Chapter 31
CHAPTER 31
Lizzie knew she was obsessing way too much over what she looked like to go to a neighborhood bar. The last time she’d gone to Murphy’s she’d worn some old cut-off shorts, flip flops and ripped T-shirt. It is not exactly a dressy place. She hopes her mother hasn’t steered her wrong.
Thankfully it hadn’t snowed in the last few hours, and even then it was only light, so she is gambling on wearing dressy shoes and not boots, which she carries down the stairs, just to be safe.
Her mom is sitting at the kitchen table putting the finishing touches on a very fancy looking package.
“So, you still think this is right?” she asks her mom, giving a little twirl.
Gabby puts her hands over her heart and sighs. “Oh yeah, that is perfect. You look so beautiful.” She reaches over and takes a gorgeous, cream-colored, cashmere shawl off the chair next to her and hands it to Lizzie. “Here, this will look wonderful and keep you warm. Murphy’s can be drafty.”
“Mom, this is the shawl you bought in Paris, I can’t!”
“I will not take no for an answer. Beautiful things are meant to be worn and used. I want you to take it.”
“Well fine then,” she wraps it around her. “This has to be the softest thing I have ever felt, thank you. So you’re one-hundred percent sure this is not too much?”
“It’s just enough. Now go, have some fun, and sing something wonderful.”
“Oh, you must have me confused with someone else, you know, someone who can carry a tune,” Lizzie says as she buttons up her coat, pulling her hair out from collar and putting it to one side.
“It’s not about sounding like Lizzo, it’s about sounding like Lizzie and having fun.”
“Did you just reference Lizzo?” Lizzie laughs.
“You don’t know everything about me, young lady,” she smiles as she curls the ribbon on the gift. “I keep up.”
“Apparently I do not. That present is so pretty, who’s it for? Sophie?”
“Nope, you hurry along, it’s getting late.”
“Wish me luck,” she calls as she heads to the door.
“Break legs!” her mom calls after her.
Murphy’s was right on Main Street, down at the end, past the Gazette office. As Lizzie drives by the office she looks up and can see her dad is still there. She snags a parking space not too far from the door for which she is glad, it has been a while since she’s worn heels and she is a bit out of practice. After she parks, she takes one last look in the lighted visor mirror, takes a deep breath and gets out.
The place is packed, and she sees lots of familiar faces, but is not seeing the one she is looking for. “Lizzie! Over here!” Alexis calls out to her. Looking around she feels overdressed and is tempted to leave her coat on.
“Yay! I’m so glad you’re here!” Alexis says, giving her a hug. “Take your coat off and sit down.”
She nervously unbuttons the coat and slips it off.
“Holy Audrey Hepburn!” Alexis says. “That is totally the best little black dress I have ever seen. You look way too good for the likes of us!”
Ben and Sean, also sitting at the table, are equally impressed. “I wanted to wear a dress shirt and Ben told me I didn’t have to, now I really wish I had, you look fantastic,” says Sean.
“I feel really weird,” she says looking around at the array of thick sweaters and jeans in the room. “My mom picked it out.” As soon as she says that she feels stupid. Like in just one day living at home her mom is dressing her. “It was my Grandma’s, from the 1950s. It was her favorite dress but she almost never wore it because she didn’t want anything to happen to it. Funny how we do that, isn’t it? We love something so much we don’t enjoy it?”
“Yup, I do the same thing,” says Ben. “I do it with cookware which is ridiculous. I’m a chef, but there are certain pans that I think are too nice.” He takes a sip of his beer. “This is a really good reminder, thank you. I am definitely going to take those pans out and start using them,” he raises his glass. “Here’s to not waiting until it’s too late to use the things we love, and not letting ourselves enjoy them!” They all toast, except Lizzie, who doesn’t have anything yet.
Alexis signals the waitress who comes right over, “What do you want? My treat,” she says.
“Oh no, you don’t have to.”
“I know I don’t, I want to. What will it be?”
“Um, a glass of whatever red you have?” Lizzie says to the waitress.
“The bartender just opened a nice cabernet, would that be okay?”
“That would be perfect, thank you.”
“I love your dress,” she says as she walks away. “It’s a total classic.”
“See? Everyone loves it,” Alexis says. “Stop fidgeting,” she smiles.
“So, is this everyone?” Lizzie asks, wondering if Jack didn’t come because he heard she was going to be there.
