Never Lonely Again
Author's note: Clay owns himself and his own name. I only wrote the words
to the story.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Fall 2002
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Clayton “Clay” Aiken went through the songs yet again in his mind, trying with mixed success to block out the girl next to him scatting out riffs from her own selections. He glanced around him at the other singers, all dressed in far more ‘hip’ clothing than him or in some sort of eye-catching costume. They were all waiting their turn to audition for the upcoming American Idol season, and Clay couldn’t help comparing his looks to theirs as he wondered what in the world he was doing there. Oh yeah, that’s right – Diane urged me to try out because I can sing. He adjusted his glasses and reminded himself that as long as they got to hear him actually sing and didn’t get hung up on his bookish appearance, he still stood a chance.
Clay had been singing since he was a young child, belting out country songs with his mother as they drove in the car or as they did whatever else. Their life had been difficult while he had been growing up, but his mother had done her best not to let it show. She had tried to protect him from some of the cruelty that was out there, including that which came from family members. Barring the taunting and harassment he had received for many years at the hands of schoolmates, and the occasional frustrations with his family, his childhood was mostly happy enough. Clay’s best coping tools throughout the troubled times included song, and making people laugh. If he could make people laugh or smile, if even for a moment, then that always made his own troubles somehow easier to deal with. For a little while, anyway.
Amazingly enough, people actually enjoyed hearing him sing and he had a lot of success doing it in school and out. His stepfather Ray had said once to a friend that Clay was going to end up being a singer, even a famous one. His mother had also insisted that he was going to end up singing some day, and he knew her well enough to know it was one of those things that she fully believed would happen. Depending on what happened today at the auditions, that was certainly a possibility. But that would be entirely up to what God decided and how He directed… Clay trusted that God would lead him as He knew was right.
Suddenly Clay’s ears perked up – he just heard them call out his number along with several others. He got up to join a small handful of hopefuls that were filing down the hall, following along with them as they continued through a doorway that would likely lead them to their first round of tryouts.
Sure enough, a man sitting at a table told them all to stand in a line in front of him. One by one he called on them to step forward, introduce themselves and tell why they wanted to be the next American Idol, and from there sing their selection. Not quite… Clay said to himself as he heard the first girl’s tentative voice, wincing as he heard the second singer maul the pitches completely. Definitely not. Keeping his face calm, he inwardly rolled his eyes as the next singer tried to charm his way through before he sang note one. Would you like fries with that cheese?
Finally it was Clay’s turn. Here goes nothing. He stepped forward with a bravado he didn’t feel. “I’m Clayton Aiken, and I want to be the next American Idol because, uh…” His mind momentarily blanked. No, don’t let me down now! Immediately the rest of what he had wanted to say was back. “I believe that celebrities have a responsibility to be a positive role model, and I know that I can not only sing, but I plan to be a good role model for people to look up to.”
The man raised an eyebrow. “Hold the ‘save the whales’ speech for the cameras. We’ll see about how well you can sing first.”
Startled momentarily by the sarcasm, Clay’s mind hiccupped
and he lost the lyrics. Uh-oh.
Determined to impress this guy anyhow, he sang the first thing that
popped back into his mind. As soon as
Clay finished and he saw the stunned look on the man’s face, he knew he had
blown it. Did I really just sing what I thought I sang? he moaned under his
breath. Did I really just sing the theme song from Perfect Strangers?
He had, and the guy behind the table knew full well what he had sung. But rather than immediately bouncing him out the door like Clay half expected, he beckoned him forward. “Going by the look in your eyes,” he began quietly as he handed him several sheets of paper, “I don’t think that’s what you originally had in mind to sing. Your voice is good enough that I’m going to give you a second chance. That song is NOT one that should go any farther than this room.” He pointed to the papers. “I’m going to listen to the others while you look over that list of songs. Hopefully by the time I’m done with the others, you will have chosen something more suitable from that list.”
Grateful to have been rescued from a fate worse than a playground wedgie, Clay wasted no time in scanning the list for familiar titles. Fortunately he found one he had practiced for the audition partway down the first page he was handed, and quickly began refreshing his memory with the song and its lyrics as the others finished.
The man turned back to Clay. “Found something?”
“Yes, sir,” Clay responded with false courage in spite of the fact that the wind had been sucked from his sails. When the man gestured towards him, Clay grabbed onto his second chance with both hands… the song Always and Forever. He sang until the man gave him another gesture, and this time the man seemed far more pleased with his selection.
“Alright,” he nodded, and quickly called out several numbers including Clay’s. “You’re going on. The rest of you… thank you for your audition, but you’re not quite what we had in mind. Keep practicing though, there’s always next year.”
Clay blinked with surprise. He was through to the next round? Barely hearing the instructions, he turned to follow the others when he heard the guy say his name and his audition number again. Uh-oh… that can’t be good. He turned back to face the man at the table.
The man wasted no time and came straight to the point. “Your voice is good enough to get you through, so I am sending you on to the next audition… but don’t be surprised if your current look or image doesn’t find any fans. I’m giving you a chance because I know after hearing you that you can sing really well, and I think you can change the other.”
“Th-thank you,” Clay acknowledged before the man once again sent him on his way.
Mercifully the next few auditions went better as the mind-lapse performance of Perfect Strangers was not repeated… but unfortunately the warning about his image was repeated. He was grateful that the people in charge were recognizing what he was capable of and not getting hung up on the visuals. Unexpected, but still a blessing however it came about. Even Clay himself acknowledged that he was no Brad Pitt, but he also knew that God gave gifts to the strong and the weak alike. He certainly hadn’t done anything to earn or deserve his.
His audition for the infamous TV judges themselves didn’t
happen that day, and he ended up making a return trip to
Finally it was the moment of truth… the solo walk into the room with the cameras and the judges. Clay took a deep breath, prayed again, and walked purposefully into the room. He was ready.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Thursday, January 28, 2003
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Kirche home near
“Come on, Katydid! Hurry up with that popcorn, or you’re going to miss it!”
“Alright, alright!
I’m coming.” Kathryn
"Kate" Kirche grabbed the oversized bowl of buttered heaven along
with the other snacks and hurried to the living room. As a general practice she didn’t watch TV,
but the past summer of 2002 her best friend and roommate Sarah Daniels had
tried to addict her to a new show Fox was trying called American Idol. Since
returning from her June mission trip to
“I won’t. Besides, I did my part,” Sarah teased, tossing a warm throw around Kate's shoulders as she sat down. “I set up the TV and VCR, and grabbed a blanket for my chilly-willy roomie.”
“Thanks, sweetie.” Kate pulled the throw closer around her to keep the precious heat inside where she needed it the most. She wasn’t sure whether it was her slender physique or something else that made her so cold-blooded, but Kate never seemed to be warm enough in the winter. When’s spring? she wondered with a shiver.
On beverage duty for tonight’s event, Patricia Kirche placed a cup of hot chai tea in front of her daughter. It had taken very little effort for Sarah to persuade Patricia to join them in watching the show. As an elementary school music teacher Patricia had a professional curiosity, and the benefit of having one more thing to talk about with the two girls was additional incentive. Together the three had watched every minute of this season since it had come on… with Patricia taking notes and making written critiques. “You’re absolutely right, Sarah,” she mused as she placed hot beverages in front of Sarah’s and her own place as well. “This show is fun to watch.”
