Chapter 29
29
“You sure you’re cool with doing this?” Ray asked.
Angel, Ray and Bree were huddled together at a table in the back of the room at Lover Underground, a bar in the East Village known for its open mic nights. Leah was the one who’d suggested that Angel come tonight, even though she couldn’t make it herself. She was at Imani’s again.
A handful of performers had already taken to the stage. Angel had gone virtually unnoticed thanks to the dim lighting and his baseball cap. He guessed that was the beauty of New York City. A celebrity could literally be sitting feet away from you, and you might not even know it.
He’d been writing furiously over the last few days, determined to keep making the R & B songs that his label didn’t want to hear. He wanted to try the songs out in front of unbiased listeners to get an honest reaction. He was the most attached to a song he’d titled “Right Person, Wrong Time.” He’d written it about Iris.
“I’m sure,” he said, answering Ray. He lifted the brim of his hat and rubbed his forehead. His fingers came away damp. He was sweating. He laughed a little. “I’m kinda nervous. Not gonna lie.”
“Good luck,” Bree whispered. She held Ray’s hand and smiled at Angel. They’d decided to officially start dating a few days ago.
A woman with a raspy voice was singing a neosoul song on her guitar. After she finished, the audience applauded, and the host, a short man with shoulder-length locs, returned to the mic and glanced at the sign-up sheet.
“Okay, next up we have…Angel.” The host laughed. “That’s it? No last name? I guess you must think you’re like the singer, huh?”
Laughter peppered the audience, and Angel smiled, feeling flustered. Why was he so nervous all of a sudden? He’d performed in front of way bigger crowds than this one. Maybe it was because he was about to sing something new and vulnerable, and he really hoped that people liked it.
As he stood, his phone vibrated on the table. He stared wide-eyed at a text from Iris.
Hey. I hope you’re doing okay. I’d really love to talk to you if you have time. Can you please let me know?
In his haste to grab his phone, he accidentally knocked it to the floor. It landed with a loud, menacing smack.
“Damn, bro,” Ray said, leaning over to pick up the phone. He whistled as he handed Angel’s phone back to him. “Why don’t you have a screen protector?”
There was a huge spiderweb crack in the center of his phone and his screen was completely black. Even when he hit the side buttons, nothing happened.
“ No, no, no. Are you for real right now?” Angel hissed, trying to get his phone to work. Iris had texted him. She wanted to talk . And now his phone was broken?!
“Angel? Is there an Angel here?” the open mic night host said, peering at the audience.
“We’ll try to fix it,” Bree said, taking Angel’s phone from him.
“I guess, we’ll move on, then…” the host said, looking at the sign-up sheet again.
“Sorry, sorry! I’m here!” Angel jogged to the stage and removed his hat.
A hush fell over the room.
“Oh shit,” the host said as he handed the mic to Angel. “Y’all, please welcome the Angel to the stage!”
A loud cheer erupted. People whipped out their phones to snap pictures and record. Angel stood at the mic and cleared his throat.
“How y’all doing tonight?” he asked.
He was met with another round of cheers. Someone wolf whistled. Angel laughed and took a deep breath.
“I, uh, want to sing something new for y’all tonight,” he said. “Is that all right?”
“Yes!” Bree shouted way in the back. Others cheered in agreement.
With shaking hands Angel sat at the piano, all too aware that everything he did tonight would be recorded and shared. But there was no turning back now.
He began playing the harmony of “Right Person, Wrong Time.” The audience fell silent and his voice filled the room.
Wrong time, wrong place. I wish I could see your face…
If only you knew how much it meant. I wanna relive the time we spent.
A few people in the audience caught the song’s smooth rhythm and began to clap along. When Angel finished singing, everyone in the room jumped to their feet. A standing ovation? Angel laughed in disbelief as he pivoted toward the audience and humbly accepted their praise. He bowed, steepling his fingers under his chin.
“I wrote that song for someone who I love very much,” he said quietly into the mic. “That song will always be for her, no matter what.”
And as soon as he left this stage and got ahold of a phone, he was going to call her and say yes, he would love to talk. And he’d tell her that he loved her. But before that, he had one more song to play.
He sat at the piano again. “Do y’all mind if I play something that might sound a little familiar?”
The audience cheered once more. His fingers moved across the keys, and he began to sing the original, slower version of “Summertime Fine.”
—
Iris couldn’t stop checking her phone. Angel still hadn’t texted her back. He was probably busy. He was probably working . She didn’t need to stress or freak out or worry that maybe he was purposely ignoring her because he was done with her for good, right?
She was miles away in New Jersey in her parents’ kitchen, removing a cake from its bakery box. It was her parents’ annual July 15th birthday barbecue. The house and backyard were filled with family. But tonight, they were also celebrating that Iris was joining the family business.
