Page 127 of Spark

There’s no doubt my love is here to stay; I’m addicted to you

I’ve got a savage love for you, infinite and everlasting

Six hit the road, now it’s long gone

Seven came along, now you’re second to none

Ooooooooooh

Cameras are off and our love remains

Eight, nine, and ten,let’s have a baby

Kendrick and I look excitedly at each other. Our friends told us they were planning to announce their pregnancy in some way during their performance, but they wouldn’t tell us exactly how. Well, there it was. That last line was supposed to be “Eight, nine, and ten,our love never fades.” And based on the over-the-top reaction of the audience, every person in this soundstage is well aware of the lyric change and its obvious implication.

With huge smiles on their faces, Savage and Laila continue with their song:

Fake became real and want became need

Can’t live without you, I need you to breathe

You’re swimming in my bloodstream, enmeshed in my heart

I dream about you, in pain when we part

Ooooooooooh

And now I’ve got a savage love for you

I’ve lost count of all the ways you’ve made me a slave to you

There’s no doubt my love is here to stay; I’m addicted to you

I’ve got a savage love for you

Infinite and everlasting

Take my heart, take my soul,

Take my blood, bones, and flesh

Take the air from my lungs, every pound, every inch

Take it all, every ounce, I give everything

Savage love,let’s have a baby

They did it again! And this time, the crowd is going even more crazy than before, right along with Kendrick and me.

When the song reaches its last note, Laila gleefully slides off her piano bench and rises to accept her husband’s offered hug and kiss. But before she falls into Savage’s waiting arms, Laila pointedly presses her flowing gown tightly against her growing midsection, revealing the lovely baby bump that’s recently sprouted there—and all of it with a mischievous look on her beautiful face that says, “Gosh, what do we have here?”

Of course, the crowd goes wild and crazy in reaction. So much so, I’m surprised their unhinged energy isn’t physically blowing the roof off the place.

Laila’s exciting pregnancy reveal completed, she accepts Savage’s giddy embrace and kiss. The pair waves to their adoring live audience, and then to the cameras trained on them, and their spotlight slowly fades to black.

“Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Savage!” Sunshine sings out, sounding genuinely delighted. “Happy birthday to Mr. Savage, indeed! My goodness!” She fans herself. “That was asurprise to me, too, folks. How wonderful!” Laughing, she beams at the camera. “Let’s take a quick commercial break, so we can scream and cry with our besties about this amazing news. And when we come back, Jon Stapleton will be here to perform one of his greatest country hits with ten of your favorite contestants from the season!”

“There you are,” an annoyed voice whisper-shouts. It’s the PA Kendrick duped earlier, standing next to us with a roll of antacids in her hand and a giant “fuck you, Kendrick” on her face. Scowling dramatically, she pushes a button on her headset. “Yeah, I found them. I’ll take them back there now.” She holds up the roll of antacids. “I’m assuming you don’t actually need these?”

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