The three women watched with amusement and delight as the young wannabe-stars paraded past judges Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell. They nodded with approval at the ones with real talent and cringed at the ones that couldn’t seem to keep it in tune. At least they had enthusiasm for the art… Kate and Patricia also discussed the attire of the singers, expressing disbelief at how some of them could dress in ways that went against all pretenses of modesty or dignity.
“Whatcha watching?”
Patricia turned at the appearance of Arthur, her husband and Kate’s father, and began to bring him up to speed as he stood behind the couch. “Something called American Idol. It’s a televised singing contest for young folks to compete against each other to see who has a chance to become the next pop star.”
“Ah.” Arthur nodded.
“Take a look at this guy - he doesn’t look anything like a pop star,” Sarah commented as a slender, bespectacled redhead entered the judging room with confidence and a warm smile.
“I’ll say not,” Patricia agreed brightly, puzzled at a familiar odd warmth and fluttering in her stomach. Usually the sensation accompanied various insights she received from time to time, insights that were rarely wrong. It was a gift that most of the women in her family had, including her own mother and all of her sisters. Patricia’s own gift was the strongest in the family, and she seemed to have passed it on to her daughter as well. But it made no sense for her to have any insights while they were watching television – what could it possibly be signaling? Patricia was dumbfounded; interpretation of the insights was not her strong suit unless the insights were plain and obvious. There was nothing obvious about this. She ignored the sensation in her stomach as nothing more than dinner making its presence rudely known. That too was a burden her family had to bear as well. “He looks like a normal human being to me.”
Arthur agreed. “Dresses like a regular, conservative young man.”
“Better than that,” Kate added, “he just plain seems nice. He’s quietly confident, down-to-earth, polite… see how he interacted with the judges? Nothing like the others.” She smiled warmly. “He strikes me as a decent and honorable Christian gentleman.”
“And how would you know that?” Sarah asked, her eyebrow raised.
“I just do,” Kate retorted. “He just strikes me as being that way.”
“If you say so…”
“Just the kind of young man you’d want Kate or Sarah to end up married to, right dear?” Patricia impulsively asked him with an impish wink.
“Right.”
“Not my type,” Sarah snorted with a roll of her eyes. “I prefer mine dark-skinned and built like a house. He’s more than likely Kate’s type. She likes those intellectual, artsy types. Right, Katydid?” she eyed Kate. Kate stuck out her tongue at Sarah. Snickering at Kate’s sassy response, Sarah turned back to Patricia. “See?”
At that moment Clay started to sing, and the jaws of all three women fell sharply. From the first note to the last, all four people in the living room of the Kirche household listened attentively without a single sound being uttered. For several seconds after he finished, they sat in shocked silence.
Arthur was the first to speak. “That young man’s got a pretty good set of pipes on him.”
“No kidding…” Sarah stammered in awe. “Though I wouldn’t have expected it to come from someone who looks like that!”
“Looks don’t mean a thing, Sarah, and you know it. If he doesn't make it through,” Patricia breathed, “then I am personally calling the network to complain. You know I’ll do it, too.”
Nodding to himself, Arthur said nothing more. That would indeed be one of his wife’s tactics.
Sarah shook her head. “You and I might know that looks really don’t mean anything, but that’s not the case in this industry or on this program. The entertainment business is all about image and appearance, not about real talent. He doesn't look ‘cutting edge’ or ‘bad’ enough for them, and they’ll never get past it. Just keep watching, and you’ll see what I mean.”
Her opinion on the matter every bit as strong as her mother’s, Kate vehemently shook her head. “They have to send him through - they have to! Someone has to see him for who he really is… for both his heart and his voice. They’re fools if they don't that see he’s someone very special.”
Interesting choice of words, dear daughter, Patricia mused thoughtfully.
“I say ‘yes’,” Randy answered a split-second later, giving
them all the thin thread of hope they were looking for. Shortly afterwards Simon gave his invitation
as well, and the four knew Clay had advanced to the next level of the
competition… the journey to
Immediately Patricia turned to Kate. There’s a lot more to this than meets the eye, she mused thoughtfully. Without any concrete reason why, Kate was convinced of Clay’s character… and so was she. It didn’t make sense. Patricia would have to pray and reflect more on it later. Hopefully God would give her the answers she couldn’t come up with on her own. With Clay no longer on the screen, Patricia tried to catch Kate’s attention. Cautiously she asked, “So honey, what did you think of the redhead?”
Kate blinked at the sound of her mother’s voice. There was something in its tone that told her
Patricia was on a fishing expedition… but what information she was fishing for,
Kate had no clue. After all, she had
already expressed her opinion on the subject.
Until Kate had a better idea what her mom was up to, she selected her
words carefully. “He seems really,
really nice, and really talented. I only
hope that
Very interesting choice of words, Patricia thought, filing them away for later reference. There’s definitely more to this than meets the eye.
“Well put, Katydid.” Sarah smiled at her roommate.
Still puzzled by her mother’s question, Kate considered what had just happened with Clay. After a few minutes’ thought, she realized that she was inexplicably drawn to him. She felt as if she had known him forever, and yet she had just laid eyes on him for the first time. To her awareness, that kind of connection didn’t happen between total strangers. This is nuts, she told herself. I can’t be drawn to a man I’ve never met. It’s completely impossible. Especially not with my track record. Especially since I don’t trust men. Especially…
Quickly Kate pushed the rest of that thought out of her mind. She was trying to retrain herself to trust men, and thinking about that only shored up the walls further and undermined all hopes at ever trusting a man again. If she couldn’t trust any man, she would never find her soulmate and future husband. Yet for reasons she couldn’t even begin to explain, she felt that she could trust Clay… and she had only seen him for the first time a moment ago.
Kate shook her head sharply in hopes of clearing it. I don’t
understand what’s going on in my own head any more… she whimpered. I have
enough going on in my life as it is.
She shook her head again. Ridiculous.
Impossible. Completely impossible. One
of these days her still-small voices were going to finally drive her
crazy. This is silly – I’m not a fangirly person; I never was and I’m not now.
I can’t have feelings for some strange
guy I saw on TV. Can I?
“Katydid?”
Kate turned to Sarah, finally hearing her for the first time. “Hunh?”
“I asked if you were alright,” Sarah said quietly, studying her friend with concern. “You were a little zoned-out there for a moment.”
“I’m… not sure,” Kate admitted honestly, looking back up at the screen. Embarrassed at having neither explanations nor good excuses to give, Kate stood abruptly. “I need to go to the bathroom.”
Patricia waited until Kate had left the room at a speed that was both quick and suspicious before speaking quietly to Sarah. “Sarah, she may not be able to tell you much. I’m not sure what’s going on … but I felt something odd a few moments ago when Clay was on the screen. I can’t explain it, other than to say that it was there… it’s too vague for me to figure it out. And since Kate also has the sixth sense, it’s possible she felt something too. It would certainly explain her reaction a moment ago. But since she’s still in denial about it, she would have even less of an idea of what’s happening than I do. She still has to learn how to recognize when she’s having an insight, much less think about interpreting anything.” Patricia sighed as Sarah gaped in wide-eyed shock. “I wish I knew what this meant, but apparently it’s not time for us to know just yet.”
