Holiday Advent Story 2

“What about Side to Side?” asked Naomi.

“Your father would kill you,” said Dalia.

The girls returned their attention to the song book. Flip. Flip. Flip.

“Thank You, Next?”

“Let’s just accept it’s probably not going to be Arianna.”

“Fine,” said Naomi.

They thumbed the pages of the book. Flip. Flip. Flip.

“Let’s try and find something a bit family friendly,” said Dalia.

“That’s boring,” said Naomi. “I want to sing good music.”

“I know, but our parents are so…ugh.”

“Yeah,” said Naomi. “You’re probably right. Let’s try and find a holiday song.”

Flip. Flip. Flip.

“How does a ‘Jewish friendly DJ, show up to my Bat Mitzvah and not have a single Hebrew song in their karaoke catalogue?” asked Naomi.

“It’s not like there are a lot of Hanukkah songs for him to choose from.”

“He doesn’t even have the Sandler song.”

“Maybe there’s a good holiday song you can sing?”

Flip. Flip. Flip.

Naomi let out a small sigh. “They have White Christmas. My Mom loves that movie. I could sing that.”

Dalia rolled her eyes. “You want to sing a Christmas song at your Bat Mitzvah?”

“Sure.”

“Your Bat Mitzvah that takes place on the first day of Hanukkah?” asked Dalia.

“Sure,” said Naomi. “Why not? You think my dad will be angry?”

“No,” said Dalia. “I think your grandmother will literally stand up out of her wheel chair, beat you to death with her umbrella, then die from a heart attack. Probably in that order.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

Flip. Flip. Flip.

“There’s a lot of Beatles in here,” said Dalia.

“Not just them,” said Naomi. “This book is full of old bands. Rolling Stones, Who, Kiss, Twisted Sister, Smashing Pumpkins… At least he has some modern music.”

“Yeah,” said Dalia. “Arianna, Selena, Justin, Imagine Dragons.”

“What does he have by them?”

“Machine, Next to Me, Zero” said Dalia. “I like Zero.”

“It’s more of a boy’s song.”

“Naomi! You are a woman now. A strong independent woman. There are no boy’s songs or girls songs. You can sing anything you want.”

“They have God is a Woman.”

“Except that.”

Flip. Flip. Flip.

“I give up,” said Naomi. “You tell me what to sing.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Okay,” said Dalia. “I’m not going to tell you what to sing. I will tell you how to find it.”

“I’ll take it.”

“Close your eyes,” said Dalia. “Now think about the music in your house. Not just this week, but this year. Think about the songs that play when your mother plays the radio, your father turns on his amazon account, and what they listen to in their cars. Think about what you and your sister whistle when you’re not thinking about it. Think about the song your parents sing when they work together. Find that one song. The one that bounces around your house when no one is paying attention. That song that feels like your family. Pick the song that sounds like your folks, your house, like your family.

Naomi smiled.

“That’s the song.” Dalia slid the book back to Naomi who opened it and flipped through a few pages.

“It’s here,” said Naomi. She showed the catalogue to Dalia. “It was the song my parents danced to at their wedding.”

“This song,” said Dalia, “everyone will love.”

A few minutes later the music swelled as Naomi held the microphone. “Why you look so sad…”

end
Hanukkah Song