Ridiculust Ch. 04

Chapter 4

"What is the Midsummer Festival celebrating, anyway?" Roger asked as they walked past a few of the many pop-up pavilions that had people offering various art and crafts, hand in hand, towards the lights and sounds of the stage.

"We always have it on the weekend before the August Civic Holiday," Sarah replied. "As it happens, tonight is Lughnasadh, the actual Midsummer."

"I believe in the lunacy part. I think that the Magic Plague seems to be ramping up to a whole new level." There was a fair-sized crowd around the stage that they were approaching. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood, with the ample quantities of beer flowing seeming to help. Peddlers were selling glow sticks, though a substantial number of the people were glowing from various body parts on their own. The band, consisting of a black woman on bass guitar, two white guys on regular guitars, an Asian woman on drums, a Hispanic woman on keyboards, and a white woman and black man on vocals, was putting on an energetic performance and the crowd was mostly dancing to some degree, while trying to not slosh their beer too much. Roger could also see three relaxed-looking cops on the right of the stage, keeping an eye on things.

"Not lunacy. Loo-neh-seh," Sarah corrected him, loudly over the noise of the band, giving him a jab with an elbow. He tried to look innocent. "It's the ancient festival between the Summer Solstice and the Autumnal Equinox. But you know that already, don't you." She glowered at him and he grinned back.

"Any excuse for a party," he smiled. "Is that a beer tent by the stage?" Indeed, it was, sitting about ten yards to its right, and there was a steady stream of customers. It didn't take long for them to reach the counter, where they each paid for an edible plastic cup of a very tasty local brew.

"This is great stuff!" said Roger, swallowing some. "I've never been much of a beer fan, but this could change my mind."

"I know the people who make it," Sarah replied as she looked around, trying to find a way to the back of the crowd, but the way seemed to be solidly blocked by dancing people, who cheered and applauded as the band finished whatever song it was that they had been playing. "They were students in one of my classes, several years ago. They were slackers, but they seem to have succeeded anyway." Roger grinned, also looking around for a way out.

"I think that we'll have to go back around the beer tent to get out of this mob," he said. "We can enjoy the rest of the show from a safe distance where we're less likely to go deaf or get trampled." Sarah's response was interrupted by the female vocalist.

"Thank you all very much," she said, her voice booming through the sound system. "You're the best crowd we've played for!" The audience cheered. "It's a magical evening of a magical day - Lughnasadh, the Midsummer Festival!" Someone projected the word onto the back of the stage. "And it really is pronounced Loo-neh-seh." That got some laughs. "It's a traditional time for singing, dancing, and partying!" There was more enthusiastic response from the crowd. "What?" she asked, turning around to see the drummer, one of the guitarists, and the keyboard player whispering together and pointing at Roger.

"Oh, fuck," muttered Roger. "Come on, Sarah, let's skedaddle."

"What's going on?" she asked, not going anywhere and clamping an iron grip on his left arm.

"Ladies and gentlemen," said the male vocalist, "it appears that we have a celebrity in our midst. Emily, please shine the spotlight over there." The spotlight was mounted in a tree and operated by remote control, and it quickly swiveled and pinned Roger and Sarah in its glare. "It's Roger Matheson, of Roger and the Homewreckers and their improbable hit, 'Oompa Loompa Love'!" There was enthusiastic applause from the crowd, and Roger and Sarah found themselves getting pushed to the steps of the stage. The cops were there to meet them.

"Don't let us on the stage! We're dangerous and a threat to the band members!" The cops, two men and a woman, merely laughed and propelled them up the stairs amidst hooting and hollering.

"Hey, it's Mrs. Burns! Hi, Mrs. Burns!" shouted a few teenagers, who were near the stage, jumping up and down and waving.

"Hi, kids. Are you having a good time?" They cheered and agreed loudly, getting some more applause and laughs from the others in the audience.