“Oh my...” Sarah slowly blew out a deep breath. “But how is that possible if he’s such a long distance away and you’ve never met him?”
Patricia shook her head in bewilderment. “I don’t know, Sarah. I still have no explanations for the sense other than to say it’s a God thing and leave it at that. The only thing I do know is that all things are possible with God… and you never know what He has up His sleeve.”
With a snort, Sarah also shook her head. “Some days I suspect it’s a ‘WWJD’ bracelet…”
Snickering lightly, Patricia smiled. “Possibly.” She nodded thoughtfully to herself. “Judging from Kate’s reaction to our questions, she probably won’t tell us anything right away, and I’d bet when she does start talking, she’ll be at least as confused as I am, maybe more.” After another moment’s thought she glanced down the hall. “Let’s keep this to ourselves until we have a better idea what’s going on. Or until she finally accepts the truth about her own sense.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Tuesday, February 11 and Wednesday, February 12, 2003 – Round Two week
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Clay sat in the Red Room fidgeting nervously. He had not only survived long enough to get
to the
Not only was he blessed to have made it to the semifinal 32,
he had been additionally blessed to have made some good friends along the
way. He had made friends with Quiana
Parler, the gal who had beat him first in
Only one small glitch stood in their way to the pact being realized: the members of their trio were all competing this same week for a mere two spots. Kim had been the one to bring to their attention that only two would be able to go on for now… one would have to go home disappointed for the time being. But that didn’t seem to dampen their spirits much - all were still determined to end up among the finalists.
Host Ryan Seacrest introduced the show and the contestants
before the opening sequence aired for the at-home audience. He also gave them a quick synopsis of last
week’s results of Charles Grigsby and Julia Demato being put through to the
finals. Finally he went over to
introduce the judges Randy, Simon, and Paula Abdul. The latter had been absent during Clay’s
After hearing from the judges that they had an off-week with last week’s predictions, Ryan stated that he had picked up a copy of one of the nationally-published paper tabloids. Simon reacted to the news with a nervous laugh, and Ryan continued without a noticeable break. “And now, I’ve made some mistakes in my life, but never any quite like this. Take a look,” he promised impishly, “at some pictures of Simon Cowell from a few years ago.”
The first of the five blackmail-Simon pictures was of the sarcastic judge with a particularly unflattering hairdo, the second was of him shirtless with the barest hint of cut-off jean shorts visible, the third and fourth weren’t much more flattering… and the last of him was with friends, also in a blushingly small swimsuit beneath a short-cropped shirt. The occupants of the Red Room howled with laughter as the pictures flashed on the screen, and as Randy reacted audibly to the photos. Clay’s eyes watered as he continued to laugh, though whether the pictures themselves or Randy’s commentary was making him laugh harder was up for grabs. “I surrender,” were Simon’s only words in response.
Wrapping up with the judges, Ryan reminded the national audience of the procedures as he walked towards where the contestants were waiting. He entered the Red Room, continuing his patter with the camera. “And speaking of the contestants, Group Two, here in the Red Room. Here they are! Hello!” The occupants of the Red Room applauded as he went over to greet the loved ones on the back couch and chairs. “And this excited bunch: the friends and the family that we’ve flown in, although coach, we did bring them all in. Thanks for coming, guys.” As they continued to applaud, Ryan walked over and joined the semi-finalists. “Good cheerleading group there!” he stated as the contestants agreed. “Hey, Ruben.”
“What’s up, man?” Ruben replied easily. Ruben was a man of few words, but Clay had noticed early on that when he did speak he had a way of cutting to the chase and saying what was important.
“So I have a question for you. What’s worse, performing in front of the cameras, or performing in front of the judges?”
Immediately all of the contestants chorused their opinion. “The judges.”
“Definitely the judges,” Ryan noted. “I can imagine. Alright, to get things started tonight, we’re relying on Clay Aiken.”
Clay exhaled a deep breath and let his head drop for a brief moment before looking back up at Ryan, biting his lip nervously.
“Okay, make your mother and brother, who are sitting over there, very proud. You all set?” When Clay confirmed that he was, Ryan continued. “And if Simon gives you any trouble, just remind him of those pictures where he has that little tuft of Speedo.”
With a chuckle and a smile, Clay agreed “I will” and shook Ryan’s hand before standing.
“Good luck, Clay.”
“Thank you,” Clay responded. He turned to walk to the stage, his new-found friend Ruben calling out his name in support. Shaking Jacob John’s hand, he got set up with the sound people as the production crew showed his short biography clip to the home audience. Still biting his lip, he entered the stage area with a warm and confident smile.
“Clay, man, what’s up, what’s up?” Randy greeted.
The pianist rolled a soft chord, and Clay began to sing his shortened section of “Open Arms.” His rich voice filled the studio, the vibrato warming the ends of his phrases. With his commanding stage presence tangible to all, he shared his warm eye contact with camera and others in the room alike.
After the occupants of the Red Room applauded their appreciation, Simon began moderating the judges’ critiques. “Thank you. Paula?”
“I close my eyes, and I’m looking for some glitches, and… you have such a brilliant voice. It’s magnificent.” Paula uttered an exclamation before continuing. “I just think you’ve got a great whole vibe about you, and embrace it.”
“Thank you,” Clay responded quietly.
Simon continued on. “Thank you. Ah, Randy?”
“Where’s that voice come from? It’s like I hear you singing, but it doesn’t really sound, when I look at you I go, what is that?” Randy went on. “I mean, that song is close to me, of course, ‘cause I was in Journey for so many years.” The others gave Randy a bit of mild harassment as Clay winced guiltily. “But very nice, man, very nice.”
“Well,” Simon began for his own critique, “I’ve got to be honest with you. This is why I’m pleased that we’ve opened up this competition to the American public. When I look at you, I don’t automatically go, ‘Yes, you look like the American Idol,’ because you don’t.”
“Which makes it work,” Paula interrupted.
Simon ignored her and went on. “Maybe the public will. But you sang very well.” He grinned, his arms crossed as the other two judges continued to add a few more comments to his own.
“And you’re gorgeous, adorable, and so frickin’ talented,” Paula told him.
“Well, you’ve got a date, anyway,” Simon drawled.
Paula took the joke in stride. “And yes, can I have a date with you?”
“Yeah,” Clay told her automatically, “absolutely.” Immediately he realized what was just said. “Wait a minute, were you asking me?” When Paula confirmed it, he responded again. “Absolutely, absolutely. Okay, it’s on.” Paula grinned at him before giving Simon a good-natured bop on the arm. “Thank you guys very much.” With his parting words of appreciation, Clay turned back to the Red Room, Ruben once more calling out his name in support.
Back in the Red Room, Clay clasped Ryan’s hand in a handshake as he sat back down on the couch. His mother Faye Parker and brother Brett applauded enthusiastically with everyone else as he rejoined the group. “It’s over!” Ryan assured him as Clay heaved a relieved sigh. “You came around that corner, and it was like – ” Ryan gave an exaggerated slump to show Clay’s reaction after finishing with the judges. “Now, we first met you, you looked a little differently. Now talking about the image and the look, what have you changed about yourself?”
