Coffee Shop Soundtrack

“Pat,” I said. “Is Makenna coming tonight?”

He shrugged. “I haven’t talked to her. Why?”

“No reason.” I sat back down and took my bottle of water from the table. I wondered if Pat has talked to her at all. Did he know about us hanging out the other day? Once Makenna and I got out of the lake, we sat and talked for a long time about stuff that wasn’t important. Music, Movies, TV. It felt so normal, so right. We actually felt like friends.

“Ready?” Garrett asked.

I nodded, although I wasn’t really. We went out on stage and started with Love & Drugs first, a song that was going to be on our new album. Right in the front were all of the girls we see at every show when we play in Tempe. They had to of seen us live about fifty times. Mixed in the crowd were faces that I recognized from high school, people who went around saying they were my friend. I searched the crowd for Makenna, but she was nowhere to be found. She wasn’t back stage, she wasn’t watching in front of the stage, she wasn’t there.

We played old stuff and new stuff and everything in between, and I kept looking for her.

Halfway through our set, Garrett leaned over and talked directly in my ear so that I would still hear him. “Stop looking for her, John. She’s not coming.”

I looked at him and his face was serious. Somehow he always knew when Makenna was on my mind.

He leaned over again. “There’s someone right on the side of the stage for you.” I looked over at Ashlyn to the right of me. “She’s here for you, John. Do you realize that? She’s here. Makenna isn’t.”

Ashlyn caught me looking at her and she gave me a huge smile. I smiled back. Garrett was right. Makenna wasn’t here, and she wasn’t coming. But Ashlyn was, she was there for me when I needed her. She was here right now. If Makenna cared about me like she used to, she would’ve been here. But she wasn’t.

I looked at Pat and nodded at him to start playing the next song while Kennedy was finishing whatever sentence he was saying to the crowd. I decided I would stop thinking about Makenna, if that was possible, and actually put on a good show. We played Count Em, One, Two, Three next and actually started having fun.

“Are you guys having a good time?” I said into the microphone. The crowd said their yeahs all at once so that it sounded like jumbled up screaming. “Good, me too,” I laughed. “This song is called Right Girl.”

--Got caught, running up a tab,
--Couldn't drive home so I had to share a cab.
--Introduced herself by her last name,
--The kinda girl you steal from the football team.

--Brought up a silver spoon mess,
--Always trying to tear off her Catholic dress.
--Told me she's over this place,
--Needs to feel the Mid-west wind in her face.

--And the alcohol made its way down,
--She was the last thing that I saw last night,
--Before I hit the ground.

--Oh, God, I did the wrong thing to the right girl,
--My mind was only in it for a minute.
--Had a bad fling with a good girl,
--I was stupid and dumb, not giving a.

--The blank stare at the window,
--If I could just sober up I could just admit,
--I did the wrong thing to the right girl.
--It was your world, baby and I just lived in it.
--It was your world, baby and I just lived in it.

--I've never been the best with my mouth,
--Try to say smart but the dumb comes out.
--Maybe I'm shy, drive an old car,
--Maybe I'm amazed that I got this far.

--When I got my stand by's waiting on the line,
--But the hardest part is knowing,
--That it won't be her this time.

--Oh, God, I did the wrong thing to the right girl,
--My mind was only in it for a minute.
--Had a bad fling with a good girl,
--I was stupid and dumb, not giving a.

--The blank stare at the window,
--If I could just sober up I could just admit,
--I did the wrong thing to the right girl.
--It was your world, baby and I just lived in it.
--It was your world, baby and I just lived in it.

The guys started singing “Please, Please, baby come back,” and I looked at Ashlyn and smiled again. -Then I looked to my left and froze. Makenna was standing right there, watching me. Her face was blank. I faced the crowd again and came back in on the song.

--She came back, thought she had it all planned out,
--Went to marry some guy she had talked about.
--A tear in her dress and a tear in her eye,
--And just like that her whole life flashed by.

I looked back at her while I sang but she still had no expression. She was here. She was here to see me. She did still care like she used to.

--You won't remember,
--What you said last night.
--That if you ever needed someone,
--To pick up the pieces in your life.

I looked back into the crowd, remembering that other people were watching me.

--Oh, God, I did the wrong thing to the right girl,
--My mind was only in it for a minute.
--Had a bad fling with a good girl,
--I was stupid and dumb, not giving a.

--The blank stare at the window,
--If I could just sober up I could just admit,
--I did the wrong thing to the right girl.
--It was your world, baby and I just lived in it.
--It was your world, baby and I just lived in it.
--It was your world

Yeah it was your world baby and I just lived in it.

I dropped my microphone and walked towards Makenna. When she saw I was coming towards her she turned and walked through the venue’s backstage exit. I followed her outside.

“Kenna,” I stopped her. “Wait, where are you going?”

She stopped and turned around. She wasn’t crying, but she was starting to tear up. “That song?” She asked, one tear sliding down her cheek.

I knew what she was asking already. I swallowed once and nodded. “Yeah.” She already knew though.

She shook her head. “Are there more?” She asked. “Did you write other songs about me?”

I paused. I couldn’t tell what she was feeling right now. She seemed mad, but at the same time she didn’t. Finally, I nodded. “Yeah.”

“How many?” She asked.

I took in a breath and let it back out. “A lot.”

She didn’t say anything else. I watched another tear slide down her face. It was quiet around us and I realized that everyone inside was probably wondering what the hell I was doing, but I didn’t care. I just looked at her. She was so beautiful, even when she didn’t have that amazing smile on her face.

“Ken?” I said.

“What?” She said so quietly, I almost didn’t hear it.

I took the few steps towards her and put my hands to her face, wiping off the tears that were falling down. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. And I pressed my lips softly to hers, holding her face in my hands. She kissed me back and for a second it felt so right, like this was meant to happen. Like I was going to have Makenna back.

Until a few seconds later she pulled her head away and stepped back with wide eyes. And then she turned and walked away.