James and Michelle presented her idea to Howard Peterson, later that day. He objected to it at first; he believed that people wouldn’t accept her total transformation so quickly. He had been clear from the very beginning: “Take your time,” he had said. Peterson was unwilling to take any chances, until Michelle showed him James’ lyrics and played a short introduction to the song on the piano. The record company CEO was mesmerized and said ‘yes’ to them immediately.

James’ plans of staying in the Big Apple for only a week were overthrown and swept away. Song composition is always a long, painstaking process and this one was no exception. He had to be in New York the entire time; his cabin was just too far for him to drive back and forth to Slide Mountain. So, he decided to stay in a hotel for as long as it took for them to finish writing the song.

For the first time ever, though, James had no problem with living in the city. The whole process of composing the song made him feel alive, more creative and even more artistic. He didn’t mind the long hours that he and Michelle had to put in every day. Her attitude helped him. Once again, she was a great professional: not missing a single appointment; even showing up early at the recording studio; always eager to get started. She seemed hungry for success: constantly providing her input; always trying to pinpoint small details she believed to be important – like the length of the introduction. So she showed, as James would soon discover, that she was much more talented than the brainless dancer he initially thought she was.

Ten days later, Michelle had come up with the music. James started playing it and, just as he expected, a woman singing a woman’s name did sound very strange indeed. He didn’t even finish it and agreed with Michelle to sing Olivia’s name. They had to make a small alteration to the lyrics as well: Instead of “A shadow of the man”, she would sing “Shadow of the one”. By the time they finished, they had composed a heartbreaking piano ballad that brought tears to their eyes.

Of course, working on the lyrics that had been inspired by his breakup with Olivia, did not allow him to forget about her. The fact that he had to say her name dozens of times on a daily basis added to his already profound pain. James struggled to hold back his tears on rehearsals, remembering their happy times together. At night, after the echoes of the piano notes had faded, the last time he saw her would replay in his mind, serving as a reminder of how painful her betrayal had been. All alone in a dark hotel room, he would not fight back the tears anymore, wishing that he had never opened up to her. James would stay up late: would hold his acoustic guitar in his arms; would play the songs they had played on the night he met her. The outcome was almost always the same: he would cry in sobs, knowing deep down that their meeting was nothing more than the first episode in a charade.

Four days later, just after the recording was complete, Peterson announced to them that the company was not going to give the song to any radio stations for the time being. Nor were they going to make a video of it just yet. Instead, Michelle was going to promote it with a live performance at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. At first, she rejected their plan, stating that a 650-person capacity venue was just a little too small. But then, Peterson informed them that it would be broadcast live over the internet as well. Michelle changed her mind and gladly agreed to it. She was given permission to talk about it on Twitter, but Howard Peterson requested that she not to respond to any comments, whether they were positive or negative.

@MADAMS: Monday, February 6, Music Hall of Williamsburg. Forget about the Michelle you knew. Time for something real.”

Unsurprisingly, most of her followers didn’t believe her. They thought that she was going to dance around as usual. Some went on to mock her, whereas a few of them commended her on her decision to stop singing nonsense.

In spite of his gut-wrenching pain, James had to take his mind off Olivia, and practice for the occasion. He had never performed live, and the event was scheduled in a week. So, he spent hours and hours at the piano, memorizing every chord change, humming the lyrics, until his fingers hurt.

Five days before the venue performance, James sent a letter and three invitations to Helen and her parents. He didn’t want the people who had been so good to him to think of him as a ghost. Michelle’s concert would be an ideal chance for him to show them who he actually was.

“Dear Helen,

I’m sorry for disappearing. I’ve been very busy. If you want to know more about me, bring your parents and come over to the Music Hall of Williamsburg next Monday. You’ll find the address on the invitations. I’ll be really disappointed if you don’t make it.

Love,

James”