“Well, you know, I um…” Clay began. “I had people help me out in
“And you spiked the hair,” Ryan prompted, “you highlighted your hair just a little bit.”
“I kinda wanted to look a little bit like,” Clay said as he indicated Ryan’s tresses before waving a hand dismissively. “Nah.”
“Bad move,” Ryan told him. “Bad move, don’t go there.” Moving the show onward, Ryan related Clay’s phone-in number to the cameras so that the public would be able to vote for him after the show. Clay held up one finger as Ryan continued to talk, making his nonverbal pleas to the audience. From there the group went to a brief commercial break for the stations.
Clay’s nerves didn’t seem to diminish throughout the duration of the show as the rest of his group performed. Next up was Candice Coleman… a cute little pixy with a big, smoky voice, but she didn’t connect much emotionally with the audience. Secretly Clay felt that she could have picked a better song. Rebecca Bond connected better, her sound reminiscent of a young Aretha Franklin. Her song was also not the best choice, and her pitch seemed to be low from start to finish. After a commercial was Jacob John, a somewhat smooth-talking character who wasn’t as strong vocally as the others. Hadas’s performance came after another commercial, the Sandra Bullock lookalike’s voice stronger than the previous three. Clay’s friend Ruben followed her, impacting both audience and judges with his powerful performance… and impacting Ryan backstage in a ‘Seacrest sandwich’ with the help of his brother Kevin. At six-foot-one Clay was among the tallest of this week’s contestants, but the massive Studdard brothers made him look merely average by comparison.
Another commercial later, friend
Reflecting on everyone’s performances as the contestants and
their loved ones gathered around Ryan in the Red Room, Clay felt fairly certain
of the outcome from tonight. His friends
Ruben and
***
The next night Clay sat with the other seven on the pair of couches in the studio as Ryan introduced the show and then the judges, harassing Simon as the caustic judge appeared on the show via monitor instead of in person. Ryan in turn asked Candice and Ruben how they were doing, and each in turn gave him a non-committal answer. With a little more time to kill, Ryan turned to Clay. “Clay? I mean, tell me what’s going on in that head, with that spiked look.”
Heaving a nervous sigh, Clay admitted the honest truth. “I think I’ve used the bathroom fifteen times in the last ten minutes…” he said quietly as the others chuckled.
Joining the others in laughter, Ryan continued wrapping up
from last night’s telecast as Clay and his fellow contestants continued warring
with their bruised egos. Ryan also
introduced clips from the private screening at the Fox lot before telling
After the commercial, Ryan joined the contestants to present
the critiques and the news on whether or not they had been selected by
Clay took a deep breath as Ryan turned to him. Holding on to Rebecca’s hand for comfort, he listened to summaries of last night’s critiques where the judges had enjoyed his performances… but Simon had still been unable to see past his appearance. It hadn’t mattered that Clay had bought and learned how to wear contacts, it hadn’t mattered that Clay had changed his hair and his wardrobe… Simon was still firmly entrenched in the idea that he didn’t appear to be what they were looking for. He steeled himself for the news of being told that he would not go on.
“As we know,
Clay collapsed with relief as Jacob and the others cheered for him, pounded their congratulations on his back and shoulders. Suddenly his load feeling considerably lighter, he almost bounced over to join Ruben in the stools. Maybe, he told himself, just maybe I have a chance at this after all. He took his seat beside Ruben and watched as Ryan gave the news to the others, starting back up with Jacob.
Jacob nodded somewhat impassively at Ryan’s words, showing
little reaction as Ryan told him he was not in the top three. He had clearly been expecting that and had
already come to terms with it. Last,
Ryan turned to Hadas and
Back from another commercial break, Ryan stood behind Ruben
and Clay. He informed
“I’m not nervous,” Clay denied.
“He asked me to pee three times,” Ryan teased as Clay
chuckled, “in that break, and I told him, ‘No, we’re coming back in a
second’.” He returned to Hadas and
After giving the judges a prediction say, Ryan announced Ruben as the top vote-getter from the night prior. Clay congratulated his friend, knowing full well he had earned this spot. Kevin rushed out to hug his brother, squishing Ryan flat in between the two. Ryan cried out in pain, having bit his lip until blood started to flow. Ruben apologized sheepishly for the mischief, but after a bit of hard time from Ryan was still handed the microphone for an encore performance.
Clay and
Clay slumped, rolling his eyes at yet another delay. Ryan did have a way of dragging these things
out until the bitter end, but that was his job.
Clay and
By now Clay didn’t care about the poll or the tomfoolery between
the judges and the host… all he and
“Let’s get serious, here we go. It’s down to Clay and
Immediately Clay moved to hug
Ryan had some reassuring words of his own, but these were meant for him. “Clay, thanks for being here, buddy. You could be back for the Wild Card show.”
Reassured, but somehow disappointed, Clay nodded his
thanks. He didn’t trust himself to
speak. While he was happy for his
friends, he was still disappointed for himself.
As the three of them had agreed earlier, two were going on for now, and
one would have to pin their hopes on the wild card round. He wouldn’t admit this to his friends, but it
hurt to be the one who would have to wait.
He watched as
No sooner than she had finished than the others came over to the top three, sharing congratulations and hugs with all of them. They all felt that making the top three had given Clay a better chance than most, and he really had sung his heart out.
Ruben turned to Clay as all but he and
“That’s right, Clay,”
Clay nodded his thanks at their confidence, but he still didn’t trust himself to speak. His friends quietly ushered him into the Coke room for a heartfelt prayer. The three clasped hands and bowed their heads, thanking Him for their time together, their friendship, the opportunities they had all been given… and His blessings and leading through it all, and the love that bound them all together. Clay knew his friends were right – he had to trust God that everything would turn out as it was meant to be.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Wednesday, March 5, 2003 - Wild Card Results night
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Kirche home near
“Will you quit torturing the poor man already??”
Patricia shook her head and snickered as Kate yelled at the TV... again. Just the night prior, she, Kate, and Sarah had watched another amazing performance by Clay... easily the best out of the whole lot of Wild Card contestants. Clay had deeply affected them all that first January night he had appeared. He still affected them, truth be told.
However, Kate was clearly the most affected of all. Every time he came on the TV screen, she watched with undivided attention or bright-eyed admiration. When they talked about Clay’s work with children, Kate’s smile was especially alive and beautiful. In spite of the fact that she couldn’t explain it logically, Patricia felt that Kate’s behavior was more than just a star-struck fan fawning over some random entertainment personality. There were nuances Patricia picked up from Clay that matched those she often picked up from Kate... and it was possible that Kate’s discernment was picking them up as well, though Kate was still firmly in denial. All Kate was aware of was that Clay was someone special and she was rooting for him with full-tilt enthusiasm.
Sarah snorted at her roomie’s reaction to Ryan’s announcement that the show was taking yet another break. “Maybe if you use his name, he might actually hear you this time.”
