‘The thing is,’ said Peter, ‘it was supposed to beourgift to the happy couple. We can’t physically buy or make them anything, but this was the one solution we could come up with. And you’re not a ghost, are you? So really…’
‘But think about it,’ Brooke said, seeing Immi’s crestfallen expression. ‘Brodie won’t be able to hear us. Any of us. But if Immi’s singing with us, he’ll be able to hear her and follow the song. That’s something, isn’t it?’
After a brief discussion the ghosts all agreed that it was indeed something, and Immi was permitted to become part of the group, which was as yet unnamed.
‘So,’ Lucy said, giving her a wry smile, ‘is it true that the others want to sing “I Wanna Hold Your Hand”?’
There was an immediate cacophony of denials and Immi laughed.
‘Nope. Sorry, Millie,’ she added, as the teenager glared at her. ‘I can’t fib. They don’t want to sing it and they’re very clear about that.’
‘Thought so.’ Lucy shook her head. ‘Honestly, Millie. What am I going to do with you?’
‘It was worth a try,’ Millie said with a shrug. ‘Not my fault these lot are all so old and decrepit that they can’t recognise good music when they hear it.’
‘Oy!’ Danny said indignantly. ‘Technically, you’re older than me!’
‘And me,’ Brooke reminded him. ‘And to us, even The Beatles are old hat.’
‘Well,’ Millie said, looking them up and down with scorn, ‘if the music you listened to in your day made you dress like that you can keep it. At least The Beatles looked smart. You two are a proper sight.’
Brooke opened her mouth to protest, but remembering what she was wearing, she realised Millie had a point. ‘We’re dressed like 1980s pop stars,’ she tried to explain. ‘These clothes aren’t from our era. It was for a fancy dress party.’
‘Who are you talking to?’ Lucy asked her aunt.
‘That girl with the straw hair,’ Millie said, ‘and the daft trousers that are too short for her.’
‘Bananarama girl?’ Lucy asked, with interest.
Brooke bristled.Bananarama girlindeed!
‘You can mock all you like, Millie,’ Lucy said, ‘but Bananarama were one of the most successful female bands in history – they’re actually World Record holders. And you may think their outfits look odd today but back in the eighties those girls were the height of cool. I love their music, actually.’
Brooke stuck her tongue out at Millie, who scowled in response.
‘Well, we’re not singing any Bananarama songs if we can’t have The Beatles,’ she said sulkily.
‘No indeed,’ murmured a few of the older ghosts who clearly thought that any band with a name like Bananarama should never be taken seriously.
‘So whatarewe going to sing then?’ Florrie demanded. ‘Cos no one seems able to agree on anything and I’m getting proper fed up.’
‘They all want to know what wearegoing to sing,’ Millie explained to Lucy.
‘The important thing,’ Lucy said, considering, ‘is to find a song that’s simple enough for you all to manage. Lyrics that are easy to remember. A melody that anyone can sing – no really high or low notes. No difficult harmonies. Something that can be accompanied by the most basic instruments.’
‘Instruments?’ Ronnie perked up. ‘What sort of instruments?’
‘Well, that depends,’ Lucy said, after Millie repeated the question. ‘I mean, my husband, Sam, can play the guitar, so there’s always that.’
‘Lawrie learned the violin when he was a small boy,’ Agnes said fondly. ‘He was rather good at it, you know.’
‘Eventually,’ Aubrey said, wincing slightly at the memory. ‘It took forever for him to reach that stage unfortunately.’
‘We’re not singing any sort of song that needs to be accompanied by a violin,’ Danny said, wrinkling his nose.
‘Oh, I don’t know. We had a laugh dancing to “Come On, Eileen” at the party,’ Brooke reminded him, then wished she hadn’t when he turned away from her.
‘Thinking about what you’ve told me,’ Lucy was saying to Millie, ‘about Callie and Brodie and what they’d been through before they met, I think the song should reflect two people finding and saving each other after they’ve both been through heartache.’
