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Now listen, Marleau never claimed to be the most observant man, but even he could tell something was up with Roz. The Raiders captain hadn’t been himself in weeks. Cliff did notice that he hadn’t been getting any texts from Montreal Jane recently, so that was probably part of the problem.
Cliff felt that as the assistant captain and his best friend on the team it was his job to cheer up Roz.
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Looking back, he doesn’t know why he thought karaoke was the best option to try and cheer his friend up. The 2 men had arrived at the bar around an hour ago. While he was mostly sober, he couldn’t say the same thing about Roz. Cliff had bought them both shots as soon as they arrived. He stopped after 2, knowing he needed to be sober enough to drive later, but the other man kept going. Cliff wasn’t sure exactly how much alcohol his friend had consumed in the last hour but he was sure he hadn’t seen him this drunk in a long time.
He watched as Roz approached the bar to get another drink. As he started to order, Cliff saw the man glance at the TV and still completely. The TV was set to some news program airing another story about Shane Hollander and Rose Landry. Out of his peripheral vision, he saw his friend down another shot before turning around and approaching Cliff.
“We are at a karaoke bar, so I think it’s time we do some singing Marly.” Roz says as he throws an arm around his shoulder. Cliff doesn’t sing and he really did not want to get on the stage. However, he knew this was his idea and he would do just about anything to help his friend feel better. If singing on stage in front of drunk strangers brought Roz out of whatever headspace he had been in, then he would do it.
“What song did you have in mind?” he said.
“Don’t worry, I have the perfect song. You will love it.” Roz said and somehow that scared him.
He watched the other man walk to the front of the bar and write their names on the sign up sheet.
“We are next! Get on stage!”
Cliff makes his way towards the stage while still not knowing what song he would be singing in approximately 30 seconds.
Once he made his way onto the stage, he was handed a mic by the staff. As the song started to play, he immediately knew what song Roz had picked for them. This song had been making its rounds in the Bears locker room as of late.
Cliff heard the man beside him start to sing.
“Oh, I leave quite an impression
Five feet to be exact”
He lifted his microphone to sing the next line and when he looked at the crowd he saw recognition flash in some faces. He knew immediately that this moment would be making the rounds on social media by the time they left the stage.
Cliff was really trying to sing along with Roz but he kept being distracted by his friend, who seemed to be deeply feeling the lyrics that Ms. Carpenter was singing. Absent-mindedly, he wondered if this had anything to do with Jane and her lack of texts.
Now I’m gone, but you’re still layin’
Next to me, one degree of seperation
I heard you’re back together and if that’s true
You’ll just have to taste me when he’s kissin’ you
By this point in the song, they had gathered an audience around the small stage. The crowd was screaming the lyrics with Roz because by this point Cliff had almost given up trying to sing completely. Instead, he had decided to watch his friend. This was the lightest he had seen Roz in months. Now, the alcohol could be to blame but it seemed that singing was cathartic in a way.
Everytime you close your eyes
And feel his lips, you’re feelin’ mine
And every time you breathe his air
Just know I was already there
They had reached the bridge of the song and Cliff noticed that this seemed to be that part that was resonating with his friend maybe a little too much. He was singing (screaming) the lyrics into the microphone so loud that a vein had popped on the side of his neck. However, he was also spinning around and dancing on the stage as the song played.
You can have him if you like
I’ve been there, done that once or twice
And singin’ ‘bout it don’t mean I care
Yeah, I know I’ve known to share
Cliff continued to watch his friend through the rest of the song. As the song ended, Roz took his bows as the crowd cheered. As Cliff begins to help his friend off the stage, he feels his phone begin to vibrate. This can only mean one thing: the videos have already started making the rounds on various social media platforms.
However, he can’t bring himself to regret anything for two reasons.
One being the smile that currently lives on his friend’s face.
The second one being that he secretly hopes Jane sees the video.