Kate pointed at the TV, now showing a commercial. “Everyone in the whole civilized world knows that
“It’s called suspense,” Sarah giggled, “and they do it for ratings.” The resulting glare from Kate made Sarah laugh all the harder.
“Well, they have to put an end to all that ‘suspense’ soon,” Kate growled. “The doggone show’s almost over.”
“It got you to watch all the way through, didn’t it?” Patricia asked sweetly.
Kate turned her annoyed eyes to her mother. “I noticed the two of you haven’t exactly gone anywhere either.”
“We already know he’s in,” Sarah shrugged. “We just want to see the announcement.” She cast a mischievous glance at Kate. “And your reaction to it...”
Kate ignored the last comment. “Same here,” she agreed. “I want to share his experience with him.”
Patricia hid a snicker at her choice of words but said nothing.
Several minutes passed before the show returned, and
immediately the three women sat up straight on their seats with Kate hanging
full of anticipation at the edge of hers.
They watched through Ryan’s summary comments until it seemed FINALLY
time to make the
“Tonight’s winner...” Ryan began.
“Come on...” Kate breathed.
“... of the popular vote...”
“... is Clay Aiken...” she prompted.
But Ryan didn’t seem to take the hint. “... the last person to advance to the next round of competition...” he continued.
“Just say it,” Kate coaxed, “just say it...”
“... moving one step closer...”
Kate clenched her fingers over her hair as if she wanted to pull it. “Quit dragging it out! The show’s gonna be over and you’re STILL gonna be on commercial break!”
“... to becoming the American Idol...”
“Oh, good grief...” Kate growled.
Sarah exchanged an amused glance with Patricia as the two of them choked back their laughter at Kate’s impatience. She had been right, this was worth the wait if not the entire price of admission. Kate’s color commentary was almost a show in itself.
“... is none other...”
“Just knock it off and tell him already!!”
“... than...”
A pinched moan came from Kate’s mouth. “I don’t know if I can take any more of this...”
“... a contestant by the name of Clay Aiken.”
“YES!!!” Kate was instantly on her feet with a cheer that rang through the entire house. “Way to go, Clay!!! Woooooo!!!”
The theatrics finally too much for her to hold it in, Sarah burst into helpless belly laughter. “K-Kate...” she gasped, wiping tears from her eyes, “y-you’re priceless...”
Patricia found herself laughing as well in spite of the bewildered expression on her daughter’s face. “Maybe Ryan didn’t hear you yelling at him, but I’d be willing to bet half the county heard THAT.”
“Har-dee har har, Momma,” Kate snorted as she returned to her seat for Clay’s victory solo.
Arthur poked his head cautiously into the living room, his eyebrow raised. “What’s all the ruckus about?” When Kate blushed furiously as Patricia and Sarah burst into laughter again, he shook his head and turned to go. “Forget I asked…” he said as he left.
“I hope he sings fast,” Sarah gasped again. “I reeeally gotta go now.”
The three women watched again in wonder as Clay effortlessly brought the music alive yet again. It wasn’t until the show had ended completely before someone spoke what was on all their minds.
“Ladies...” Patricia whispered. “Let’s savor every moment of this show while it’s on. I have a funny feeling that we are watching history unfold before our very eyes. We are watching the discovery of a superstar, the likes that haven’t been seen since the days of Elvis.”
“Bigger than Elvis,” Sarah argued as she stood to hurry down the hall to the bathroom. “Elvis didn’t have the Internet fan machine like this guy has going for him. The Internet could possibly make him into an international superstar.”
“It already is,” Patricia ventured. “The whole world is able to see for themselves how special he is.”
“He’s something special, alright,” agreed Kate with a deep sigh. She already didn’t like the sound of how her mother and best friend were predicting his fame would rival or even surpass that of Elvis. But it was not out of jealousy in the usual sense that she felt that way. Kate couldn’t help thinking how crazy Elvis’s life had been, how he couldn’t go anywhere without being recognized, how women screamed and fawned over him at every turn, how he was mobbed on several occasions... how he lost his very privacy. Fame turned the life of Elvis Presley upside-down, and he had eventually died from choices made because of his inability to cope. Kate wasn’t sure she wanted that to happen to Clay... he deserved a better life than that. She had to remind herself that the choice was not hers to make... the appointment of kings and men fell to God alone, and it was Kate’s role only to trust that He had in mind what was best for everyone involved. Including Clay, and He would give Clay what he needed to cope with whatever came his way.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Wednesday, March 5, 2003 – Wild Card Results night, after the show
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I made it… I can’t
believe it, I made it.
As soon as the cameras faded to black and they were off the air, pandemonium quickly surrounded Clay and the rest of the Top Twelve finalists as everyone in the studio jostled for the chance to give well-wishes to the ones who had made it and condolences to the ones who were cut again from the running.
“Clay man, you were the bomb last night. If they’d sent you home this time, Kevin and I woulda given them another Studdard sandwich.”
Taking a brief moment to consider Ruben’s comment with a smirk, somehow Clay didn’t doubt for a moment that he would have done it.
Josh offered his own thoughts to Clay when no one else was close by. “Glad you made it, Clay.” Looking around to make sure no one would hear him, he leaned in to whisper. “I didn’t want to be the only country boy around here.”
“We do bring something different to the competition,” Clay agreed drily.
Fellow finalists Carmen Rasmussen, Kim Caldwell, Vanessa Olivarez, Julia Demato, and Trenyce all came over in turn to give him another hug and round of congrats, which Clay returned heartily. Charles Grigsby, Rickey Smith, and even Corey Clark reissued their congrats too, albeit a little less huggy than the ladies all had done.
Raleigh-area friends Nick and Kristy, flown in for the
competition and shown on American screens all over, hurried over to give him
their best as well. “Good job,
Clay. You’re certainly the best in the
No pressure… Clay took a deep breath. “I appreciate the vote of confidence.”
“Clay,” Simon began, looking him directly in the eye, “I meant it when I said that performance was the best yet in this competition.”
“Thank you,” Clay breathed, still in shock, “that’s a huge compliment for you to say that.” Simon nodded with a slight smile and moved on to the next person.
Halfway through someone else’s heartfelt words of appreciation, Clay’s cell phone started to vibrate wildly against his rib cage. Jumping visibly at the tickling sensation, he scrambled to pluck it from his waist and end the torture. “Cell phone set on stun, Captain,” one of his fellow contestants quipped as Clay poked at the ‘answer’ button.
“Ha, ha,” Clay drawled and pulled the phone up to his ear. “H’lo?”
“Clayton honey,” Faye breathed on the other end, “we are so proud of you. You made it, you’re on your way!”
Clay warmed to hear her voice and her supportive words. “You always knew that I would, Mom.”
The group continued to celebrate for the next handful of hours, knowing that tomorrow the new Top Twelve would already be back to working hard. It was late before they all returned to the places where they were bunking on the short term, before Clay finally climbed into bed for some well-earned shuteye.
I made it, he
thought as he blinked up at the ceiling.
I really made it. What a crazy ride… I hope that I keep picking the right
songs. I hope I packed enough clothes,
they sure didn’t give me a lot of warning to prepare for this. I hope they’ll be able to pick up the slack
at the Y with me gone for who knows how long.
