Chapter Thirty-Six Karaoke & Spilling Tea
“We figured out the clue. I think we can google where the nearest statue is.” Lila argued with Caroline, who was insisting they keep searching for the wolverine statue they were looking for. “I'm getting tired of walking around in circles.” Mirabelle nodded, agreeing with Lila as her phone chimed with Bastian’s notification. She pulled it out and read the text as Caroline and Eleanor disagreed and said it was against the rules.
“Guys.” Mirabelle looked up from her phone, interrupting whatever Lila was going to say in response. “Benji found the keychain!”
“That's my man!” Lila immediately stopped sulking and let out a squeal as the others high-fived and hugged each other. “Fuck, he's amazing!” She linked her arm through Mirabelle’s and squeezed it. “If Benji is helping Bast, they're going the cyber route, and you have nothing to be concerned about it; Benji is like the Yo-Yo Ma of computers.”
“Well. I think this calls for a celebration.” Francesca pointed to a nearby bar. “On me. Then we'll Google the damn statue.”
“Mother!” Eleanor feigned shock as Mirabelle giggled. “What's gotten into you?”
“Five, about to be six, Manhattans,” Francesca said as she led them across the street to the bar.
Inside, they sat at a table in the back and ordered their drinks, relaxing. It was Karaoke night, and they clapped and cheered for the people who were brave enough to get up and sing. Lila disappeared for a bit, and when she came back, she was smiling broadly.
“Next up, we have Lila and Caroline, singing The Boy is Mine by Brandy and Monica. Give it up for them, everybody!” Caroline stared at Lila and then laughed as Lila pulled her up and dragged her over to the karaoke machine, where they treated everyone to a slightly off-key rendition of the song. Mirabelle pulled out her phone and filmed them while Francesca ordered them another round and sipped her drink, looking incredibly amused at her nieces.
When they were done, Mirabelle sent the video to them, and then she got up and went through the book herself. Finding a song, she put her name down in the next available spot. She wasn't a terrible singer, but she wasn't Beyonce either. When the host announced her name, she gave a very enthusiastic rendition of Domino by Jessie J. She could see Eleanor filming her as Lila and Caroline rocked out next to her while Francesca watched her with a pleasantly surprised smile on her face. When she was done, she sat back down, laughing as Lila high-fived her, a little out of breath.
“That’s how it’s done!” Lila laughed and looked at Eleanor. “Did you know she could sing like that?”
Eleanor nodded, chuckling. “Yeah, she showed off her pipes one night while we were in New Orleans for Mardi Gras before she married Eddie.” Mirabelle waved off the compliments, feeling her cheeks heat up.
“It’s all about energy and enthusiasm.” She smiled and changed the subject. “Did we find a statue?”
“The nearest one is about a forty-minute walk from us.” Lila wrinkled her nose. “I think we should head back. We found all the pictures we're going to.”
“Yep, I'll let Peter know he can come to pick us up.” Caroline pulled out her phone. “It was more than enthusiasm and energy, Mira; you’re a pretty good singer.”
“Thanks.” Mirabelle laughed. “I consider myself to be of karaoke quality only—good enough that I don't clear the bar, but not much good for anything else.”
Francesca paid the bill, and they weaved their way back to the Avalon Cafe. They were the first ones back, and Eleanor, who was definitely more sober than she should have been in Mirabelle’s opinion, checked in with the girl who had told them to go.
“Only four pictures?” She looked them over and smiled when she saw the way they were swaying slightly. “The other teams have at least ten.”
“Oh, we had fun; it's all good.” Eleanor grinned. “This is our first time in Ann Arbor.”
“And last,” Francesca muttered, holding on to Mirabelle’s arm, who was getting a little concerned about the amount Francesca had been drinking over the last few days.
“Don't mind her; she prefers big cities,” Eleanor said quickly. “Thank you!” She took her mother by the arm and steered her back to their table in the back of the cafe. “Maybe we should get some coffee into you, Mother.” She giggled as she sat beside her.
“I think we should all have some coffee.” Mirabelle laughed. “It's not even eight-thirty, and we're all nicely sauced.”
“If I have coffee, I won't sleep.” Francesca protested. “I think we should go back to that karaoke bar and have our husbands join us.”
“I agree.” Lila stood up as the door opened and Jillian’s team came in. “Let's go.”
Caroline laughed and grabbed her hand, pulling her back into her seat. “You're such a lightweight!”
“It's because I'm tiny!” Lila argued as they laughed at her. Mirabelle saw Jillian look over at them quizzically and realized they were probably being much louder than they intended.
“Are you guys drunk?” Jillian came over, looking tired and grumpy as her teammates went to check in with the organizer.
“We're a little tipsy.” Lila chirped, putting her chin in her hand and smiling at Jillian brightly. “We sang karaoke.”
