*Before…

I finish us off with a long and soft drawn out.
Love of my life……………….
And I play the keyboard notes out with the fading last bit of instrumental.
The lights on us dim to almost dark there’s a swaying sea of hands and phones and lighters... there’s silence as the music faded out and there’s sobs out there in the dark.

People slowly start clapping and clapping and clapping...and I think that we’re all crying on stage and off.

*And Now…

I look out at the crowd and no one’s moving they’re just swaying out there with the lights all held up and it goes from the clapping to it going quiet again and you can hear the crying and the sniffles out there and there’s so many people out there more than when we started with at the show like it pulled people here to the song...the duet.

“Play!” Someone cries out.

“Please play!” Others add their voices to it.

I look to the stage manager and he’s crying and waves the clipboard at us and he nods. There’s others there from the Fair staff and they’re giving us the nods too and Lorna, Ms. McAllister looks like she’s been crying too and she’s hugging herself.

I look at the girls and they nod.

I lean over to the mic. “We wanted to do something good, something special for Sunday here with it being the only Sunday for the fair and maybe hit something close for all of us.”

“It turned out a lot better than we thought and we’re really glad that you liked it and sure as it turns out the event staff is being more than cool and letting us play some more.”

“So here goes everyone...Please Don’t Go.”

*Please don’t go by Starlight Butterfly.*

Hello, good morning …
You’re beautiful …
And I know you don’t know me well.
So...
Hello …
You’re soulful …
You take the pain away …
You brighten up my days …
I know …
You don’t know me well …
But your laugh, it makes me smile.
I see sunshine in your eyes …
(Chorus)
Please … … Don’t go away …
I need to know you better.
I need your smile in my life girl.
Oh that’s not true …
I need more … I need you …
Oh I need you …
Hello …
Are you having second thoughts?
Are you wondering if I’m just …
Too much trouble …
I know … …
I’m not what you signed up for …
But who’d sign up for this kind of crazy …
Who could take me every day girl …
(Chorus)
Hello … good morning …
Do you really think I’m beautiful …
Did you really say I’m …
Worth it …
I know …
I’m sorry that I crying …
And no I can’t stop smiling …
They’ve never said that …
I’m worth it …
I’ve never heard it …
Until you did …
(Chorus)
Hello …
I Love you …
You Take away my pain girl.
And I’ll love you everyday girl …

It’s a good song it’s a really good follow up song mood wise with the duet right before it and the chorus...we do have our fans and it’s a definite lump in the throat kind of moment when there’s over a thousand people singing out there.

“Hello…”
“Good Morning…”
“Do you really think I’m beautiful, do you really say…”
“I’m worth it…”

I mean yeah, yeah really when aren’t we asking ourselves these questions or even just want to have the chance to ask these questions right?

I mouth the next song to the others and brooklyn starts us off with this soft long rambling guitar followed by me on keyboards and Raven coming in on base.

“Mother’s song everyone.”

*Mother’s song* By Starlight Butterfly.

Precious child …
I still have you in my heart.
I my dreams …
In my soul.
Baby mine …
I missed you today.
I missed your laugh.
I missed your touch.
Our time was too short before you went away.
Sometimes I hold my breath and hug the pain.
So many times they say it’d just be easier …
To say, you weren’t mine and just a dream.
Mommy loves you …
I always will.
(Chorus) My sweet love … My precious child.
You are my love.
You are my love.
Bunny child, velveteen heart.
What I feel … It makes you real
Real to me …
And Mommy loves you … I always will.
Baby mine …
I missed you today.
I missed that smile …
That I could feel.
Precious child …
You’re still my heart to me.
You’re still my hope, you’re still my love.
(Chorus)
Our time was too short before you went away.
Sometimes I hold my breath and hug the pain.
So many times they say it’d just be easier …
To say, you weren’t mine and just a dream.
(Chorus x2)

There’s a lot of emotion coming off of that one and i originally wrote that as a kind of piece for and about girls and women like me but in the fan responses we get comments and letters from lots of girls and women that can’t have kids.

There’s a lot of reasons why a lot of us can never be mothers and then there’s this other part of the song that’s also...loss, loss of a child as a parent as a mother.

There’s a lot of emotion pouring off of the crowd and we go from that to *Nothing but a child* By Steve Earle.

“We really love this song, I really love this song it’s one of the ones we played with the really amazing sisters and workers up at Chapel Street Shelter.”

