Karaoke
CJ/Danny, others
PG-rated
Not mine, never were, never will be but they consume my soul.
"Back Door Sluts IX" is the invention of the creators of " South Park". ( Season 6, Episode 13; "Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers". Gerald Brovlovski: "Back Door Sluts IX makes Crotch Capers IV look like Naughty Nurses II"
If you would like a link to the lyrics of the songs mentioned here, send me email!
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This is the third part of my wedding story. The karaoke aspect has been brewing in my head for almost a month; I just needed a setting for it. Thanks to candidata/writer in the making for using "Natural Woman" in her story; it made it easy for me to choose between it and the other song I had in mind for CJ!
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The karaoke challenge was the biggest hit of the reception.
Seeing that all the other guys were totally engrossed in watching Kate Harper, her skirt pulled almost all the way up her thighs, perform "Proud Mary", Danny surreptitiously gathered up CJ's shoes and his jacket and moved them to a chair at the back of the room. Then he returned to the group and whispered something to his wife. A few minutes later, as Amy Gardner was taking her bows after a preposterous "I Enjoy Being a Girl" from Flower Drum Song, CJ made some comment about getting rid of some wine and headed toward the hallway and the restrooms. Then, while Ed and Larry had everyone laughing their posteriors off with their duet of "You Don't Bring Me Flowers Anymore", Danny slipped out, picking up the shoes and the jacket. Looking around and seeing that the coast was clear, he tapped out the Notre Dame Victory March on the women's restroom door and when CJ came out, gave her the shoes, grabbed her hand and the two of them ran out of the ballroom building.
As Abbey had predicted, CJ did go ballistic when he explained what the guys had done and why they wouldn't be spending their wedding night in the bridal suite. He had to restrain her physically from heading back to the ballroom.
Abbey, Debbie, and the resort staff certainly came through. When he opened the door to what had been Bonnie and Ginger's room, it was lit by 2 dozen flicker candles ("So we don't burn down the place"), the ice bucket held bottles of water as well as champagne, and there were plates of fruit, cheese, and petit fours. It wasn't the bridal suite, but it had a bed and it had drapes. Looking at the beds, CJ told him that she would take the one closest to the bathroom and he could have the one closest to the door.
"They do look kind of small, compared to what we're used to," he commented.
"It'll be like we're back in college in the dorms."
"Well, at Notre Dame, we couldn't do the kind of things you wild Berkeley sybarites could."
She mentioned something about really having to go this time and went into the bathroom. He took advantage of the time to take off his shoes and his socks. He thought that dealing with socks was always the most awkward part of a seduction. She came back, tossing her pantyhose and her slip on a chair.
They had a picnic, sitting crossed-legged on one of the beds, and talked about the events of the past two days. It was the first time they had been alone since Thursday morning.
So far, they were lucky; nothing occurred in the nation or in the world to keep Josh, Donna, Sam and the others still in government from participating fully in the event. Speaking of which, what would Matt and Helen Santos think whey they heard that Josh and Donna sang "Afternoon Delight" in the karaoke challenge?
Thursday night had been warm and clear. Because people were arriving at all hours of the afternoon and evening, there was no formal rehearsal dinner. The resort set up a buffet and a bar by the pool and everyone gathered there. Eventually, there were the usual toasts and funny stories, the light-hearted advice ("Separate checking accounts, separate televisions and separate sinks and vanities in the bathroom" from CJ's sister-in-law; "Trust me, don't use the good china soup tureen when you're changing the oil in your car" from one Danny's Notre Dame suitemates; "When he says 'What did you do with my whatever', he means 'I've lost my whatever' ", according to Andy). At the end of the evening, more than a few tears were shed when, in keeping with her mother's last wishes, Erin sang "Danny Boy" to her brother. The second, not often heard verse almost brought the singer herself to tears:
"But when ye come and all the flowers are dying
If I am dead, and dead I well may be
You'll come and find the place where I am lying
And kneel and say an 'Ave' there for me
And I shall hear tho' soft you tread above me
And all my grave will warmer, sweeter be
For you will bend and tell me that you love me
And I shall sleep in peace until you come to me"
With time zones differences affecting some of the guests, the evening began to end quietly, with CJ going to spend the night with "my adopted parental units" in the executive suite. The men did some good-natured complaining because Danny absolutely refused a bachelor party ("Maybe if I had let them get me a keg, some cigars, and Back Door Sluts IX, they wouldn't have wrecked the bridal suite").
He told her about the sailing race that he and Sam had arranged for the guys for Friday morning. His college friends' sailboat came in first, his came in second, which was pretty good for a crew of newsmen, his brother-in-law and CJ's brother, and Sam and the white house guys last ("Probably because the President insisted on explaining all the knots"). She told him that the women enjoyed their morning in the spa of the resort, especially the cabana boys,and then had mimosas and quiche while watching Hogan and her fellow midshipwomen on ESPN.
But they kept coming back to the karaoke. Some picked songs that suited them; some picked songs that were totally out of character; and some picked songs that caused comment.
Zoey and Charley were trying hard not to show it, but there was definitely some tension in their relationship. He sang "You're the First, the Last, My Everything"; later, when she sang "Angel of the Morning", more than one eyebrow was raised. ("At least she didn't do 'You Don't Own Me' ; that's what Annie said she had picked out.")
Toby surprised everyone with "Lightning Strikes", as did Will with "Hot Blooded".
The wives of Danny's friends acted as backup singers for everyone else.
Sam and Carol apparently conferred because immediately after he sang "Oh, Carol", she got on stage and responded with Carole King's parody response "Oh, Neil" and brought down the house with the spoken lines "I'd give a month's supply of chewin' tobaccy If I could be Mrs. Neil Sedaky".
