“Bobby D., you either have to sing or get off the pot,” Eunice said over the microphone.
“In memory of the great Bobby Darin, Madame E, will you please play ‘Mack the Knife?’” As Adam started singing, “Oh, as the shark bites…” he entered his own world filled with music, color, and happiness. From the tapping of his toes to the snapping of his fingers, evidence that Adam’s spirit had come alive was everywhere. Adam didn’t really hear how he sounded as he sang. But the next thing he heard was wild applause, even though it was only from about 15 people.
“You’re a different person when you sing,” Buzz said.
“Like a real singer,” Gloria added.
“I’m just doing it for fun. It’s a good release for me.”
As the night progressed, Adam, Gloria, Buzz, and even Jayme sang songs individually, as a group, and in duets. By 11:30, Buzz, Gloria, and Jayme had left. “I think I’m done, too,” Adam told Eunice.
“Keep me company as I pack up,” she insisted. “Have you ever thought of doing something with your singing? Maybe joining a band or something?”
“What? No…I’m a lawyer. I don’t know anything about music or performing. I wouldn’t even know the first thing to do.”
“Come over here,” Eunice said, directing him behind the organ. “Seventy years ago, I was a young Minnesota farm girl who loved to sing and dance. I had a calling. Against my parents’ wishes, I picked up and moved to New York City in 1934. It was unheard of — scandalous, even. I had no plan, no idea about what I would do. All I knew was that performing was in my blood. It was the only thing I did that made me feel whole.”
“That’s how I feel about singing, Eunice. But I think coming here a few nights a week is going to have to be enough for me. I’m a lawyer. I have a certain kind of life.”
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