Author's Note: I have exercised a little poetic licence in this chapter - it being a work of FICTION and all - in that I've snaffled a couple of songs you may recognise and given them to Cara as being her creations. You know and I know that they were actually written and performed by James Bay and Taylor Swift, but we're just going to pretend for now, okay? Okay. No copyright infringement is intended. Carry on!
Click, click, click, click. Click, click, click, click.
I made my way to the mic; the guys continued the beat when I began to sing with nothing but the sound of their fingers snapping in unison.
I feel a sin coming on
I feel a right that's about to go wrong
I got a shiver down to the bone
I feel a sin coming on
For this song I needed to be confident, sassy and flirtatious, so I was channelling Ben, imagining his face, his body, his lips, his hands.
I gotta buzz in my brain
Drunk on a love going down like champagne
I got a feeling it's gonna leave a lipstick stain
And I'd be the only one to blame
Instruments kicked in when I got to the chorus; drums, bass, keyboard.
And you can see it all over my face
Sweet temptation, all over the place
Give me tall, dark and handsome
Mix it up with something strong,
I feel a sin coming on.
When I finished the last repeated chorus the clicking was there again; I stepped back a little and strapped on my guitar ready to swing into the next number - more confidence, more sass.
The first thing I did when you said goodbye
Was sit myself down and have a real good cry
The next thing I did was put my red dress on
And go downtown dancing 'til the break of dawn.
It's upbeat, cheeky, I-can-get-over-you-just-like-that.
A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do
And now I've gotta get to getting over you
Too bad I've gotta do it with someone new
But a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do
My fingers were flying over the strings by the time we got to the last chorus, the chords and strumming patterns as familiar as old friends and as easy as breathing. It was only as the last note was echoing and my ears exploded with the sound of applause that I remembered there was a huge crowd in front of me.
"Good evening Dublin! Thank you for that warm welcome. I'm Cara de Luca and I'm here to entertain you with a few songs while you wait for the real reason you bought that ticket for tonight." There's a small titter of appreciative laughter. "Some of the songs will be familiar to you and some will be brand new but you're welcome at any time to clap your hands, tap your feet or even sing along if you know the words." I paused, looking serious. "Please limit yourself to the choruses of the songs...and let me do the verses." There was more appreciative laughter as I grinned and began to play. "You may recognise this one."
It was the Sinead Lohan song, Sailing By; I was thrilled to hear people singing along when I reached the chorus.
Dreams are a kite on a windy day
Free as a boat by the pier
And I can see it's always me
Holding her here, holding her here
After that we did acoustic versions of the Jason Mraz hit, I'm Yours and Dylan's I'll Be Your Baby Tonight.
"Thank you very much." The applause was heady, intoxicating; I could get used to this. "The next two songs are ones I wrote about a year ago. The first is about losing love when life gets in the way and the second talks about finding new love when you're least expecting it. I hope you like them."
Tried to keep you close to me,
But life got in between
Tried to square not being there
But think that I should've been
Hold back the river, let me look in your eyes
Hold back the river, so I
Can stop for a minute and see where you hide
Hold back the river, hold back
Rick's drum work on this song always got close to choking me up, it made the song so powerful. I was particularly proud of way the tempo rose and fell, much like the rhythm of the lyrical river. For the last chorus my guitar was the only instrument picking out the melody.
Lonely water, lonely water, won't you let us wander
Let us hold each other
As applause sounded I plucked my strings for the intro to Begin Again.
Took a deep breath in the mirror
He didn't like it when I wore high heels
But I do
Turn the lock and put my headphones on
He always said he didn't get this song
But I do, I do
Walked in expecting you'd be late
But you got here early and you stand and wave
I walk to you
You pull my chair out and help me in
And you don't know how nice that is
But I do
I had written this song after my cousin Lucia went through a terrible breakup and shortly after met her husband, but there were some small parallels between the experiences I'd written about and my experiences with meeting Ben, so it made me smile inside.
And you throw your head back laughing like a little kid
I think it's strange that you think I'm funny 'cause he never did
I've been spending the last eight months
Thinking all love ever does is break and burn and end
But on a Wednesday in a cafe I watched it begin again
It was time now for my last song before the duet with Eleanor. I paused to let the applause die down then said softly into the microphone, "Thank you. I wrote my next song very recently and I'd like to dedicate it to the man who holds my heart."
I like the feel of your name on my lips
And I like the sound of your sweet gentle kiss,
The way that your fingers run through my hair,
And how your scent lingers even when you're not there.
Another verse and then the chorus.
But I love the way you love me.
Strong and wild, slow and easy,
Heart and soul, so completely,
Oh, I love the way you love me.
Lost in thoughts of Ben, I came back to the here and now as the thunderous applause rolled over me.
"There's just one song left to sing for you tonight. You've been an amazing audience, thank you so very much - and you sing pretty good too!" I was laughing with them and it was an incredible sensation.
Jake and I began on guitar with Marcus on keyboard; after the first four bars Rick's drums kicked in.
I think it was me, it must have been me,
I guess I did something wrong.
I tried too hard, wanted too much
I guess that's why he's gone.
I lost my pride; I fought and cried,
I felt like a little kid.
What's wrong with me? I still can't believe
I did the things I did.
I couldn't change him,
He was going to break my heart.
I saw it coming
Yes, I knew it from the start.
When you love...
The crowd roared as Eleanor came on to join me, taking the next line of the chorus then harmonising as we sang the Reba McEntire/LeAnn Rimes hit. By the time we reached the last chorus the audience were singing with us - I couldn't hear them over the sound of the music but I could see mouths moving whenever I glanced that way.
We both strummed the last notes on our guitars and looked at each other; I can't speak for Eleanor, but for me it was a truly magical moment. I turned to face the audience, my heart leaping into my throat when I saw that many of them had risen to their feet. Eleanor indicated me with her arm, saying into the microphone, "Cara de Luca everyone," then standing back to let me take the applause. I took off my guitar and bowed, the adrenalin coursing through my body giving me the most incredible high; I was floating over and above the stage, looking down on the girl in the geeky glasses who had just sung her heart out to fifteen hundred people and adored every second of it.
Holy crap, I did it. When can I do it again?