“We tried our best, but we aren't from here, so we only got five of the clues and four pictures. So we found a bar and had a drink for every clue we couldn't figure out.” Mirabelle shrugged a little sheepishly. “There are a lot of bars here.”
Jillian looked like she didn't know if she should laugh or cry. “God, I wish we'd joined up with you; we spent two and half hours walking all over Ann Arbor.”
“We didn't leave the downtown area.” Eleanor looked confused. “How far away were the spots?”
“The furthest one we didn't bother to get. It’s in a field just south of town.” Jillian was clearly very upset now. “I would have been happier going to the game.” She watched as the cheerleaders came in, looking exhausted and cranky.
“I can't believe she made all of us walk while her team got to use a car.” One of them said, clearly pissed off that she had walked.
“Danica, there are three pregnant women on her team; let it go.” Another said, frustration dripping from every word, making it clear Danica had been complaining about it for a while.
“No. She insisted we all walk, remember?” Danica glared at her. “If she got to drive, we all should have.”
Jillian blew out a breath and rolled her eyes. “Here we go.” She muttered and then raised her voice. “If she got to drive, where is she?”
Danica spun around and nodded in acknowledgement when she saw it was Jillian talking to her. “Oh, they went shopping at Nickels Arcade. We ran into them; it was our last stop. They were surrounded by shopping bags and eating chocolates outside the chocolate store.”
“Ohhh,” Eleanor murmured. “The nickel and dime clue, of course.”
Caroline and Mirabelle's eyes met, and they both started to giggle. “What's so funny?” Danica demanded, her frustration boiling over as she came over to them, walking rather aggressively.
“Nothing.” Mirabelle snorted and started to laugh harder, holding up her hands. “It’s not you, I swear.”
“Don't mind them; they decided to find bars instead of clues,” Jillian said quickly, putting a stop to the argument before it got started.
“They had the right idea.” Danica snapped, then she paused, looking Mirabelle over. “Wait, aren't you Eddie's ex-wife?”
“I am.” Mirabelle nodded, still giggling.
“After what you did to them, you actually came to their wedding?” Danica raised her eyebrow. “Gotta say you got guts, girl. Casey has been practically foaming at the mouth since you got here.”
“You'd almost think you haven't gotten the full story,” Mirabelle smiled and pulled her hair down out of its ponytail, rubbing her scalp. “Why would they invite me if what Bast and I did to them was so terrible?”
Danica looked around. Jillian's team were looking gleeful, watching the show silently, and Eddie's family was drunkenly shushing each other. “Okay, I’ll bite. What’s the full story?”
“Well, I don't want to drag them through the dirt...” Mirabelle dragged it out as Caroline and Lila burst into giggles again, and Francesca waved her hands, trying to get them to stop while giggling herself, and Eleanor tried to get everyone under control.
“They've dragged you.” Danica raised an eyebrow. Mirabelle's phone chimed, and she read the text from Bastian. A huge smile crossed her face when she saw that Bastian and Benji had finished the plan.
“Yeah, I've heard.” She looked back up at Danica, still grinning. “Let’s just say it was going on for a lot longer than they’ve been telling everyone it did.”
Danica blinked in surprise and then narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Seriously?”
Seeing Danica didn’t really believe her, Mirabelle leaned forward. “Come on, think about it; they wouldn’t have been fired and blacklisted from other law firms if it was just a kiss. That wouldn’t have happened without a lot of proof that they were doing shady shit for a while.” Mirabelle shrugged. “All I did was accidentally say something to the right person to start an investigation.”
“Accidentally?” Danica now looked vaguely amused.
“Well, okay, fine. I knew I was talking to the right person, but I didn’t know what they were doing; I just wanted to inconvenience them by having an investigation opened; I didn’t think they would actually find anything.”
Jillian, who had been standing to one side, snorted and started to laugh. “That’s amazing!” She gasped. “You were just trying to get a little petty revenge, and you blew up their lives completely by accident. I love it.”
“Yep.” Mirabelle grinned at Jillian’s schadenfreude. “But I'm really trying to bury the hatchet, move on and be happy for them.” She paused as Peter came into the shop to get them. “I'm hopeful that Casey and Eddie will see the error of their ways and tell the truth soon.”
“Peter!” Caroline stood up with a smile. “Hey, Baby!”
“Hello, my very tipsy wife.” He chuckled as he hugged her and looked over her shoulder at Mirabelle and the others. “Come on, ladies, your chariot awaits.” They piled into Peter and Caroline's SUV rental, and he turned in his seat to look at Mirabelle. “So, what did I just walk in on?”
“Me giving them just enough information so they start questioning things. But I have a feeling Casey doesn't have half as many friends as she thinks she does.” Mirabelle smiled as she watched Casey and her bridesmaids pull up and go inside as Peter pulled away. “I think she’s gonna have to answer some hard questions she’s not prepared for.”