We started to play and there was violins/fiddles joining in with us and two of the older men from the country bands here joined up and started playing with us a really older fellow from the bluegrass up and plugging in with Brooklynn sitting with his steel guitar and some other folks from some of the various bands and even Summer and the girls from Kisses & Thorns were up on stage and finding space standing around like this really mixed vocal group.

This...this is what I want...for our music, for Harper’s point. This kind of stuff literally hasn’t happened in years.

You can feel what I’m feeling with this oh...wow...cool and this heartfelt moment coming at all of us through the crowd. I start singing pouring heart into it.

Once upon a time... in a far off land.
Wise men saw a sign... and set out across the sand.
Songs of praise to sing... they travelled day and night.
Precious gifts to bring... guided by the light...

They chased a brand new star... ever towards the west.
Across the mountains far...but when it came to rest.
They scarce believed their eyes…
They'd come so many miles...
And the miracle they prized…
Was nothing but a child...

(As we hit the chorus the instruments just sort of rise in harmony and all the women gathered with us on stage start singing like a choir.)

(Chorus)...Nothing but a child…!
Could wash these tears away!
Or guide a weary world... into the light of day.
And nothing but a child…!
Could help erase these miles!
So once again, we all…
Can be children for awhile…..

Now all around the world…
In every little town...
Everyday is heard…
A precious little sound...
And every mother kind…
And every father proud...
Looks down in awe to find…
Another chance allowed...

(Chorus.)

And the crowd is singing the chorus with us.

“Hey everyone here’s another I think we should play from the video we made for the Chapel and with the band we’ve got going now I really want to play it with them and for all of you...here’s Let it Be.”

*Let it Be.* By The Beatles.

When I find myself in times of trouble…
Mother Mary comes to me.
Speaking words of wisdom….
Let it be.
And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me
Speaking words of wisdom... let it be...
Let it be... let it be... let it be... let it be
Whisper words of wisdom…
Let it be

(Now the choir of the women and girls on stage start to sing.)
And when the broken hearted people living in the world agree...
There will be an answer…!
Let it be!
For though they may be parted…
There is still a chance that they will see...
There will be an answer!
Let it be…!
(Then it’s all of us singing together.)

Let it be...let it be... let it be... let it be...
There will be an answer!
Let it be!
Let it be... let it be... let it be... let it be...
Whisper words of wisdom!
Let it be!
Let it be... let it be... let it be... let it be...
Whisper words of wisdom!
Let it be…..!
(I point to Hanna who sings the next line in this high clear line.)

And when the night is cloudy there is still a light that shines on me…..
(Then I hand gesture for all of the girls and they choir like sing out loudly.)
SHINE ON TIL TOMORROW!
LET IT BE!
(The next part I motion to Raven and she belts it out in that deep, loud powerful voice of hers.)

I wake up to the sound of music!
Mother Mary, Mother Mary…
Comes to me!
Speaking words of wisdom!
Let it be!
(Then it’s back to all of us again all singing together.)

Let it be...let it be...let it be…
Yeah...let it be...
There will be an answer... Let it be...
Let it be... let it be...let it be…
Yeah, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom…
Let it be……

And the crowd was singing along with us for most of this of course and we could see them out there and the lights they had swaying too and it might have been for just a few songs but those few songs took a while especially live and it’s pretty late.

I look at the girls and the others that are there and I give the ones that came up here to play with us a bow first and then the crowd a bow before I take up the mic.

“You all are an amazing crowd tonight but it’s heading towards two AM and folks do have jobs even with the fair and we all have to get home safe. Have a good night everybody.”

There’s more applause and people start to filter out and we’re all helping together this time to break down all of the stage gear and put things away.

Summer and Tara and Dee don’t say too much during all of that to me but Hanna’s there and she sort of breaks the ice and she gives me a hug.

“We had to come up after the invite and all that was awesome with the duet and stuff.”

“Thanks we wanted to do something special for Sunday because this only goes to next Friday so it’s literally like THE weekend for all of the big stuff to happen.”

Hannah nods. “This got so much better that I think that most folks thought.”

I’m grinning. “So like us actually having a music festival.”

She has this huge smile. “Yeah, and this is the biggest thing I’ve like ever been a part of too. And the charity bottles were a great idea too and they were filling up pretty good too.”

Dee actually does ask. “What were they for?”

