d only walked a short distance, but his feet in the fancy, black Italian tie-ups felt like blocks of ice. His hands and head were no better, and he got the distinct impression that she was enjoying his plight.

“So, talk,” she said as they rounded a corner onto a dimly lit side street lined with houses that had older model cars parked out front.

“How long have you been with the school?” he asked. By the look she gave him it was obviously not the question she’d been anticipating.

“Almost two years.”

“Not the question you were expecting?”

“No.”

“Good. Keeping you off balance is probably my best shot.”

“And why is that?” she asked, glad he wasn’t finding this easy.

“Because you’re different.”

“Used to women falling all over you, are you?”

“Something like that.”

“There’ll be no falling here.”

“Figuring that out.”

They didn’t need to look at each other to know they were both smiling.

He asked, “Do you enjoy being at the school?”

“I do. I’m hoping to finish my degree in Music so I can work there full-time.”

Another surprise. “How close are you?”

“Eight more credits. I had to withdraw when I lost my job at the hotel desk. Housekeeping pays a whole lot less.”

“Money from recording could help.”

“True, but I’m not interested.”

In spite of their not seeing eye to eye, walking beside her made Jamal feel like a kid in high school walking a honey home, although this honey was like no other. “Are you making this hard on purpose?”

“Yep.”

“Why?”

“So you’ll give up and go away, of course.”

He threw up his hands.

She laughed.

Jamal couldn’t believe how much he was enjoying her. “Woman, you are something.”

“I’m just a chick from the east side of Detroit.”

They’d stopped walking and were standing under a streetlight. She was looking up at him from beneath that knit hat, and he swore she had mischief in her eyes; there was a seriousness in them, too, as if she were trying to figure out who he really was. He told her softly, “I’ve never been turned down, and you’re not going to be the first.”

“Don’t be so sure,” came her softer reply.

In the drawn-out silence the urge to kiss her rose up in Jamal so fast and strong, it almost blazed past his defenses. Dragging his eyes away from the tempting curve of her lips, he stuck his hands in his pockets. “How much farther?”

“Just a little ways,” she told him. “You might want to use the buttons on that coat before you freeze to death. This is Michigan, not a photo shoot.” The front of his coat was open, revealing the black wool turtleneck, black sport coat and slacks beneath.

Shivering, he quipped, “Already there. Only thing missing is the undertaker.”

While she looked on, he attempted to do up the buttons with fumbling frozen fingers.

“Where are your gloves?”

“Don’t have any.”

She shook her head. “Pitiful.”

He chuckled and finally got the last button closed. In an instant, it made such a difference, he wished he’d done it earlier. “I’m new at this cold stuff. We never get this kind of weather in L.A.”

“Here, it’s as common as breathing.”

“So I’ve noticed. How much farther?” he whined mockingly.

“Lord.” She laughed in reply. “Come on. Almost there.” She walked off.

In spite of her misgivings, Reggie decided she could probably like him if she let herself do so. He appeared to be on the up-and-up, and he had a sense of humor, but she had her life already planned out and it didn’t include recording studios or a man who probably had women coming out of his ears.

“Trina said you two are best friends.”

They were in stride once again.

“From the day we met at her mama’s beauty shop. We even share a birthday. March 18.”

“She thinks the world of you, and your voice.”

Reggie went silent for a few moments. “I think the world of her, too. She thinks I’m wasting my gift.”

“Please don’t punch me, but I agree with her.”

“That’s because you don’t know how much money I lost the last time I said yes to someone like you.”

Even though Jamal was so cold he could no longer feel his ears, he stopped again and stared. “Trina never said anything about another producer.”

“Good for her.” And she struck out ahead of him.

Once again, he had to hurry to catch up, all the while wishing he was riding in the warm interior of the hired town car that was slowly trailing them. “When was this?”

“Ten years ago.”

“Who was the producer?”

“Man named Wes Piper, or at least that was the name he used. One day he was there, the next night he was gone.”

Jamal knew hundreds of people in the business but had never heard that name before. “How much did you lose?”

“Almost four grand. Most of which belonged to my grandmother.”

