Crescendo by Allen Cheney

Author:Allen Cheney
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2019-05-29T00:00:00+00:00

Twenty-three

As Fred continued producing music for RCA, where his daughter was becoming a star and Winnie had begun writing children’s stories for audio recordings, he was also leading his beloved choir at Bernardsville Methodist. Plus, he was wrapping up his doctoral coursework in psychology at Columbia while also trying to maintain his mentorship with Emile, hoping to land a lead role someday. By that time Emile had put him on a training regimen that included almost daily vocal lessons and work with a strength and fitness coach to get Fred’s body in peak form—a definite plus for men on stage. He was also taking classes at the famed Actors Studio, where he was studying directly under Lee Strasberg. Emile had been pressuring him, insisting that he was certain to become a Broadway star, maybe even more, if only he would prioritize his time and focus on his own talents instead of building, as Emile put it, the careers of “far less-gifted entertainers.”

Emile didn’t seem to understand the many pressures Fred was under or that there were only so many hours in a day. One complication was that in order to manage his RCA position, the couple had become well-known regulars at the 21 Club, Playboy Club, Diners Club, and the like. Many opportunities came their way, and Fred and Winnie had begun to fully embrace the jazzy lifestyle. Not only were they growing accustomed to the finest quality food and entertainment, but they were also surrounding themselves with the most influential movers and shakers of the entertainment industry. It was an addictive routine, one that had both pros and cons.

With so many late nights in the city, the couple had grown weary of the back-and-forth travel between Bernardsville and Manhattan. They decided to rent a spacious apartment on the Upper East Side, allowing Fred to avoid the long commute when work kept him late in the studio or the clubs. But even with the new apartment, Fred still struggled with terrible insomnia, and when he was able to sleep, he suffered those same awful nightmares about the steeple—the haunting dream that would leave him shaking, soaking the sheets in a cold sweat. Despite all that was going right in his life, he’d been feeling more anxious than ever.

After years of running on fumes, he was suddenly having trouble keeping it all together. Mac noticed the shift in Fred’s demeanor and warned him again about the burnout so common in their industry, but Fred had always been one to push his own limits. He’d never required much rest and had long thrived on the challenge of spreading himself thin. He brushed off Mac’s concerns and assured him, “I can handle it.”

One evening, dressed to the nines after dropping Allison off for a sleepover with close friends in Bernardsville, Fred and Winnie waited to meet more friends at the Playboy Club, a controversial gathering space where beautiful women, wearing nothing more than bushy-tailed corsets and perky bunny ears, served trendy cocktails from silver trays.

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