Don’t You Want Me

Chapter 19

L isa froze as she heard Emily speak the name of Philip Oakey. “What do you mean he’s your friend?”

Emily pushed up the sleeves of her white sweatshirt splashed with two blue Smurfs characters before she dunked her hands into the kitchen sink to wash dishes. “I’d better clean some of this up with people coming over.” Her bright blue feather earrings twisted around as she turned to Lisa. “What’s there to explain? I met him in a dive bar that had an open mic night, and we became friends. He’s a typical struggling musician, shattered dreams and all that, despite having an amazing voice and magic fingers on the synthesizer. Even with all that talent, his life is…nothing with a capital N. He wrote a song he carries around with him all the time. Tried it out with a few producers, but they said it was boring, or…something like that.”

As Emily spoke, Lisa felt as if she were standing on the edge of a swirling vortex looking down, afraid to fall in but drawn to the danger of the precipice. She and Stephanie had been talking about Oakey only a few hours earlier, and now he would be standing in this very room in a short while. This couldn’t be the same Oakey, could it? The coincidence would be too great. It was as if he were materializing because they had spoken about him.

Lisa smiled as she tried to make sense of it all. “I’d love to hear him sing. What’s the name of that song he tried to sell?”

Emily scrunched her nose. “I think it was ‘Sexual Politics’ or something like that. I don’t remember. He once told me that I reminded him of the woman in the song.”

“With a name like that, no wonder it didn’t sell.” What a disappointment. This obviously wasn’t the same Oakey.

Lisa felt her head throbbing again. Emily was her constant connection, her guiding post. Or was Lisa bringing Emily towards her in every time stream she traveled? She put her arm around Emily’s back and laid her head on her best friend’s shoulder. “Emily, my head is killing me.”

H eadache in full swing, Lisa was tired of trying to find a way home. She’d work it out tomorrow with a clear mind.

She opened the refrigerator and found dozens of cans of Tab. She pulled one out and, with raised eyebrows, complained, “Emily, this is junk.”

Emily turned to face her. “There’s no junk in our fridge. What are you talking about?” Lisa waved the can. “This. It causes cancer in rats.” Emily shot her a look of daggers. “What a stupid thing to say, Lisa. Tab is the best soda ever. We both drink it for breakfast.”

Sighing, Lisa said, “Never mind. I’ll just drink water.” Emily reached for a glass in the cupboard above and filled it from the tap.

Lisa put the can back and took the glass from Emily. While gulping it down, with her free hand, she saluted Emily, and asked, “Do you have anything for a headache?” Emily wrinkled her nose. “You keep asking for things as if you’ve never lived here.” She opened another cabinet door. “You should know where it is—you’re the one who keeps us stocked with meds.”

Lisa grabbed the pills and chugged them down. She forced a smile to cover up the strangeness of this mixed-up, unfamiliar, post-college-life past.

She turned to Emily, “So, sloppy girl, while you’re busy here, I’ll get Stephanie to help me clean up a bit. Does that work for you?”

Emily followed Lisa out of the kitchen and into the living room, where Stephanie seemed engrossed by MAD and People magazines strewn about, muttering something about not finding anything about English bands. “Stephanie, are you going to sit there all day reading?”

Stephanie glared at Emily. “It’s not like there’s anything else to do here. I’m searching for some way to go…”

Lisa interrupted her with a shake of the head, “Stephanie, why don’t you help me get this place organized? Emily’s friends are coming over, and we might find them interesting.”

Stephanie stared at Lisa, squinting her eyes and pursing her lips. “Fine. I’ll give you a hand.”

Emily clapped her hands. “Excellent! Thanks girls!” With that, she bounced back to the kitchen, picking up her bright pink leg warmers falling to her ankles.

Stephanie and Lisa started gathering magazines and books, piling them in a corner. They collected empty bottles of cheap wine and beer and leftover Chinese food containers, throwing them into a garbage bag.