Suddenly Clay’s eyes widened with further realization. I only hope my college profs will understand why I have to change my plans all over again and put my student teaching semester on hold. Clay knew with certainty that was one item he had to deal with as soon as he possibly could in the morning. He wasn’t sure exactly when he would get to return to his coursework, but he knew his little adventure would eventually come to a close and give him the opportunity to concentrate on finishing that important detail as well. Fortunately that was about all he had left to complete, and then he would have his special education degree under his belt.
Papa God, Clay sighed as he continued to unwind from all the adrenaline of the evening, there’s so much to think about and concentrate on, so much to talk about and thank you for. I can’t even begin to touch on it all. I’d probably be talking about it all with you for the next hour and fall asleep from exhaustion before I’d cover even half of it. As Clay paused for thought, it almost seemed as if he could feel God smiling down on him with understanding. Then again, He had created him – He probably could understand him better than anyone else on earth. If he ever found someone who loved and understood him half as well as his Heavenly Father did, Clay would indeed be a very richly blessed man.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Tuesday, March 18, 2003
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Kirche home near
Kate frowned deeply and scratched ink from her pen all over the paper on her lap desk. “Oh, nuts!” she exclaimed as she tossed the pen onto the coffee table in front of her. Ignoring the glances from her mother and best friend, she crumpled up the paper and flung it across the floor to join the first piece she had thrown there maybe ten minutes prior.
“Maybe you should just wait until after the show to try writing your letter to him,” Patricia suggested. She took the lap desk from Kate and placed it onto the coffee table in front of her.
“Maybe,” Kate muttered, making a face. “I’m sure not getting anywhere now.”
“Just watch the show, Katydid,” Sarah told her.
Kate scowled as the first up was Corey Clark. “Uh-oh, jerk alert. Looks like a perfect time for a bathroom break. Maybe if I’m lucky, when I come back he’ll be off stage and off camera.”
“Kate,” Sarah scolded. “You don’t mean to tell me you’re still holding his party night against him…”
“No,” Kate insisted as she stood, “I’m holding his entire attitude against him. He’s a cocky little… twit, and I just don’t trust him as far as I can throw him. Mark my words, his own actions and his attitude are going to be what gets him a well-deserved boot.” She walked towards the hallway. “I want to hurry though, because I don’t want to miss the rest of the group. At least I have some time before Clay.”
Patricia snickered as Kate left the room. “Frankly, Sarah, I agree with my daughter. You enjoyed plenty of evenings away from the campus in social atmospheres when you were in college, and Kate knew full well that you used common sense in those occasions. She trusts you, Sarah, because she knows your head and your heart. But this young man…” she shook her head. “Something about his attitude tells me he doesn’t have your sense of respect or responsibility. Or your concern for others. But enough of that discussion. Let’s just watch and see what she misses.”
As soon as Kate slid back into her seat, Ruben was introduced as next up. Both he and Trenyce, who followed him, surpassed Corey’s performance by a country mile. Kate seemed perfectly thrilled at receiving this news from her mother, clearly hoping beyond hope that this was his week to go home.
Ryan’s voice introduced a video production sequence where
they showed the finalists at an event over at the
Before long the clip ended with only video footage of Clay having been shown, and the show went to commercial break. “Sorry, Katydid,” Sarah soothed gently as her roomie drooped. “If he has that rapier wit you seem to think he does, we’ll obviously never know.”
“Aw, pooh.” Kate scowled. “I’m sure we’ll see it eventually… but I was kind of hoping we’d get to see it sooner than later.”
“Guess not.”
The three ladies chatted until the show came back from
break, and after introducing Simon’s mother to the Idol audience, Ryan
proclaimed Clay as next performer.
During his brief bio clip there, Kate got the giggles at Clay’s quirky
face as a large dog cut in front of him at the drinking fountain. She howled at his retort of “If you’re here,
who’s at home?” to the lone individual at the Academy who had applauded to hear
that he was from
“Told you,” Kate poked Sarah, “that he has a sharp wit.”
Sarah nodded, rolling her eyes. “Yeah, yeah. So you got another one of his character traits right. As long as you’re making random predictions, Katydid, do you have any on his song for the evening?” She hummed the theme music from Jeopardy! to further harass Kate on the matter.
Kate raised a mildly irritated eyebrow at Sarah’s sarcasm but gave her a flippant answer just to shut her up. “Something kid-friendly,” she answered with a snort. “I could see him doing a song from one of the cartoon movies… Disney or something else in a similar vein.” Seeing Sarah’s skeptical frown, she went on. “Keep in mind he was training to be a teacher, sweetie. It’s not as improbable as you think.”
“Yeah, just maybe not the brightest song selection he could pick for this show if he wants to be taken seriously.” Sarah rolled her eyes again.
Immediately Kate saw Sarah’s point… he was having difficulty enough getting Simon to take him seriously as it was… but Kate wasn’t going to let Sarah win the debate without a fight on Clay’s behalf. “Alan Menken would tell you that music from animated movies can be a very serious deal. How many awards has he received, or how many times has he been nominated for his work now?”
“Yeah, yeah.” A short moment later Sarah stared incredulously as Clay told the camera he was going to be doing “Somewhere Out There” from the movie An American Tail. “You’re kidding me… of all the serious, deep movies and huge hit soundtrack songs, he picked that one?” She eyed her roommate suspiciously. “What, did you get that info off the boards or something?”
Slowly Kate shook her head, bewildered at the matchup. “N-No,” she said quietly, “I didn’t have time with lesson plans.”
“How’d you guess, then?”
Kate frowned deeply, trying to figure out how she knew. Finally she shrugged. “I don’t know. I just remembered that he had been training to be a teacher… and somehow it fit.”
Sarah blinked back up at the screen. “Strange fit. I wouldn’t have called that one in a million years.”
The ladies watched with rapt amazement as Clay performed with all seriousness part of the song “Somewhere Out There”… and as Simon proclaimed Clay “the one they’ve got to beat.” Patricia continued to take notes in her notebook, but as she glanced up at Kate, it was clear to see that her daughter’s mind was still caught up in that song long after they had moved on to other finalists.
Somewhere out there
Someone’s saying a
prayer
That we’ll find one
another
In that big somewhere
out there
And even though I know
How very far apart we
are
It helps to know we
might be wishing
On the same bright
star
Somewhere out there
If love can see us
through
Then we’ll be together
Somewhere out there
Out where dreams come
true
She had watched the movie once with the gals when there was absolutely nothing else to watch on TV, and remembered that it came during a part of the movie where the hero had been separated from his loved ones. It had been a poignant little song as the mouse Fievel ached to be with the ones who loved him, and the ones he loved in return. Well… in real life, Kate’s someone special was “somewhere out there”, and they would depend on love to lead them to each other, and to see them through anything life would throw their way. Patricia hoped and prayed that would be sometime soon… but also that God would lead Kate through some very necessary healing for her life. She sighed as she watched her daughter once again try to begin that letter to the young man who had impacted her so much. If Kate didn’t heal from the troubles and hurts of her past, then not even her soulmate would complete her.
