‘What’s your song, Brian?’ Cameron enquires. ‘For me, it’s “Faith”. George Michael. Love that song.’
‘“Don’t stop believing”,’ Brian says proudly.
I don’t have the heart to tell him that I think that’s the most annoying song I’ve ever heard and that it should be wiped from existence.
‘He’s very good,’ Evelyn confirms, placing a hand on Brian’s arm. ‘Oh, and sometimes he sings “All I Have to Do Is Dream” with Claire. Brings a tear to my eye, so it does.’
‘I love karaoke,’ Lucas says enthusiastically. ‘And as cliché as it is, my go-to song would be “Party in the USA”. How can anyone hate Miley?’
‘We do karaoke often,’ Mia says. You know “Rehab”? Amy Winehouse? That is my song.’
‘What about you, Dieter?’ Lucas asks.
‘“Love Shack”,’ he replies quite seriously. ‘I like the B52s very much.’
I’m dying. I just cannot picture Dieter, with his tidy hair and sensible trousers, singing something that flamboyant, or indeed Mia singing soul in her beige moccasins. In fact, I cannot picture either of them at karaoke, full stop.
‘What about you?’ Cameron asks Isla.
She momentarily looks up from her phone. ‘What about me?’
‘Karaoke? Do you have a favourite song?’
‘God, no, I wouldn’t be seen dead at karaoke.’
‘Right. Good to know.’
‘I’ve only taken part in karaoke once,’ I admit. ‘So I don’t really have a song.’
‘What would you choose, though?’ Cameron asks. ‘What’s a song you’d sing in the car or the shower?’
I mentally go through my Spotify song list. John Denver? Too chill. Lily Allen? Too hard to sing without mimicking her accent and failing. How about every Eurovision song ever written? This is difficult.
I finally choose before everyone loses interest. ‘Hmm, maybe “Before He Cheats”,’ I reply. ‘Or “Heart of Glass”, I’m not sure.’
‘Oh, you’re absolutely doing karaoke before this cruise is over,’ Cameron insists. ‘It’s on every day. I won’t take no for an answer.’
Chapter 29
I won’t lie, I’m nervous. Even after two daiquiris, the much-needed bravado hasn’t quite hit yet. I’m torn as to why I feel like this. I’m a confident woman. I wow clients, mastermind campaigns, never letting my nerves affect me. So why has this foray into saying yes turned all of that on its head? The further I’ve gone, the more I’ve started caring what other people think. Doubting myself. What happened to the legend? The force to be reckoned with? The icon?
I wear a blue dress and white wedge sandals, my make-up simple and my hair tied in a side braid. My mother believes that any kind of braid or pigtails should be abandoned after the age of twelve. She also thinks the same about chicken nuggets and cereal. I often wonder what it’s like to be so clearly wrong.
This is marketed as a dating event, even down to the pink love heart over the letter ‘I’ in singles. However, as previously discovered, the singles aspect of the mixer could also apply to solo travellers and not necessarily unattached. Although through the power of critical thinking, I figure that not many attached people are going to dump their significant others to cruise alone.
I walk up to the lounge and make sure the sign is definitely for a singles’ mixer and not the line dancing contest.
No shorts, flip-flops, beach clothes, sportswear or baseball caps.
Calm down, bikini police, I get it.
The space is bright, with neon everywhere from the lights to the bar. There are four or five tables with plush purple seating and a large floor space. I imagine this is where the mingling happens. It’s 9.12 p.m. (never arrive too early for cocktails and awkwardness) and not particularly busy, though having never been to a singles mixer on a cruise, I have nothing to compare it to. The fifteen or so people I see inside might constitute an excellent turnout, or an abject failure, I’m not sure.
Like all good mixers there’s a table of bellinis on the right and, further in, a spread of finger foods and nibbles, in case hunger strikes in the middle of forced conversation.
As I walk in, I tell myself not to be so pessimistic. My dinner companions are delightful, so why should anyone here be any different? Sure, from first glance it looks a little like a wedding reception, or a sunburn support group, but there are a mix of ages and genders, so that’s a start. As I take a glass from the table, and scan the room, Alex’s words pop into my head.
Just remember, it’s not about being on the hunt, it’s about putting yourself into unfamiliar situations and being open to what that might lead to.
