Part 8
HOLLY
STOOD IN FRONT OF the full-length mirror and inspected herself. She had carried
out Gerry's orders and had purchased a new outfit. What for, she didn't know,
but several times every day she had to drag herself away from opening the
envelope for May. There were only two days left until she could, and the
anticipation left her no room to think of anything else.
She
had settled on wearing an all-black outfit to suit her current mood. Black
fitted trousers
slimmed her legs and were tailored perfectly to sit over her black boots. A
black corset that
made her look like she had a bigger chest finished the outfit off perfectly.
Leo had done a
wonderful job on her hair, tying it up and allowing strands to fall in loose
waves around her
shoulders. Holly ran her fingers through her hair and smiled at the memory of
her time at the
hairdresser's. She had arrived at the salon with her face flushed and out of
breath. “Oh, I'm so
sorry, Leo, I got caught on the phone and didn't realize the time.”
“Don't worry, love, whenever you make an appointment I have the staff trained
to pencil it in
for half an hour later. Colin!” he yelled, clicking his fingers in the air.
Colin dropped everything
“God, are you taking horse tranquilizers or something? The length of your hair
already, and I
just cut it a few weeks ago.”
He pumped vigorously on the chair, raising Holly higher. “Anything special
tonight?” he asked, attacking the chair.
“The big three-oh,” she said, biting her lip.
“What's that, your local bus route?”
“No! I'm the big three-oh!”
“Of course I knew that, love, Colin!” he yelled again, snapping his fingers in
the air.
With that, Colin appeared from the staff room behind Holly with a cake in his
hand, followed by a row of hairdressers joining Leo in a chorus of “Happy
Birthday.” Holly was dumbfounded.
“Leo!” was all she could say. She battled the tears that were welling in her
eyes and failed
miserably. By this stage the entire salon had joined in and Holly was just
overwhelmed by their show of love. When it was over everyone applauded and
normal business resumed.
“Christ Almighty, Holly, one week you're in here laughing so hard you
practically fall off your
chair and the next visit you're crying!”
“Oh, but that was just so special, Leo, thank you,” she said, drying her eyes
and giving him a
“Well, I had to get you back after you mortified me,” he said, shrugging her
off, uncomfortable
Holly laughed, remembering Leo's surprise fiftieth birthday party. The theme
had been “feathers and lace” as she recalled. Holly had worn a beautiful
tight-fitting lace dress and Gerry, who was always game for a laugh, had
worn a pink feather boa to match his pink shirt and tie. Leo claimed to
have been excruciatingly embarrassed, but everyone knew he was secretly
delighted with all the attention. The next day, Leo had rung every guest
who had attended the party and left a threatening message on their
machine. Holly had been terrified to make an appointment with Leo for
weeks after that in case he butchered her. Word had it that business was very
slow for Leo that week.
“Well, you enjoyed the stripper that night anyway,” Holly teased.
“Enjoyed? I went out with him for a month after that. The bastard.”
A slice of cake arrived in front of each customer and everyone turned to thank
her.
“Don't know why they're thanking you,” Leo muttered under his breath, “I'm the
one who
“Don't worry, Leo, I'll make sure your tip covers the cost.”
“Are you mad? Your tip wouldn't cover the cost of my bus fare home.”
“Leo, you live next door.”
Holly pouted her lip and pretended to sulk. Leo laughed. “Thirty years old and
you're still acting like a baby. Where are you off to tonight?”
“Oh, nowhere mad. I just want a low-key, nice quiet night out with the girls.”
“That's what I said at my fiftieth. Who's going?”
“Sharon, Ciara, Abbey and Denise, haven't seen her for ages.”
“Yeah, her and her pink hair.”
“Merciful hour! She'll stay away from me if she knows what's good for her.
Right missus, you
look fab, you'll be the belle of the ball–have fun!”
