The arena was sold out!
Folks were packed in there like sardines. You would have thought people were there to see Jesus, himself, the way they came racing in and filling up the seats. Deshea and the other six ladies took a peek out the door of their dressing room and were overwhelmed by all the gospel hype and loud noise that reverberated throughout the entire convention center. Men, in their three-pieced suits and shiny matching shoes; ladies in their best ‘Sunday-go-to-meeting’ clothes. The older women made sure to show off their prize-winning church hats and high-priced suit’s that sparkled and glittered all over the place.
They were extremely nervous as they waited for their group to be called to the stage. This was an exciting moment for them all as that stood and held hands in a circle, and prayed. They all agreed that no matter what happened, whether they won or lost, they agreed that this was a proud moment for them all and it was a wonderful opportunity for them to shine. Deshea was curious of their competition and wondered if the other groups shared the same type of bond that her group had shared over the last five years.
They began hearing music starting outside of their dressing room. Deshea’s heart was pounding 50 miles a minute. Mariel’s hands were sweaty and cold from being so nervous. Beverly, one of the other girls in the group, appeared to remain calm the entire time. She was actually screaming inside, but had to stay calm for the other girls’ sake. Deshea, however, couldn’t help but be nervous. Her stomach was churning and she could hardly stand up straight.
There was a heavy knock on their door and everyone’s eyebrows rose. A gentleman let himself in and warned the ladies that it was about that time. Mariel blew out a poof of air and then encouraged her group one last time. “Alright ladies, are we ready? Then let’s do this!” They squeezed each others hand one last time and did a group hug.
“Ya’ll are going to do just fine!” Rose encouraged as she hung around for support. The song that they were performing was acapella, so Rose’s musical skills weren’t needed for this song selection.
The ladies lined up behind the stage and waited for the group who went before them, to walk off the stage. They noticed how wild the crowd went after the first groups’ performance, and Deshea and the other ladies had only hoped that they would get the same type of response, or better.
“Ladies and gentleman, our next group contestant consists of 7 young women. They’ve been singing together for over five years and let me tell you, they are BAD! Their harmony is tight and their blend is flawless! Let’s give a big hand for, ‘Harmone, doing their rendition of “Though Trials Come, give it up ladies and gentlemen!” Clapping and cheering filled the high ceilings.
Gene sat out in the audience waiting with anticipation to see his wife walk out on that stage. He had no idea what to expect because Deshea remained secretive about what outfits the group was going to perform in, and she also never told him what they’d be singing. He looked over at Dorian sitting right next to him.
“Can you see ok?” He asked him.
Dorian shrugged his arms and gave a careless look as if it didn’t really matter whether he could see over all these people’s heads or not. Gene figured Dorian still had an attitude from earlier that day, when they had lost another football game. Dorian had to endure yet another one of Gene’s long and drawn-out lectures earlier of what Dorian should have done and what he shouldn’t have done in the game.
The seven ladies began walking out on the stage, one by one. Gene’s eyes watered the moment he saw his wife. His mouth was salivating. She looked absolutely exquisite. Her smile was like something you would see on the cover of a magazine, rich and entertaining to the eye. Their outfits were stunningly gorgeous. They were matching from head to toe. Whoever thought up the idea of them wearing a straight, fitted dress, each with a different color of the rainbow, was brilliant. It went along perfect with the name of their group, Harmone’, as they blended so well up there together.
The ladies all had a standing mic in front of them and they appeared unnerved and joyful to be standing in front of thousands of people. Gene was so proud. He looked over at Dorian and noticed that Dorian was no longer slouched down in his seat; he was actually sitting straight up and on the edge. It was obvious to Gene that Dorian was pleasantly stunned to see his mother looking like that, as well.