“For now anyway,” says Ben. “Is everyone ready?” he looks excitedly around the table. “I can’t wait.”
“Of course you can’t wait, because you’re really, really good,” says Sean. “I however do not possess your talent or confidence.”
“I don’t either,” says Lizzie, taking a sip of her wine that has just arrived. “I really admire people who, even though they can’t sing, can just relax and have fun, they really don’t care. Me on the other hand? I care way too much about what people think, and then that makes it all worse, and I just sound terrible.”
“Maybe we can sound terrible together,” Alexis offers. “I can’t sing either.”
“That’s not true,” says Ben. “I was with you in chorus and you were good.”
“Maybe when I was twelve, but not anymore.”
Lizzie takes another sip of wine, and screws up her courage, and tries to sound all casual, “So is Jack coming? I thought you said he’d be here?” she asks the table.
“He said he might be late, something about a conference call with California or New York? He said to not wait, it could be a while.”
“Oh, okay,” she says, feeling slightly relieved, but also disappointed.
A young woman steps onto the makeshift stage at the front of the bar. “Hi Everyone! I am Evie, your host...I know, go ahead and make some Christmas Eve-ie jokes. I’ll wait.” The crowd laughs. “Okay, so now that we got that out of the way, I want to welcome all of you to the Second Annual Christmas Karaoke Night at Murphy’s!” Everyone applauds, there’s even a few whistles. “Everyone is welcome to sing, it doesn’t matter if you think you can’t sing, tonight is all about Christmas spirit and having fun, right?!” The crowd claps and cheers in agreement. “So put aside any doubts you may have, any stage fright that stops you from normally doing anything like this, and know we are all in this together!” She walks to the edge of the very small stage and whispers into her microphone. “So, who is going to be brave enough to be the first person up here?” The room goes silent. Sean elbows Ben who shakes his head. Finally, a meek voice from the back of the room says, “We’ll go.” Lizzie turns to see who it is, but can’t.
As they make their way through the crowd, Lizzie sees that it’s six boys and girls, they look to probably be early high school age. They also look very nervous, awkward, and completely adorable. They’re dressed in black and white, each with an accent of red, a tie, a scarf, and a head wrap. The crowd grows quiet, and they hand Evie a tape with their background music on it. Apparently they are not doing karaoke, but instead going old school and singing on their own, unassisted by the karaoke machine. Just in case this is something special, Lizzie pulls up her phone and starts to record. The kids look at each other nervously, and then one of the boys, there’s only two, begins singing the opening of the Springsteen version of Santa Claus is Coming To Town. There’s an audible gasp from the crowd, and after that you could have heard a pin drop. Lizzie, Alexis, Sean and Ben all exchange open mouthed looks with one another. By the time they finish the entire place is on their feet cheering for them. Evie jumps back on stage as they’re about to exit.
“Wait, you can’t go yet,” she says, calling them back. “That was amazing, wasn’t it?” She looks to the audience, and they applaud and cheer some more. “You have to tell us who you are!”
The kids all reluctantly introduce themselves, and say they’re freshmen and sophomores at the high school, and recently started a band, so recently they don’t even have a name yet.
“They are amazing!” Lizzie says, leaning over to Alexis. As the kids walk by, she jumps up. “Hey, that was fantastic. I’m Lizzie Martin, with the Gazette, are you okay if I put the recording I did of this on our social media? I’d love to share it.” They all look at each other and nod, “Yeah, that’s cool,” the lead singer says, and keeps walking. “That kid is going places,” Lizzie says to Alexis. “He’s probably 14 and already has swagger. Amazing.”
She was so busy posting the video she didn’t even notice the next person had stepped up. She recognizes her from Bradford’s Market, she’d been the one to check out her groceries yesterday.
“Hey, I’m Millie Maynard, and I’m going to sing Santa Baby, thank you.” She steps back a little, clears her throat, and starts to sing, again, another amazing rendition of a beloved classic song.
Lizzie leans in to everyone, “Okay, this clinches it, there is no way I am getting up there in front of this town and singing anything. Are we in some alternate universe where everyone living here is actually a star who is secretly living here while not on tour with their rock band or on Broadway? This is not normal. How can this one little town have all this talent?”
“All I can say is it wasn’t like this last year,” Alexis says. “That night it was a parade of the most off-key people I’d ever heard. I’m getting very nervous.”
“Oh come on, not everyone is going to be that good,” says Ben. “You promised you’d do it, you have to.”
