Caroline Forbes is full of light (miss_mystic) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2020-07-06 18:04:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, caroline forbes, maria deluca |
Who: Maria DeLuca and Caroline Forbes
What: Catching up and karaoke
Where: Karaoke bar
When: After these texts
Rating: Low - talk of sick mothers
Status: Complete!
Maria knew there were a lot of fancy karaoke places where you could rent a private room, but there was something about being in front of an audience and listening to other people sing that appealed to her. She had done that with Alex and it had worked out well, so with Caroline she decided to find a different place, okay maybe part of that was for her own independent research on the best karaoke bar in the area. She finally decided on a place and told Caroline where to meet her and they both ubered there just in case they had too much to drink.
She was already chatting up the bartender to make sure they would assist in getting them water between their drinks since it was a Sunday evening. The plan was in place and then Maria noticed Caroline walk in. She let out a greeting and waved her friend over, “What do you want to drink?” She had a cranberry vodka in her hand already and was more than happy to get the first round.
Friendship was important to Caroline. One of her priorities. So even with her busy work schedule, and taking care of her mom, and sort of dating someone, she made sure she had time for them. Even if it was a few weeks between hang outs, she never let too long of a time go by. She had been looking forward to karaoke with Maria. It had been far too long since they had gone. Not since they both lived in New York. It was clearly long overdue.
She walked into the bar spotting Maria right away. “Hey,” she said reaching out to give her friend a hug first before ordering herself a vodka soda. “Thanks,” she said to Maria for getting the first round. She just had to remember water. She did have a few meetings the next day. “This place looks great,” Caroline said looking around. Sure private rooms could be fun. But she preferred singing to a crowd even if they were strangers.
“Oh you don’t have to lie, it’s a bit of a dive, but it’s fun,” those were usually the best kind of bars to go hang out at and do karaoke. Maria loved seeing what kind of people came out to sing and she was usually surprised by some of those people and how good their voices were. Karaoke was a bit like American Idol auditions where you found gems and some bombs. She returned the hug and then paid for their drinks once Caroline ordered.
“I haven’t looked at the book yet, but we can go find one once we get your drink,” Maria commented with a smile before she reached over to grab one of the song books that was sitting on the bar so they could look over everything.
“Those are the best karaoke bars,” Caroline replied with a smile. At least if you asked her. She found that the more of a dive the bar was, the more people let loose and really sang. Which led to both good and bad performances. It was kind of fun to watch both.
“Perfect,” Caroline agreed just as the bartender brought her drink over. “Do you want to sit here or should we grab one of the table?”
“Exactly!” Maria agreed with a laugh, glad that Caroline understood that thought process, “Let’s go grab a table.” She didn’t love staying at the bar for too long because it got a bit crowded the later the night went on. The tables would be a commodity later. She grabbed her drink and led the way to an empty table off to the side.
She sat down and put the song book on the table, “what are you thinking about for songs tonight? 90’s hits? 80’s women power ballads? So many to choose from.”
Caroline was more of a fan of tables as well. Especially when it was a karaoke bar where she wanted to actually watch. If she was just going to a regular bar, she didn’t mind sitting at the actual bar. Left it more open for meeting new people but that was not what the night was about.
Sitting down at the table she took a sip of her drink as she glanced over the book with Maria. “Oh definitely 80s,” Caroline replied with a smile. Most of her go tos were 80s songs.
“Sounds good to me!” Maria definitely loved singing 80’s songs because there were so many good ones out there. She took a long sip of her drink as she looked through the book with Caroline. She started jotting down some of the titles that called out to her, “Hmm.. what about ‘Hit Me With Your Best Shot” to start out with?” That was definitely a crowd favorite and would be a good warm up for them.
“Oh my god! That’s like one of my go tos,” she replied, unable to hide her excitement. Not that she really tried to. Having a friend who liked going to karaoke was a plus. But having one that like to sing the same types of songs? Even better. “We definitely gotta sing that!”
“Damn, it’s like I’m psychic or something,” Maria winked at her friend because she definitely felt some metaphysical tinglings in her life. She was really good at tarot and palm readings at least. But who didn’t love Pat Benatar? That woman had a host of amazing songs, “Alright, keep looking at the list and I’ll go run this over to the host so we can get on the list.”