Stephanie whispered through gritted teeth, “You know, Lisa, I didn’t travel with you to be a cleaning lady. You got us into this mess, so you should clean it up yourself.” She punctuated her words by throwing things into the bag.

“And for God’s sake!” Stephanie uncovered something sticking out from behind the sofa. Her eyes glaring, she held it up for Lisa to see. “A ukulele! Who plays the ukelele here?

Lisa pulled it away from Stephanie’s hands and strummed on the strings making an awful sound. Stephanie broke into a grin. “Well, that proves it doesn’t belong to you. In the past, does Emily even play an instrument?”

Lisa shushed her. “Keep your voice down; Emily doesn’t know we’re not from here.”

Frowning, Stephanie continued. “I don’t care. You know what, Lisa. We always have to do things your way. And so far, we’ve done nothing but entertain your friend, and now we’re cleaning up her house. We need to find Phil Oakey, so he can sing the song and send us back.”

“Have some patience. We can’t do anything tonight. Tomorrow we’ll find a way home. For now, let’s just concentrate on organizing this place a little.”

Thoughts raced while she focused on the task of deciphering what paper was important and what was trash. She had wanted to return to a time when she could meet Adam in their youth, before he became attached to Stephanie, and it had happened. She had wished they could have a family, and that had happened also. Now Emily had a friend named Phil Oakey who was also a musician. What if it were the same guy who hadn’t been able to record his song? And was she the one creating this world? The door buzzer interrupted her thoughts.

In a matter of minutes, after a flurry of hellos and hugs, the living room became more chaotic than it was earlier in the day. Lisa and Stephanie had rushed to the bedroom to hide the piles of stuff still laying around the living room. When they returned, a crowd of about five guys and one teenage-looking girl sat around the coffee table in front of the sofa. Everybody had a glass or a bottle of something in hand while Emily put out paper plates with chips and dip on the end tables. Lisa and Stephanie had done a yeoman’s job of cleaning up the living room, and Emily had added the finishing touches. One of the guys had brought what looked like a portable electric piano.

A red-headed girl sat on the corner of the sofa, cozied up to a guy with long dark hair and a goatee. She looked bored, her red lipstick matching the color of her hair and perfectly groomed eyebrows. Her emerald dress complemented her big hair in an almost Christmas tree way. Lisa wondered how much was left in the hairspray can when she was done with her hairdo. The redhead revealed cat-green eyes with a thin nose and green eyeshadow and black mascara with sparkles. She put her arm on the long-haired guy’s denim-clad thigh, like a dog marks a tree. Her man was slim, young looking with brown eyes that were soft and sensitive. At the moment they were completely lit up as he arranged pieces on a game board placed in the middle of the coffee table. On the other sofa were three guys wearing mohawks spiking up in the air. Long armed and long legged, they sat next to each other and reminded Lisa of an insect with six legs and arms holding beer bottles. They leaned in towards the game board, throwing out directions for where the pieces belonged.

Emily had made introductions as people walked in with a loud, “Hey, everybody, this is my roommate Lisa. Lisa, this is everybody.” Lisa waved absentmindedly, with her eyes glued on the long-haired man. Redhead noticed and spat out softly, “I’m Susan. My friends call me Sulley. Who are you exactly?”

Lisa grabbed a chair and sat down near the sofa, with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Hi, Sulley. Nice to meet you.”

“I said my friends call me Sulley. You can call me Susan. And you didn’t answer my question.”

Lisa swallowed hard. Nice attitude, sweetie. You act much older than your years. “Didn’t you hear? I’m Lisa, Emily’s roommate.”

“Right,” she said. Pointing to Stephanie, she added, “And who’s the other one standing there pouting?”

Emily chimed in. “Oh, that’s Stephanie. She’s not my roommate—just Lisa’s friend.”