Iris began to cut slices of cake, quietly contemplating if it would be completely unhinged if she showed up at Angel’s building, when Violet and Lily entered the kitchen and crowded Iris’s space.
“Um,” Iris said, glancing left and right at her sisters. “I’m trying to cut the cake. Can you back up, please?”
“No, we cannot,” Violet declared. “Because we’re staging an intervention.”
Iris frowned at her. “A what?”
“ Intervention ,” Violet said. “Show her the clip, Lily.”
Lily lifted her phone in front of Iris’s face and pressed play on a video. Iris’s heartbeat increased with longing when she immediately recognized Angel. He was sitting at a piano, singing a song about loving someone but the timing hadn’t been right. She held her breath as he sang, and she gasped when he said, I wrote that song for someone who I love very much. That song will always be for her, no matter what .
Speechless, Iris gaped at Lily’s phone screen. Her quickening pulse vibrated throughout her body. He loved her too.
“When was that video posted?” she asked hoarsely.
“About twenty minutes ago,” Lily said. “He’s at Lover Underground in the city.”
“So this is where the intervention part comes in.” Violet folded her hands in front of her diplomatically. “Angel loves you. You love him, and don’t try to deny it because we know you do, okay? So why are you being so annoying about this?”
“ Violet ,” Lily said. “Remember what we said about our delivery?”
“What? I’m being direct! If you love him, you need to tell him and stop wasting time.” Violet glanced at the kitchen entrance and smiled. “Right, babe?”
Iris turned to see Xavier walking toward the fridge. Nick followed behind him.
“What are we talking about?” Xavier asked as he opened the fridge and grabbed a water bottle. He handed a second bottle to Nick.
“We’re saying that Iris loves Angel, so she needs to get it together and tell him,” Violet said.
“Oh, um…” Xavier glanced quickly between the three sisters. “Is this a trick question? Am I actually allowed to comment on this?”
“No,” said Iris.
“Yes,” said Violet.
“Maybe?” said Lily.
Nick stood by Lily and looked over her shoulder at her phone. “What’s this video?”
“Angel was singing a beautiful song that he wrote for Iris,” Lily explained.
“Ah.” Nick nodded in a knowing way, which made it clear to Iris that Lily had shared Iris’s business with her boyfriend. But Iris wasn’t surprised. Nothing remained a secret for long in this family.
“Violet was a little blunt,” Lily said softly. “But I agree with her. You spend so much time making sure that everyone else is happy, but you need to be happy too, Iris. And I think Angel made you really happy.”
“And horny,” Violet added. “Which is a good thing.”
Xavier snorted and covered his wife’s mouth with his hand.
“If you would have given me a second to answer, I would have told you that I have reached out to him,” Iris said. “I do love him, and I want to meet up and tell him, but he hasn’t responded to my text.” She chewed on her lower lip as she looked at her family. “Should I just go to him now? Would that be crazy?”
“YES, GO,” Violet and Lily shouted.
“Um.” Iris placed the cake knife on the countertop. “Okay, yeah.”
As she left the kitchen, Violet whooped behind her. Lily ran to get Iris’s car keys and shoved them into her hands. Iris hurried to the living room. Calla was sitting on the floor in a circle with her cousins. They were playing MASH.
“No, that’s not how you play,” Calla said, taking the paper finger game from her older cousin, Jay. “You have to move your fingers four times, not three.” She held up four fingers. “ Four. ”
“Goodness, sometimes she’s like a mini-me isn’t she?” Iris said to Violet and Lily.
“Yes,” her sisters said. Lily said, “Go ahead. We’ll watch her.”
“Calla, honey, I have to drive into the city, but I’ll be back soon,” she said, hugging her daughter. “If you need anything, your aunties are here.”
“The city?” Dahlia asked, walking into the living room. “Why? What’s in the city?”
“Angel,” Violet answered.
Iris didn’t even have time to roll her eyes.
“ Oooh , really,” Dahlia said.
Benjamin, who appeared behind Dahlia, raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
“Your friend who helped at the shop?” Calla asked. “I liked him.”
“Yes,” Iris said, and Calla’s answering smile took up her whole face.
Lily and Violet hovered by the door. Nick and Xavier watched the proceedings with expressions of mild amusement. That was what you signed up for when you fell in love with a Greene girl.
Iris paused in front of her sisters. “Wish me luck?”
Violet and Lily hugged Iris, wrapping her in a sister sandwich.
“You don’t need luck,” Lily whispered.
“Now go on, get out of here!” Violet said, affectionately pushing Iris outside.
Iris jogged to her car, started the engine and sped out into the street. She called Angel, but he didn’t answer. She’d have to hope he’d still be at Lover Underground when she got there.
This was completely unlike anything she had ever done in her life. She was acting purely on instinct and adrenaline.
And love.