Page 110 of Poetry By Dead Men
"As all of you know," Bobby says, "This has been a difficult year for me. But even though it's had its challenges, it's also been the best year of my life." The crowd cheers, but Bobby holds up his hand to silence them.
"There's someone very special to me here in the audience tonight." A spotlight moves from the stage to where I sit, and I squint against the brightness.
"There was a moment after the accident where I didn't think I'd ever see her again. I don't know if it was God, or a dream, but when I woke up from surgery, there was a lyric that kept running through my head. I even asked Beth to give me something to write it down on from my hospital bed."
Tears fill my eyes, but I don't bother trying to blink them away. Bobby picks his guitar back up. "I had them bring me this once I wascleared to hold it, and I wrote this song in just a few hours. I've been sitting on it all this time, waiting for the right opportunity to share it. And I think tonight is that night."
I feel like I can hardly breathe as Johnny walks out, carrying his guitar and a stool. The arena grows quiet as the rest of the band exits the stage, and all the lights go out except for the spotlights on Bobby and me.
He strums a chord, and the audience goes completely silent.
There's a melody inside my head
It came to me as I roamed
Through the listless dark, your voice called to me
My soul listened, and I came home
It's a melody I've sung before
But it always came out wrong
Now the jumbled notes suddenly make sense
So will you let me sing my song?
Bobby continues to sing, dropping down on one knee, and the crowd explodes in cheers, but I barely hear them. It's just me and Bobby, the boy I fell in love with at eighteen years old. The boy I would have married if he'd asked me in a McDonald’s parking lot with a french fry ring.
Will you sing along with me
A second chance melody?
A chance to fix what has been broken
To take a breath and finally
Let the hurt that went unspoken
Fade away into a memory
So God, if you're giving second chances
I'm gonna ask that girl to marryme
Bobby jumps off the stage, kneeling again in front of me and leaning close. "I told myself the day I woke up that if I made it to a year after the transplant, I'd ask you to be my wife. I’m done wasting time. Marry me, Beth."
I nod through my tears, my hands shaking as he slides a ring on my finger—a cushion cut stone on a thin gold band—the same one I found on his bus so many years ago.
"I love you. Forever," he says, pulling me close and kissing me like there aren't thousands of fans watching. He pulls away and presses a scrap of paper into my hands, then stands again to take the stage. Johnny continues to play as Bobby looks back out at the crowd. "There's not going to be an encore tonight, folks. I hope you can understand." The crowd roars as Bobby jumps back up on stage, settling back on his stool to finish the song.
Will you sing along with me,
A second chance melody.
Let me fix what has been broken
I think it's time to finally