Later in the show Ryan introduced a video production
sequence where they showed the finalists’ temporary mansion home in
Kate immediately shook her own head. “Pasty-white I’ll grant you, but I just don’t see him going swimming at all.”
“Why not?” Sarah asked.
Blinking with surprise, Kate realized that she had no idea why she believed that… only that she did. She struggled for some form of response; even a dorky pun would be welcome at this point. Finally she found one. “Don’t you remember last week?” Kate joked. “Ryan told him and Ruben ‘no stage diving’. So he won’t be going swimming.”
“Those are two different things, Katydid,” Sarah scoffed.
“I suppose so,” Kate admitted. “I’m just being a smart-aleck. My real answer is that it’s because redheads sunburn something fierce. You know that, Sarah.”
That was indeed something Sarah had personal experience with, so she didn’t question it. Much. “That doesn’t stop me, Kate; it just means that I use lots of waterproof sunscreen. As for nomenclature, I call it ‘porcelain’ instead of pasty-white.”
“Semantics, semantics…” Kate teased. “While you’re renaming skin tones and other physical traits, why don’t you call them ‘cinnamon sprinkles’ instead of freckles?”
“A rose by any other name...” Sarah cast a wicked glance at her friend. “I think you’re saying that just because you’re jealous that you won’t get to see him without a shirt.”
“Whatever,” Kate muttered, a bright pink coloring her cheeks at the suggestion.
Meanwhile Patricia just shook her head with an amused smirk at their playful exchange.
However, the next night of the women watching American Idol found Sarah’s jaw dropping as one of the other contestants accused Clay of being afraid of the water.. “H-He really won’t be going swimming…” She turned to stare at Kate, who she felt had been entirely too positive in her conviction the day prior. “How do you do that? How did you know?”
“I… didn’t,” Kate whispered weakly, though something inside was telling her differently. But by the same token, she didn’t have an answer to the questions. “It was just a lucky guess.” She shrugged quickly, determined to convince herself as well as Sarah. “Yeah, just a lucky guess.”
Studying Kate quietly, Patricia decided that it was no lucky guess. She knew that Kate was still not ready to see what had really happened, so she chose to keep quiet for now.
However, Sarah didn’t remain as quiet. “You’re making an awful lot of lucky guesses about him lately, Katydid…”
Patricia sighed under her breath and shook her head. As Sarah had mentioned, it was one more thing
that she seemed to know about Clay before he had revealed it in one of the
various show interviews. Both Patricia
and Sarah had heard them from Kate’s own mouth during their conversations. All three had been stunned to discover later
that each one was entirely true, though Patricia was becoming less and less
surprised with each ‘revelation’. For a
number of years Patricia had started to wonder if the family gift was going to
skip Kate, but last summer signs of having it had started to show up during her
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Tuesday, April 18, 2003
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Kirche-Daniels
apartment in
Sarah glanced up from her work at the dining room table as Kate shuffled slowly into her apartment. “You’re early. You usually stay and plan for another hour.”
“Sorry to disappoint you,” Kate scowled wearily. “If you need some more peace and quiet to work, I can go crawl back under my rock and leave you alone.” She turned towards the back bedrooms.
Immediately Sarah blinked with surprise at her roommate’s surly response. It was not typical fare from her at all – while Kate didn’t exactly have self-confidence to spare, she had to be in a really sour mood to answer like that. Sarah studied her roommate’s wan complexion. “Kate, are you alright? You don’t look very good.”
Kate’s frown deepened as she sighed. “I never do.”
“Let me rephrase that,” Sarah huffed, quickly becoming perturbed with Kate’s self-effacing sarcasm. “You look like you’re not feeling very good.”
“I’m fine,” Kate snapped as she stalked into her bedroom and dropped her bags with little ceremony on the floor next to her dresser. She moaned softly and rubbed several key points on her head and neck. “At least I want to be fine.”
When she returned to the living room, Sarah was standing with crossed arms next to her chair at the table watching her closely. “I’m going to give you a minute to sit down and breathe deeply before making you try answering me again… and this time I want you to answer with the truth, even if it’s laden with out-of-character expletives and name-calling.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kate fibbed.
“You… entrance. You looked like you were about to be ill when you came in, and when I asked you about it you all but bit my head off. Your self-esteem stinks on a good day, but since you’ve been home you’ve been more brutal to yourself in five minutes than you typically are in an entire evening. You still look like you feel horrid.” Sarah lifted her chin. “You’ve always been a lousy patient, Kate, and you know it. You would rather tough it out and be miserable alone than ‘force’ someone to take care of you when you’re feeling bad.”
Kate shrugged evasively before flopping down in a nearby chair. “I’m not sick,” she responded a little too firmly.
Sarah followed her over to the chair and added foot-tapping to the crossed-arms pose. “So then if you’re not sick, what’s your problem?”
“I dunno,” Kate admitted. “I’ve been so… moody. It feels like something is wrong, dreadfully wrong, but I have no idea what. I’ve been either snapping at people like I did with you just a few minutes ago, or else I’ve been on the brink of breaking into tears all afternoon. Mostly the latter. And it’s not what you think. But I don’t have a clue what it would be instead of that.”
“How long have you been feeling this way?”
Kate shrugged again. “Since about two-thirty or a little before.”
“Bet your kids were on eggshells this afternoon.”
“Yeah,” Kate drawled, “they loved me today. My last period conned me into study time for the rest of class.” She made a face. “It didn’t take much, either.”
Sarah tilted her head to one side thoughtfully. “It’s not the Kleinbach stomach, is it?”
“No,” Kate replied firmly but evenly. “I’m not sick in any way, none of the usual stomach problems. I’m just… moody. And I know that hormones aren’t causing it, I just finished.”
“That’s definitely unusual,” Sarah acknowledged. “Do you have any idea what’s causing it?” She watched Kate shake her head – that wasn’t surprising. “You think you’re going to be all right when it’s time to go to your parents’, or would you rather stay here to watch it?”
“I’m not sick,” Kate whispered, “just out of sorts… so let’s not change the plans tonight.”
Sarah sighed and shook her head – stoic as ever. Some things never changed. “You think you want to eat before we head up there, or would you rather graze off tonight’s munchies?” Sarah asked gently.
“No,” Kate answered. “I may not be sick, but I have no desire to eat anything at all.”
That didn’t surprise Sarah either – loss of appetite occasionally accompanied Kate’s mood swings. “Would you rather suggest your mom come here instead? They don’t get cable there in the country anyway, we’ve been relying on the reception of their antenna.”
Kate nodded. “And Fox has been coming in pretty darn good out there, but I’m still glad you’ve been setting things up to tape here. You never know with those old aerials.”
“No, you don’t,” Sarah acknowledged, picturing the antenna anchored onto the roof of the Kirche farmhouse. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“I dunno,” Kate whined under her breath. “I don’t want to put her out…”
It was clear to Sarah that Kate was in no mood to make any decisions at all. Until her mood went away, it would be better for both of them to have Sarah deal with any and all pressing issues of the night. She sighed and grabbed the phone to make the call.
“Kirche residence,” Arthur’s rich baritone voice answered.
