Free Our Song Returns: Falling In Love At The Wrong Time by Sheila Bradley Page A

big mistake in Boston Red Sox territory. He stubbornly refused to ditch the cap, so by lunch period that first day he had been a little battle scarred. He walked into the cafeteria to a chorus of “Yankees suck” from the other students, but he left the cap on. He got his food and sat down at her table. He had assumed she would not talk to him, but he was so cute that she had not been able to resist.
    From that day on, they were inseparable. They dated for all four years of high school, and somehow his charm had won over even the most die-hard Red Sox fans. He never gave up his love for the Yankees, and it turned out that his stubbornness was what made him popular. Red Sox fans are nothing if not loyal, and eventually his refusal to give in to peer pressure had earned him begrudging, and then genuine, respect from his classmates. He loved Billy Joel. Maggie knew a little of his music because her parents played it, but for Bill being a fan of Billy Joel was a badge of honor as a New Yorker for his love of the Yankees. He had gotten her hooked, and “Just the Way You Are” had become their song.
    When it came time for them to go to college, he headed back to New York to major in film at New York University, and she stayed in Boston to attend the Berklee School of Music. They tried to keep the relationship going long distance. For the first year they were in school, they had taken turns visiting each other using the $10 buses that ran from Chinatown in Boston to Chinatown in New York. In the end, the strain of trying to keep on track with school and maintain the relationship had been too much, and at the end of their freshman year, they broke up. She had not seen him since, but she had to admit that she thought about him all the time. Maggie dated quite a few men since then, but none of them had the same pull for her. She got bored, inevitably, and none of her relationships since then had lasted more than six months.
    Patrick played the opening chords of the song, and she snapped out of her reverie. She launched into the song and found that to her surprise, her eyes were filling with tears. She had not listened to the song in ages, and the simplicity of the lyrics went straight to her heart. “Don’t go changing to try and please me…” She thought about how true those words had been of Bill. He had always been so true to who he was, even at an age when most kids were trying their hardest to conform. She always loved that about him.
    She and Patrick played around with the song, adding some subtle embellishments that made it feel modern and a little jazzier than the original. Concentrating on the musical arrangement made it easier for her to stop thinking about Bill. She had not thought about him in so long, it was incredible what a powerful memory the song had produced.
    They ran through the rest of their set list. There were quite a few wedding standards, love songs and party songs like “Twist and Shout” and “The Hokey Pokey.” She looked at her accompanist. “How many times do you think we’ve told wedding guests to put their left foot in?”
    Patrick snorted. “I don’t know. Thousands? You would think that there would be at least one couple that wouldn’t request that song.”
    “You’d think wrong.” She scanned down the rest of the list and saw a few other songs that they had not played in a while. That was always refreshing. They played at least one wedding every weekend. She loved her job, but the song choice could sometimes become a little stale. People did tend to choose the same tunes over and over again. They heard them at every wedding they attended growing up. She supposed it was normal for people to do that, but it was a relief to have some different choices. There was a couple of Christmas songs on the list too, not surprising given the proximity of the holiday. She and Patrick ran through the set list, stopping to rehearse the less common songs. An hour later, they were back in their coats