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Someone shrieked on the other side of the yard and we looked up to see Grandpa doing a three-point turn to blaze down the dance floor with a cigarette in his mouth. Joy was chasing him.
“Shit,” Mike said, pounding the rest of his drink. “I’m gonna go get him before he gets us both pinched. You two have fun. I’ll be recording from the gazebo.” He gave Larissa another quick kiss, set his empty glass down, and left.
She turned back to me. “Ready?”
“I was hoping you forgot.”
“Oh, stop. Let’s pick a song.”
She pulled out her phone and brought up Google and searched male/female karaoke duets.
“Oh, ‘Islands in the Stream,’” she said.
Immediately no.
It couldn’t be a love song. That wouldn’t be appropriate. I also didn’t want to have to tell her it wasn’t appropriate because then I’d make it weird.
“How about ‘Under Pressure’?” I asked.
David Bowie and Queen. Nothing wrong with that.
She scrunched up her nose. “Nah.”
“Okay…” I scanned down the list. Love songs. Love ballads. Every single one.
“How about ‘Something There’? Beauty and the Beast?” she asked. She tapped it and lyrics came up.
Hellll no. A whole song about falling in love with someone you didn’t notice before.
“I don’t know that one well enough to sing it,” I lied.
“We could do ‘You’re the One That I Want.’ From Grease?” she said, looking up at me.
Even worse.
I cleared my throat. “How about ‘Stan’? Eminem.”
She lowered her phone to give me a horrified look. “The one about the deranged fan who commits the murder-suicide of his pregnant girlfriend?”
“Yeah, why not? It’s got a good beat and you can sing the chorus by Dido.”
“I’m not singing that here,” she said, looking at me like I’d lost it. “There are children.”
I puffed out my cheeks.
Again, if this were Becca, the song wouldn’t matter. Again, I couldn’t explain why it did.
“Why are you being so difficult?” she teased.
“Hey, I’m doing you a favor.”
“Are you?” she deadpanned.
I looked around. “I don’t see anyone else lining up to be your emotional support backup singer.”
She gasped playfully.
“How about we sing together,” I said. “Instead of alternating. Maybe… ‘Sweet Caroline’?”