The long-haired guy snickered and leaned into Sulley’s face, giving her a kiss on the cheek. “Claws in, darling.” He turned to Lisa, stood up and extended his hand. “Emily’s spoken a lot about you. I’m glad to finally meet you.” Turning to Stephanie, “And nice to meet you too.” His British accent was the most hopeful sound Lisa had heard in a long time. “I’m Phil, by the way.”

The hair on Lisa’s neck stood on end as she extended her hand.

He had a broad smile, and his eyes crinkled a little. Lisa felt herself staring at him a few seconds more than what was appropriate when she heard him say, “Why don’t you join us in our game?”

She turned her attention to the game board on the coffee table. “I don’t know how to play. It looks complicated.”

“Oh, it’s not any more complicated than life, love.” He winked at her. “Give it a whirl. I’ll teach you how to play.”

Lisa cocked her head to one side in disbelief. “Emily says you sometimes play all night long. I don’t have that kind of stamina.”

Phil laughed and motioned to the other guys to pay attention. “Did you guys hear that? Emily’s told Lisa that we sometimes play all night long.” The three guys on the other couch laughed in unison, their mohawks bobbing, until Phil resumed. “Don’t listen to Emily. She just gets bored with war games.” He winked again. “Well, if the game is going longer than Saturday morning, we move it back to my place. Emily usually quits before that. The rest of us sometimes spend several days playing…nonstop.” He kicked off his black combat boots with the last word. “Tonight may be the start of one of those rampages.”

Lisa shrugged. “I don’t understand. How could a game take so long to play?”

Sulley chimed in. “You’ve obviously never been a fan of imaginary war games with interstellar travel, have you?”

Lisa leaned back in her chair, curious as to this chick’s icy commitment to Phil and his board game. “I’m afraid that interstellar travel hasn’t been on the top of my list.”

Sulley didn’t seem fazed by Lisa’s sarcasm but rather had a look of ennui. “It’s a boy thing. And it’s a Phil thing. He thinks this game holds secrets to life.” She paused long enough to run her fingers through Phil’s hair then resumed speaking to Lisa but never taking her eyes off Phil. “And by life, Phil means music. That’s all there is….” She smiled, leaning in closer to his cheek while he joined her, and they said in unison, “To the movement of the world! Music and the game move the world!”

As if on cue, the couch guys started cheering and pumping their fists. Standing in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room, Emily grinned, and Stephanie raised her eyebrows. Lisa wondered how they got themselves into this situation. “Excuse me, Phil. I don’t understand this game.”

Phil leaned into the game board as if being closer to it would generate his words. “It’s very simple. The players move through worlds, battling one another for the position of supreme being. To do that, they destroy one another until there’s only one man left standing.”

Sulley dug her nails into his arm, in a manner between possessive and aggressive. “Excuse me? Man?”

Gently, Phil removed her hand and kissed it tenderly. “Sorry, love, I meant person.” Speaking to Lisa he said, “She gets a smidge uptight when I forget the ladies.”

Stephanie elbowed Lisa and piped in. “She has a point. What else happens in this game? Can anyone join at this point, or do we have to wait until you finish destroying one another to jump into the fray?”

Phil focused his charm on Stephanie. “Anyone can join at any time, sweetheart, and you learn the rules as you go along.” One of the other guys interjected. “Tell her about the jumping through time, Phil. That’s the best part of the strategy.”

In a cold, flat voice, Sulley added, “If you tell her, she’ll know how to win, you idiots.” The couch guys appeared disappointed at being reprimanded.

Lisa noticed that Phil paid close attention to her. She took advantage of the moment, not sure why she felt the need to outwit this Sulley woman. Purring, she directed her full gaze to Phil. “Well, then, you must tell me the strategy if it’s going to be a fair game.”

Reaching over, Phil removed Sulley’s hand from his arm. “The secret, my lady, is that there’s one world that allows you to jump from one point in time to another without being detected by your foe.”

“Like time travel?”

