Page 61 of Lies and Lullabies
But I will not forget her face
So I might never bethe same
Since that night that meant so much
I will never mind the pain
But I’ll always miss her touch
I wanther to be happy
Hell, I pray for it sometimes
I never found what I was after
At least I know the reason why
Sweetness…
I let the good one get away
Sweetness…
If you found love I’ll be okay.
“Wow.”Adam nudged my shoulder. “Fire up the panty cannons. That is so romantic.”
“It’s…something,” I stammered. Confusing was the first word that sprang to mind.
After the last chord died away, Nixon yelled, “Thank you very much!” and walked off the stage.
“All done?” Vivi asked with a yawn.
“There might be one more,” Adam cautioned.
Indeed, after the audience stomped and whistled for five solid minutes, a solitary stagehand appeared with a chair. He set it in the middle of the stage, then placed a microphone in front of it. A moment later, Jonas walked onto the stage alone, carrying only an acoustic guitar, and sat down.
The crowd got quiet to see what he’d do.
“I hope you’ll indulge me in an encore, unplugged,” he said, his voice whiskey-rough from a night of singing. The crowd applauded, and he went on. “I don’t remember much about my parents. They died when I was young. But one of my memories is having my hair washed by my mom. And she used to sing to me while she did it. One day I started to cry, and she thought it was because she got soap in my eyes. But really, it was just the song. It’s one of those that’s both sad and happy.”
He strummed the guitar absently while he spoke.
“Five years ago almost to this day I started whistling it to a friend of mine. I don’t even know why it popped into my head. Just one of those things, I guess. But it’s the perfect song, and I’m going to sing it to you now.”
Oh hell,I thought. And then the stage got blurry as Jonas sang the first words to “You Are My Sunshine.” By the time he sang “please don’t take my sunshine away,” I had to wipe tears from my face.
“Huh. Shot scored,” Adam said.
“I know this song,” Vivi said from Adam’s arms. Then she gave a big yawn, and put her head on Adam’s shoulder.
“Your daddy said that he was singing this one just for your mama,” Adam said. Vivi’s response was to fall asleep.
* * *
After the concert ended,we waited by our seats, avoiding the crush of the crowd. But as the audience drained away, I saw Ethan waiting for us at the end of the row.
“Follow me,” he said, fullbacking through the stragglers towards a stage door. A beefy guy in a SECURITY T-shirt stepped aside when Ethan showed him a pass.