Holly stopped daydreaming and returned her gaze to her reflection in her
bedroom mirror. She didn't feel thirty. But then again, what was being
thirty supposed to feel like? When she was younger, thirty seemed so far
away, she thought that a woman of that age would be so wise
and knowledgeable, so settled in her life with a husband and children and
a career. She had none of those things. She still felt as clueless as she
had felt when she was twenty, only with a few more gray hairs and
crow's-feet around her eyes. She sat down on the edge of the bed and
continued to stare at herself. There was nothing about being thirty worth
celebrating.
The
doorbell rang and Holly could hear the excited chatter and giggles of the girls
outside. She
tried to perk herself up, took a deep breath and plastered a smile on her face.
“Happy Birthday!” they all yelled in unison.
She stared back at their happy faces and was immediately cheered up by their
enthusiasm. She ushered them into the living room and waved hello to the
camera being held by Declan.
“No, Holly, you're supposed to ignore him!” hissed Denise, and she dragged
Holly by the arm
onto the couch, where they all surrounded her and immediately started thrusting
presents in her face.
“Open mine first!” squealed Ciara, knocking Sharon out of the way so hard that she
toppled off the couch. Sharon
froze in horror, unsure of how to react, then she burst into giggles.
“OK, calm down, everyone,” said the voice of reason (Abbey), struggling to help
up a hysterical Sharon.
“I think we should pop open the bubbly first and then open the pressies.”
“OK, but as long as she opens mine first,” pouted Ciara.
“Ciara, I promise to open yours first.” Holly spoke to her as though she were
addressing a child.
Abbey
raced into the kitchen and returned with a tray full of champagne flutes.
“Anyone for
champers, sweetie darlings?”
The flutes were a wedding gift and one of the glasses had Gerry and Holly's
names inscribed on it, which Abbey had tactfully removed from the set.
“OK, Holly, you can do the honors,” Abbey said, handing her the bottle.
Everyone ran for cover and ducked as Holly began to remove the cork. “Hey, I'm
not that bad, everyone!”
“Yeah, she's an old pro at this by now,” said Sharon, appearing from behind the couch with
a
The girls all cheered as they heard the pop and crawled out from their hiding
places. “The sound of heaven,” Denise said dramatically, holding her hand
up to her heart.
“OK, now open my present!” Ciara screamed again.
“Ciara!” they all shouted. “After the toast,” added Sharon.
Everyone held up their glasses.
“OK, here's to my bestest friend in the whole world who has had such a
difficult year, but all
throughout, she's been the bravest and the strongest person I've ever met.
She's an inspiration to us all. Here's to her finding happiness for the
next thirty years of her life! To Holly!”
“To Holly,” they all chorused. Everyone's eyes were sparkling with tears as
they took a sip of
their drink, except of course for Ciara, who had knocked back her glass of
champagne and was
scrambling to give her present to Holly first.
“OK, first you have to wear this tiara because you are our princess for the
night, and second
here's my present from me to you!”
The girls helped Holly put on the sparkling tiara that luckily went perfectly
with her black
glittery corset, and at that moment, surrounded by her friends, she felt like a
princess.
Holly carefully removed the tape from the neatly wrapped parcel.
“Oh, just rip it open!” said Abbey to everyone's surprise.
Holly looked at the box inside, confused. “What is it?”
“Read it!” Ciara said excitedly.
Holly began to read aloud from the box, “It's a battery-operated . . . oh my
God! Ciara! You
naughty girl!” Holly and the girls laughed hysterically.
“Well, I'll definitely need this,” Holly laughed, holding the box up to the
camera.
Declan looked like he was about to throw up.
“Do you like it?” Ciara asked, searching for approval. “I wanted to give it to
you at dinner that
time but I didn't think it would be appropriate . . .”
“Gosh! Well, I'm glad you saved it till now!” Holly laughed, giving her sister
a hug.
“OK, me next,” Abbey said, putting her parcel on Holly's lap. “It's from me and
Jack, so don't
expect anything like Ciara's!”
“Well, I would worry if Jack gave me something like that,” she said, opening
Abbey's present.
“Oh, Abbey, it's beautiful!” Holly said, holding up the sterling silver–covered
photo album.
“For your new memories,” Abbey said softly.
“Oh, it's perfect,” she said, wrapping her arms around Abbey and squeezing her.