Phil put his hands behind his head like a man who’s just accomplished a great feat. “Exactly. You can go back in time and correct the mistakes, so that you come out victorious in the end.”

Sulley interrupted again. “The world that lets you jump in time is called the Human League. But it’s not depicted on the game board. You have to visualize it to get to it.”

Lisa’s hands trembled as she moved closer to the game board. “Did you say the Human League?”

Sulley interjected. “Emily, is your friend deaf?”

Phil waved his hands over the board. “Come on, love, don’t be mean. Let’s be nice and teach Lisa how to play a game that jumps around in time.” Phil leaned forward and flashed dimples at Lisa. “Wanna play?”

Sulley leaned forward, mimicking Lisa’s move. “You have to know when to visualize it, then declare it, and your adversaries have to accept that you’ve jumped to another time. They won’t know where you are until you emerge from hiding. By doing so, you may have changed their positions. Everything is up for grabs when you land on the Human League world.”

Phil sighed out loud. “I wanted to create a band with that name, but it never worked out.”

One of the couch guys stood up to walk to the kitchen and yelled out, “Because the name sucks, that’s why.”

The other guy chimed in. “Every producer we ever talked to told you the name of the band didn’t work, and neither did that stupid song you made us learn.”

Lisa had been fiddling with the game pieces when she heard him utter those words. She dropped them on the board and turned to him, eyebrows high up. “You have a band called the Human League?” Her heart pumped faster, so loud she thought the others would hear.

“Had…or rather, tried to have. No matter what I attempted, it always fell apart. We were never able to get it off the ground.”

Venom spilled from Sulley’s words. “Maybe if you’d written something better than ‘Wanting You for Five Years,’ you might have had a hit. But no, you wouldn’t listen to any of my suggestions about the lyrics or the music. How am I supposed to sing stupid lyrics? That’s why it didn’t work. It’s cursed.”

The Human League. The band. Here in this now.

Sulley’s outburst silenced the entire room. After a few uncomfortable seconds, Phil stood up. “I’m getting another beer. Who wants one?” He headed to the kitchen without waiting for an answer. On his way there, he spoke to Lisa. “Love, when we’re done with the game, and the beers, later, the boys and I can play the song for you. I’ve brought my synthesizer. Maybe you’ll have some suggestions for me since Sulley thinks it’s a stupid song.”

One of the couch guys, the one they called Julian, took his eyes off the game board and seemed interested in the conversation for the first time. “Damn, Phil, I didn’t bring my guitar.” The other guy, Alex, chimed in. “I didn’t know we were playing tonight. Phil, you’re so disorganized. If you’d told us this was going to be a gig, we would’ve brought equipment.” He turned away from Phil and addressed Lisa. “Babe, I wish I’d known. I’m in charge of instruments and equipment. Maybe another time we can do this?”

Stephanie piped in. “Why wait? No time like the present! Play the song now.”

Faced with the very real possibility they could leave this place, Lisa’s thoughts ran amuck. In all the fury of trying to find the song, she hadn’t thought of the details of where to return. Could she even direct where they’d go? She knew this much: returning straight to her real life meant giving up the people she had discovered in the space just prior to coming here. Wherever here was. She knew she had Emily wherever she went. And clearly Stephanie was tied to her side now. There was the question of Adam. No matter what world they were in, his colors didn’t change. If she could steer her return with Stephanie, should she choose to return to the life where she was married to Adam? It was clear he was no prize, but that life gave her beautiful children. And it gave Lisa her mother.

Lisa turned back to Phil and the boys. “Stephanie’s right, guys. Play for us. We can be your test audience.”

As Phil returned from the kitchen, beers in both hands, “If the guys want to play, I’m in. That song was epic, and we were robbed by those asshole music labels that couldn’t see our greatness.” He took a swig of his beer. “When we play, you’ll see the genius in us.” He took another swig. “But first, our game.”

