Page 69 of Another Postcard

Just before the end of the first set, they lit her piano and she played “The Road to Forever.” Listening to her, watching her in her element as she sang her own words, I fell back into the same cycle, falling even more in love with her. As we exited the stage, I smiled at her and put my hand over my heart, letting her know I’d been touched by the performance. She lit up and smiled brightly, then shrugged like it was no big deal. I laughed and almost stepped toward her, but she was swallowed up in the praises of our band mates.

Mimi called out five minutes and we all downed more water, wiped off with towels, and got ready to go back out there. The lights dimmed and we took our places.

“You didn’t think we were done, did you?” Simon asked, scratching his head. They laughed and he shrugged with a wink. “Great, because it feels like the right time to sing ‘It’s Not Over’!”

“It’s Not Over?” Matteo repeated, confused. “That’s not one of our songs.”

“So?”

“Sooooo,” Matteo dragged out the vowel condescendingly. “We can’t sing other people’s stuff, dude.”

“Fuck that! We’re Stone Butterfly—” He had to stop for the thunder of the audience. —“We can sing whatever the fuck we want. But, I guess these people did come to hear our stuff.”

Sasha started plucking a melody on her violin. “Sounds like we’re playing ‘Unmasked’, boys,” she drawled. Brooklynn picked up her part on the piano. “See?” Sasha continued. “The piano agrees.”

“Bossy,” I murmured in a stage whisper to the audience. “‘Unmasked’ it is!” I lifted my guitar from its stand and put the strap over my head. Then my chords joined in with the sound before I started singing.

The show neared its end, and right at the point where Brooklynn and I would normally perform “Sanity,” I set down my guitar and walked to the edge of the stage. I waited until everyone quieted down.

“So, I’ve got a problem. I fucked up. Like big time, colossal fuck up. I said some hurtful things that I truly regret to the woman I love. I would get down on my knees and tell her how sorry I am. I would tell her that I was a complete asshole and beg her to take pity on me for being an idiot. Now, I’m sure a lot of you are thinking, ‘I hope he’s not about to sing her a song.’ I’ll put your minds at ease, I’m not. However, I’m not above using every tool in my arsenal to get her to forgive me. And, singing together is how I got her to fall in love with me in the first place. So, I need your help.” I waited for the applause to die down again before going on. “It just so happens that I fell in love with Brooklynn Hawk while we wrote a song together. I think you guys have probably heard of it?” I grinned and gestured for them to get louder. “Let her know you want us to sing it!”

The audience began to chant for “Sanity” and I turned around, praying I wasn’t about to see the face of an enraged Brooklynn. To my relief, her eyes were shining and a beautiful smile graced her lips. I ran over and grabbed her hand, bringing her downstage, like I had at that first concert. “The first time we performed this song, I told the audience that they had no idea how fucking lucky they were. But, the truth is, it’s me who didn’t know how fucking lucky I was. And, chances are high, that I’ll fuck up again in the future, a lot. But, if she’ll give me another chance, I promise not to ever again forget how fucking lucky I am to have her love. Now, I’ve put her on the spot, so understand, you guys are going to get to see how this plays out. Especially because we’d go to jail if you were allowed to watch how I’m hoping this resolves.”

I grinned and shrugged sheepishly when Brooklynn whacked me on the arm. Relieved to see her laughing when she did it. “Do you want to hear ‘Sanity’?” I finally shouted.

The music started to float to our ears from upstage and when the time was right, we sang, staring into each other’s eyes.

When I make you crazy

When your love has an edge

When we lose our minds

Together, we lose our sanity

Ooooh, oooh, oooh,

Can we find it?

Is our love enough?

Can our love be the key?

To finding our Sanity.

Oooh, oh, oooooh

The last notes reverberated through the rafters and I gave in to the rising desire in my head and heart. Pulling Brooklynn to me, I kissed her. I poured every ounce of my love, every facet of my soul, into that kiss. I gave her everything.

The lights went out and when they slowly turned back on, I released her lips. I barely noticed the roar of the crowd as I kept her close, looking deep into her eyes. The chocolate orbs were swimming with tears, but I had no fucking idea if they were the good kind or the bad.In my opinion, all tears are fucking terrifying and my woman should never cry.

Matteo vamped with the audience until we snapped out of our little bubble. Brooklynn stepped back, then turned and jogged to the piano. I refocused on the moment and threw myself into our encores. When the lights went down for the final time, I was buzzing with even more energy than usual at the end of a concert. I swiftly exited into the wings and ripped my mic off and tossing it to a tech, ignoring his deadly glare for mistreating his precious equipment.

I looked frantically for Brooklynn and then made a beeline for her. Grabbing her around the waist, I swung her around to face me. She stared, caught off guard and I used the moment to get out what I needed to say before she could get her bearings.

“I don’t expect all to be forgiven at once. I know I need to earn your trust back, but I’d like to do it with you, rather than for you. Do you understand?” She nodded mutely. “I’d also like to remind you about Section C 7.4 in your contract.” A smile played around the corners of her mouth, but she firmed her lips and simply nodded again.

“With those things in mind, I’m hoping you’ll meet me back at the hotel. I’m in Room 1222. Before you say anything, I’m not expecting anything to happen. I just want a quiet place to talk so I can apologize and we can try to figure out how to move forward, become stronger together. Don’t answer now. Just think about it. I hope you’ll give me another chance.”

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