Bonnie, Ginger, and Margaret sang "Nine to Five". They also sang several Motown hits such as "He's So Fine", but there was a lot of speculation when they did "Love the One You're With".
Chris was flying off on Sunday to be imbedded with some troops in Kazakhstan and she dedicated "Leaving on a Jet Plane" to her fiancé.
Everyone expected that the President would sing one of his Sinatra favorites but there he and Abbey were, belting out "And Then He/I Kissed Me/Her" as if they had been performing all their lives.
The press guys got together to sing "Heard It Through the Grapevine",
Andy sang "Fever" ("And gave Toby one".)
Her brother and sister-in-law did a fine imitation of Johnny and June Carter Cash with " Jackson". As a "real church soloist", Erin was not allowed to compete but Robin and the girls were a fine Tony Orlando and Dawn with "Knock Three Times". Franklin Hollis, his wife, Liz, Ellie, and Vic got together for "Everyday People". Annie surprised everyone with a haunting version of Bob Dylan's "Just Like a Woman".
The self-named "Old Broads" were declared winners of the challenge. Abbey, Debbie, and Nancy McNally performed as backup for each other, with Abbey taking the lead on "My Boyfriend's Back", Debbie on "Leader of the Pack", and Nancy on "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow".
CJ begged and begged to no avail that the two of them be excused from the contest, especially since it was decided that her doing "The Jackal" would be too much of an advantage. Danny had said it was okay as long as they didn't have to do "mushy". ("It's the only time I'd dare tell you to 'Get Your Biscuits in the Oven and Your Buns in the Bed'," he laughed. "And you are 'Lovely', even if you aren't a slave girl in ancient Rome.")
Their eyes met and he took her hands, pulling her off one bed to stand by the other. He decided he wanted to deal with the buttons and turned her back to him, kissing down her spine as his fingers went down the row. The zipper would have been easier but there was something ritualistic about undoing the buttons that appealed to him.
She stood there, head bent, arms crossed in front of her holding up the dress,until he had finished, turned her round again, and started kissing her neck and shoulders. She had a nightgown – it was made of the same lace as her dress, only there was no lining to get between its peek-a-boo sheerness and her body – and in all her young girl dreams of what this night would be like, she alternated between the faceless man removing her dress as Danny as doing or changing in the bathroom and walking into the bedroom in such a nightgown. The moment was at hand. Should she ask him which he would prefer?
She decided that the nightgown would be there later, but, in spite of their past experience, both separate and with each other, this was their first time together as man and wife. There would be no other time for this groom to undress this bride.
He slipped the dress from her arms; she reached up, slipped off his suspenders, undid the studs on his shirt and removed it. Kiss. He unhooked the lacy brassiere that matched the color of her dress and she removed his undershirt. Kiss. He pushed the dress from her waist to the floor and she undid his zipper and did the same with his pants. Kiss. Then, one hand on her waist as the other reached down to the bedcovers, he spoke into her mouth.
"Mrs. Concannon, I think it's high time I started working on getting you pregnant."
Afterward, she told him about the nightgown and he asked her to go put it on. When she returned, he was sitting on the bed in a pair of blue-violet silk pajama bottoms. ("Erin said the girls picked them out for me.")
The batteries in some of the flicker candles were dying and the room was becoming darker; he could just see hints of her coloring under the lace. She sat beside him and handed him a small box. When he opened it, there were two pair of cufflinks shaped like goldfish, one pair gold, the other platinum. Kissing her in thanks, he set "the Gails" aside, reached in the nightstand and handed her a box of her own.
"Danny, the pearls were more than enough".
"This is special, Jeanie, just between us."
When she opened the box, she saw a goldfish pendant on a thin chain. There were small blue sapphires on both sides where the eyes would be. The body of the fish was covered on both sides with pavé stones in colors arranged haphazardly to resemble the iridescence of a live fish. There were aquamarines, yellow, white, pink, and green sapphires, iolite, tanzanite, some fire opal.
"Oh my God, Danny, where did you ever find anything so perfect?"
"I went to a jewelry designer and told her what I wanted. She did the rest".
They lay on their sides, heads propped up on one arm and talked some more. They weren't leaving for Scotland until Sunday evening. Most of the guests were also staying through Sunday or Monday. Abbey had some events planned for tomorrow ("After I finish killing those guys") – a trip to San Simeon and a beach picnic – so the two of them would have the place to themselves for a while. Hopefully, the bridal suite would be back in order.
Touching her face, he asked her, "What would you have sung if we had done 'mushy'"?
She began to sing softly Roberta Flack's beautiful words:
"The first time ever I saw your face
I thought the sun rose in your eyes
And the moon and stars were the gifts you gave
To the dark and the empty skies, my love,
To the dark and the empty skies.
The first time ever I kissed your mouth
And felt your heart beat close to mine
Like the trembling heart of a captive bird
That was there at my command, my love
That was there at my command.
And the first time ever I lay with you
I felt your heart so close to mine
And I knew our joy would fill the earth
And last till the end of time my love
It would last till the end of time my love
"What would you have picked?"
He pulled her over to him. The words of the Everly Brothers came from his mouth:
"I bless the day I found you
I want to stay around you
And so I beg you, let it be me
Don't take this heaven from one
If you must cling to someone
Now and forever, let it be me
Each time we meet love
I find complete love
Without your sweet love what would life be
So never leave me lonely
Tell me you love me only
And that you'll always let it be me
Each time we meet love
I find complete love
Without your sweet love what would life be
So never leave me lonely
Tell me you love me only
And that you'll always---let--it be me.
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"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" -- Roberta Flack
"Let It Be Me" -- Don and Phil Everly