Evie crooks her finger at Ben, signaling him to come up, after Millie has left the stage.
“Here goes nothing,” he says, standing up and jumping onto the stage. “Hey, everyone, Merry Christmas, and thank you to everyone who has made this festival, and this whole year so wonderful for all of us in Cranberry Harbor. We are so grateful to call this our home. Which leads me, perchance, to my song choice, There’s No Place Like Home for The Holidays. I only hope I don’t mess it up too much,” he laughs.
Far from messing it up, there is not a dry eye in the house when he is done singing. Evie hugs him, she’s crying too, “Thank you, Ben, ugh, I swore I wasn’t going to get all sentimental, and cry, but here I am, crying already. That was beautiful” She looks down at her list.
“I didn’t know you had to sign up ahead of time,” Lizzie says, finally able to relax. “Oh well, maybe next year,” she sits back with her wine glass and smiles. Yes! No karaoke for her tonight!
“Oh, don’t get too relaxed there, we’re on after this next guy,” Alexis says, grinning an evil grin at her.
Lizzie sits bolt upright, puts down her glass and suddenly feels nauseous. “I thought you didn’t want to do it! No, no, no, no, no!” she says to Alexis. “You did not sign me up without my permission.”
Alexis shrugs her shoulders, “Eh, I’ve changed my mind, what’s the worst that could happen?” she pats Lizzie on the hand. “It will be fine, I’ll be up there with you. And I have the perfect song picked out, you’re going to love it.”
“What, what is it? And how am I possibly going to love it when I’m unconscious having passed out from stage fright?”
“Don’t be dramatic, it’s going to be fine. We’re doing Last Christmas.”
“The Wham song? I cannot do that. I could maybe eek out Rudolph, or Jingle Bells, but a pop song? I just can’t!”
“Yes you can, and as soon as Tommy Finnigan is done butchering Jingle Bell Rock we’re up.”
“I think I’m going to be sick,” Lizzie says, fussing with her hair and smoothing her dress.
“No you’re not,” Alexis says, dismissively. “You’re going to be fine.” She turns and looks at her friend who is a shade somewhere between light green and white. “You need to learn to have fun, to relax, and be okay with not being perfect at everything you do.”
“I don’t like not being perfect.”
“Get over it,” she takes her hand and pulls her up on stage. “Hey, Evie, this is so fun, thanks for doing this again this year.”
“I am thrilled to do it again,” she says. “And I see you have a friend with you.”
“I do! This is my best friend, Lizzie Martin, from all the way back from second grade. She is not thrilled that I dragged her up here, so let’s give her some good Cranberry Harbor support, okay?” Everyone cheers. “Lizzie has just moved back to town to help her dad run the Gazette, how cool is that?!” Everyone cheers again.
“Well, I will let you two get to it, you are singing, one of my all-time favorites, from Wham, Last Christmas. ” The audience applauds, and someone even yells, “You got this, Lizzie!”
As Evie starts to walk away, Alexis grabs her hand, “Feel free to stay and join in, the more the merrier!”
“Okay, that would be great!”
Lizzie is still just standing there, feeling so nervous in her Audrey Hepburn dress, and then the song starts, and the three of them are crowded around the mic, Last Christmas I gave you my heart, and the very next day, you gave it away, this year, to save me from tears, I’ll give it to someone special… and then, suddenly, she starts to laugh, and let go, and have fun. She feels like Cameron Diaz in My Best Friend’s Wedding, who, even though she knows she’s not good, gets the crowd with her and they begin singing along too. When they get to the last verse, Once bitten, and twice shy, I keep my distance but you still catch my eye, she looks out and sees Jack standing in the back. She can’t tell looking at him if he’s angry, happy or something in between, but she just keeps singing. By the time they finish a third time on the chorus at the end, the crowd is standing and cheering.
Alexis yells above the din to her. “See? Letting go can be really fun!”
“You’re so right!”she says as she makes her way back to the table. She looks around for Jack, but he’s gone. Was she that terrible? Or maybe he’s just that mad. She decides she has to let it go. She doesn’t have a time machine to go back and undo anything, so she’s just going to relax, and revel in breaking through a really big fear.
“To us!” She toasts the table. “I’m so grateful to be here and to have such good friends.” They all clink glasses, and Lizzie reaches over to Alexis and hugs her. “Thank you, my friend, it is really good to be home.”