Page 120 of His Two Hidden Masks

Dylan stood perfectly still, basking in the sound of applause. He looked around the room, an expression of wonder on his face, as if this were the first time, he’d ever felt the heat of the spotlight. He laughed, and picked up his guitar again.

“Feels pretty fucking good up here, pretty good. Thank you. You are all too kind.” Dylan Street, my husband, began to sing.

Moonlight all around us

She lights a path for me out of the cold

I stand in the shadows

She leads me to a place called home

Dylan played with his eyes closed, bathed in a circle of golden light.

Truth, I’m scared to follow

Truth, you see all my parts

Truth, I’m afraid we’ll fall down

Truth, our bodies belong tangled in the dark

As his voice flowed through the air, the crowd quieted and swayed with every word of his song.

All my love

Every inch of your beautiful body

All your curves

You take me in, I’m shaking

You take me in, you make me whole

His voice caressed my body, every note whispering over my skin like the touch of his hand. He hypnotized the crowd. With every word, Dylan revealed his true self, to himself, to the crowd, and through the words of his love song, to me.

Every broken piece of me

I belong to you

I belong to you

Truth, I belong to you

My truth, I belong to you

My truth, I love you

Our truth, I love you

I love you

“I love you, too,” I whispered as the lights dimmed. The crowd gave a standing ovation. The lights came back up. Dylan stood with his guitar in his hand, his head bowed.

“Thank you,” he said, his arms behind his back. “So, now that you know who I really am, you also know that it has been years since I have written music. My wife, Bella, gave me my music back. Thank you, my love.”

He nodded at me, and the light operator must have figured out who I was. A spotlight circled the room and landed on my table.

Dylan walked toward me and I waved. “My gorgeous wife is Venetian,” he said, a comment which was met with shouts of approval. “Yes, you Venetians. You are amazing. My wife is an entrepreneur. Her business is Bella Baci, and she makes the most exquisite candies you’ve ever eaten.” He stood almost directly above me on tage.

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