"Excuse me, Mr. Matheson, but the front of the stage is that way," said the bassist, which everyone heard because her wireless headset was on. That got laughs, and more when Roger, who had been trying to take advantage of the attention that Sarah had been getting to sneak off, was firmly returned to Sarah's side. He smiled weakly and waved to the crowd, who applauded. A microphone was pressed into his hands by a man who must have been the sound technician, and another was given to Sarah.

"Hi, everyone. I just happened to be passing through town tonight when I thought I'd check out the Festival. I have no idea how you recognized me. I was the guy at the back playing the tambourine."

"So, this is what you've been up to," said Sarah. "Long time, no see."

"Hi, Mrs. Burns!" chorused the band members.

"Hi, Roger," said the female vocalist. "I'm Ellen Dawes, and we are the Purple Chimps."

"You guys are impressive," Roger replied. "I don't know music at all, but I know what I like. Folks, Show the Purple Chimps some more love! They've been working their asses off all night for you!" The audience clapped and cheered and the band took a bow, and Roger started sidling off towards the side of the stage, only to get hauled up short because Sarah had grabbed the back of his T-shirt. They laughed as he cringed comically.

"You and the Homewreckers have actually been an inspiration to us," Ellen continued once the noise level had diminished. "We figure that if a bunch of not terribly sober middle-aged men could get famous without even trying, what can happen with a bunch of very talented young folks who are trying?"

"I'm Pat Marshak," said the male vocalist. "Since we have you here, we were wondering if you could tell us the story of how 'Oompa Loompa Love' came to be?" Roger looked uncomfortable.

"Yes, please tell us," Sarah said sweetly. "Inquiring minds want to know." There were scattered hoots and applause from the audience.

"You're in trouble now, Roger!" "Sounds like a detention coming!"

"Well," he replied, "alcohol may have been a factor." There was more laughter and comments. "Oh, fine, alcohol was a significant factor." He shrugged his shoulders and rolled his eyes. "Late in January some friends and I were at one of their houses watching the NFL Conference Championships. The beer was flowing, and we were all at least half wasted. The half-time show had come on, and we were channel flipping, killing time until the second half started. One channel had the original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on, and it had just come to the part where that horrid brat Veruca Salt had turned to her dad and said 'Daddy, I want an Oompa Loompa!'." He then said in a squeaky falsetto "One of us said 'Oooh, I LOVE Oompa Loompas!'"

"That was you, wasn't it?" asked Sarah. "That sounds like what you would say."

"You've only known me for a few hours, but it's like you can see into my soul," he replied with a grin. She couldn't help but smile back, and it lit up her face. There were a few wolf whistles. "Yes, it was me. And that's how it started. Some of the other guys had musical experience. We ..." He shrank under Sarah's basilisk stare. "Uh, mostly I, since I was the most sober, wrote most of the lyrics in about half an hour. The other guys made musical arrangements, called in friends, and in the middle of one of the best football games in recent memory, we did a couple of rehearsals, recorded the third round, and posted it on YouTube. I was the guy with the tambourine," he added. "I can't even play a triangle on key."

"Yet somehow it went viral," said Ellen with mock sadness. "A catchy beat..." The bass player played a few of the opening chords and Roger groaned loudly and made to plug his ears. "Nonsense lyrics, and a bunch of middle-aged guys doing a silly dance, and somehow you get fame and fortune." The drummer and guitarists had now started up, and the crowd cheered wildly.

"And Roger is here to do the dance for you!" said Sarah with a wicked grin.

"Was Mrs. Burns really this evil?" Roger mock-whined.

"You don't know the half of it!" someone shouted.

"We are going to have to talk after class!" she replied sternly and they all laughed as the full band launched into the song. Roger drained his beer cup, turned it upside down on his head (as it had been in the video he so dearly regretted), and gamely launched into the dance. It can't be adequately described here - go watch it on YouTube like everyone else if you really need to see it again. To his credit, he managed to dance without losing his cup, despite a couple of half-hearted swipes from Sarah as she danced along with him, their eyes locked on each other's.