Stephanie elbowed Lisa, whose “Ow!” came out like a shriek. As Lisa rubbed her arm, she flashed her most charming smile at Phil. “Why wait, Phil? Best to get your audience while they’re still sober.”

Adrian stood up on long skinny legs, got up on the sofa, and stepped over the back in one fluid move, his necklaces of steel black crosses and feathers jangling as he moved. “Phil, stop stalling. We never have an audience because you’re so bloody picky. It’s like you’re afraid of getting us a music contract.” He sauntered to the kitchen, where he disappeared from sight. Lisa could hear cabinet doors opening and closing and pots banging around.

Emily yelled out, “What are you doing in there?” Adrian’s head popped up over the kitchen divider. “Just looking for a drum.” More clattering followed, and then he reappeared with a metal soup pot and two wooden spoons in hand. “Here,” he said as he sat on the floor near the synthesizer in the corner. “I’m ready.”

Julian had turned his head towards Adrian, and, with a big cheesy smile, jumped up from his seat. “Oh, so that’s the game we’re going to play. Shit! I wish I’d brought my guitar.” He also headed to the kitchen, rummaged through the cupboards, and yelled out, “Emily! What can I use for a guitar? There’s nothing here!”

Emily headed to the kitchen. “Julian, I don’t have guitars in the kitchen.”

Julian’s voice was muffled from inside a cabinet. “There must be something in this house.”

Lisa and Stephanie exchanged glances. Stephanie jumped up and ran to the bedroom, yelling, “I know exactly the thing!” She returned, grinning like a Cheshire cat, holding the dusty ukulele.

Julian stepped out of the kitchen, arms outstretched to Stephanie. “Not bad,” drawling out the word while his fingers ran over the strings. “I can improvise with this baby.”

Alex shook his head. “You’re nuts, but let’s play.” He turned to Phil. “Now, the band has instruments, and everyone’s ready. What about you, man? What’s holding you back?”

Phil hadn’t changed his position, still holding beers in his hands. With a grunt, he handed them out, then flopped down on the sofa with Sulley. “We can’t play my song with pots and pans and a ukelele. That’s no band, man.” He chugged a beer as if it were last call at the bar. Sulley laughed and rubbed his back. “That’s right, honey, don’t let them bully you into playing that stupid song of yours.”

Lisa noticed the iciness in Sulley’s words. What was wrong with this girl? She watched Emily fiddle with her hair, appearing bored. Stephanie was the opposite, sitting on the edge of her seat, focused on every word. Lisa decided on another tactic. She moved to the sofa next to Phil and rubbed his arm, putting as much charm in her voice as she could muster. “You know, Phil, your bandmates seem eager to play this song of yours. My friend Stephanie and I won’t be here long tonight. Why don’t you play for us even with the impromptu instruments? It might be fun.” She purred and batted her eyelashes, then added, “Even if Sulley doesn’t want you to play.”

Lisa noticed Phil enjoyed the extra attention when she heard Sulley laughing. “Oh, go on Phil, be like every other guy, always needing praise to perform.” Her laughter was an icy wind through the room. Lisa wasn’t sure if it was the veiled insult or her cajoling, but Phil bolted up from his seat and headed to the corner of the room.The guys followed him. As he walked, she could hear Phil mutter, “No woman tells me what to do, you understand Sulley?” He grabbed the synthesizer abruptly before he softly caressed it.

Lisa moved back to her chair next to Stephanie and whispered to her, “Our lives are in the hands of a nut.” Stephanie shushed her. “Stop talking and focus; this needs to work.”

Lisa’s hands were sweaty. She played with her hair, hoping Stephanie was right. She switched from her hair to wiping her palms on her pants. Minutes ticked by slowly until Phil’s triumphant “Set. Here we go.”

The synthesizer started playing the familiar tune. Adrian and Julian played with their drum and guitar while Alex watched from the back of the room like a typical manager. Lisa noticed Emily had moved next to him, trying to appear as if she weren’t staring at him. Amid all this, Sulley pulled out a small vial of lotion and smoothed it on her cuticles. Lisa heard Phil, “OK, mates, this is the best song ever.”