“Thank you.”
“OK, well, mine is less sentimental, but as a fellow female I'm sure you will
appreciate it,” said
Denise, handing her an envelope.
“Oh brilliant! I've always wanted to go here,” Holly exclaimed as she opened
it. “A weekend of
pampering in Haven's health and beauty clinic!”
“God, you sound like you're on Blind Date,” teased Sharon.
“So let us know when you want to make an appointment, it's valid for a year,
and the rest of us can book the same time. Make a holiday out of it!”
“Oh, that's a great idea, Denise, thank you!”
“OK, last but not least!” Holly winked at Sharon.
Sharon fidgeted
with her hands nervously
while she watched Holly's face.
It
was a large silver photo frame with a photograph of Sharon, Denise and Holly at
the
Christmas Ball two years ago. “Oh, I'm wearing my 'spensive white dress!”
sobbed Holly
“Before it was ruined,” pointed out Sharon.
“God, I don't even remember that being taken!”
“I don't even remember being there,” mumbled Denise.
Holly continued to stare at the photo sadly while she walked over to the
fireplace.
That had been the last ball that she and Gerry had been to, as he had been too
ill to attend last year's.
“Well, this will take pride of place,” Holly announced, walking over to the
mantelpiece and
placing it beside her wedding photo.
“OK, girls, let's get some serious drinking done!” screamed Ciara, and everyone
dived to safety, as another bottle of champagne was popped open.
Two bottles of champagne and several bottles of red wine later, the girls
stumbled out of the
house and piled into a taxi. Through the giggling and shouting someone managed
to explain to
the taxi driver where they were going. Holly insisted on sitting in the
passenger seat of the
taxicab and having a heart-to-heart with John the driver, who probably wanted
to kill her by the time they reached town.
“Bye John!” they all shouted to their new best friend before falling out onto
the curb in Dublin
city, where they watched him drive off at a high speed. They had decided (while
drinking their third bottle of wine) to chance their luck in Dublin's most stylish
club, Boudoir. The club was reserved for the rich and famous only, and it
was a well-known fact that if you weren't rich and famous, you then had to
have a member's card to be granted access. Denise walked up to the door
coolly waving her video store membership card in the bouncers' faces. Believe
it or not, they stopped her. The only famous faces they saw overtaking
them to get into the club, as they fought with the bouncers to get in,
were a few newsreaders from the national TV station who Denise smiled
at, and she hilariously kept repeating “good evening” very seriously to
their faces. Unfortunately after that, Holly remembered no more.
Holly awoke with her head pounding. Her mouth was as dry as Gandhi's sandal and
her vision
was impaired. She leaned up on one elbow and tried to open her eyes, which were
somehow
glued together. She squinted around the room. It was bright, very bright, and
the room seemed to be spinning. Something very odd was going on. Holly
caught sight of herself in the mirror ahead and startled herself. Had she
been in an accident last night? She ran out of energy and collapsed flat
on her back again. Suddenly the house alarm began wailing and she lifted her
head slightly from the pillow and opened one eye. Oh, take whatever you
want, she thought, just as long as you bring me a glass of water before
you go. After a while she realized it wasn't the alarm but the phone
ringing beside her bed.
“Oh good, I'm not the only one,” said a desperately ill voice on the other end.
“Who are you?” croaked Holly again.
“My name is Sharon, I think,” came the reply,
“although don't ask me who Sharon
is because I don't know. The man beside me in bed seems to think I know
him.” Holly heard John laughing loudly in the background.
“Sharon, what
happened last night? Please enlighten me.”
“Alcohol happened last night,” said Sharon
drowsily, “lots and lots of alcohol.”
“Why are you ringing me at this hour of the morning?”
“It's the afternoon, Holly.”
“Oh. How did that happen?”
“Gravity or something. I was out that day in school.”
“Oh God, I think I'm dying.”
“I think I'll just go back to sleep, maybe when I wake up, the ground will have
stopped
“Good idea, oh and Holly, welcome to the thirties club.”