“Chapel Street Shelter, Harper Point Animal Rescue and Shelter, Harper Point Food Bank, 4-H, Girl Scouts, The Boys & Girls Club of Ontario, Canadian Cancer Foundation.”

Their nodding and Hanna asks. “What about Birch Street Hostel?”

“I’ve never heard of it.”

Molly says. “We donate some and we’ve got them on our page but we should boost them.”

“Youth Hostel?”

Hannah nods. “Youth kids, runaways people like me that got out of bad places.”

“Oh wow I had no idea we had something in town actually up and running.”

Molly nods. “Harper Point’s just like an hour or so from Toronto and stuff we’re a satellite town for street kids.”

“Satellite town?”

Hannah nods. “The streets suck and sometimes it gets rough in some places and sometimes stuff just happens where you need to get out of the city for a while and it’s also a kinda known stop for kids incoming too.”

I look at her. “Known stop?”

“Broke towns are kinda good with street kids as long as we keep it low profile, lots of closed up places to stay at and things like that plus there’s some work here too that’s like seasonal stuff with some of the farms. Berry pickers have a lot of street kids doing it and then you get fall jobs for picking and harvesting too.”

We all make other goodbye’s with the other players and a whole bunch of the fans too. Then we head off to the main tent for the organizers and all of the charity money that’s been gathered tonight and we wait for the counts to be done.

It’s really good...I mean it’s really good with the lowest being The Girl Scouts and The Boys & Girls clubs of Ontario with around forty dollars each but our very cool Home Hardware guys put in fifty dollar gift cards into everything there and apparently whoever was here from Home Depot over in Red Pines was watching them or something and they matched it took in every donation bottle and Sears gave gift cards too and Wal-mart went big with a hundred dollars for each one and even Tim Hortons and McDonalds and Pizza Hut all gave things for the staff or for the kids.

The Chapel Street shelter pulled in over four hundred and the biggest winner was the food bank that got some serious money.

And as much as I don’t like the family...Adam Marshall the first was there and he wrote checks to match all of the funds gathered tonight.

“It’s the least that we as a family can do for the community is to help with the fundraising done here tonight and to honor the great work that all the entertainers had put on this week so far.”

We get pictures taken and Lorna takes the cheques in hand for The Chamber of commerce to get out to the places that will need them and she gives me this really big huge smile like I’ve never seen on her before and I wave as we go our separate ways.

There’s was even some good press there too with some bloggers and reporters still hanging around.

We even pass pretty close to him and his little entourage and he gives me a nod. “Have a good evening ladies it was moving seeing you all work. Miss Benton it’s a pleasure to put a face to the name.”

“Uhm...thank you sir, you have a nice night as well.”

There’s a lot of fake smiles between us and we leave as his manservant fellow is bringing over Summer and Kisses & Thorns.

Yeah I move a little faster getting to our booth to make sure everything is closed there too.

Kimmie says. “It’s not a good thing that Senor, Senior, Senior knows who you are is it.”

“I don’t know Ron, I don’t know.”

(That’s a Kim Possible joke.)

We get everything set and I leave a sign saying Re-opening at 10 AM.

It’s late and we’re all tired and there’s still things to do.

We’re waving at people all the way out and people literally happy yell at us as we’re pulling out.

I shake my head and smile. “Y’know if we ever tour or even do a music festival I think we should look at maybe seeing if dad could get a fifth wheel trailer to sleep in on site and everything.”

Rayne’s nodding. “Unless we’re in a nice provided motel and such. I like pools and big towels and all of that.”

“I think that we might be a ways from that yet chere.”

“Still, I want room service if I can have it and a pool if they have it.”

“Deal, hopefully we can make that all happen.”

I watch things in the mirrors just to make sure that we’re all safe and we get home without any problems but it makes me wonder what some people think sometimes when they see all of us driving in our little convoy and with bikers too no less.

Dad’s not here but off doing stuff with Danny’s rides and Max is there too and we hug the boys and Uncle Mitch and then we head inside the house.

We really don’t do much other than post up the videos we took for the band and we answer some comments and post up a few little cool bits and odds and ends as we’re all taking turns getting cleaned up and showered and once we’re all done I go around and check everything like the doors and all and make sure that there’s coffee ready to go and that we have bread and things for breakfast and I leave Post-it-notes for Kimmie and Brooklyn. “Get those papers started for school you guys.”

Yeah I’m still momming the group.

They’re my group, they’re my family.

And Family is Everything.