23. Chapter 23
Chapter 23
Abby
T here’s a terrible storm today. One of the worst we’ve had this year. We were supposed to go for a group ride somewhere near the cities. That has been canceled for good reason. No one wants to ride in this weather. It’s made for a boring afternoon. Dallas made burgers for dinner. They were good, but he burned one side of all three patties. Logan said he’s never letting Dallas make the burgers ever again, and I blatantly agreed with him.
While all three of us turn into couch potatoes for the night, Meredith apparently has other ideas. My phone starts vibrating, buried somewhere in the couch. I frantically search for it, but Logan finds it two cushions away from me. He passes it to me without a sound before sinking back into his spot on the opposite end from Dallas and me.
“What’s up, Mer?” I ask, pressing the phone to my ear. I move to the kitchen to not disrupt the movie.
“Whatever it is you’re doing right now, it doesn’t matter anymore. We’re going out for karaoke. I’m bringing Rose. You bring Dallas and Logan, too. Drag them out of the house if you have to. It’s happening.”
“Karaoke? I haven’t done karaoke in like two years. And I’m not a good singer. You know this.”
I’m not kidding. My voice sounds like a dying pig. I can’t carry a tune to save my life. I like singing. I think it's fun. But in the privacy of a shower or the car where maybe only one other person can hear me.
Plus, after the incident with Sam, going out in public isn’t exactly high on my bucket list. I realize that it probably went about as well as it could have. No one got hurt. No fights started. He listened to the protective order. But it still rattled me to the core.
That’s still been one of my biggest concerns: if it came down to it, would he actually follow orders?
“Come on. It’ll be fun.”
“I don’t know, Mer.”
“Please? I already told Rose you three would come with us. Besides, it’s been a week since you saw Sam. You can’t hide inside forever.”
“I mean, I could,” I attempt to joke, but it falls flat.
She groans on the other end. “It’s not healthy. You need to get out and do something.”
I look back to the living room. Dallas and Logan lie sprawled out on the couch. I think convincing them to get up is going to be just as hard. But Meredith is right. As much as I don’t want her to be, she is. I haven’t left the apartment since we got home from the burger place.
So, I sigh and ask, “What time?”
Meredith squeals, loud enough for Dallas and Logan to hear, and it forces me to pull the phone away from my ear. By the time all three of us obediently dress into decent clothes for a night out, we’re already running late. We run through the pouring rain to Dallas’s car and swipe at the trails of rain dripping down our faces.
The karaoke bar is the same one Meredith dragged me to three years ago during my freshman year. I’d gotten a fake ID just for that night. I remember being so nervous that they’d figure out it was fake and I’d get fined or arrested on the first go, but to my delight, they hardly looked at it, and I waltzed through the doors with my head held high. That was also the night I’d taken my first shot of straight, unflavored vodka. Never again.
The bar is wedged between a strip club and a bank that has an ATM on the wall outside. An odd combination along this street, but I’m sure they all get their money’s worth being near each other. The sign above the door is bright. The pink neon lighting that spells out the name of the bar “Pitchy” has dulled some since I last saw it.
Logan pulls open the gray metal door and the music hits us before we’ve taken a step inside. It’s a skinny building. The stage is on the far back wall with a few speakers, a microphone, and a large screen behind the short man who stands up there singing a song I don’t recognize.
The short wooden bar sits busy at the front. Two bartenders wander effortlessly around each other to find whatever alcohol they need for the drinks they’re making. Everything is very cramped. I hadn’t remembered that about this place. Scanning the room, we find Meredith and Rose sitting at a long rectangular table that hugs the wall near the stage. Two seats sit empty. Meredith waves us over while Rose searches for another free chair.
Meredith gives each of us a hug before we take our seats. Dallas and I sit next to each other on one side, Logan on the end in the spare chair, and Rose and Meredith opposite me and Dallas. The place is packed. The crowd seems to be either college-age or fifty and over. There are not many people between those two age groups.
“So, what are you singing tonight?” I ask no one in particular.
“You mean what are we singing tonight?” Meredith chimes in. She wiggles her eyebrows at me.
“No. I agreed to come hang out. Not to sing.”
“Oh, you’re singing whether you like it or not. I’ll get you up there.”
I look at Rose, who just shrugs. Dallas and Logan wouldn’t be any help. They would also likely egg me on to sing. I roll my eyes as a waitress comes over and takes our drink orders before disappearing again. I’m going to need some liquid courage if they want to get me up there tonight. We watch an older lady sing “Jolene” by Dolly Parton impressively well until our drinks arrive: Logan with a Jack and Coke, me with a vodka lemonade, and Dallas with a plain Coke.
“Who’s going first?” Logan asks.
Meredith grins widely. “Oh, I already signed up for ‘Bohemian Rhapsody.’ I should be one of the next ones.”
Logan laughs. “You weren’t joking when you said that was your favorite song, huh?”
“I would never lie about our Lord and savior, Freddy Mercury.”
Rose pokes Meredith in the arm a few times. “I have to say, I’m excited to hear it. She’s been giddy to sing since we got here.”
“Trust, me, you won’t be disappointed.”
Rose leans her head on Meredith’s shoulder. “You could never disappoint me.”
I knew they liked each other, but I hadn’t realized just how much. Meredith only texted me once after the LAO ceremony to scold me for not introducing the two of them sooner. She’s always been quiet about her relationships, so I haven’t thought much about asking. But I might need to start after seeing them together like this.
One more person sings before Meredith’s name is called. She makes a show of getting everyone excited as she practically skips to the stage. One thing about Meredith, she loves the spotlight when it comes to anything artistic, singing included. She has a gorgeous voice, too, and she knows it.
