Pucker Up (27 page)

She
started singing right away, going through three of her most popular songs
before addressing the crowd again.  “Time for something new,” she said.  “This
is a song I like to call
Lemon Tree
.”  She resisted the urge to glance
towards Dustin – she wouldn’t be able to get through it if she did.

Faith
started to sing, and the arena quieted down.  Her heart pounded so loudly in
her chest it wouldn’t have surprised her if the microphone had picked it up. 

We used to have
conversations now we only have words,

both of us always
screaming to be heard. 

About the past,
about the present, about the needless things between. 

About the silence
and the heartache and the fears that wouldn’t leave.

How I yearn for
that lemon tree

back when we were
still meant to be,

a life before us
and so many things unseen,

all of it possible
in the shade of our lemon tree

She
closed her eyes, needing to pretend she was alone if she was going to finish. 
This song that had needed an ending for a decade.

We’ve done battle,
been shipwrecked and marooned,

simply succeeding
in opening old wounds. 

Because words sting
as they fly, cutting deep, in need of stitches. 

You should bring
bandages, yet you come with only kisses.

She
sang the chorus into the quiet, thinking of her lemon tree, of how true the
lyrics were, for she yearned for it and everything it represented, the
innocence and perseverance of young love. 

We can plant some
better days,

some thoughts that
whisk our cares away. 

We can bury the
misunderstanding,

find some way to
remove this branding.

The last words
held such new hope she could barely sing them.  But this was the time for
shedding disguises.  

We can forgive the
moments of doubt,

thread golden
memories throughout. 

We can hold hands
in the shade

and wonder at the
days we’ve made.

Faith
stopped to address the crowd.  “No one’s singing along,” she said, thankful the
emotion thick in her voice sounded like exasperation.  “Oh, that’s right, no
one knows the words.  Hmmmm.”

She
walked the length of the stage, pretending to consider that.  “I’m just going
to have to bring some people out to help me sing it then.  Ladies, you know the
words, right?”  She pointed offstage, and all the heads in the amphitheater
turned.

“I
think we can handle it,” Charlie said, her voice booming loudly across the lawn
as she entered with a beach ball.  The crowd started to go wild, but it wasn’t
until the rest of the girls followed – Tara with a skateboard, Angie wearing a
cowboy hat, Maya and her signature sunglasses – that they seemed to understand
that this was an Attitunes reunion.

They
continued on as if the crowd wasn’t going insane, singing the lyrics they’d
been practicing for the last few days.  Faith smiled at her girls and
remembered why she started doing this in the first place. 

Her
new song came to a close and they segued nicely into
GSG (Golden State
Girls)
, the very first Attitunes single.  Introductions had never sounded
so cliché or held quite so many memories.  It was a wonder they could get
through it without breaking into laughter. 
GSG
became
Life of the
Party
and then
477
.

When
that song ended, the excitement in the amphitheater was deafening.  Faith
waited for the clapping to die down before even attempting to talk.  “Tara,
Charlie, Maya, Angie, and I’m Faith.  Attitunes y’all!”  She turned and smiled
at the girls, knowing what came next and thankful they were there with her.

“It’s
been a while since we’ve been together on stage,” Faith said, her words causing
the crowd to silence.  “I still perform, unlike these gorgeous girls behind me,
but I disappeared there for a few years as well.  When people asked me what I
was doing, I liked to say I was searching for my sound.”  Faith gave a shrug
and head bob she knew the crowd would love before adding, “Technically true,
but you won’t believe the sound I found.”

“We’re
not getting any younger over here, Faith dear,” Charlie drawled to the crowd. 

“Let’s
just tell them what we’ve been up to,” Tara piped in.

“That’s
what I’m trying to do.” Faith laughed.  “You have a better way?”

Maya
laughed and raised the microphone to her lips.  “The best way we know how.”

“Hit
it,” Angie directed to the band, who started to play a vaguely familiar tune
only the keenest observer would have been able to place.  “I kissed a girl, and
I liked it,” she sang as a picture of her and her wife on their wedding day appeared
behind them on a screen.

“I
kissed a boy, he’s a riot,” sang Tara.  She’d married a comedian, and a picture
of them on a comedy stage came on the backdrop.

“I
birthed a calf and I loved it.”  The crowd cooed at Maya holding a bunch of
baby farm animals.

“I
birthed twins, I’ve lived it.”  Charlie emphasized hers with her regular dose
of humor, and the crowd roared again.

Faith
took a deep breath and jumped right in, singing, “Well, I’m Andy fucking Peters,
and I wrote it – All.”

On
the last word, the girls segued into singing the
Magpie
chorus, giving
the crowd a moment to adjust to the bombshell Faith just dropped on them. 

All the pretty
birds come out to play

I find it hard to
stay away

Maggggg-piiiiiiiie,
doncha lead me astray tonight.

You find the good inside
me like shiny treasures,

catching glimpses
of the brilliance I hide whenever

company comes
calling at my door. 

Faith’s
words were barely recognizable above the ruckus of the crowd, but she sang them
anyway, feeling a rush at finally singing an Andy Peters song without fear that
something would happen.  Finally living free. 

