Two weeks later on Wednesday evening, Maddy wasn’t very pleased with herself as she drove home from the rehearsal. Between the numerous orchestral musicians and the twelve singers, most of them were good – especially Linda, her closest friend outside of Tango. Alice, another of Maddy’s friends, was good on the synthesizer. Ronny, one of the younger singles from Maddy’s ward, was now the drummer for the orchestra. Henry, the director and also engaged to Alice, was also very good. Spezzo, the orchestra director, was also good although Maddy couldn’t remember how to say his name half the time which provided great pleasure for him.
It was her part that wasn’t pleasant. The part that put her with that man! That… That Voice! Tango was waiting when she arrived home. The little crickle song went off the minute she signed on to her IM. Tango was waiting with…
>Your son, Wilson. I’m just letting you know that he did contact me.
>Thank goodness for that! Whether he figures it out or not is up to him, but, as his mother, occasionally I want to bang his head!
>lol, McCall. I was going to say something wise, but I’m laughing too hard. So…you think the musical might work?
>There certainly are enough talented people working on it. Except I don’t like doing the female lead.
>Why not?
>Linda has a better range AND a better voice. I have a throaty mezzo. It’s not like it was when I was younger. Besides, I never was very good at it.
Maddy’s finger paused over the laptop keyboard after she clicked [send]. He was going to ask. Yup. He did.
>The male lead, do you like his voice?
>You know I do! He has the most awesome baritone! If I’d known someone like Alejandro was going to be around, I’d have written better solos. I toned it down so the average male could sing it then HE shows up at the auditions. MAN! I dropped my water bottle. Oh, right, I told you that. What amazes me is that he drives clear from Emmett to do this. (sigh) Well, I better end. Elun25 is having trouble with his girlfriend & Lunarboy is still trying to ask the girl for a date. I referred them on to you, but they seem to keep coming back.
>Maddy, you like them and they know that. You accept them as they are and they trust your honesty. It’s easy for them to practice being honest about themselves before going on their dates. Simple. Two of them have married and made better choices.
>Yeah, they have, but I don’t take any credit for that. I just enjoy talking to them about being truthful in relationships and end up being the guinea pig, Tango. BUT…oh well. I’m not exactly an authority on men.
>No, I think you are, McCall. Now I have to go. Too many emails myself. Tango out.
Although Maddy had never met Leo Almudina, a.k.a. Tango, in person, it had been obvious to her that English was not his first language. His photo wasn’t very good and blurred his facial features, which meant that she didn’t really know what he looked like. However, it never mattered to her because his words were intelligent, his wit keen, and he seemed to sense and love the inside of her, something she wasn’t used to. No one had ever seen them before.
Because of that, she had also loved him in the beginning in a more intimate way. He made her feel good, beautiful. The online crush had lasted two whole weeks before she realized how stupid it was. However, the air between them had made him safe. If Tango had been able to touch her physically, she couldn’t have stood it without blacking his eye. Thinking about it, she laughed.
Women on the web site rarely emailed Maddy and she knew why. It was a joke between her and Tango. They tended to flock to him instead. Of course, many of them left when they found out he really meant that he wasn’t accepting proposals or looking for a marriage partner for the moment. Now, after all this time, she wondered when he was going to start looking.
She smiled at her mirror image while brushing her teeth, standing in her silky blue jammies. The IM song on her laptop sounded. Thankfully, this kind of communication didn’t require being actually seen. She rinsed then checked the monitor’s screen, expecting to see Tango again. Oh. brewer.
>Hi, brewer. What happened? You weren’t online when I sent the email earlier.
>I was pacing. Trying to figure it out. I worked and worked on it, McCall. What do you want from me?
>Wait a minute, back up. Pacing about what? Working on what?
>You are always talking about being honest but you set it up for me to fail, didn’t you. I should’ve known.
>I still don’t understand what you mean. You seem agitated and I don’t know why. Start at the beginning. Why would I think that you had failed? Failed at what? A date?
Maddy’s fingers paused slightly after clicking [send]. Whatever was wrong with brewer was new. She didn’t care if he dated or not. In fact, there wasn’t any expectation of anything on his part. Although she was always telling him what Tango had taught her about loving others, her responses to brewer were simply as a friend who cared.
His reply came up.
>(sigh) I guess maybe you didn’t. But, you were talking about the softness in a woman’s heart last week and then I EXPECTED…you know…well…you know…
>No, I’m not sure exactly what, brewer. I just answered your question about women. They are more soft-hearted than men as a rule. The female species can be rather vicious in some circumstances, but, compared to men, we have tender hearts while men don’t. Why? What was it you expected?
>Nevermind. I was so sure. I know it doesn’t really work if you expect someone else to fill your needs all the time. That defeats the purpose of being unselfish, doesn’t it.
>Yes, you silly. Of course it does. No one can MAKE you happy, brewer, only you. Plus, if you really love someone, you care about how they feel instead of how you feel all the time. Right?
>I guess. I’ve tried to explain that to my mother but she cries every time I try and says that I don’t love her. Then I feel guilty. It doesn’t matter if she understands, does it?
>No, not really. What difference does it make? You can love her as a human being no matter whether she gets it or not. Think about all the things you have to be grateful for and life takes on a new look – even your mother. And it gets even better if you do some service for her that’s purely from the heart. Isn’t that great?
>Yeah, I guess. Isn’t the same as having someone of my own, tho. I’d rather be cuddled up in a cabin with someone with my mother far, far away. You heard from your oldest son lately?
>My oldest? Oh yes. He’s hiking this week somewhere behind Pikes Peak in Colorado. Your mother doing fine?
>Yeah. She’s a little peo’ed and jealous, but fine.
>Jealous? Of what? Did you fight over having another date?
>No! Nothing like that. You, McCall. She thinks I spend too much time talking to and worrying about someone I don’t know. She says I gotta stop working out on the weights but I won’t. You still workout, don’t you?
Maddy stared at the words, uncomfortable with them. Her nervousness curtailed her answer.
>Yes, but for my health, brewer. You can do what you want but please don’t think you need muscles to attract a nice girl. Physical attraction plays a role, but if she isn’t attracted to the inner part of you then you don’t want her.
>Maybe the one I want is attracted to my spirit and works out, too. You said prepare myself to be the kind of person I want to marry, to be honest. So, I am. Mom’s coming…I gotta go. Same time tomorrow night?
>Tomorrow’s Saturday and I have something to do. You better use email as usual just in case. McCall out.
Maddy stared at the screen for a moment trying to figure out what bothered her. He had never chatted with her before so how had he accomplished that? Her inbox interrupted her musing by showing a new message and she spent about twenty minutes emailing back and forth to snglmn23. Thankfully, her personal work schedule was flexible so she frequently “listened” to their problems in the wee hours of night.
And, admittedly, absolutely loved the guys.