"She fits me like a glove, with her Oompa Loompa love," Roger sort-of sang when the line came up, and her breasts momentarily flashed. Fortunately, she was facing away from the stomping, dancing crowd at that point and the band was busy whooping it up, so only he saw. There were a few wolf whistles, and several more when she responded with the following line,

"He slides in with a shove, with his Oompa Loompa love." He had to turn quickly away so that the flare from his crotch wouldn't be seen by the crowd, but he made sure she saw it. Eventually, even the "extended version" of the song played itself out and the crowd, which seemed to have gotten even larger, went nuts for several minutes.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the next big musical group, the Purple Chimps!" shouted Roger and Sarah over the din, and they went to shake hands and/or hug all the band members and the tech people off to the side. They were looking for somewhere to place their microphones so they could skedaddle (the band members all had cordless headsets) as the crowd settled down, when the keyboardist said,

"Whoa, not so fast you two. You're not escaping that easily." The crowd quickly hushed and waited expectantly. Roger and Sarah stood next to each other, with deer-in-the-headlights expressions. "You two are an item, aren't you?" Her soft Hispanic accent somehow made the sentence sexy. They looked at each other and nodded. "Emily, please turn down the lights, would you?" she asked the lighting tech, who did something and the lights faded to about a quarter of their original intensity. Much to everyone's surprise, including Roger and Sarah, they were both glowing gently from head to toe in their colours. They had involuntarily held hands, and how their colours merged with each other was clear. The audience said "Oooh". "New love is reborn from the ashes of old."

"You are absolutely correct," said Roger.

"Yes," said Sarah. "Yes, it is." They both glowed a little brighter.

"Part of the Lughnasadh festivities included matchmaking," said the bass player, with a gentle Caribbean lilt. "A couple could even start a no-strings-attached trial marriage in some places. Though I don't think that will be necessary for you." She turned to the audience. "I'm Sadie Corcoran, with Bryan Boyle and Arthur Weller on guitar, Luisa Ortega on keyboards, and the marvelous Anna Lam on drums!" There were more cheers and applause. "As a special encore, we will present a new cover of an old song that I'm sure you've heard before."

The first notes of Foreigner's 'I Want to Know What Love Is' made Sarah suddenly remember a cold, dreary day in November when she and John had attended the funeral of a close friend who had died young from cancer. The song had come on the kitchen radio when they had returned to the small apartment in which they'd been living before they'd packed up and moved to Arbroath to start their careers. There wasn't much room in the kitchen, and they had held each other and gently moved and swayed together as they'd kissed away the other's tears. Questing lips found each other, and things rapidly heated up, soon leading to their bedroom where his hard, thick cock frantically pounded her hot, tight pussy until she had come so hard that he had been locked in place and she had felt every spurt of his cum. Later that night, she had mounted and ridden him as he fondled her breasts and teased her nipples until orgasms had rocked their bodies and sent them crashing into oblivion. Ever since, whenever they heard that song, they remembered that night, and a few years later, one of those remembrances led to her getting pregnant with their first child.

Roger had been a rather unusual teenager, more interested in books and schoolwork than in the current popular music. He had been in a downtown bookstore buying a book at the counter near the door one summer day when Jeannie and three of her friends had come in. He had recognized her from high school, where she had been two years behind him, though he'd never really looked at her until now. She was tall and slender, with a small bust line and long legs. Her long brown hair, feathered back the way it was in the day, framed a round face with a prominent nose, dimpled chin, and her most entrancing feature, bright blue eyes that danced with life and laughter. When she had turned to look at him, he had heard "I wanna know what love is, I want you to show me," on the store's Muzak. Their gaze had broken as her friends had swept her further into the store, but he had felt something happen between them. Later on, she had said that the chance encounter had been the main factor in guiding her actions in their next encounter, that had led to their falling in love, and one that she would never forget.

