Page 19 of Born To Be My Baby

She smiled, nodded. "We'll be right behind you."

And then he turned and captured Gloria's gaze. He grinned and started out the door with Chris. It would be like old times, sort of.

They walked down a back hallway with the hotel staff leading the way. He and Chris made idle chitchat. His excitement for singing with one of the country music greats once again restored itself in him. He was happy. He wanted this to be a great performance. And he was excited to sing with someone of this caliber.

As they neared the door, the Chris’ security team lead turned and said, "Hang on just a minute right here. I'm going to check and make sure everything is still good."

He disappeared out the door. It wasn't a minute later, and he opened the door.

"All right, we're all clear. Let's go."

They exited the hotel, walked around the outside of the back of the hotel, and to the back of the stage set up on the beach.

Curtains had been set up along the walkway to shield them. For the first time in his life, he felt like a star. Crowds had definitely grown at their concerts, and that made them all feel so damned good. But this was him. And of course, Chris, who he couldn't discount at all. He was a major player in this gig.

He was grateful that they would be able to make a grand entrance, though, and it settled his nerves to know they could take a moment if needed and go on when ready. Chris turned to him at the bottom of the steps to the stage and nodded. Sammy grinned and nodded back. He was ready. Amidst all the turmoil of today, this was where he shined. This was his comfort zone.

As they climbed the three steps to the stage, Chris first, him second, the crowd roared to life. He looked out into the audience and saw a couple of classmates he now recognized from some of the pictures he'd seen online this past week. And he was thrilled that he would still get to show them he'd made it. That had been his initial intent all along before everything happened around him today.

There were stools set up on stage and they'd agreed that the first song was going to be Chris singing his song, “Born to Be My Baby”. He couldn't wait to see Gloria’s reaction.

He looked over to his left, just past Chris to the side of the stage. And there was Gloria and Mina, standing side by side. He and Chris didn't introduce themselves or say anything. They just started singing.

Chris began to sing the words to “Born to Be My Baby”. It flowed from his voice as if he'd written it himself. Even though Sean was playing guitar right along with him and had verses to sing opposite of Chris, he couldn't stop looking at Gloria. All those years ago, he had tears in his eyes as he sang the parts.

This had come to him in his dream. Her long, flowing dark hair. It was shorter now, but no less beautiful. Those deep soulful brown eyes, still the same. A few fine lines, but still those eyes. And her lips when she turned them up in a smile for him. Man, his heart beat fast and shivers ran down his body.

He saw her wiping her eyes now, and he knew she felt the same way he did about the song.

As he and Chris finished their song, they rolled right into one of Chris's songs, “Tennessee Whiskey”.

He sang his heart out. He sang with all the enthusiasm he always had. Man, he loved this. He just loved this.

This is what he'd always wanted to do. This was what he was born for. To bring music alive, to entertain. His blood always roared through his veins as he sang. It was like he wasn't really alive until he began to play and sing. The faces in the crowd sang along with them. The crowd danced and swayed as he and Chris sang. He hoped he'd remember this day forever. Not likely he'd ever forget the day he found out he was a father. But he wanted to remember every detail of today. Every emotion. Every smell and taste and feeling. All of it. And somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he'd have sleepless nights ahead of him as these things replayed over and over in his brain until he wrote them into a song. Songs - there would be many. They were already forming in his brain.

And Mina and Gloria were right there watching him sing with a music great. They saw he wasn't some loser who never did anything but sit on his couch all day and eat junk food and wish he was someone else. He'd worked his ass off to make something of himself. He and the band were tireless in their rehearsal and creation. Even when they were a cover band, they tried changing songs up a bit to make them a bit more distinctive. Once they started writing their own music, their sound came alive.

They sang four more songs, two from each of them. And at the end of the concert, they both stood and walked to the center stage. Arms around each other, they hugged, laughed, enjoyed the afterglow of a beautiful moment. Then they bowed to the audience.

So worth it. So, so worth it. He turned to his girls and bowed his head. He blew Gloria a kiss. He winked at Mina. And he and Chris walked off stage together.

Mina and Gloria met them behind the stage. His heart had never been more full.

17

Gloria listened to the first song, the words sliced through her like a knife.

As Chris belted out the first chorus, she couldn't believe Sean had written that song. She couldn't believe he was talking about him, her, them together, all of it. Her mind went back to those days. Oh, she was so happy then. She thought she had everything. She was going to have a great career. They were going to be married and raise a family. They were going to do all the things they wanted to do. She had it all in her mind. They were going to live in a beautiful home and raise children.

And then her dream died. He broke up with her.

She listened to his song and felt his pain. She now knew it hurt him to break up with her. She didn't know it then. All these years she had imagined him out there, living the high life while she was changing diapers and making formula and cleaning baby bottles. And so tired from getting up two or three times a night to feed a baby.

Oh, she built that anger and let it bubble over, thinking that he was just having the time of his life while she was raising his child alone.

The words to his song told her none of those thoughts were true. Of course, he didn't know about Mina and that was her own fault. She could have called him and said, "I know you wanted to break up but..."

She didn't do that. So raising the child on her own was her own damn fault. She needed to start thinking along those lines.

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