Oooh I . . .
I love you ever so much, much
I’m living for your every touch, touch
And your every kiss . . . is . . . bliss
Oooh I . . . I love your big blue eyes, love
I’m living for your every smile, love
And your every kiss, kiss, kiss
Every day with you I’m smitten
Every day I have a crush
Feelin’ infatuated.
Every day I’m so in love!
It’s loooove!
I’m so in love with youuuu!
Just like the sky is bluuuuue!
You’re my first. My last. My best. My only.
Looooooove!
Don’t want no one but youuuuuu!
Because this love is true!
Can’t get enough of you
You’re my first, my last, I’ll be smitten, always
Oh, you
How’d you get so lovely?
You’re like the sun above me
Every smile a ray of light
Oh, you
How’d you get so funny?
You make the gray skies sunny
And your every kiss is bliss
Every day with you I’m smitten
Every day I have a crush
Feelin’ infatuated.
Every day I’m so in love!
It’s loooove!
I’m so in love with youuuu!
Just like the sky is bluuuuue!
You’re my first. My last. My best. My only.
Looooooove!
Don’t want no one but youuuuuu!
Because this love is true!
Can’t get enough of you
You’re my first, my last, I’ll be smitten, always
[Hear Alfi’s acoustic version of “Smitten” here]
Fish calls out to the crowd to join us in singing our last chorus, and they do, loudly, as the children at the front of the stage continue bopping and twirling to the music.
When our happy little song is over, the crowd cheers enthusiastically and demands another. So, Fish and I launch into a cover tune—our mid-tempo, duet arrangement of The Kinks’ banger, “All Day and All of the Night.” After that one, we perform “Buddy Holly” by Weezer in duet, just to keep the dance party going. And then another two upbeat songs from my album.
After that, we invite Colin and Dax onstage, and, to the thrill of the crowd, 22 Goats performs stripped-down versions of a few hits, including “Fireflies” and “People Like Us,” with me singing giddy backups for them, along with Fish.
When the four of us finally leave the stage, it’s to high-fives and hugs.
Reed squeezes me and says, “Happy birthday, lil sis. You looked like you were having a blast up there.”
“I was.” I sigh happily. “This is the best day of my life.”
Reed chuckles, having heard me say that before. He says, “I bet that performance felt like a nice moment of redemption, huh?”
I tilt my head. “Redemption?”
Reed nods. “It wasn’t all that long ago I suggested you hop onstage at a party at my house and perform exactly the way you just did—and you sprinted away, with your tail between your legs. And look at you now! You got up there like a little badass and owned that stage.”
I make a face that says, I do believe you’ve got a point.
Reed continues, “If you’d have sauntered onto that stage back then and performed with half the confidence you just displayed, I’d have signed you to a full album deal that very night.”
“Well, then, I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t saunter onto that stage back then, huh? If a single thing had happened differently that night, maybe Fish and I wouldn’t be together now. Maybe Fish wouldn’t have been the one to produce my album.”
“Probably not.”
“Well, there you go. If some kind of butterfly effect would have taken away the very best parts of my present life, then I’d never want to risk going back and changing a single thing.”
“Fair enough.”
“Hey, birthday girl,” Georgina says, sashaying toward me with two glasses of champagne. When she comes to a stop, she hands me one of the flutes, and calls Fish over, telling him she wants to propose a toast. When Fish arrives, a beer bottle in hand, Georgina raises her flute and says, “Happy birthday, Ally. You’re the light of my life. I’m so proud of everything you’ve accomplished and, even more so, the beautiful person you are.”
Reed and Fish agree and everyone clinks and drinks to me.
Reed says, “I was just telling our little Diva that her performance just now felt like a nice moment of redemption, given what happened two years ago when I tried to get her to perform at a party.”
We all reminisce about that party for a bit—at how it feels like a lifetime ago. We talk about how far I’ve come since then, as a person and performer, and how excited we are for the new crop of songs Fish and I have been working on.
But, finally, Fish says, “If you two will excuse us . . . Ally got her ‘redemption’ tonight. It’s time for the Goat called Fish to get his.”
Thirty-Eight
Alessandra
Fish takes my hand, the same way he did the first night we met, like it’s the most natural thing in the world, and leads me away from the crowded party, toward the farthest, darkest reaches of Reed’s expansive backyard. And, quickly, I realize my beloved is taking me to the very spot where Reed, Keane, and Zander interrupted what should have been our first kiss two years ago.