“Wouldn’t put it past you,” Caroline replied. Especially here. She knew things that weren’t exactly normal could happen here. Including powers. It was strange but it apparently happened. She flipped through the book while Maria went to put their names on the list, smiling brightly at a song.
Maria put in their name and song choice. It sounded like there were a few people ahead of them, but that wasn’t too big of a deal because it gave them a chance to relax and enjoy their drinks (or two). She made her way back to the table and sat down, “Alright, we got some time before we’re called. Did you find anything else?”
Time was fine with her. They could have a drink, listen to the other people singing, maybe catch up a bit. “I did,” Caroline said the smile still on her face. Though really, it was a rare occasion when she wasn’t smiling. “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.” It was the perfect song to sum up their night if you asked her.
“Oooo, solid choice,” Maria commented with a laugh as she settled into her seat and grabbed her drink to take a sip of it, “Do you want to grab any food? I think two songs are good for now and then we can see how the rest of the people do and the kind of vibes that they’re giving off.” It was important to not be that person that got up there and completely killed the mood.
Food would probably be a good idea especially if they were going to have a few drinks. “Might as well,” Caroline said with a smile. “It sounds like we have some time before it’s our turn.” And even if the food came while they were singing that was fine too. “Sliders sound pretty good right now.”
“Ooo, sliders and some onion rings. I’ll go put in an order at the bar and then we can get this party started,” Maria took another sip of her drink before heading over to the bar. It was easy enough to get an order in because it was still early. Once the order was put in she weaved back to their table and the MC for karaoke went up to the stand to start up the event. “Ooo, good timing. Should be about 15/20 for the food,” she sat back down and grinned.
“Now I’m starving,” Caroline said with a laugh once Maria was back. She hadn’t even realized she was hungry before, hell she may not even have been. But now that she had food coming? She definitely couldn’t wait. “So,” Caroline asked with a sip of her drink as they waited for the first singer to get on stage. “How are things with you? How’s your mom?”
“Well, good thing we’re getting food,” Maria commented with a laugh. She was definitely hungry as well and she was going to absolutely devour the sliders and onion rings. She settled into her chair and smiled, “Things are good, been busy helping my mom out. She’s doing well, I think, no weird disappearances or anything lately, so I’m crossing my fingers. What about you and your mom?”
“The shop been pretty busy?” Caroline asked. “I’ll keep mine crossed too.” She couldn’t imagine how scary it must be to not know where your mom was. Especially if her mind wasn’t… all there. “Swamped with work. I think it’s time I hire someone soon.” She was running the company and doing all the events on her own. It left little time for anything else. “My mom’s doing okay. She doesn’t have a ton of energy or anything but she’s staying positive.” And so was Caroline.
“Yeah, I think people are really digging crystals and tarot readings lately,” Maria always found it amusing when that stuff came in waves, “Yeah, might be a great idea for you, then you can breathe a little and I’m sure your mom would like to see you more. And sorry to hear that, but I’m sure that comes with the territory. Hopefully resting up will help her a lot.” Maria knew it sucked to see your mother like that, but hopefully it meant her body was healing.
“I mean could be worse,” Caroline said with a small smile. Though she didn’t really want to think about what the exhaustion could mean. It was probably just from the chemo. “I definitely think I need to get a tarot card reading.” She had already gone and gotten some crystals for her mom. But having a reading done would be pretty cool.
“Come on in and I’ll give you one on the house,” Maria offered with a smile and reached over to gently squeeze Caroline’s hand. It was hard to juggle everything and take care of a parent. It was nice to be able to spend time with her because they were both going through the same thing. She glanced over when someone came to the mic and started to sing, “Oh yay, our entertainment is starting. Now we just need our food.”
“Definitely taking you up on that,” Caroline replied with a smile. She felt the same as Maria. Of course her other friends were supportive and everything. But Maria could actually relate which helped. But the conversation was dropped as the singing started. Which was fine with her, she just wanted to make sure to check in but now she was ready for distractions.
Maria was more than happy to offer up a free reading to her friend if it meant it would help ease her mind. However, now it was time to have a little fun. Their food was delivered and soon enough it would be their time to shine with some 80’s greatness and as far as Maria could tell they’d be better than some of the other acts. It was nice to have a little fun amongst the stress.