You smell the
promise of success on my skin,

lead me through a
maze of mirrors akin,

to self-discovery
and I ask what for.

Her
eyes tracked offstage to a surprised Jackson, the magpie of her song – a song
she’d never sang for him before, no matter how much he asked, cajoled, or
teased her to.  The girls joined her again. 

I can’t fly, I’m
no blue jay

I have no feathers
to put on display

Maggggg-piiiiiiiie,
keep the world at bay tonight.

Faith
pointed at her lawyer, her manager, her best friend, and smiled, singing the new
words she’d written just last night. 

It’s time I learn
to break away

fly free and long
and faraway

Maggggg-piiiiiiiie,
no need to save me tonight.

This bird’s taking
flight.

Secret
identity successfully revealed.  She’d never wanted to talk about who Andy
Peters was, about
why
Andy Peters was, so she sang it out instead.  They
cycled through four of her most famous songs, and she sang her heart out even
though she probably couldn’t have been heard over the ruckus of the crowd. 

“So,
do we think we’ve gotten our ten dollars’ worth of surprises today?” Faith
asked as she stopped to take a drink of water.  The crowd went wild.  “Well, I
always love satisfied customers.”

“I
guess we’re good to go then,” Faith said, turning towards the band and
motioning for them to clean it up.

“I
think you forgot something,” Maya said, quieting the booing of the crowd with a
simple hand in the air.

“New
song, check.  Attitunes, check.  Andy Peters, check.”  Faith ticked each point
off on her fingers.  “No, no, I think I got everything.”

“Ahh,
sweetie, you’re getting forgetful in your old age,” Angie said. 

“I
am not,” Faith said.  “I even made a list, and I covered everything on there. 
Tara, you got the list?”

“Yeah,
it’s right here,” Tara said.  “I tapped it to the back of my skateboard so I
wouldn’t lose it,” she said to the crowd, who laughed again as she showed it to
them.  They’d managed to maintain some of the spirit that had made Attitunes so
popular.  The music was good, but the humor and comradery was what had gotten
them fans and what kept people coming back for more.

“See,
there it is.  Check, check, check.  I don’t see what I’m forgetting.”

“Faith,
darling, we all,” Charlie barked, including the crowd in her hand gesture,
“have two words for you.”

“Pucker
UP!” they screamed, the force of the words thunderous.  And then they started
to sing as the video came up on the screen behind them.

Angie
took the first verse, like always. 

He thinks he might
be the one, 'ole Prince Charming

well, I’ve got to
say, that’s pretty alarming

since he’s never met
a set of legs he didn’t like

and his car is out
cruising all hours of the night
.

“Pucker
Up!” they all sang, jumping up into the air in unison.

“Step
on up, right here, right to the plate.”  Charlie directed them to the spot
where she stood.

“Pucker
Up!”

“Time’s
a wastin’ and it’s getting kinda late.”  Faith pointed at her wrist as if a
watch was there.

“Pucker
Up!”

“Come
on, faster, there’s no time to waste.”  Tara rode her skateboard across the
stage, beckoning everyone to follow.

“Puh-Puh-Puh-Puh-Puh-Puh-Pucker
Up!”  They all sang together, stuttering the last line as they huddled together
on the stage.

I believe in
transformation, oh don’t get me wrong

nothing ever stays
the same and change is rolling strong.

Maya
sang, stepping out from the group and sliding her sunglasses down her nose to
peer out at the crowd.  Usually Faith would finish the verse, but they changed
it up, Tara singing the next part. 

But thinking
you’re a 180 leaves lots of room for doubt

cause I’ve heard
all the excuses and my foot is halfway out.

She
zoomed around Maya on the skateboard and almost crashed into her as the chorus
repeated.

“Pucker
Up!” They turned their microphones to the audience and let them sing.

“Step
on up, right here, right to the plate.” 

“Pucker
Up!”

“Time’s
a wastin’ and it’s getting kinda late.”  Charlie waved for the crowd to roar
louder.

“Pucker
Up!”

“Come
on, faster, there’s no time to waste.” 

The
words came back to them completely recognizable. 
“Puh-Puh-Puh-Puh-Puh-Puh-Pucker Up!”

Charlie
started off the last verse, playing up to the crowd as she circled the stage. 

You’ve got to kiss
a lot of frogs before you find the Prince,

there’s lots of
ways this story goes, but that fact always is.

It
wasn’t her lines, not even her verse, but no one cared.  Faith stepped forward,
and finally let her eyes fall on Dustin.  Butterflies sprung to life in her
stomach, nerves still threatening to get the best of her. 

So come on baby if
you want to take me for a spin

we gotta know how
this tale rolls, you gonna be all in?

She
winked at him and turned, falling back into formation with the girls.

“Pucker
Up!”

They
did a two-step and shifted to the left. “Step on up, right here, right to the
plate.” 

“Pucker
Up!”

They
went back the other way, letting their feet move right without looking. 
“Time’s a wastin’ and it’s getting kinda late.”