Holly groaned, “I have not started as I mean to go on. From now on I will be a
sensible, mature thirty-year-old woman.”
“Yeah, that's what I said too. Good night.”
“ 'Night.” Seconds later Holly was asleep. She awoke at various stages during
the day to answer the phone, conversations that all seemed part of her
dreams. And she made many trips to the kitchen to rehydrate herself.
Eventually at nine o'clock that night Holly succumbed to her stomach's
screaming demands for food. As usual there was nothing in the fridge, so
she decided to treat herself to a Chinese
take-away. She sat snuggled up on the couch in her pajamas watching the very
best of Saturday night TV while stuffing her face. After the trauma of
being without Gerry for her birthday the previous day, Holly was surprised
to notice that she felt very content with herself. It was the first time
since Gerry had died that she was at ease with her own company. There was a
slight chance she could make it without him.
Later that night Jack called her on her mobile. “Hey sis, what are you doing?”
“Watching TV, having Chinese,” she said.
“Well, you sound in good form. Unlike my poor girlfriend who's suffering here
beside me.”
“I'm never going out with you again, Holly,” she heard Abbey scream weakly in
the background.
“You and your friends perverted her mind,” he joked.
“Don't blame me, she was doing just fine all by herself as far as I remember.”
“She says she can't remember anything.”
“Neither can I. Maybe it's something that happens as soon as you hit thirty, I
was never like this before.”
“Or maybe it's just an evil plan you all hatched so you wouldn't have to tell
us what you got up
“I wish it was . . . oh, thanks for the pressie by the way, it's beautiful.”
“Glad you like it. It took me ages to find the right one.”
“Anyway, I was ringing you to ask if you're going to Declan's gig tomorrow
night.”
“No way. There is no way I'm ever setting foot in a pub again, especially to
listen to some loud
rock band with screeching guitars and noisy drums,” Holly told him.
“Oh, it's the old 'I'm never drinking again' excuse, is it? Well, don't drink
then. Please come,
Holly. Declan's really excited about it and no one else will come.”
“Ha! So I'm the last resort, am I? Nice to know you think so highly of me.”
“No you're not. Declan would love to see you there and we hardly got a chance
to talk at dinner, we haven't gone out for ages,” he pleaded.
“Well, we're hardly going to have a heart-to-heart with the Orgasmic Fish
banging out their
tunes,” she said sarcastically.
“Well, they're actually called Black Strawberries now, which has a nice sweet
ring to it I think,” he laughed.
Holly held her head in her hands and groaned, “Oh, please don't make me go,
Jack.”
“OK, but I'm not staying for the whole thing.”
“Well, we can discuss that when we get there. Declan will be chuffed when I
tell him, the
family never usually goes to these things.”
“OK then, about eightish?”
Holly hung up and sat stuck to the couch for another few hours. She felt so
stuffed, she couldn't move. Maybe that Chinese wasn't such a good idea
after all.
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PS, I Love You
HOLLY ARRIVED AT HOGAN'S
PUB feeling a lot fresher than the day before, but her
reactions were still a
little slower than usual. Her hangovers seemed to be gradually getting worse as
she got older, and yesterday took the gold medal for the hangover of all
hangovers. She had gone for a long walk along the coast from Malahide to
Portmarnock earlier that day and the crisp fresh breeze helped to clear her
fuzzy head. She had called into her parents' for Sunday dinner, where they
presented her with a beautiful Waterford
crystal vase for her birthday. It had been a wonderful, relaxing day with her
parents and she almost had to drag herself off the comfortable couch to go to
Hogan's.
Hogan's was a popular
three-story club situated in the center of town, and even on a Sunday the place
was jammed. The first floor was a trendy nightclub that played all the latest
music from the charts. It was where the young, beautiful people went to show
off their latest fashions. The ground floor was a traditional Irish pub for the
older crowd (it usually contained old men perched up on their bar stools and
stooped over their pints contemplating life). A few nights a week there was a
traditional Irish music band that played all the old favorites, which was popular
with the young and old. The basement was dark and dingy and it was where bands usually
played, the clientele was purely students and Holly seemed to be the oldest
person in there. The bar consisted of a tiny counter in the corner of the long
hall, and it was surrounded by a huge crowd of young students dressed in
scruffy jeans and ripped T-shirts, pushing one another violently in order to be
served. The bar staff also looked like they should be in school and were rushing
around at a hundred miles per hour with sweat dripping from their faces.
