Perfect Fifths_ A Jessica Darling Novel - Megan McCafferty [96]
None of this matters anymore. The spirit has moved her! She is reborn! She’s the most repentant sinner at this revival meeting, and it’s not enough for Jessica to be a passive spectator at the moment of her salvation. She is overcome by an evangelical desire to share her divine revelation (Marcus Flutie!). She raises up her cell phone to capture a few seconds of this holy vision. She says a silent prayer and sends proof of this miracle to Hope, Bridget, and Percy with a message: I’ll miss the wedding but will be there for everything after. I promise to tell all tomorrow. XOXO, J.
There’s one last way for her to testify her devotion. She must unite with Marcus Flutie on the altar and sing praises to the Showman of Our Time. Thus empowered by her epiphany, Jessica grabs the spare microphone dangling from the side of the DJ’s booth and switches it on. She opens her mouth to join Marcus on the bridge.
“I’m FinDInG iT HaRD lEaviNG yOur lOvE BeHinD meEeeEEeEeee!”
The submusical sounds could be confused with Pentecostal tongues. The Tristate BMIFC is baffled by the appearance of this girl onstage until Lola points and shouts, “That’s the mini-Maniloony from the customer service center!”
If Marcus is stunned by the sudden appearance of Jessica onstage, he doesn’t let it show for long. His eyes startle, then quickly settle on the veins bulging in her forehead as she strains to hit even the easiest notes. He grins. He nods in encouragement. He even breaks into a chorus-style kick line in time with the clap-along-cymbals-crashing coda.
“I jUst caN’t sMiLe WitHouT yOoooOoooOOOooOOooooOoOooooo OooOoooooooOoooooooOoooooU!”
Now Jessica and Marcus are smiling so broadly that they could be accused of overselling the song’s message for the most literal-minded audience members. Wait. You say you can’t smile WITHOUT each other … So does that mean you CAN smile WITH each other? Holy cow! I never saw it that way before. I totally get it now …
The moment the track ends, Jessica and Marcus nearly fall off the stage in incredulous laughter. Did we just do that? Did we just sing “Can’t Smile Without You” in front of a roomful of strangers? Are we really still here together? Did this strange-but-true story just get even stranger? Like, off-the-charts strange?
Meanwhile, the BMIFC is whooping and whistling and banging cutlery against their emptied drink glasses. The sight of two young Fanilows in love makes up for missing the Final Show in Las Vegas. Well, almost.
When Jessica has finally caught her breath, she says pointedly, “You know, I can smile without you.”
“I know that,” Marcus replies, matching her tone. “I can smile without you, too.”
“I can laugh …”
“… but you sure as hell can’t sing!” shouts Lola, which is when Jessica and Marcus realize they are still holding the microphones close to their mouths. They drop the mikes to their sides.
Marcus turns to Jessica, leans in close, and whispers over the din. “Jessica?”
She can’t speak. She can only part her lips in anticipation. Because Marcus Flutie is going to kiss me, Jessica thinks. Marcus Flutie is going to kiss me, and I am going to pass out right on his stage and hit my head and fall into my own coma dream.
He gently squeezes her cheeks with his thumb and forefinger, pushing her lips into an exaggerated pucker. “You are the worst singer I have ever heard.”
This is their second touch all day. Another shock passes between them, and this time there’s no question that it isn’t a case of static electricity caused by feet shuffling across the carpet.
seventeen
Jessica and Marcus have parted ways with the Tristate Chapter of the Barry Manilow International Fan Club. They head toward the elevators, his gait noticeably less sure-footed than hers.
“Was it my imagination, or did they recognize