AFTER THE SONG
A 6-Part Limited Series
CHAPTER 1
And They Lived Happily Ever After...Then What?
"I think we should start seeing other people."
That rather shocking observation came from Rosa Milano Taylor, half of New York magazine's Power Couple of the Year for 2016 after she woke from a troubled night's sleep at one in the morning in her luxurious penthouse apartment facing Lincoln Center. The other half, Carl Taylor, thought it was just one of those very-real-sounding voices one hears during one's dreams. but his eyelids flew open like cartoon window shades and he tried to stay calm as he asked,
"The incredibly sexy woman I saved from homelessness whose operatic career I helped revive and who went on to be the mother of Carly, Escamillo, Carmen, and Michela while continuing to raise Frasquita and Mercedes from an earlier marriage says WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!?!?!?!"
"Dude," she explained. "Don't get me wrong, I appreciate everything you've done for me and I'm happy that we're being honored tonight for supporting afterschool arts programs and helping kids discover opera,but, let's be honest here. I didn't ASK you to just take me off the street and turn me into the second coming of Beverly Sills. You just jumped right in and made me the star of your own little show."
Carl could not believe his ears. He took a deep breath and replied, "It's not entirely a me thing, no matter what you think. My father once told me evil wins when good does nothing, and seeing people living in boxes on the street,asking you for a quarter when the only thing you can buy for a quarter is a pay phone call and good luck with that, or just running up to you when you spend money in Grand Central Station...well, homelessness has turned good people into evil...well, THINGS. They may remind one of historical interpeters at Colonial Williamsburg or cartoon characters at Disneyland, but they refuse to spend a day of work to get their own money. I saw you and I remembered this talented person, and I wanted to do my best for everybody by turning her back into the wonderful singer she used to be. Another one of my favorite expressions is, "Give a man a fish and he'll have food for a day. Teach a man to fish and he'll have food for a lifetime." This wasn't me trying to be a voyeur and casting you as the star of my show, this was me trying to help you return to being the best you you could be."
This failed to make an impression on Rosa who replied,"OK, understood, huzzah for Super-Carl, but every time you introduce me at a party, you say, "This is my formerly homeless opera singer wife," and you ALWAYS refer to it every time we're asked to a fancy Lincoln Center gala!" Carl attempted to explain that he wouldn't do it if it weren't true, but she continued, "And then, there's the kids! Since Phoebe left for Buckingham Palace,I've tried to be a mother, father, AND nanny to all those kids while trying to keep an opera career going. Sorry, buddy, but the Brady Bunch we AIN'T!"
"OK,OK,OK," Carl replied, "I'll call a family meeting."
He hit the siren the PBA gave him as a thank-you gift,picked up a megaphone, and shouted, "FAMILY MEETING IN THE LIVING ROOM IN FIVE MINUTES!" The younger members of Clan Taylor crawled out of bed groaning, "Who died?" (Cam) "Already?" (Keeta) "We have to be sharp for that interview with Kelly and Michael!" (Sadie) "And Justin Bieber was just about to propose!" (Carls) "In case you forgot, ABC 7 has an important Little League game with A.J.Clarke Real Estate today, and Coach wants everybody at their best!" (Carmencita) "WAAAAAAH!" (Kayla)
Mom and Dad sat in the two biggest chairs while the kids all crowded on the couch. Dad said, "Since everybody's present, we'll skip the roll call and get down to business: Your Mom thinks we should start seeing other people."
The kids just sat and stared. The only thing you could hear was crickets chirping.
"I know what you're thinking, but we're not getting the D-word. (Rosa thought, At least not now.) we just need some alone time to get ourselves together, but don't worry, you're still living all together under this roof. We're still in this together, and no matter what, we'll find a way out of this problem. Team Taylor on three!" The family raised their hands, although Rosa hesitated for a moment. "One, two,three...(And everybody shouted,) TEAM TAYLOR!"
Came the dawn, and Carl called HIS Mom and Dad in Buffalo.
"Taylor Residence, Lady of the House speaking."
"Hey,Mom!"
"Hi, Carl, how's everything?"
"Keeta and Sadie are getting ready to shoot WHO DUNN IT?:THE MOVIE in Puerto Rico,Cam is studying acting at the School of the Arts,Carmencita has become the jock of the family, the hockey team calls her Henrietta Lundquist because of all her saves and now she's knocking 'em out of the park in Little League, Kayla had her birthday announced on SUNNY SIDE UP (the preschool version of the TODAY show), Carls is playing Ariel in her school's production of THE LITTLE MERMAID,
and,uh,Rosa..."
"Son, is something wrong with Rosa? Bob, come here. There may be something wrong with your daughter-in-law."
"OK, Carl. Like they used to say on those soaps your mother used to watch, gimme the bad news, Doc. I can take it."
"Rosa thinks we should see other people."
Susan Taylor fainted dead away. Her husband shouted," I KNEW IT! ONCE A VAGRANT, ALWAYS A VAGRANT! YOU'VE BEEN SCAMMED! MISTER, IF YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOU, YOU'LL DROP THAT HARLOT LIKE A BAD HABIT!" and slammed the phone back on its cradle.
Carl thought, Sorry, Dad, but I think I'm going to get a second opinion.
A few hours later, Carl and Rosa changed out of their jammies and into acceptable semi-formal wear before visiting the venerable Hallowell Center, a well-known practice located at the corner of 72nd and Broadway. The doctor listened attentively to both sides, and delivered the final verdict...
"You SHOULD see other people."
But they were still scheduled to attend New York magazine's Power Couple of the Year ceremony that evening. They did, under a great deal of protest from Rosa, who told the MC they wanted to say something before the ceremonies officially began. (He laughed nervously, "You just made my job a little easier.") He threw it to Carl who said, "We would like to thank New York magazine for this honor...I would like to re-emphasize we WOULD like to thank New York magazine for this honor...but we can't."
As the crowd drew a horrified shudder, Rosa explained, "After much soul-searching, we have decided to start seeing other people. We're sorry. We can't be this happy couple fighting for truth,justice and all that other good stuff. We hope you understand." They walked off the dais, the band put their instruments away, the caterer donated the food for the banquet to the homeless, and a sea of disappointed dignitaries descended on Broadway.
If they were telling McDonald's they were seeing other people, no problem, hakuna matata, they've sold all those billions and billions of hamburgers, which makes it hard for McDonald's to really miss a customer.
But this wasn't McDonald's. But Rosa DID deserve a break. And she would get it with a few strings attatched.
NEXT: The Strings!
"Be here! It'll be good!"-Mike W. Barr, a close warm personal friend who used to work at DC Comics
Bye Buckaroos!
Steve