The basement was stuffy
with no ventilation or air-conditioning at all, and Holly was finding it difficult
to breathe in the smoky air. Practically everyone around her seemed to be
smoking a cigarette, and her eyes were already stinging her. Holly dreaded to
think what it might be like in an hour's time, although she seemed to be the
only one who was bothered by it. She waved at Declan to let him know she was
there but decided not to make her way over, as he was surrounded by a crowd of
girls. She wouldn't want to cramp his style. Holly had missed out on the whole
student scene when she was younger. She had decided not to go to college after school
and instead began working as a secretary, where she moved from job to job every
few months, ending with the awful job she left so she could spend time with
Gerry while he was
sick. She doubted she
would have stayed at it that much longer anyway. Gerry had studied marketing at
Dublin City
University but he never socialized
much with his college friends; instead he chose to go out with Holly, Sharon and John, Denise
and whoever she was with at the time. Looking around at everyone, Holly didn't
feel like she had missed anything special.
Finally Declan managed
to tear himself away from his female fans and make his way over to Holly.
“Well hello, Mr.
Popular, I feel privileged you chose me to speak to next.” All the girls stared
Holly up and down and wondered what the hell Declan saw in this older woman.
Declan laughed and
rubbed his hands together cheekily. “I know! This band business is great, looks
like I'll be getting a bit of action tonight,” he said cockily.
“As your sister it's
always a pleasure to be informed of that,” Holly replied sarcastically. She found
it impossible to maintain a conversation with Declan, as he refused eye contact
with her and instead scoured the crowds.
“OK, Declan, just go,
why don't you, and flirt with these beauties instead of being stuck here with
your old sister.”
“Oh no, it's not that,”
he said defensively. “It's just that we were told there might be a record company
guy coming to see us play tonight.”
“Oh cool!” Holly's eyes
widened with excitement for her brother. This obviously meant a lot to him, and
she felt guilty for never taking an interest in it before. She looked around
and tried to spot someone who looked like a record company guy. What would he
look like? It's not as if he would be sitting in the corner with a notebook and
pen scribbling furiously. Finally her eyes fell upon a man who seemed much
older than the rest of the crowd, more her own age. He was dressed in a black
leather jacket, black slacks and a black T-shirt and stood with his hands on
his hips staring at the stage. Yes, he was definitely a record company guy, as
he had stubble all around his jaw and looked like he hadn't been to bed for
days. He must have stayed up all night every night this week attending concerts
and gigs and probably slept all day. He probably smelled bad as well. Or else
he was just a weirdo who liked to go to student nights and ogle all the young
girls. Also a possibility.
“Over there, Deco!”
Holly raised her voice over the noise and pointed at the man. Declan looked
excited and his eyes followed to where her finger pointed. His smile faded as
he obviously recognized the man. “No, it's just Danny!” he yelled, and
he wolf-whistled to grab his attention.
Danny twirled around
trying to find his caller and nodded his head in recognition and made his way
over. “Hey man,” Declan said, shaking his hand.
“Hi Declan, how are you
set?” The man looked stressed.
“Yeah, OK,” Declan nodded
unenthusiastically. Somebody must have told Declan that acting like you didn't
care was cool.
“Sound check go OK?” He
pressed him for more information.
“There were a few
problems but we sorted them out.”
“Good.” His face relaxed
and he turned to greet Holly. “Sorry for ignoring you there, I'm
“Nice to meet you, I'm
Holly.”
“Oh sorry,” Declan
interrupted. “Holly, this is the owner; Daniel, this is my sister.”
“Sister? Wow, you look
nothing alike.”
“Thank God,” Holly mouthed
to Daniel so Declan couldn't see, and he laughed.
“Hey Deco, we're on!”
yelled a blue-haired boy at him.
