Naomi, Bennett, and Jordan walk in on Declan singing to (a slightly older) Delilah
The door opened.
“Hi, Mrs. Lynch!” Naomi beamed.
“Oh, hey guys! Are you here for Declan?” Mrs. Lynch widened the door to let Naomi in, followed by Bennett and Jordan.
“Yeah, we’re going to stuff ourselves at the new pizza place, so don’t be too surprised if Declan comes back looking like a Christmas ornament.’ Jordan said.
Mrs. Lynch laughed. “Well he’s just down that corridor in the very last room. Delilah should be there too, I’m sure she’d appreciate seeing you guys.”
Bennett gave her a small smile and a nod. “Thank you, Mrs. Lynch.”
Naomi started down the hallway while the other two took their time walking behind her.
Naomi heard Jordan start talking from behind her. “Mrs. Lynch is so much cooler than Declan. We should just replace him with her for the gang, eh Bennett?”
Naomi halted when she reached the room. She could hear someone playing guitar and singing inside, but she couldn’t see who it was due to the door being closed. She wondered if she should listen in or interrupt. It sounded beautiful.
“I don’t think that’d be fair towards Mrs. Lynch, you know, seeing that she’d end up having to deal with you and all,” Bennett said as they caught up to her.
“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean-”
Naomi whipped her head around, wearing a glare Declan would be proud of.
“Be. Quiet.” She whispered threateningly. Jordan audibly gulped while Bennett took a step back. She turned and rested her hand on the door handle. “I think Declans singing to Delilah in there, so let’s be quiet.” She pushed the door slightly open to get a view.
And there was Declan, sitting cross-legged on the floor, his back facing the doorway. In front of him sat Delilah, laughing as she fiddled with some toys. Declan was strumming a guitar in his lap while singing ‘Hey There, Delilah’ to his sister.
‘Oh, it’s what you do to me...
Oh, it’s what you do to me...
What you do to me,’
Delilah stared up at him with wide eyes, then pointed at the guitar.
“Gee-ah.” She said confidently.
Declan smiled and continued.
‘Hey there, Delilah
I know times are gettin' hard
But just believe me, girl
Someday I'll pay the bills with this guitar-’
“Gee-ah!” Delilah exclaimed while waving her toy around, causing Declan to chuckle as he sang.
‘We'll have it good..
We'll have the life we knew we would.
My word is good,’
Before he could continue, Delilah began to babble, trying to sing like her brother. Declan kept strumming his guitar but stopped singing, allowing her to have her solo verse. No matter how inharmonious it may have been, Declan grinned as if it were the most beautiful thing he’d ever heard. And to him, it probably was.
After she was finished, without missing a beat, Declan leaned back and closed his eyes and belted, mimicking an overly passionate singer. His voice resonated throughout the room, giving Naomi chills.
‘Ohh, its what you do to me..
Oh, its what you do to me’
Declan faced her, then dramatically threw his head back again, causing Delilah to giggle.
‘Oh, its what you do to me..
Oh, its what you do to me-’
Suddenly Jordan coughed. Loudly, right in Naomis ear. It caused her to jump and bump into the door with a thud.
Declan froze and turned around, startled.
“what the- are you guys crying?”
As if on cue, a tear rolled down Naomis face. She turned around to see Bennett clear his throat and look away to admire the door frame while Jordan swiped at his nose with his sleeve multiple times, trying to be discreet.
“N-no-”
“Yeah.”
Declan shrugged. “I do tend to have that effect. My mom reacted the same way,”
Jordan thrust a hand out and shushed Declan. “Dont ruin the moment with your grating speaking voice.”
“Jordan, do you realize that ‘the moment’ was ruined the second you coughed so loud the neighbours could hear us?” Bennett deadpanned.
Jordan turned to him, mouth agape. “Uh, do you realize that your face is stupid?’
Declan cringed. “That was lame, Jordan. even for you.”
“I know,” Jordan said as he dropped his head.
Declan put his guitar aside and picked up Delilah. “I’m ready to go, so if you guys want to say hi to Delilah, we can do that before we leave.”
Naomi was far from ready to move on from what she’d just witnessed, but after watching Jordan teach Bennett baby talk, then watching Bennett so fail so badly he ended up giving Delilah a confused business handshake, Naomi was about ready to go as well. After she got home that evening, she let ‘Hey There, Delilah’ play on her phone until she fell asleep.
















