“What the hell,” he said, after noticing that the only people left in the bar were his new friends and Eunice. He felt his voice stuck in his throat and cleared it several times so that his voice would even have a chance. Eunice’s lips quivered as she began to play the introduction. When the words were just a few notes away, she motioned Adam to follow her.
“L is for the way you look at me. O is for the only one I need…” Adam sang timidly at first in an airy tone. About 30 seconds into the song, he looked up from the songbook and saw that Eunice nodding along with the lyrics. Her delight in his singing gave him a surge of self-confidence, and he began to sing from his diaphragm. For good measure, he ad-libbed a few bars. When he was finished, Gloria and Buzz congratulated him as though he were the winning quarterback at the Super Bowl. Eunice looked overwhelmed. “Son, I haven’t tingled like that since I privately auditioned for Cary Grant in 1944,” she exclaimed. All Adam could do was grin sheepishly. He felt invigorated and alive, even after a terrible day.
“You knew Cary Grant?”
Eunice pointed to about 25 black-and-white photographs mounted on the wall behind her. “Someday I’ll tell you about my life,” she promised.
______________________
“Why are you all smiles?” Adam asked Rob, when he arrived for their monthly Saturday lunch at Champps, their favorite sports bar.
“It’s weird to be the stable one in our relationship. Pretty ironic, isn’t it?” Rob smiled. “Plus, I finally figured out the secret to having an active and satisfying personal life — baseball. The key is to have an active and healthy pitching rotation.”
“Rob, where did you come up with this bullshit? Wouldn’t this require a number of women? I didn’t know you had even one.”
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