Page 346 of Call Me Baby 2: Side B

Andrew watches from the shadows,

giving me a proud smile.

When the piano hits the opening chord,

and the melody a tap dance,

I raise the mic to my lips, and sing,

“I’ll be waitin’ at the—Rockefeller Tree⁠—”

But when it’s Raymond’s turn,

he doesn’t lean into the mic,

he doesn’t sing⁠—

Instead, a soulful,

beautiful

baritone voice, drifting into the room

from somewhere else:

“On my way, baby⁠—

“don’t you leeeave…”

And my heart just tore herself in half,

right down the middle,

my spine steeling,

my eyes darting for the voice,

searching for it,

going from a grinning Raymond,

across the sea of heads.

I bring the mic to my lips again,

sing the next line, “Feel like a fool...”

Then, “This city’s cruel.”

“—standin’ out in the snow…”

“—hailin’ down cabs off Ludlow…”

I spin to look behind me,

my breath hitching into a half-cry.

From the shadows of the cigar lounge,