The audience had sorted itself into pairs, who were doing slow dances as the song progressed. They were all glowing in a kaleidoscope of colours. The band members were glowing too, especially Luisa and Brian, and Roger and Sarah were glowing the brightest of them all. Even though they barely knew each other, they danced as if they had been friends all their lives, moving and swaying together as one, eyes locked on the other's.

"You are remembering," said Sarah softly. He nodded, kissing her nose gently.

"It's amazing the power that music has," he replied. "It gets inside and unlocks things thought safely tucked away."

"Can't stop now, I've traveled so far," sang the Purple Chimps, gearing up for the first chorus. "Come on, everybody, sing along!" Ellen invited the audience.

"I want to know what love is," they sang as they danced, surprisingly quietly for such a large group of people. "I want you to show me." Roger pushed Sarah back and gave her a twirl, adding a spin himself, and their glows spun off them, spinning around in electric whirlwinds until they quickly assumed the forms of a man and a woman, in Sarah's and Rogers' colours respectively, startling everyone on the stage and many in the audience, but the Purple Chimps played on.

"J - John?" Sarah asked, eyes wide and suddenly full of tears.

"Jeannie? Is that you?" asked an equally thunderstruck Roger. The ghostly forms approached their former partners, and the four of them continued to dance. "Was that really you in my dream earlier?" Her body had enough substance that he was able to place his hands in the proper places, and her hands felt cool where they touched him. She smiled, a sight that he always wanted to see.

"Yes, Roger my love, it is me," she replied. "Things are changing in the world. I have been with you all this time, but only able to talk to you in your dreams."

"Sarah, I never left you," John told her as they moved together. "We are at the threshold of a big change, and you and Roger will be at the centre of it. Love him as you loved me to unlock the magic."

"Love her," whispered Jeannie. "Love is the key to what will come."

"I want to know what love is, and I know you can show me," sang Luisa and Arthur in the second chorus, with the others and the audience as backup. Roger and Sarah twirled again, and their ghostly partners twirled with them, dissolving into multi-coloured swirling clouds that dispersed in the air around them. The remainder of the song, including repeats of the chorus, were sung all out by everyone, even Roger and Sarah, whose singing voices seemed to merge together. Everyone was glowing brightly, and there was an electric, yet strongly loving, feel to the air.

"Can you feel the love tonight?" asked Pat, the male vocalist, as the song passed into silence, and the audience erupted into wild cheering and applause. Harold and Sarah were embracing tightly and shared a passionate kiss. As they pulled out of it, his face acquired an expression of pure mischief, one that was all too familiar to her from her years of teaching.

"Don't you dare!" she hissed, but she could already feel energy starting to flow.

"All of this light makes me think of the Hand family," Roger said into his microphone, as neither he nor Sarah had been able to put them down. He and all the others got an odd sensation, almost like being in a hot tub with all the warm, loving energy water rushing around them. "There were six of them, all electricians." The feeling of power in flux increased, and Roger, suddenly wanting to stop, could not. "The company's motto was 'Many Hands Make Light Work'." Amidst the chorus of groans and boos, including from Sarah, the feeling intensified. Everyone's glows suddenly detached from their bodies and began to move around the stage, faster and faster, sounding like the increasing roar of a rapidly approaching stampede of horses until it exploded in an expanding ring of light in all directions, tearing through the town and the surrounding countryside, leaving darkness and a stunned crowd and band behind it.

"That was awesome!" shouted a voice, generating two minutes of wild cheers and applause, and the band members took their bows, looking sidelong in disbelief at each other.

"Such is the magic of Lughnasadh!" said Sadie and Anna together. "Thank you all so much for coming, and have a great night!" There were more cheers and applause as the crowd broke up and began making its way out of the park and towards home. Roger and Sarah took a few minutes to thank the band and its techs as they began the process of packing up their stuff, then got off the stage and followed the stream of people out of the park.