Stephanie and Lisa looked at each other, smiling. They grabbed one another’s hands and held tightly with eyes closed. It filled Lisa with hope. Hearing the familiar tune, Lisa smiled, eyes now tightly shut lest anything interfere with her vision. This was the one, the right Oakey! This was the song, the music, even with the improvised band. She squeezed Stephanie’s hand.

And then Phil sang.

You were workin’ as a typist in a hotel bar

When I met you

I picked you up, I shook you up and turned you around

Turned you into something blue

Now two years later on, you’ve got the world at your feet

Success has been so easy for you

But don’t forget, it’s me who put you where you are now,

And I can put you down there too.

Won’t, won’t you have me?

You know I can’t believe it when I hear that you won’t see me

Won’t, won’t you have me?

You know I don’t believe it when you say that you don’t need me

It’s much too late to find

To think you’ve changed your mind

You’d better change it back or we will both be sorry.

Expecting the swirling blackness to take her, Lisa opened her eyes, mouth agape. No! Right music, wrong words. She let Stephanie’s hand drop and jumped out of her seat, yelling,“No! You have it all wrong!”

Phil dragged his fingers over the keys on the last bars, out of time and out of tune. He stopped and stared at her, joining everyone who turned to look at her screwed-up face, obviously shaken by her vehement cry. Phil looked crestfallen. “What do you mean, I have it all wrong? You don’t like it?”

Adrian and Julian shook their heads and together said, “Man, she hates it.”

Lisa stammered, noticing she was creating a scene. “It’s not that I don’t like it.” How does one tell a songwriter whose song doesn’t exist yet that his words are wrong because she’s heard him sing it before? “It’s just that…isn’t there more to it?”

Phil slammed his hands on the keys. “Yes, there’s another part, but if you don’t like the beginning, there’s no point in continuing.” He shut the cover on the instrument. “Forget it. I knew this was a mistake.”

Alex left Emily’s side and ran towards Phil. “No, don’t say that, man. It’s a great song. Why don’t you try it again?”

Julian and Adrian chimed in, “Yeah, dude. Let’s play. So what if the chicks don’t like it?”

This was all horribly wrong. Stephanie stood next to Lisa and whispered in her ear. “The lyrics are off. The music is right, but the lyrics are off.”

Lisa didn’t mean to shout, but desperation seeped out of her words. “Don’t you think I know that?”

Phil was already back at Sulley’s side, a beer bottle at his lips, gulping furiously. “Listen, you don’t like the song, but you don’t have to be crass about it.”

Adrian, Julian, and Alex shifted back to their seats in silence, looking defeated. Clearly, Phil directed everything in this show.

Lisa smoothed her hair back behind her ears and put on a fake smile and a soothing tone in her voice. “It’s a great song, Phil. I was just expecting different lyrics, that’s all. Maybe if you adjust them a little, it might work better.”

“Oh, because you’re a songwriter now, are you?” He put his attention back on the game board. “We’ve wasted enough time humiliating me. Let’s play StarForce.”

In an apparent act of kindness, Sulley rubbed his neck. “Sweetheart, ignore her. She’s got no taste either.”

Sulley glared at Lisa. “See what you’ve done? You encouraged him just to throw cold water on his creation.”

Lisa moved back to the sofa and cozied up to Phil. Caressing his arm, Lisa felt she was dealing with a two-year-old having a tantrum. “Phil, the song is beautiful. I just think adjust the lyrics a bit, that’s all. Why don’t you try them again, and maybe we can change them a little, you know, to make them more marketable?”

“What do you know about selling music, huh?”

Lisa snapped, “I know that you don’t sound like Miami Sound Machine, and they’ve had hit after hit.”

