The familiar opening beats sounded and Leila consented, taking her position on the left of Aisling. The pair began to sway their hips and click their fingers. The dance floor filled as the catchy tune began in earnest and Aisling and Leila gave it their all. The only glitch in the performance was when they spun around to face each other with too much gusto and narrowly missed headbutting one another. Aside from that when the song drew to a close, they received loud applause. Aisling was all set for Super Trouper but to her surprise Ita had gotten in with a request and was waiting to take the stage. Aisling and Leila milked the spotlight a moment longer before reluctantly handing the microphone over.
Maureen had mooched up to the bar once her middle daughter and Leila had finished their double act. ‘I’ll have two pina coladas please,’ she shouted across the sticky bar top to the young fella who, if she half shut her left eye, had the look of the dimply one from Westlife. He gave her a cocky smirk.
‘What was that love? Two penis and lagers?’
Maureen was flummoxed, her gin and tequila-addled brain thought he’d said the word penis but that couldn’t be right. Surely not. ‘No,’ she shook her head vehemently but didn’t like the way it made her head spin. ‘Two pina coladas,’ She gave him the fingers inadvertently before assailing him with her rendition of the chorus of the famous song by the same name. ‘And, I’d like the little umbrellas in them. The ones you get when you’re on your holidays.’
Jaysus, he had a right one here, he thought, setting about making the cocktails, and what was with the cowgirl look? She was taking karaoke to another level.
‘Can you do the Tom Cruise thing. You know from that film, what was it called, now?’
‘Cocktail and it was before my time.’
‘Oh.’ Maureen was disappointed, she would have liked a show, so she would.
‘He’s no good, Bronagh, he can’t do the Tom Cruise thing,’ she said as she joined her to wait for the drinks.
‘Ah, never mind,’ Bronagh flapped her hand. ‘This place has karaoke. I love karaoke me. Moira’s done Aisling proud with tonight, it’s been grand so it has. The meal was very good too.’
The dimply one shook his cannister.
‘Give it more elbow into it, son,’ Maureen called over and turning back to Bronagh, she agreed. ‘She has and it was.’ They’d gone to a Mexican restaurant and had a lovely time tipping their heads back in the dentist chair for the tequila shots. Truth be told, neither woman would have been able to tell you whether they’d had nachos or a burrito to eat.
‘Those two were very polished.’ Bronagh pointed to the stage where Leila and Aisling were bowing deeply as though they were getting a standing ovation at the Royal Variety Show performance.
‘They were. They knew all the dance moves and everything.’ Maureen looked at the stage in time to see Aisling pass the microphone to Ita. ‘I wonder what Ita will sing.’
‘Sadie the Cleaning Lady,’ Bronagh said, hiccupping and giggling at the same time. ‘Because singing about doing the old scrub-a-dub-dub is as close as she’ll get to actually giving it what for.’
Ita or Idle Ita as Moira was fond of calling her was not the most dedicated director of housekeeping. It was a fact, but still, out of loyalty to her old friend, Ita’s mammy, Maureen stuck up for her. ‘Ah, she’s alright Ita. She had a hard time of it after her daddy left. She deserves a break.’
Both women were rendered silent though as Ita cleared her throat before beginning to sing. She’d chosen Dusty Springfield’s Son of a Preacher Man and her voice started off with a wobble but built in confidence until it was soaring around the bar. It was one of those rare karaoke moments when someone gets up who can actually sing and people who’d been sitting in darkened corners nursing drinks were compelled to make their way onto the dance floor to move to her sultry sound.
‘Who’d have thought it?’ Bronagh said.
‘I wonder if her mammy knows she can sing,’ Maureen said.
‘Here we are ladies.’ Two creamy drinks in tall glasses were placed in front of the women. Each had a cocktail umbrella swizzle stick poking out the side, much to Maureen’s delight. They sipped their drinks while listening to Ita.
‘Look who’s after getting up next.’ Bronagh nudged Maureen to where Roisin, Moira and Nina were ready to storm the stage. ‘Hard act to follow,’ she lamented, looking sorrowfully into the depths of her drink. ‘Glad it’s them not us.’
Maureen agreed, joining in with the cheers, Ita received when she’d finished. There were calls for more, more but Roisin, Moira and Nina were already up and ready. As they erupted into a poppy dance song, Maureen spluttered, sending a fine spray of pina colada forth. ‘Christ on a bike! Chance would be a fine thing where those two of mine are concerned.’
They’d picked Like a Virgin and were earnestly singing about being touched for the very first time.
By the time Ro-ro and Tina-Marie had gyrated their way through Black Velvet, Bronagh could feel the urge to croon welling up in her throat.
‘Come on now, we can’t let the side down, Maureen. It’s our turn next so it is. Let’s see what there is to choose from.’
Maureen drained her drink and told Bronagh she had