“See you two later,” and
he ran off.
“Good luck!” yelled
Holly after him. “So you're a Hogan,” she said, turning to face Daniel.
“Well, no actually, I'm
a Connolly,” he smiled. “I just took over the place a few weeks ago.”
“Oh.” Holly was
surprised. “I didn't know they sold the place. So are you going to change it to
Connolly's then?”
“Can't afford all the
lettering on the front, it's a bit long.”
Holly laughed. “Well,
everyone knows the name Hogan's at this stage; it would probably be stupid to
change it.”
Daniel nodded in
agreement. “That was the main reason actually.”
Suddenly Jack appeared
at the entrance and Holly waved him over. “I'm so sorry I'm late, did I miss
anything?” he said, giving her a hug and a kiss.
“Nope, he's just about
to go on now. Jack, this is Daniel, the owner.”
“Nice to meet you,”
Daniel said, shaking his hand.
“Are they any good?”
Jack asked him, nodding his head in the direction of the stage.
“To tell you the truth,
I've never even heard them play,” Daniel said worriedly.
“That was brave of you!”
laughed Jack.
“I hope not too brave,”
he said, turning to face the front as the boys took to the stage.
“I recognize a few faces
here,” Jack said, scanning the crowd. “Most of them are under eighteen as well.”
A young girl dressed in
ripped jeans and a belly top walked slowly by Jack with an unsure smile on her
face. She placed her finger over her lip as though telling him to be quiet.
Jack smiled and nodded back.
Holly looked at Jack
questioningly. “What was that about?”
“Oh, I teach her English
at the school. She's only sixteen or seventeen. She's a good girl, though.”
Jack stared after her as she walked by, then added, “But she better not be late
for class tomorrow.”
Holly watched the girl
down a pint with her friends, wishing she had had a teacher at school like Jack;
all the students seemed to love him. And it was easy to see why; he was a
lovable kind of person. “Well, don't tell him they're under eighteen,”
Holly said under her breath, nodding her head in the direction of Daniel.
The crowd cheered and
Declan took on his moody persona as he lifted his guitar strap over his shoulder.
The music started and after that there was no chance of carrying on any kind of
conversation. The crowd began to jump up and down, and once too often Holly's
foot was stomped on. Jack just looked at her and laughed, amused at her obvious
discomfort. “Can I get you two a drink?” Daniel yelled, making a
drinking motion with his hand. Jack asked for a pint of Budweiser and Holly
settled for a 7UP. They watched Daniel battle through the moshing crowd and
climb behind the bar to fix the drinks. He returned minutes later with their
drinks and a stool for Holly. They turned their attention back to the stage and
watched their brother perform. The music really wasn't Holly's type of thing,
and it was so loud and noisy it was difficult for her to tell if they were
actually any good. It was a far cry from the soothing sounds of her favorite
Westlife CD, so perhaps she wasn't in the right position to judge the Black Strawberries.
The name said it all, though, really.
After four songs Holly
had had enough, and she gave Jack a hug and a kiss good-bye. “Tell Declan I
stayed till the end!” she yelled. “Nice meeting you, Daniel! Thanks for
the drink!” she screamed and made her way back to civilization and cool
fresh air. Her ears continued to ring all the way home in the car. It was ten
o'clock by the time she got there. Only two more hours till May. And that meant
she could open another envelope.
Holly sat at her kitchen
table nervously drumming her fingers on the wood. She gulped back her third cup
of coffee and uncrossed her legs. Staying awake for just two more hours had
proved more difficult than she thought; she was obviously still tired from
overindulging at her party.
She tapped her feet under
the table with no particular rhythm, and then crossed her legs again. It was
11:30 P.M. She had the envelope on the table in front of her and she could
almost see it sticking its tongue out and singing “Na-na na-na-na.”
She picked it up and ran
it over in her hands. Who would know if she opened it early? Sharon and John
had probably forgotten there was even an envelope for May, and Denise was
probably conked out after the stress of her two-day hangover. She could just as
easily lie if they ever asked her if she cheated, then again they probably
wouldn't even care. No one would know and no one would care.
