“What are you gonna sing?” Thomas asked me as I leaned over him to share the book.
“Ugh, do I have to?” I groaned. Everyone around me said “Yes” in unison.
“It’s tradition. You want to be a part of us again, you have to get up there.”
“I hate singing,” I complained. I wasn’t like Cleo. Singing didn’t come naturally to me. I quickly pushed those negative thoughts away. It wasn’t her fault I couldn’t sing.
“Why don’t we go up together. You can be my back up,” Thomas teased. I considered it.
“What do they have?” I looked at the book again.
“Let’s do something fun,” he suggested and then pointed to a song. My eyes found where he was pointing, and I laughed.
“Perfect. Sign us up.”
When it was finally our turn Thomas and I scurried up on stage and he promptly grabbed a mic and declared that he wouldn’t need the TV prompter. The music started and everyone started chuckling, and some even groaned. I grabbed my own mic and began walking around the stage like Thomas was.
As Thomas rapped the words to Vanilla Ice’s ‘Jump around’, I joined in for the chorus. When it was over, we hugged each other and he took my hand to help me down off the stage. Returning to our seats Stacie gave us a look.
“You two are adorable. Time doesn’t change a thing.” Everyone muttered agreements to her statement. I glanced at Thomas who wasn’t nodding either. Time had changed things. We weren’t the teenagers that jammed out for hours to bad rap music. I cleared my throat awkwardly as we sat back down.
I didn’t get back up on stage for the rest of the night. I was content watching everyone else get up there and act silly. Thomas went up one more time to sing some Frankie Valli. He had one hell of a voice.
When he returned back to his seat, we spent the rest of the evening commenting and playfully making fun of everyone else. He told me stories of things I had missed while I was gone. Who had hooked up and who broke up. Which ones fell on stage, or who forgot to put on a wig for an entire act. He had me laughing the entire night.
Last call was finally announced. I had been casually drinking all night, so I had a light buzz but nothing serious. I decided against another drink. Everyone began pulling on jackets and grabbing purses. I stood up and Thomas grabbed mine and helped me into it.
“I’m glad you came out tonight Renee,” Stacie said as we were all walking out.
“Me too. I need to get out of the house more. Thanks for inviting me.”
I walked with Thomas to his car. He opened my door for me and helped me inside. He slid onto his side and we were quickly on the road heading to my place.
“Thanks for the ride,” I told him.
“No problem. Like I said, your place isn’t far from mine.” We drove in silence for a bit. I checked my phone and was disappointed to see that Mark hadn’t called or sent me a message. It was late. Did he crash at Cleo’s? I wouldn’t be surprised if they all did, but still, a phone call would have been nice.
“Everything okay?” Thomas asked, glancing at me.
“Yeah, my husband was just working late tonight. When they get into a project, they really go full force. They don’t stop until it’s perfect.”
“Is he gone a lot?” I shook my head.
“No, not really. When he’s touring sure, but when he’s not he’s usually home for dinner. It’s just boring sometimes waiting for him to come back.”
“Well maybe getting back into the theatre will be good for you. I know everyone is excited to see you again. When you showed up for Rocky Horror it was all everyone could talk about.”
I smiled. It was nice feeling wanted and welcomed. Not that the band wasn’t like that. I just didn’t have much in common with them. I missed being able to converse like I had tonight.
Too soon we pulled into my driveway. I frowned when I saw that there were no lights on. He must have passed out on their couch. I thanked Thomas one more time and got out of the car. I went inside and I noticed it was a few moments before he pulled out of the driveway. It confused me. I didn’t want to believe it, but some tiny part of me wondered if he still had feelings for me. I had caught him more than once looking at me with emotions I couldn’t place. I shook those thoughts out of my brain. I didn’t want to stress about something that didn’t even matter. Regardless of his feelings, I knew my own. I moved on long ago and was happy where I was. With who I was with.
Both dogs greeted me at the door. Setting my coat and purse aside I let them out in the back and called Mark.
“Hello?” He answered on the second ring. He sounded wide awake.
“Mark? Where are you?”
“I’m on my way home now babe. Sorry we ran late. We really did some heavy work today. I can’t wait to see you. I miss you already,” he said. My heart softened.
