Chapter 6 #5
“No.” Carrington raised an eyebrow, eyeing Japheth and Rebekkah with skepticism.
“No one should wear that much denim, even if the bedazzling is dazzling. Her pink fluffy hat is very Pam Anderson inspired, I’m not beyond giving credit where credit is due.
They sound great, but you’re not suggesting those two sparkly hillbillies be the new faces of WWJD? ”
“We still haven’t announced a winner for the 1999 Not Short on Talent talent show,” Suwarna pointed out.
“Well, that’s because we never got to…” Emma-Lou sighed, “...because my parents…”
“Emma-Lou, this might be your chance to step into those big shoes of your parents and make a bold decision. A decision that could save WWJD… and your life.”
“Stop being dramatic,” Emma-Lou grumbled.
“If you don’t want to come back as a tadpole sooner than you’d like,” Suwarna pressed, “I think you should strongly consider what I’m saying.”
Japheth stepped forward with a hand over his heart as he belted out,
“Plant a seed, plant a flower, plant me instead!
Wrap me up in a mushroom spore bed.
Let a little seedling sprout from my head.
It’s sustainable to be dead,
in your new eco-friendly bed!”
As Japheth crossed his legs and spun in a Michael Jacksonesque circle, Rebekkah took his place and asked the crowd in song,
“Will your ghost still roam the halls?
Will you spy on exes through their walls?
It’s over, really over, after all!”
Japheth did a sort of locomotion train dance to join Rebekkah again and they stood back-to-back as they harmonized,
“Will you float above your friends unseen?
Helpful elf on the shelf or poltergeist mean?
Will you lurk behind a curtain?
Spooking kids gently, because you’re not certain
if death is a doorway or just a hoax.
Either way, you’re still dead, folks!”
People glanced at each other, unsure if this was a last request by Emma-Lou’s parents and decided as it didn’t appear to be stopping anytime soon, they may as well enjoy it.
Carrington tilted their head, “Sure, they can sing and they’re offering a sound we’re not serving at WWJD, but we can’t just say they won the contest. They didn’t even compete. They’re ineligible.”
“Is that in the rules?” Suwarna asked.
Carrington blinked, “It’s in all the rules of every game ever in the history of the world. If you don’t compete, you don’t win.”
“MMMBless, ba dupa DROP.
Bury me deep or toss me off a dock ba du yeah!
MMMBless, ba duba you better DROP.
Scatter me in a garden, plant me with your squash
Ba du! Oh! MMMBless ba duba do DROP.”
“How many people competed?” Suwarna asked, her curiosity piqued.
“Officially? Like, took the stage and performed?” Carrington looked thoughtful. “One. That Harlem Globetrotter wannabe with the impressive ball-handling and between-the-legs work. What? It was impressive.”
“And how many people entered the 1999 Not Short on Talent talent show?” Suwarna urged Carrington on.
“Two,” Carrington replied, nodding toward Japheth and Rebekkah. “The impressive hoop-driver and these two.”
“So, they were supposed to perform?” Suwarna’s eyes widened. “Wait, hoop-driver? Are you just making up basketball innuendo now? And we only had two entries!?”
“Rino Ferrari wasn’t lying when he said WWJD is in trouble.”
Rebekkah and Japheth were now leaning into each other, hands on knees and bouncing with the rhythm as they sang as if sharing a secret,
“Death comes quick, tip your undertaker.
Death comes quick, tip your choir.
Oh yeah! Can you tell me?
What happens when you finally go?
Can you tell me?
You say you can, but you don’t know.
You say you can, but you don’t know!”
Emma-Lou’s mind raced as she watched Japheth and Rebekkah belting out the last chorus of their special rendition of MMMBless. “So, if we convince these two denim-clad angels to make a band with the dribbler…”
Carrington nodded slowly, “I suppose that could work. No one gets their basketball shorts in a knot, and we get what we want.”
“What we need,” Emma-Lou corrected.
“And you don’t die,” Suwarna added cheerfully.
Emma-Lou felt a lump rise in her throat, “I think Mamma and Big Daddy must be looking out for us right now.”
“From their lily-pad-and-lotus-filled pond in the sky,” Suwarna whispered with her eyes drifting to the soaring chapel ceiling.
“They brought those two silky-throated singers into our life, at a funeral!” Emma-Lou’s eyes followed Japheth and Rebekkah, who had just hit their final note. “This must be God’s plan.”
Carrington glanced at the pair, then back at Emma-Lou, “Their Christian names are Rebekkah and Japheth.”
Emma-Lou smiled, her heart swelling with a sudden rush of hope. “Rebekkah and Japheth, you’re going to save our little radio station.”
Next to the refreshment table, not yet aware of just how brightly they were shining, Japheth and Rebekkah took a big breath and continued to sing their hearts out,
“MmmBless, ba duba dop ba du bop,
ba duba dop ba du bop,
ba duba dop ba du, oh yeah! MMM Bless!”
Even without their coats of many bedazzled coloured gemstones, anyone could see their star was set to rise.
LISTEN to MmmBless