The first note plays, and she starts clapping on stage, encouraging everyone to follow suit. It’s not long before the whole bar is clapping along to the music while she sings. She dances around, hitting all the high and low notes with ease. Half the bar sings along with her. Rose watches her with so much affection, quietly singing the song from her seat.
I’ve heard Meredith sing this song so many times now that I know her routine. She plays the air guitar and drums somehow at the same time during the music breaks, rotates her whole body when the different voices come through, and when the high notes hit, she lifts the mic like she’s on stage in front of thousands of people. To her, this song is an art form.
As the last few notes echo through the bar, claps and cheers and whistles resonate from everywhere. She bows before placing the mic back in its stand and returning to the table wholly out of breath. Everyone laughs while she takes a long deep breath.
“That was something else,” Logan says, taking a swig of his half-empty glass. "Next time I need to hire an entire band for a party, I'll give you a call."
Meredith laughs. “I’ll take that as a compliment.” The next person starts singing a country song that I recognize but can’t place. “I hope you guys are ready to sing, too.”
We all eye her curiously before turning to one another confused. I cock my head. “What did you do?”
Meredith grins and folds her arms over her chest. “Exactly what you should have expected me to do. Don’t worry. I put us all on the list for later. I figured you’d want some alcohol in your system before you got on stage. All of you.” She points a finger at each of us.
“What song?” Logan asks, just as I’m about to ask the same question.
“It’s a surprise.”
“And what if I don’t know it?” I ask.
“You do. The rest of you I’m sure also know it, but you’ll just have to do your best if you don’t.”
“Evil. You are evil,” Rose says, taking a long sip of whatever she’s drinking. Meredith shrugs and leans in to kiss her cheek, causing Rose to blush. She tries to hide it with another sip of her drink but doesn’t do a great job.
Dallas leans in and whispers into my ear, “I think she’s absolutely smitten with Meredith.”
I turn to look at him with an amused smile. “Smitten? Have you ever used that word in your life?”
He shrugs. “There’s a first time for everything. Besides, I’m smitten with you, too.” He kisses my cheek.
I roll my eyes as Meredith says, “What are you two whispering about over there?”
Dallas and I chuckle, and I say, “Nothing.” I take a sip of my almost-empty glass. That went fast.
I order another one when the waitress walks by. We all chat and listen while people sing. Some are excellent, others not so much, but they put their heart and soul into it and that’s almost more entertaining to watch than the good singers.
“Next up,” the karaoke announcer starts, “Meredith and friends with ‘Wannabe’ by The Spice Girls.”
“Oh. My. God,” I say as Meredith stands, dragging Rose by her hand toward the stage. I drop my head back and groan. “I haven’t drunk nearly enough for this yet.”
“Oh, I know this one. But it’s not going to be good,” Logan says with a low laugh, pushing his chair out behind him.
“Come on,” Dallas says, offering his hand.
“There’s no way you’re excited about this.”
“I’m not, but it could be fun once we’re up there.” He wiggles his fingers until I take them, and we meet the other three on stage. I shift to the back of the group as much as I can, but Meredith has already formed a semicircle for us. She leaves the mic in the stand and moves it to the middle of our group. At least I won’t have to sing directly into it. I could get away with barely singing.
Sometimes I think Meredith can read minds because she looks over at me and wags her finger like she knows I was going to fake it.
These stage lights are hot. At least because of how bright they are, I can’t see the audience very well, and there’s a small screen in front of us to read the words just in case I forget them. I’ve sung this song on this stage with Meredith before. It was the second song we sang together when we became friends, the first being “Love Song” by Taylor Swift. Apparently, this one stuck more in her memory.
Meredith readies her stance like it’s the start of a football game, one hand braced in the air on some invisible ball, the other clutching Rose’s hand. Footsteps from the beginning of the song sound over the speakers, followed by the familiar laugh of one of the Spice Girls. Our group immediately starts singing.
I force myself to sing louder than I want, and as much as I told myself I wouldn’t enjoy being up here, I slowly start to feel the happiness wash over me. Dallas sings, too. I can barely hear him over Meredith. To my surprise, Logan is singing his heart out. Dallas carries a tune just about as well as I do. Glad to know we’re in the same boat on that one. It makes me laugh just how badly the five of us sing together. Meredith clearly carries the group. I think Dallas notices, too, because he can’t hold back his laughter as he seems to purposely make his singing sound worse as the song progresses. Even though it’s a classic, I’m impressed. Dallas knows the words better than I do.
As we finish the song, our group looks to be in a better mood. Leave it to Meredith to know exactly how to cheer everyone up. We return to our seats, and Rose orders another round of drinks for everyone.
“No one can tell me they’re mad they went up there. I saw every one of you smiling.” She points a finger at each of us. “Now, cheers to the fun night.” She holds up her glass and we all do the same, clinking them together.
She’s right. I’m not at all upset that I went up there. It’s exactly what I needed to get myself out of the house after a week of being cooped up. That’s no one’s fault but my own, maybe a bit of Sam’s, or a lot of Sam’s, but still. I needed someone else to pull me from the confines of those four walls. Someone other than Dallas. He’s been so patient through all this, but I think I needed someone on the outside of the situation to remind me that it isn’t the end of the world, even when it feels like it is.
We’ve been here for a little over two hours when a lady gets called up to sing a ballad that I’ve never heard before. Her voice is beautiful. She’s a strawberry blonde who looks to be in her mid to late forties. She’s dressed more formally than most people here though she pulls it off well. When she finishes her song, letting the final note drift through the air with ease, she smiles as people clap for her. Someone whistles at her as she makes her way down the stage and back to her spot.
My heart almost stops when I see who she sits down with. Dallas’s attention shifts, too, while he watches the woman take a seat next to his father. His hold on my hand tightens before he lets go and grips both of his knees instead.