my
mother’s favorite—Fritha knew that—but I hadn’t practiced any of those numbers
lately. And to be singing them in front of Noah Steele… The fact that he loved
Renee Geyer added to the pressure. What if I didn’t do her songs justice?
I could feel
Jill’s reassuring hand on my back, so I swallowed down apprehension and turned
to Fritha. “Let’s get started.”
Jill introduced
herself to Noah as I turned away, but I was busy concentrating on following
Fritha through the chattering crowd who were sipping tea, coffee and cocktails.
The front corner of the huge shop had a stage and a microphone for the speeches,
which I’d already checked out and done a sound check on.
When we arrived
there, she turned to face me. “How bloody exciting is this?”
I gripped her
shoulder with my good hand to get her attention and said, “It will be thrilling
if you have any sort of backing music for these numbers.” I gave her a
meaningful glance.
Unfortunately for
me, her gaze drifted off. “Right...”
I let my fingers
bite into her shoulder. “Fritha, I love you. You know that. But I’m not singing
Renee Geyer into a silent room. I’m not Barbara Streisand.”
“I’ll get Finn.”
I closed my eyes in
defeat. Why on earth would Finn have backing music? But instead of panicking, I
practiced slow breathing while I waited for her to come back.
Finn grinned at
me. “Noah Steele.”
I nodded. “Bloody
hell.”
“So what do you
need?”
“Instrumental
soundtracks to Renee Geyer songs.”
He nodded and
pulled out his phone. I watched in amazement as he found what I was looking for
on iTunes, the very album my mother had loved as a teenager. I’d heard it so
often I knew every word by heart. He picked the instrumental selection and
plugged his phone into the sound system. “Ready when you are.”
It had taken
ninety seconds.
Fritha winked at
me. “Sister Carmel would approve.”
The nun who’d
taught us in high school had tried to drum into us to marry a practical man. At the time it had sounded like odd advice from a spinster, but I could
certainly appreciate it now.
“Thank you Finn,”
I said. A huge understatement.
“Just give me a
nod and I’ll set the album to play.”
Fritha grabbed the
microphone and shushed everyone, then she told them that Noah had
requested some songs and I was obliging. That got a huge round of applause, but
before I was ready, the room was silent and I was hearing the opening bars of It’s
a Man’s, Man’s World .
I licked my lips
and swallowed, and somehow, miraculously, my nerves slid away. Unlike my
debacle at the club, this time I soared. I could literally feel myself lift
inside as the lyrics poured through me of love and loss and vulnerability.
When I’d been
married to Danny, it had been a man’s world—his world. We’d done
everything the way he wanted it. My life was different now, and as I negotiated
the highs and lows of the song, I poured all my confusion and grief into it. It
was meant to be a bitter song, but I wasn’t bitter at Danny. I was just…lost.
So I sang that,
and when the final note fell, the shop broke into pandemonium. I could see Noah
at the back, whooping and whistling as everyone else applauded, and even
Finn was gazing at me in shock, so captivated that he didn’t hold the next song
back. As the opening bars swelled, Fritha was forced to whistle with two
fingers in her mouth to quieten the room.
While I sang, Noah
pushed his way to a front table, which the patrons gladly shared, and when I
reached my favorite song on the album, Since I fell for you, he joined
me on stage and we sang with his arm around my waist.
I could see people
recording it on their phones, Jill among them. But I was caught in the moment,
living my own personal fantasy of singing lyrics that touched me, to an
audience who were moved by them.
When the album
finished, I was so high I could have flown home to Sydney without a plane.
People were asking me
mother’s favorite—Fritha knew that—but I hadn’t practiced any of those numbers
lately. And to be singing them in front of Noah Steele… The fact that he loved
Renee Geyer added to the pressure. What if I didn’t do her songs justice?
I could feel
Jill’s reassuring hand on my back, so I swallowed down apprehension and turned
to Fritha. “Let’s get started.”
Jill introduced
herself to Noah as I turned away, but I was busy concentrating on following
Fritha through the chattering crowd who were sipping tea, coffee and cocktails.
The front corner of the huge shop had a stage and a microphone for the speeches,
which I’d already checked out and done a sound check on.
When we arrived
there, she turned to face me. “How bloody exciting is this?”
I gripped her
shoulder with my good hand to get her attention and said, “It will be thrilling
if you have any sort of backing music for these numbers.” I gave her a
meaningful glance.
Unfortunately for
me, her gaze drifted off. “Right...”
I let my fingers
bite into her shoulder. “Fritha, I love you. You know that. But I’m not singing
Renee Geyer into a silent room. I’m not Barbara Streisand.”
“I’ll get Finn.”
I closed my eyes in
defeat. Why on earth would Finn have backing music? But instead of panicking, I
practiced slow breathing while I waited for her to come back.
Finn grinned at
me. “Noah Steele.”
I nodded. “Bloody
hell.”
“So what do you
need?”
“Instrumental
soundtracks to Renee Geyer songs.”
He nodded and
pulled out his phone. I watched in amazement as he found what I was looking for
on iTunes, the very album my mother had loved as a teenager. I’d heard it so
often I knew every word by heart. He picked the instrumental selection and
plugged his phone into the sound system. “Ready when you are.”
It had taken
ninety seconds.
Fritha winked at
me. “Sister Carmel would approve.”
The nun who’d
taught us in high school had tried to drum into us to marry a practical man. At the time it had sounded like odd advice from a spinster, but I could
certainly appreciate it now.
“Thank you Finn,”
I said. A huge understatement.
“Just give me a
nod and I’ll set the album to play.”
Fritha grabbed the
microphone and shushed everyone, then she told them that Noah had
requested some songs and I was obliging. That got a huge round of applause, but
before I was ready, the room was silent and I was hearing the opening bars of It’s
a Man’s, Man’s World .
I licked my lips
and swallowed, and somehow, miraculously, my nerves slid away. Unlike my
debacle at the club, this time I soared. I could literally feel myself lift
inside as the lyrics poured through me of love and loss and vulnerability.
When I’d been
married to Danny, it had been a man’s world—his world. We’d done
everything the way he wanted it. My life was different now, and as I negotiated
the highs and lows of the song, I poured all my confusion and grief into it. It
was meant to be a bitter song, but I wasn’t bitter at Danny. I was just…lost.
So I sang that,
and when the final note fell, the shop broke into pandemonium. I could see Noah
at the back, whooping and whistling as everyone else applauded, and even
Finn was gazing at me in shock, so captivated that he didn’t hold the next song
back. As the opening bars swelled, Fritha was forced to whistle with two
fingers in her mouth to quieten the room.
While I sang, Noah
pushed his way to a front table, which the patrons gladly shared, and when I
reached my favorite song on the album, Since I fell for you, he joined
me on stage and we sang with his arm around my waist.
I could see people
recording it on their phones, Jill among them. But I was caught in the moment,
living my own personal fantasy of singing lyrics that touched me, to an
audience who were moved by them.
When the album
finished, I was so high I could have flown home to Sydney without a plane.
People were asking me
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