‘Where would you like to be, if you could be anywhere in the world?’
‘Somewhere warm. Bright blue sky, crystal clear water, a nice sandy beach…’
The on-air Q&A may have been the usual box-tick of mindless radio banter, but Brenda would have given her last bottle of Merlot to be on the receiving end of such a frothy interrogation. Not so much a grilling, more a light toasting.
Brenda would curl up on her worn (and, frankly, broken) corner sofa in her fire-hazard onesie with a cuppa in a Little Miss Chatterbox mug, one ear close to the radio. The cosiness was a comfort. The way the DJ palled-around with the callers, as if they were old acquaintances. None of it was deep, but it had meaning.
She would often place herself in the role of the guest. She couldn’t care less what the lead singer of some band she’d never heard of wanted for their final meal. She knew what her final meal would be: lemon meringue pie. Okay, it wasn’t a meal, but Brenda supposed if she was on death row, awaiting the end of her existence, she’d have whatever she felt like.
Brenda had no idea how or why she would be on the radio, being interviewed by the perpetually cheery DJ. But she had yearned for this since she first switched on her own portable radio as a nine year old. Listening to all those songs, chiming true and striking chords with her own life and emotions… She may not have given her heart away last Christmas, but she knew what it was like to be tossed aside as if none of it mattered.
She had accepted long ago that her chances of being asked what her favourite colour was or whose hairstyle she envied were slim to none. She often marvelled at how jovial the DJ was, every single day.
Most days she woke up feeling dreadful.
Those mystery aches that Google stated were either RSI or cancer… Her mood was generally low, to the point where it annoyed her. She wanted to be full of life and fun. If she ever did get the chance to be questioned on the radio, could she even muster the energy to put her aside her cynicism and despair for the world and vaguely appear like someone you would want to be friends with? The guest on the radio, whoever he was, selected his tune for the day: ‘Don’t Stop Believing’.
Wise words. But… Boy, did that song grate on her.
© Andrew Wright 2023
(Photo courtesy of Jeet Dhanoa)
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