"I completely mind." Shrieky interjects sharply, "You can give him the next song! The first one he has to sing. " He rounds on Alan again then, and... at some point his hand has made the perilous journey onto your elbow, and he's giving an insistent little tug.

"And you're not in Massachusetts anymore. In Baedal you have to sing on your birthday. Or on any other celebration which you agree to spend at a karaoke bar."