Nelson On Tour: A Growing Up Nelson Short

Ain't No Time Like Showtime

After going back to the room I decided to not join our tiny group of travelers on this vacation and sat at the baby grand that my dad had flown in from Minnesota to practice on before the show. I was just sitting there tinkering with a melody on the black and whites as the thoughts of Armand were racking my poor brain. How was I gonna tell my dad about him and his situation? How can I get him in to see the show? I feel like I just made an empty promise to a kid like me. I failed at avoiding giving someone false hopes of seeing me or my dad tonight. My anger soon flowed from my fingers and down to the keys as the flow of the song began to change and the sound grew louder. I let out a sigh and stopped playing.

  "What did I just do?" I sadly asked myself.

My dad out of the blue gave his rebuttal response as he crystalized out of the clear blue sky.

  "Well that's a good question kid what did you do?" He asked as he stood in the doorway twirling his glasses around in his right hand.

I quickly turned to him surprised to see him standing there.

  "I really need you to not do your pop ups like that! You could give someone a hematoma doing that!" I said.

Of course my dad would get a laugh out of that because I was quick to toss a medical term that I had just learned on Dr. G Medical Examiner at any given time.

  "You know you would make a pretty decent nurse one day if you keep doing that. You just might be able to take care of me when I can no longer travel." He joked.

  "Daddy......someone needs to take care of you now. You're fliting with geriatrics already." I snidely said as I turned back to the piano and tinkered with the keys some more.

I could hear the drawn in breath my dad took when he started towards me. He was only playing shocked because he knew that I read like a book now that I've opened up more to him and been what he calls in tune with my emotions.

  "Now what would make you say something like that about your loving and caring father who can still move like the rest of them?" He asked as he sat down next to me and started to play a small part of The Question Of You.

I can tell by the way he was looking at me that he wanted me to talk to him about the current dilemma that I had placed myself in. He continued caressing the keys with his fingers and would occasionally nudge me with his elbow as he played. When I looked up at him he would flex his eyebrows and throw a wink my way.

  "What's eating you beautiful one?" He asked me now smoothly changing songs to The Morning Paper.

  "Right now the fact that you're playing that song in front of me." I replied with a grimacing look on my face.

He giggled a little and shook his head.

  "Well I am taking requests you know. What did you want me to play?"

I sat and thought for a minute as he continued playing. As the smile grew on my face I knew the perfect song and instead of telling him to play it for me I'd figure it best to surprise him and play it myself. I started transitioning into his song by playing Diamonds and Peals and his hands stopped moving and he watched me in awe as I played. I was playing my heart out and didn't even realize that he jumped in with the harmonizing. Once we finished the chorus together I looked at him and he was smiling ear to ear. I was a little embarrassed but proud at the same time that I taught myself how to play one of his songs perfectly.

  "Carlyn!" He said to me stunned.

  "I sucked........didn't I?" I said to him looking back the keys before me.

  "No!  You were amazing! Better than I thought you'd be! When did you go back to practicing? I thought after all of our lessons you gave up on me!"