Page 12 of The Road Sometimes Taken

“Hi, I’m Manuel but you can call me Manny.” He grabs her hand and kisses the top of it while winking at her.

“Where were you hiding this gentleman?” Colleen swoons, and all I do is smile and nod before I pull Manny by the arm and make him sit with me, on the opposite side of the table.

We talk for a while about my plans and the new school. They tell me how much they’ll miss me and how the school won’t be the same without me. I give the gifts that Manny bought and when my boss opens the wine, I see it’s a freaking expensive wine. She’s appreciative, of course, but I just want to kill Manny because what in the actual fuck? The room is dark and it’s crowded, making the air feel thicker as the time goes by. Between the singers choosing different music from upbeat tempos to slow songs and Manny keeping my Dirty Shirleys refilled, I’m feeling great but don’t want to overdo it. I’m about to call it a night when the person on the mic calls my name to go sing.

“This must be a mistake because I didn’t write my name down,” I say to really no one but also to everyone around me.

“You said you wanted to sing karaoke this summer so I wrote your name down,” Manny explains, and if looks could kill I’m sure he would be dead.

“What do you mean you wrote my name down, Manny?I’m not singing in front of all these people,” I snap but I don’t have time to say anything else because the whole area claps and shouts for me to stand up.Gotta love working with teachers.

“Okay, okay, I’m coming.” I stand, pulling my dress down and shooting daggers at this guy because I will kill him. I will.

I walk up to the DJ stand and ask for a minute so I can pick a song. He starts a song and promises the audience he’ll be back with more karaoke in no time. I look at the book and although I could pick so many of the upbeat and cheery songs, there’s one in particular that calls my name. Seeing it in the choices made my heart skip a beat because it’s so new, I didn’t think they would have the instrumental version for it.

“Can I sing this?’ I ask and when I do, his face brightens.

“You can but this one is a little different—if you’re up for a challenge.” His smile could light up the whole room. His eyes shine with something that looks like hope.

I can’t let him down now so I say, “I’m always up for a challenge.”

5

LOSS OF MY LIFE

LOML, TAYLOR SWIFT

Manny

She might cutoff my balls. When I think of her face, I’m sure of it. I didn’t think signing her up would be a bad thing though. I thought she just needed a little push to start her whole summer list of things she wants to do.

Me: on a scale from 1 to 10 how fucked am I if I signed Cara up for something she didn’t know about?

Allielicious: It depends on what the something was?

Me: Karaoke at a bar with half her school faculty?

Alliellicious:

Allielicious:Buena suerte

Fuck.

The song stops and Cara walks to the mic in the center of the stage. She’s pulling a stool with her and at the same time, the DJ steps out from behind the booth and walks toward the back corner of the stage where a dark piano sits. I can’t tell if it’s black or brown, but whatever color it actually is makes a good contrast with the yellow and blue framing the whole stage. She sits on the stool, adjusting the height of the mic and before she speaks or sings, she looks at me with a murderous glare and moves her lips in what looks likeyou own me.I’m guessingyou owe meis more like it.

The DJ starts playing the piano behind her. A soft melody that I can’t place and then Cara says, “Good evening, Limoncello.” Her voice is cheerful as she smiles big at the audience—a complete contrast to how I know she feels, but she’s a master of her craft and she hides her true feelings well.

“I’ve never done this here before, but my friend Manny thought it was a good idea as a farewell to this city that has given me so much in the past years. Mike over there,” she says, pointing at the guy on the piano and he smiles and nods at her. She flips her hair over her shoulder and smiles back at the crowd before continuing, “He said that this would be a good opportunity for him to play one of his favorite new Taylor Swift songs. So make sure you give it up for him as he performs with me tonight.”

I’m not surprised at how effortlessly she has the crowd’s attention, laughing at her subtle jokes and smiling with her. Cara is like the sun and we’re just all in her orbit.

“So without further ado, let’s begin.”

The audience claps before the melody on the piano changes and as soon as it does, a hush falls over the crowd. Cara closes her eyes, lets out a gentle breath and starts singing. Her voice starts soft, her eyes still closed and her hair cascading insoft waves around her shoulders. She’s not only singing—she’s telling a story. A story about a couple who are dancing around each other for years. A story about memories and patiently waiting and taking further steps into a relationship.

She opens her eyes as the melody changes into what feels like the chorus of the song. Her eyes sparkle looking around at the crowd, which is completely enamored by her tone and her voice. Then she says something about the love of her life and stops singing, letting the piano take over to the next part of the song.

You can only hear the melody dancing in the space. It’s like the whole bar is completely frozen in place, captivated by her sweet voice. Suspended in time while she continues telling this story. The same way I have been completely lost in Cara for as long as I can remember.

---