Marcie and Leo Ch. 177

(Hello reader. I apologize for the delay. Life had been getting in the way lately in an effort to type something and something shmaltzy seemed to be on the menu. If you'd like, I refer to two country songs in this installment you could look up if you like. )

It was an average Saturday night when Marcie and I went out again. We offered to Aubrey and Wes to go with and they accepted. As we drove, the topic of what to do came up. The ladies were dressed casually since we didn't let on about anything fancy when the invite went out. Wes and I were dressed in jeans and casual shirts. It was as we drove by a certain place that offered Karaoke that the girls pointed and tried to convince me to stop.

"They don't have food there," I said. "Well, besides bar food. What do you folks want to eat?"

As I continued driving, they discussed amongst themselves what sounded good. It was then that they arrived at a weird decision. As I continued to drive cluelessly, Aubrey was on her phone. This meant to be somewhere we never went to before. It was then she showed her phone to Marcie who looked at her in agreement.

When it comes to trying new things, I must be persuaded at most times. It is not that I am stuck in my ways per se. It is just that sometimes I need to know the new thing is worth the investment. Considering that many have read that I would provide seed money for friends to try out new business ventures, this probably comes as a shock. When Marcie started navigating, I was unsure where we were headed.

We ended up on a side street with a small sign advertising the place. As I looked at the sign, it read Polish cuisine. I had no idea there were any Polish restaurants in our area much less ever had Polish food. Marcie seemed primed for it. Aubrey was also. Wes was probably in the same mindset as me. As we found our way into the basement where the restaurant was, my senses were heightened. The woman near the front led us through to a nice circular table. We noticed there was no booth settings at all. Marcie seemed at peace with it.

We sat down and the waitress asked us for drink orders with a basket of pumpernickel bread and butter in hand. As we looked at the menu, I ordered a water. The others ordered alcoholic drinks since I was driving. It did not take long for the drinks to come even on a weekend evening. I remembering ordering a mix of potato pancakes and pierogi. We had a nice hour checking out the food and relaxing before we started hearing singing from the other end.

I turned around. There was a drunken person singing some sad song on the microphone. As much as I love Karaoke, I was concerned about what kind of music was available to perform. I turned back towards the group to spy Marcie chatting with the waitress. When the waitress walked away, Marcie had that sparkle smile on her face. I hope she picked out a good song was the first thought in my head.

It was twenty minutes later before I was ushered onto stage before I started hearing the familiar starting melody from Luke Bryan.

"We were counting one star at a time," I started to sing.

I just did what came naturally at that point. I just let the song take me as I sang along. I heard some positive feedback from the crowd before looking in Marcie's direction and seeing her smile. I saw Wes holding Aubrey close before I started the chorus.

"We were down to 1AM," I continued.

It is difficult to explain what happens to me on stage. I am the background guy. I prefer it that way to be honest. It is just that when giving the right setting, I guess the choir kid comes out. I kept going until the song was finishing up before I readied myself to go back into Marcie's arms. The operator had a different idea. Before I had a chance to run, there was the familiar opening for an old Ronnie Milsap song starting.

"What a difference you made in my life," I started.

I was in full crooner mode by that point. It felt like the right song with all the wonderful thoughts in my mind. Thinking of Marcie, of the things life itself had blessed me with. My mind was at peace as I started pouring my heart into the words.

"What a change you have made in my heart,"

I looked at Marcie and started to see her eyes sparkle for me.

"Now I joined in the singing because you showed me love's true meaning..."

The crowd started to join in the next chorus almost like I was wearing the sunglasses like Ronnie did. I secretly hoped there was not a third song because I wanted to melt with Marcie at that point. After the last chorus ended, there was lots of clapping before I left the stage and headed back to Marcie's arms.

"I didn't pick that one," she said.

"I was not sure, Amor. I felt every word though," I responded before kissing her deeply.

We headed back to the car before we drove towards home. Sometimes to show appreciation, it is not about the flashiest ways. Sometimes, the old standards work and sometimes, the newer material does also.