jacques
6 Months Later
It’s the final night of our current tour and the crowd at Hipster Cafe erupts into a loud cheer, clapping as I strum the final chord of “Love Song” by The Cure on my Telecaster. I step back from the microphone, take a quick bow and motion for the crowd to applaud for the rest of the guys in The Four Pistols.
I’ve gotta say, I’m in awe of how far we’ve come as a band—and with how amazing my life has become since Nora came into my life. Staring wide-eyed in disbelief out into the crowd, my mind begins to pour over the events of the last few months and my heart fills with a sense gratitude that consumes me; so much, it feels like it could fucking explode right out of my chest.
Less than a month after Nora and I made things official, we started to realize that living directly across the alley from each other was getting to be ridiculous. What began as shacking up together only on the weekends quickly evolved into the two of us spending every night together.
My place has a better view of the Rouen Cathedral and is a little roomier than Nora’s, so we decided it would best for her to let Claude know she’d be giving up her apartment to come live with me. It wasn’t something we spent too much time thinking about; we just knew it was the right decision. In no time, Nora used her eye for design to warm up the place, decorating it with stuff from quirky little boutiques, giving it just the right feel.
Once Julienne got wind of this, her ball-busting kicked into overdrive. The relentless chiding that I once found irritating I now play into for fun, all the while giving her ammo by telling her how soft our new 1000 thread count sheets are, or how although pink, or salmon, whichever Nora likes to call it, wouldn’t be my first choice to decorate a bathroom with, I find it rather relaxing.
I snap out of it the instant Yann puts his hand on my shoulder and whispers, “Good luck, bro! Knock ‘em dead.”
A wide grin spreads across my face. I lean toward the microphone and announce, “Don’t take off yet; I have a special surprise for all of you tonight.”
The majority of the main lights go down and only the small trail of lights leading backstage remain lit. I hand my guitar over to Daniel, our roadie, and make my way down the small set of stairs to the hallway and into the dressing room.
The rest of the guys are already there, happily cracking into the large cooler of beer that our manager arranged to have ready for us. I peel off my sweat-drenched black tee shirt and grab a fresh towel from the rack nearby. The mirror in front of me is cracked in a bunch of places, and for a second, my eyes pour over the graffiti left by other bands that have played here, scribbled in black Sharpie, when I catch my reflection.
My tattoos are such a part of the fabric of who I am, that I sometimes don’t even notice they’re there. My attention goes to the latest addition on my sternum that Nora sketched for me six months ago. My fingers slide over the outline of the freesia blossom, which symbolizes trust, and I remember how proud I felt to have an original design that she created permanently etched into my flesh.
“It’s time!” Pascal calls, and in an instant, I grab a clean tee shirt out of my bag, yank it over my head and sprint back to the stage.
When I get there, I see that Daniel has set a small wooden stool near my Martin acoustic guitar and lowered the height of the microphone stand for me. I slip the guitar strap over my head, take a seat and lean into the microphone.
“Before I get started, I just want to thank you all for coming out. The Four Pistols wouldn’t be where we are today if it wasn’t for you guys. You’re the reason that we get up here and keep doing what we’re doing.”
I catch my breath and pause for a moment. Beads of sweat begin to gather on my forehead.
“Tonight, I have something very special to share with all of you; a new song that I haven’t even shared with the band yet. It’s probably my most personal song to date, and it’s about someone that’s very dear to me: my talented, beautiful girlfriend, Nora.”
The crowd begins to cheer and I seize the opportunity to point her out. “In case you don’t know who she is, she’s right here in the front row,” as I motion to her. “I’m sure a lot of you in the back can’t see her so, hey, why don’t you come up here for a second, baby.”
Nora turns red, makes and face and starts to shake her head from left to right. The crowd begins to chant, “No-ra! No-ra! No-ra!” as I lean forward with my hand extended, inviting her up to the stage.
Reluctantly, she climbs up and fiddles with her hands for a few moments before folding them behind her. I turn back to the crowd and say, “Before I play the last song of the night, I want to tell all of you how this woman has completely changed my life. She’s the fuel that inspires my lyrics and the music I write. I can’t imagine what my life would be like without her, and because of that, I always want her to be by my side.”
With that, I stand up, place my guitar back on its stand and reach into the pocket of my jeans. I pull out a small, black velvet box and smile to the sea of people that begins just a few feet away from me.
I lick my lips and bite my lip; I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous as hell right now. I get down on my right knee and stare up at Nora, whose hands are now clutching her chest, her face in utter disbelief.
“Nora,” I begin, “the time I spend with you is as precious to me as you are. I want you by my side; not just today, or tomorrow, next week or next year. I want you by my side forever. Nora Nolan,” I look over and Yann gives me a nod of encouragement, “will you marry me?”
The crowd screams with joy, but then, a hush quickly falls over the venue as everyone waits to hear her reply. Tears of joy stream down Nora’s cheeks and her eyes move from me to the crowd, and then back to me again.
“Yes! Yes, I’ll marry you!”
I stand up and wrap my arms around her, pulling her closely against me as our lips meet and we kiss for what feels like an eternity. I pull back and stare into her eyes. “I love you. I’ll always love you, Nora.”
“I love you, too. More than you’ll ever know.” She leans down to the microphone, and with a new-found courage, starts speaking to the crowd. “Wow! What a night, huh? Now, who wants to hear Jacques’ new song? I know I do!”
The crowd goes wild and Nora claps along with them and hops off the stage, reclaiming her place in the front row.
Strapping on my guitar, I stop and smile, realizing that my boss, Julienne, has been absolutely right all along. God knows I’ll never bet against her again. I laugh to myself and settle back down onto the stool, strumming the first chords of my new song, “By My Side.” The crowd fades from my mind as I lock eyes with the woman I love and begin to dream of all the crazy adventures we’re going to have together.
THE END