He didn’t know what to say, so for a while they walked on silently. “What if I offer to cover all expenses for demos and studio time?”

“No, thank you. I’m going to teach music.”

“But—”

She stopped in front of a small brick house. Its bright porch light illuminated the front door, showing three small panes and the old-fashioned sitting porch. A beat-up green Escort was parked in the driveway. “This is where I live. Thanks for the company.”

And, to his dismay, she slowly headed up the stairs. As she pulled open the outer storm door, he said, “Hey, wait.”

She turned back.

“You didn’t let me make much of a pitch.” He watched her study him for a moment and again wished he knew what she was thinking.

When she finally spoke it was not what he’d been expecting. “Good night, Mr. Reynolds.”

She disappeared inside.

Sighing his frustration, Jamal walked over to the car where the driver stood waiting beside the opened door, and got in. He’d never been so grateful for warmth. As the driver drove them away, Jamal realized this campaign to get her into the studio was going to be a whole lot harder than he’d initially thought, but at least he knew some of what he was up against. If and when he thawed out, he’d try to figure out what to do next.

Reggie watched the car drive away before she slid the shade back in place. As she hung her coat in the closet, she freely admitted that both Jamal Reynolds and his offer were tempting but she wasn’t risking her future on either one.

She found her grandmother in the kitchen washing collards at the sink. “Hey, Gram.”

“Hey. How was the rehearsal?”

“Interesting.”

“Meaning?”

Reggie told her about Reynolds’s visit.

“You should have invited him in. I would have like to meet him.”

“No, I shouldn’t have. You want help with the washing?” Reggie hoped the question would change the subject. The greens were to be part of the potluck dinner served tomorrow after the concert.

“No, I’m fine. You sit and tell me about Mr. Reynolds. Trina says he’s quite fine.”

Reggie froze. “When did you talk to Trina?”

Her grandmother transferred a large handful of dripping collards from one water-filled portion of the double sink to the other. “This afternoon. She called to confirm my hair appointment for Saturday, and to let me know she was taking Mr. Reynolds over to the school.”

“And you didn’t call to warn me?”

“Why on earth would I do that?”

“Because you’re my grandmother,” Reggie said, outdone by this well-meaning but making her crazy conspiracy.

Gram’s answering smile resonated from her heart. “I am your grandmother, and I’ve watched you grow and blossom and get beat down by life and pick yourself up again. Dorothy, it is time for you to put on your ruby slippers and step onto the yellow brick road.”

“Great. Now, I’m getting The Wizard of Oz.”

“If the ruby slipper fits.”

Reggie gently bounced her head on the tablecloth before raising it and asking, “Et tu, Gram?”

Her grandmother laughed. “Yes. Me, too.” Her next words were serious. “Reggie, sometimes God, the universe, fate, whatever you want to call it, sends us a door that we’re supposed to open and walk through.”

“And you think that’s what Reynolds is?”

She nodded and said, “It’s possible.”

“I can’t afford another scammer.”

“True, but can you afford to see where this leads so you don’t spend the rest of your life wondering what if? Has he asked you for any money?”

“No. He offered to pay for the demos and the studio time himself.”

“Then case closed, at least for me. You get to make the ultimate decision of course, and I can only imagine how hard it must be for you to even think about putting your heart and dreams back out there again.”

“No kidding,”

“Even so, it’s time for you to gather up Toto and get ready for the Emerald City.”

In spite of the silly allusions, Reggie knew her grandmother was right. She was also correct about how hard it was for Reggie to consider resurrecting her dreams. Granted, she’d been younger then, only seventeen, and hadn’t known that someone you trusted could rip the heart right out of you. Now, at twenty-seven she was well aware that life could run you over in the street and not care, and she didn’t want that to happen to her again.

Gram took a seat at the table and wiped her hands on her apron. “I’ll support you either way.”

“I know.” Gram, whose full name was Crystal Vaughn, was the world’s leading cheerleader of her granddaughter’s dreams, even when Reggie didn’t know she had any. Crystal had also supported the music dreams of her daughter, Brenda, Reggie’s mom. But Brenda’s had ended on the point of a needle in a fetid room in Copenhagen when Reggie was twelve.