“Hey, Dad,” Sarah responded, addressing Kate’s father fondly by the title that had been mutually agreed upon by all parties. She had the same privilege with Kate’s mother as well. “It’s Sarah. Could I talk to Mom Kirche for a minute about tonight?”
“Sure,” Arthur said, “hold the phone. Hey Momma, the girls want to talk to you about tonight.”
A moment later Patricia took the phone. “Hey girls, what’s up?”
“Kate’s feeling kind of funky right now,” Sarah began, “but she says she doesn’t want to put you out.”
“Oh, dear. Is she sick? Is it her stomach again?” Patricia asked.
“No, she’s in a Little Miss Crankypants mood,” Sarah admitted and reported what Kate had told her.
“Odd,” Patricia murmured. “If I didn’t know better…” Her voice trailed off as she continued to think. “I’m going to have to go online and do a little bit of research… see what I can drag up.”
Sarah wasn’t sure how doing research was going to make any difference... but she would encourage Patricia in whatever it took to ease her frame of mind. “Why don’t you do that, while I see if I can’t coax her into eating some dinner? Of course that will be akin to coaxing an angry bull to ballet dance.” She smiled at hearing Patricia’s snicker on the other end, winking at her roommate as Kate glared at her. “In light of that, I wanted to ask you about tonight. Would you rather come here, or have us go there?”
“I can come there,” Patricia offered brightly. “It’s not an inconvenience at all. You and will be able to handle her like this. As long as the mood breaks, Art can see her out here tomorrow night.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Sarah agreed and hung up. She turned to Kate. “Your mom’s going to be coming here instead.”
Kate nodded, glancing around the living room. “Good thing we don’t have all that much to clean up.”
“Good thing.” Sarah glanced up at Kate as the second woman started tidying up. “I thought you were feeling cranky.”
“I clean better when I’m in a foul mood.” Kate frowned. “I should have put it to use earlier when it was stronger. It’s letting up, now that I’m actually trying to make myself useful.”
“Well, it’s a good thing that it’s letting up. Maybe some Clay therapy will help soothe what ails you. I’ve heard he has that effect on people.” Sarah grinned wickedly as Kate blushed. Obviously the teasing was helping her too. “Think you might be hungry after all?”
Kate gave it a moment’s thought. “I could try eating a little something.”
“Good. I planned to make that chicken, veggies, and pasta stir-fry you like so much.”
“Ooo,” Kate cooed, “give me a little more time for things to settle and I’ll definitely eat that.”
Sarah snickered. She could tell whatever had caused the problem was going away.
By the time Patricia had arrived hours later, Kate had indeed eaten some of Sarah’s cooking – and a regular-sized portion at that. Whatever had bothered Kate earlier had run its course and she seemed back to her normal state. After taking a covered dish of munchies from Patricia and placing it on their coffee table, Kate warmly hugged her mother. “Glad you could come here, Mom.”
“Glad I could make it,” Patricia replied with a broad smile, “and I’m glad that you’re feeling better than you were earlier.”
“No kidding.”
“What do you think it was?” Patricia questioned, a curious expression on her face.
“I’m not sure,” Kate confessed. “Just a bad mood, I guess. It was just so… random, out of nowhere.” She continued. “I couldn’t pin down a cause at all, couldn’t figure out what in the world was going on. It’s a complete and total mystery to me.”
Patricia raised her eyebrow. “Odd.”
“Odd??” Kate snorted. “That’s all you have to say about it?”
“What time did this start for you?” Patricia asked as Sarah placed refreshments in front of them.
“About two, two-thirty,” Kate said. “Right in time for my last period advanced Spanish class. After I went all moody on them, they begged me for a study hall and pretty much left me alone the rest of the period. I have to give them credit, they could tell that I was feeling horrible.”
“I see,” Patricia nodded. “Well, you’re better now, that’s the important thing.”
Sarah nodded with patient agreement. “No kidding…”
“Did you know that Clay is allergic to mint?”
“Mint?” Kate questioned, puzzled at the complete change of topic.
“And chocolate, coffee, tree nuts, shellfish, and mushrooms,” Patricia recited.
Sarah blinked twice. “Quite a diverse list.”
Both Sarah and Kate stared at Patricia. “Where did that come from?” Kate asked.
Noticing that she had the undivided attention of both girls, Patricia continued. “Oh, after I got your phone call, I went over to the boards on a whim. It turns out that Clay had eaten some sort of fruit salad or something at lunch that had mint in it – I’m not sure whether they had used it as a flavoring, a garnish, or what. But apparently, he had a reaction.”
“Oh my goodness,” Kate gasped. “Is he alright?”
“They think he will be, as he was appropriately treated for it.” Patricia sighed. “Apparently some of his food allergies are quite serious – some of them will just make him uncomfortable, but some will give him a full-fledged anaphylactic reaction. The only one of his allergies I have heard for sure that can cause him anaphylaxis is the nut allergy.”
“What time?” Sarah asked as Kate continued to gawk in unabashed concern.
“They had lunch about eleven-thirty,” Patricia recalled. “He began having troubles about twelve-thirty, which was about two-thirty our time, and they quickly called the medical personnel. Fortunately he responded well to treatment, and he will be able to perform tonight. He wasn’t hospitalized or anything, but they did have trained medical personnel there treating him and watching after him. Because of that, he’ll be singing last on the program. They want to give him as much time as possible to recover.”
“I’m glad he’s doing better,” Kate breathed, deeply concerned for him.
“So am I.” Patricia studied her daughter thoughtfully for a minute, something else lurking on her mind. “What do you think caused your sour mood?” she asked at last.
Kate shook her head. “Probably just something I ate, nothing more. I remember you saying that stuff you ate when I was a baby would affect my moods, I’m sure it’s possible for it to still happen to me as an adult. After all, that stomach condition runs in the family.”
“And so does stubbornness,” Patricia muttered dryly as she picked up the remote to the TV.
What does stubbornness have to do with it? Kate wondered, confused over the unspoken conclusion that Patricia had drawn. She eyed her mother cautiously, but Patricia was now paying her no attention. Sighing and rolling her eyes, Kate turned her own attention to the show.
The conversation between the ladies seemed somewhat subdued for most of the show. Although not a one of them admitted it aloud, it was as if Clay’s health and well-being was still on all of their minds. However, Clay‘s energetic performance of his clever ballad-upbeat blended arrangement of Billy Joel’s “Tell Her About It” did much to relieve their concern. As Kate mused to herself that he seemed none the worse for his mishap, her mind turned to the words of the song… changing the gender of the pronoun as it recited. Tell him about it, tell him everything you feel… give him every reason to accept that you’re for real. Studying his vulnerable eyes and warm smile, she once again felt empathy for Clay and his earlier predicament. This whole experience has got to have turned his whole world upside-down. I’d bet there are days he could use a positive word from a sister in Christ, just to encourage him that he’s not alone… and to keep on standing up for what he believes in, remain true to who he is. An amazing and beautiful man of God. Kate resolved that this time she would finally get that letter written – and sent.
Wish to comment?
Never Lonely Again – Chapters 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | NLA main | Newest material
Since mission work is such a big part of my heroine Kate's life, I am also going to put up a link to the web site for my Haiti 2001 Mission Trip.