Chapter 23
MCFLURRY TO THE RESCUE
Laura
For the following hour, Laura allows herself to fully embrace the experience.
Karl makes the practice relaxed and she’s surprised to realise just how often everyone laughs.
She knew the approach of Just Sing! was to have fun but Karl seems to take it a step further, leading them all with the enthusiasm of a TV quiz show presenter.
He is flamboyantly wonderful and enigmatic and utterly captivating.
The kind of person you meet and immediately think that you want to be friends with them.
Why we can’t as adults simply behave like a primary school child and ask someone if they want to be friends is one thing Laura can’t really understand.
Getting older is supposed to be about having more freedom, and having the ability to express yourself in all your glory.
And yet it isn’t really like that at all.
Laura has felt herself mould to suit the people and circumstances around her – but maybe, she thinks, maybe now she is finally going to get to know herself and what she really enjoys.
‘So, what do you think?’ Karl asks her as she gathers her belongings to her and packs her lyrics sheet into her bag.
‘Yeah, I enjoyed it,’ she says, feeling a little flustered.
‘More than you thought you would?’ he asks, and smiles.
‘Well, yes, if I’m being honest. I’ve not done anything like this before. It’s a wee bit outside of my comfort zone.’ Her face flushes with embarrassment.
‘We get that a lot,’ he says as he takes a seat beside her. ‘A lot of people don’t think it’s very cool – this getting together with other people and singing. It’s not exactly edgy. But to be honest I’ve never really been overly bothered about being edgy or cool. I just want to enjoy myself.’
‘I hear you,’ she says. ‘And I really did enjoy myself tonight.’
‘Well, in that case, hopefully we’ll see you again next week? We’ll be giving Whitney another go and we really could use more altos. You’d be a valuable addition to our little family.’
His words make her feel warm and fuzzy inside and she can’t help but smile. ‘Well, I wouldn’t want to let the alto side down so I might just have to come back next week.’
‘That’s the spirit!’ he says before excusing himself to go and speak to some of the other newcomers.
‘Teacher’s pet!’ Deirdre teases as soon as Karl is out of earshot.
‘Don’t be daft! I bet he says that to everyone!
’ She’s not sure why she feels the need to explain away Karl’s kind words, or tell her friend she doesn’t think he’s genuine, but she does.
It might just be that she doesn’t want to make out she is big-headed or full of herself.
She doesn’t want to appear boastful in any way, as if she thinks she might be better than anyone else.
‘He didn’t say it to me!’ Deirdre says, before calling to Niamh and Becca. ‘Girls, c’mere a wee minute, I want to ask you something!’
Laura stiffens, the awkward feelings of being back in Becca’s company swooping in again. You’re being ridiculous, she tells herself. This is just Becks and Niamh. They are your friends. They care about you. You’re overthinking again.
‘Will you two tell our lovely Laura here that she is a lovely singer and Karl hasn’t been running around telling everyone they are “valuable assets” and she is actually a teacher’s pet,’ Deirdre says.
‘Definitely sounds like it,’ Becca says.
‘I can assure you that no one has told me I’m a valuable asset.
I enjoyed it a lot, but I don’t think my singing ability has improved one tiny bit since school.
’ She laughs, and Niamh joins in. Laura feels her face start to heat and considers telling everyone it’s just a hot flush when the truth is she feels embarrassed at having been complimented.
Quick, she thinks, change the topic. Turn attention away from yourself. ‘It was fun though, wasn’t it? I enjoyed it.’
‘I enjoyed it much more than I’d hoped even,’ Niamh says.
‘Definitely more fun than singing hymns in the back of the assembly hall. I felt like I was releasing a bit of my inner pop diva there. That song’s going to be stuck in my head all week.
God love Paul and the kids, because I have a feeling they’ll be hearing me sing it on a loop.
’ She sings a couple of the high notes and does a little dance and Laura allows herself to join in.
It’s not lost on her that Becca does not join them, but just watches – a smile on her face that doesn’t quite reach her eyes.
Maybe it’s that Laura has had so much fun this last hour, or that singing here has left her more relaxed than she has felt in weeks, or just that Karl has made her feel good about herself, but she suddenly knows that the only way to get through this awkwardness with Becca is to tackle it head-on.
There will be no sneaking out the back door and away.
It would be easier, of course. She could just leave, go home, avoid the conversation and carry on with life.
These things happen. People do it all the time – bury their hurt feelings for fear of being accused of being too sensitive, or making things worse.
But it’s a temporary fix at best. The hurt stays; it buries itself until it’s ready to crawl to the top or to trump its way into the room swinging its trunk and demanding attention.
‘Do you think maybe we could go and get a cup of tea, or a crispy Diet Coke, or even a glass of water and have a chat?’ she says to Becca, almost afraid to meet her gaze.
‘I think that might be a really good idea,’ she hears her friend say in response. ‘A crispy Diet Coke sounds best of all. Maybe some fries too. Maybe it’s time to bring back the old Sneaky Car McDonald’s tradition.’
‘Sneaky Car McDonald’s?’ Deirdre asks.
‘I haven’t used that term in ages,’ Becca says with a smile.
‘It’s from when our kids were all little.
Little enough that they could work our last nerves to the point of exhaustion.
We’d call each other when it was all starting to get too much, but when we didn’t have time to get together and get sloshed on cheap wine.
We’d call “Car McDonald’s” and one of us would pick the others up, we’d head to the drive thru and order whatever took our fancy and have a good old venting session while we ate.
It’s amazing what a McFlurry can do. I swear they must load those things with sertraline or something. ’
‘Sounds amazing,’ Deirdre says. ‘It’s hard to beat a sneaky McDonald’s every now and again.’
Laura agrees, so she nods and smiles at Becca and says of course, a Car McDonald’s sounds perfect. Unlike the olden days, they agree to drive there separately and then they can climb into Becca’s car to use the drive thru. Then they could have the big old elephant-sized conversation.