Chapter 9: The beginning of a dilemma.

After Jim and Mark cleared it with Max (the bartender and owner), we spent about thirty minutes getting in some practice. The three guys had an amazing command of anything--from the latest hits to Beatles tunes. To be completely honest, I love to sing. However, I know perfectly well that my ability comes nowhere close to my enthusiasm, and try to avoid singing in public. As you might have noticed, my self-control isn't really up to the task.

As luck would have it, the bar was amazingly packed for a weeknight. And thirsty too--Max had a shit-eating grin going that I've rarely seen, even on weekends. <sigh> More people to make a fool of myself in front of, I thought to myself. There was a stirring of interest when Max announced a sing-off between 'two rival bands, ' as he put it. Hmmm... two rival bands that share the same guitarists and keyboardist... real friendly rivals, no?

The seven of us came out for introductions to a smattering of applause. Morgan and Maddie were clearly enjoying themselves in the limelight, while the rest of us were more casual about it. After the intros, I stepped up to the mike and said, "If I had known that this would be a contest, I would have conceded immediately. After all, me against those three--who would you pick?"

Cheers and whistles from the crowd.

"Still, since I'm up here, I might as well give it a shot," I continued. "Oh, and if you're going to throw anything, throw something soft, hmm? Those beer bottles are hard." Just keep them laughing, I thought.

I had decided to start with 'Acoustic #3' by the Goo Goo Dolls. Slow, soft, and perfect for my voice range. From their practice, the three girls were perfectly willing to sing the fast ones. I figured on something to get the audience interested--they'll be fired up when Emily gets through with them. Judging from the applause, I did just that.

Emily didn't disappoint. The three of them strolled in to the strains of En Vogue's 'Don't Let Go.' Morgan and Emily switched off leads, while Maddie backed them up on vocals. It seemed that Morgan knew the song well; she was sticking all of her entrances and lighting it up. When they finished, it was to wildly enthusiastic applause. Fired up, all right.

I knew I couldn't match the intensity, so I stuck to the R&B theme and slowed it down with Keith Sweat's 'Twisted.' Halfway through the song, I knew that this would be one of the good nights. The ones when I sing almost as well as I want to. Doesn't happen often, but I'm glad it did that night. We traded a few songs, alternating fast and slow each time. After they finished a chorus version of 'I Love You Always Forever' by Donna Lewis, I stepped up to the mike and asked for requests.

Surprisingly, most of the people wanted some slow music to dance to. Okay, so I didn't notice all the couples in the crowd earlier. I started out with Savage Garden's 'I Knew I Loved You, ' Maddie continued with 'How Do I Live' by Leann Rimes, Emily added Celine Dion's 'Because You Loved Me, ' and Morgan did a beautiful rendition of Roberta Flack's 'Killing Me Softly.' Emily and I then finished with 'Love Is' by Vanessa Williams and Brian McKnight (a song we had sung together before) to thunderous applause. When polled for the winner, the crowd declared it a draw by acclamation.

Some local talent anxious to strut their stuff took over then, so we got a bit of rest. Not much, though--I was promptly dragged onto the dance floor. I mostly switched off between Maddie and Morgan, though Emily claimed me for one late in the evening. While we were dancing, she leaned in and whispered, "You know that they both like you, right?"

"Much as I would like to think so, there's no way that could be..." Something in her tone of voice hit me and I turned to look into her eyes. "Oh my God, you're serious."

"Serious as a heart attack. Still, I could be wrong."

"In this case, I hope you are. Maddie's a handful already."

"Aren't you curious about what we talked about?"

"I'm sure you'll tell me, in a suitably drawn-out manner."

"When did you start robbing the cradle?"

"If either of them told the story properly, the cradle robbed me."