“So, is he really as fine as Trina said?”

Reggie gave her grandmother a look. “You need to quit.”

“Come on. Answer the question, girl. Is he?”

“Yes, Gram. The man is fine. Quite fine, in fact.” She chose not to mention the sparks that had seemed to flare between them because she was certain nothing would come of them. She and Jamal were from two different worlds.

On the way back to his hotel, Jamal finally thawed out enough to raise his arm and check his watch for the time. He could easily make his flight home, but the challenge of Regina Vaughn made leaving town out of the question. Instead, he put in a call to his assistant, Cheryl, in L.A. She promised to take care of the flight changes and to get an extension on his hotel suite. Always grateful for her sunny disposition and amazing efficiency, he ended the call. Now, he’d be able to plot his next move. But first, he had to buy some gloves.

Chapter Three

Reggie was whipped from having worked all day, but the moment she walked into the school and saw her kids all dressed up, and their proud parents standing beside them, the weariness melted away. The excitement in the air and in their young faces was contagious.

After stashing her coat and purse in the school’s office, she and the principal, Dr. Baldwin, reviewed the night’s program. When they were certain they knew how things would flow, Reggie hurried off to the gym to make sure everything was in place. She swept critical eyes over the risers the children would be standing on, the many chairs fanned out around the area for the audience to sit in and the positioning of her piano. Everything appeared to be in place, so she headed down to the music room where the kids and their parents were gathering.

She was wearing her good dress; a simple, long-sleeved black dress with a hemline that brushed her ankles. It fit her curves well yet flowed freely enough for her to be comfortable in. On her feet were her black, high-heeled boots, and around her neck, her mother’s pearls. It was the dress she also wore to funerals, graduations and sometimes to church. Tonight it was concert attire.

Most of the kids were already in their seats. The others had ten more minutes to show up and she prayed no one would be late.

When Jamal arrived, there were only a few open seats left in the dimly lit gymnasium. He had no idea how many students attended the school but it appeared that families and friends had turned out in full force. He spotted Trina waving at him from across the room. He’d called her earlier to let her know he’d be attending, and she’d promised to save him a seat.

As he made his way, he could feel the eyes. His expensive clothing and bearing pegged him as an outsider, but he shrugged it off and nodded polite greetings to some of the older ladies as he passed by. They smiled back and nudged each other, whispering and giggling.

He took the open seat next to Trina. She introduced him to the woman seated beside him. She was older and sported beautiful gray dreads. “Jamal Reynolds. Reggie’s grandmother, Crystal Vaughn.”

Jamal paused. Leave it to Trina to catch him off guard. “Hello. Nice to meet you.”

“Same here,” the woman politely responded.

Her grandmother. He remembered Regina referencing her while they were walking home last night. He wondered how much Regina had told her about him. Knowing her, probably nothing.

But the question was set aside as the children filed in and took their places on the risers. Some were dressed in suits and Sunday dresses while others wore jeans and T-shirts. Ringing applause greeted their arrival. When the smiling Regina entered next, the applause increased in both volume and enthusiasm. Jamal took it as a signal of how much she was appreciated. The sight of her with her hair down and makeup on, and all dressed up in the figure-skimming black dress with jewelry around her neck made him sit up straighter so he could get a better look. The first time he met her, she’d been wearing a shapeless gray housekeeping dress. Yesterday, jeans and a coat and hat that made her look like a brown-skinned Inuit. Tonight, she was hot. Her beauty was on full display and he couldn’t decide where to look first. The gleaming shoulder-length hair grabbed his attention as did the soft lines of her shoulders and arms. He found the sultry sweet curves of her breasts and hips captivating, but her mouth, highlighted with a muted toned lipstick, looked ripe enough to eat.

Her grandmother whispered, “She’s gorgeous, isn’t she?”

“Oh, yes, ma’am,” he heard himself reply. Every fiber of his being was focused on Regina in a way he’d never focused on any woman before. Watching her gracefully take her seat on the piano bench, he realized he was rock hard. He shifted his folded coat over his lap to cover the evidence, but never took his eyes off the cause.