Julian wrinkled his nose. “Miami Sound Machine? What the hell is that?” Everyone in the room murmured in agreement. Emily piped in, “Lisa, what’s a…what did you call it?”

Lisa pressed on. “Miami Sound Machine, Gloria Estefan? ‘Turn the Beat Around’? A woman singing the lead?”

Blank faces stared at her. Julian answered again. “I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.”

How could no one know what she was talking about? Then Lisa saw the obvious. “Oh, never mind. It must have been some band I heard in a bar somewhere.” She pushed her fingers into her temples and took a deep breath. Get a grip, Lisa, you’re screwing things up.

She turned her attention back to Phil and purred to feed his ego. “I’m sorry to throw you off, Phil. You’re obviously a brilliant musician. I know talent. And I know what a great song sounds like. I can help you.” She rubbed his arm some more, and Sulley pulled him closer to her. “We should leave, Phil. This place is too crowded.”

Stephanie joined Lisa. “Please, Phil. Lisa and I have been to lots of concerts, and we know a little about what an audience wants. Think about Madonna. She’s had lots of hit songs. Look at Prince. Or Genesis with Phil Collins on the drums. Stephanie gestured to Lisa, “What’s the name of that song from Huey Lewis and the News?”

Once again, everyone in the room stared, this time at Stephanie. Emily spoke up. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Who are these singers?”

Stephanie and Lisa raised their eyebrows in unison

Lisa turned her attention to Phil. “What about the Police? They’ve had some hits, right? I’m sure they collaborated with their friends to create hits.”

Julian and Alex groaned and threw out together, “The Police suck!”

Phil shook his head, “The boys are right. You can’t compare us to the fucking Police.”

Everyone started to talk at once, anger filling the room. This was not what Lisa intended. This was wrong, all wrong.

She tried to smooth talk her way back into the band’s graces. “Look, boys, I didn’t mean to offend anyone by mentioning the….”

Phil stopped her. “Don’t even say the name again.”

“Got it.” Lisa sighed. “I’m sorry. Let’s forget I mentioned anything. I know you’re really great. I can feel it in my bones. Why don’t you go back to play, and we can listen again? It’s the least we can do after all the effort you went through with the drinks and the game. Come on. Give Stephanie and me another chance.”

Pouting like a child, Phil shook his head. Julian and Adrian jumped up again and moved back to their makeshift band. Julian spoke, “I suppose we can forgive your terrible taste.” He smiled. “Come on Phil, let’s give it another whirl. Stop wasting time.”

Phil shook his head as he stood up. “Fine. But these lyrics are perfect. You guys just don’t know what you’re talking about.” He took another gulp of his beer. “Plus, you didn’t hear the complete song.” He swaggered back to the keyboard, his boots clicking on the wood floor.

Lisa and Stephanie smiled conspiratorially. Lisa ventured forth. How to convince a man to follow directions? “Why don’t you try using a waitress in a cocktail bar instead of a typist. A waitress is more seductive.”

Stephanie chimed in next. “Yes, great idea, Lisa! And how about you add it took five years, instead of two? Five years shows more commitment.”

Julian shouted, “No, we chose two years for a reason.”

Stephanie snapped her head in his direction. “What reason was that?”

Julian grinned, looked over at Adrian, and replied, “I can’t remember.”

Alex clapped his hands. “Try what the woman suggested, for God’s sake. The song didn’t sell the way you wrote it. Maybe it needs a woman’s touch.”

Back at the synthesizer, Phil crooned with the new words. “That does sound better.” Between synthesizer, metal pot and tiny ukulele, the shaky band had potential.

Phil flew his fingers over the keys again. Lisa tried one more time. “Now, how about you change ‘won’t you have me’ to ‘don’t you want me’? That makes it more forlorn.”

Phil balked. “You guys are changing my whole song, you know.”

Adrian stopped playing. “No, no, no. That line was mine. You can’t change my line.”

