Page 40 of Behind the Bars

I just smiled. “My uncle said I couldn’t miss a Saturday performance, so I hope it’s okay if I perform asong?”

Her smile spread wide. “Yes, yes,yes!”

“But, well, you have to sing withme.”

“What?”

“I, um, my uncle’s friends said they’d help me perform a song if you’d sing it. I’ve been practicing allweek.”

“What? I can’t. I can’t just sing. What if I don’t know the words?” She rubbed her hands up and down her arms. “There are a lot of people here, too. I can’t do it. What if I don’t know the words to the song you’resinging?”

“How would you not know the words?” I asked, grabbing the microphone and holding it out to her. “It’s your favoritesong.”

I walked up to the small stage set up in the dining hall and spoke a few words to the other musicians who were going to help me out with the performance. As I started playing, I saw Jasmine’s eyes well up as she heard, “Make You Feel My Love” by Adele filling thespace.

Uncle TJ had been having me perfect the song over the past week, and seeing the way her eyes lit up made every moment more than worth it. I nodded her over, and she slowly walked up on the stage then closed her eyes and began to sing. I closed my eyes, too, and gave myself to the song, forher.

It was all forher.

Once we finished, the audience applauded like crazy, making tears roll down Jasmine’s cheeks. I walked over and stood beside her. “You hear that? Th-those are your fans. That’s for you. That’s for your soulmusic.”

“It’s amazing. You’reamazing.”

“Happy tears?” Iasked.

“The happiest tears,” shereplied.

After our meal, we grabbed two ice cream cones and walked outside to sit and watch the views as we cruised down the Mississippi River. We talked about everything and nothing, and it was all perfect. There wasn’t a second that felt uncomfortable. It just felt…good. It felt good to feelgood.

“I saw you first!” She laughed, lightly shoving me in the arm. “I noticed youfirst.”

I laughed and shook my head back and forth. “No, youdidn’t.”

“Yes, I did, Eli! Idid.”

“There’s no possible way that’strue.”

“Why do you saythat?”

I shrugged. “You were st-standing in the principal’s office. You wore a y-yellow sundress and you were smiling like crazy, and I remember thinking, ‘Wow, she’s the prettiest girl I’ve everseen.’”

She sank down in her chair a bit. “Eli…”

“I also thought you were on drugs, because no one should look that happy about being at school,” I joked, making her laugh and shove meagain.

The way she laughed so freely made me want to make her laughforever.

“Have you ever heard of the artist Banksy?” I asked as we coasted down theriver.

She shook herhead.

“He does graffiti art, and on this building coming up, it’s rumored that he created this piece. I, um, I’ve b-been trying to say something to you each day for a long time, but…my words…” I started fumbling with my fingers. “I just can’t say what I’ve been trying to say, but I can showyou.”

She sat up straight, and as the steamboat glided forward, tears formed in her eyes as I gestured toward the building to show her thewords.

YOU AREBEAUTIFUL.

“Eli,” she whispered, her voicelow.

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