Each time Holly held the
envelopes in her hand she felt a connection with Gerry. The last two times she
opened them she had felt as though Gerry were sitting right beside her and
laughing at her reactions. She felt like they were playing a game together even
though they were in two different worlds. But she could feel him, and he
would know if she cheated, he would know if she disobeyed the rules of their
game.
After another cup of
coffee Holly was bouncing off the walls. The small hand of the clock seemed to
be auditioning for a part in Baywatch with its slow-motion run around
the dial, but eventually it struck midnight. Once again she slowly turned the
envelope over and treasured every moment of the process. Gerry sat opposite her
at the table. “Go on; open it!”
She carefully tore open
the seal and ran her fingers along it, knowing the last thing that had touched
it was Gerry's tongue. She slid the card out of its pouch and opened it.
Go on, Disco Diva!
Face your fear of karaoke at Club Diva this month and you never know, you might
be rewarded . . .
She felt Gerry watching
her and the corners of her lips lifted into a smile and she began to laugh.
Holly kept repeating “no
way!” whenever she caught her breath. Finally she calmed down and announced
to the room, “Gerry! You bastard! There is absolutely no way I am going through
with this!”
“This is not funny.
You know how I feel about this, and I refuse to do it. Nope. No way. Not doing
it.”
“You have to do it, you
know,” laughed Gerry.
“I do not have to do
this!”
“I am not doing it for
you, for me or for world peace. I hate karaoke!”
“Do it for me,” he
repeated.
The sound of the phone
caused Holly to jump in her seat. It was Sharon.
“OK, it's five past twelve, what did it say? John and I are dying to know!”
“What makes you think I
opened it?”
“Ha!” Sharon snorted. “Twenty years of friendship
qualifies me as being an expert on you; now come on, tell us what it says.”
“I'm not doing it,”
Holly stated bluntly.
“What? You're not
telling us?”
“No, I'm not doing what
he wants me to do.”
“Oh, just Gerry's pathetic
attempt at being humorous,” she snapped at the ceiling.
“Oh, I'm intrigued now,”
Sharon said, “tell
us.”
“Holly, spill the beans,
what is it?” John was on the downstairs phone.
“OK . . . Gerry wants me
. . . to . . . singatakaraoke,” she rushed out.
“Huh? Holly, we didn't
understand a word you said,” Sharon
gave out.
“No, I did,” interrupted
John. “I think I heard something about a karaoke. Am I right?”
“Yes,” Holly replied
like a bold little girl.
“And do you have to
sing?” inquired Sharon.
“Ye-eess,” she replied
slowly. Maybe if she didn't say it, it wouldn't have to happen.
The other two burst out
laughing so loud, Holly had to quickly remove the phone from her ear.
“Phone me back when the
two of you shut up,” she said angrily, hanging up.
A few minutes later they
called back.
She heard Sharon snort down the
phone, relapse into a fit of the giggles and then the line went dead.
Ten minutes later she
phoned back.
“OK.” Sharon had an overly serious “let's get down
to business” tone in her voice. “I'm sorry about that, I'm fine now. Don't look
at me, John,” Sharon
said away from the phone. “I'm sorry,
Holly, but I just kept
thinking about the last time you–”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” she
interrupted, “you don't need to bring it back up. It was the most embarrassing
day of my life, so I just happen to remember it. That's why I'm not doing
it.”
“Oh, Holly, you can't
let a stupid thing like that put you off!”
“Well, if that wouldn't
put a person off, then they're clinically insane!”
“Holly, it was only a
little fall . . .”
“Yes, thank you! I
remember it just fine! Anyway I can't even sing, Sharon; I think I established that fact
marvelously the last time!”
“Sharon, you still
there?”
“Sharon, are you laughing?” Holly gave out.
She heard a little
squeak and the line went dead.
“What wonderfully
supportive friends I have,” she muttered under her breath.
“Oh Gerry!” Holly
yelled. “I thought you were supposed to be helping me, not turning me into a nervous
wreck!”
She
got very little sleep that night.