Oh, brother, Lisa thought. More than one man to convince to change the words. “Listen, guys, the song is great. I don’t want to change it, but you said it didn’t sell, so why not try what we’re offering? Even Alex suggested it needs a woman’s touch.”

She moved towards Adrian. “Come on, Adrian. Try it.” She rubbed his arm, and he winked with a smile. “Lisa, after tonight, will you go out with me?”

Lisa would have gone out with all of them at once if they got her home. “Sure, I’ll go out with you if you sing the song the way we suggest.” She smiled, hoping it looked sexy and not desperate.

Adrian apparently was convinced. “All right. We’ve got nothing to lose. It’s not like we ever had a number one hit on our hands.”

Lisa laughed at the irony. “Excellent! Now, one more time!” She went back to her chair and held Stephanie’s hand.

The band played again. The words were right. The music was right. But nothing occurred. She and Stephanie stared at each other, disappointment on their faces. Was this it? Were they stuck here forever?

No, she wasn’t giving up. That Phil had materialized and that he had his band with him was too great an opportunity for her to stop now. But what was different? The lyrics were right; the music was right. What could be wrong?

Sulley continued to look bored and annoyed at the same time she scrutinized her fingernails. “I thought it sounded fine the first time. What it needs is a woman to sing, and he won’t hear of it.”

That was it! Alex had said it. A woman’s touch! A woman sang on the original song. Softly, Lisa turned to Sulley. “That’s brilliant! Why don’t you sing the girl part, Sulley?”

Sulley glared at Phil, pointing her red lacquered fingernail at him. She spit her words out to Lisa. “Because he won’t hear of it. And I’m not singing his stupid song until he asks me nicely.”

Lisa took a deep breath, angry that her life was in the hands of toddlers. “Phil, why don’t you give Sulley a chance? That might make the song more marketable to girls.”

Phil crossed his arms and stared at the ceiling. He looked at his bandmates, as if for confirmation, but they suddenly appeared very busy fiddling with their instruments.

Adrian was the first to speak. “I’m not getting in the middle of Phil and his girlfriend.”

Stephanie murmured under her breath, “Yeah, that didn’t work out so well for John Lennon and Paul McCartney.”

Adrian said, “Who?”

Stephanie waved him off, “Oh God, never mind.”

Julian shifted in his seat and took a deep breath. “Look, man, we’ve told you before, and you always get pissed off. Let Sulley sing. We’ve tried it your way for years with no results. Now we have two more chicks…um…sorry, ladies, asking that she sing, so don’t be a hard-ass.”

Phil was immovable. Emily walked over to him. “Give Sulley a try. She might have a nice voice.” She punched his arm then kissed his cheek. “Go on, be the bigger man.”

Phil smiled at Emily. “You can always get your way with me, you know.” He put down his arms and faced Sulley. “Fine. Come on, Sulley. Sing for us.”

Sulley turned her back to everyone and faced the wall. “No. That’s not asking me nicely.”

Phil strode over to her in two steps and bent on one knee while Sulley turned her head away from him, nose in the air and arms crossed like a petulant child, mimicking Phil’s gesture from moments ago. “My beautiful Sulley, glorious woman in red, please, won’t you sing this song with me, just once at least?”

She rolled her eyes and turned to him. “That’s not enough.” She crooked her head. “Tell me you love me. Maybe then I’ll sing with you.”

Phil lowered his head and raised his eyes to her. “Sulley, I love you. Please sing with me.”

And just like that, she jumped up, reached down to Phil, and took his hand, pulling him towards the keyboard. “That’s all I wanted to hear.” She trilled, “I’ll sing.”

Lisa gestured to Stephanie to come sit with her on the sofa. Stephanie crooked her arm in Lisa’s, and they closed their eyes, whispering in unison, “Here we go.”

The music was right; the lyrics were done; and then Sulley’s part arrived, and she sang like a scorned woman.

The synthesizer sounds mixed with the humming of the swirling blackness. Lisa’s last thought was her mother’s face.