Chapter Nineteen
Silas
It was hard for me to fall asleep on any given night, but knowing that I had a gig on the following evening at a well-known pub meant that I lay wide-eyed for far longer than usual. I kept thinking about going to see Riley and crawling into bed beside her. I liked the thought of her cuddling up to me. She’d slept in my bed twice, and both times I’d slept better than ever before. But I still wasn’t sure if she wanted me to take things further with her. After she’d given me the news that she had gotten me a gig at her work, I couldn’t help but kiss her. Her lips had felt soft and warm against mine, and I’d immediately wanted to take her in my arms. But I’d noticed a slight hesitation in her voice, and I decided to back away. But now, as I lay in bed, I wasn’t sure if I had made the right move. It would’ve been so much better having her with me now.
Eventually, though, I fell asleep, and I woke up the next morning with the thought of the upcoming night in my mind. When I looked around for Riley, she was nowhere to be seen, but I saw a note on the kitchen counter telling me to meet her outside and to bring coffee. I made us both a cup and found her outside in the garden, sitting on a blanket and enjoying the morning sun. It was a very pleasant sight. I loved how beautiful she looked first thing in the morning. I almost preferred to when she dressed up.
“Good morning! This is cool,” I said as I joined her on the blanket. “I like this idea.”
She grinned. “Morning. Ooh, thanks for the coffee. I was hoping you’d be up soon. I don’t think we make the most of this back yard. I woke up and looked out and realized I never sit outside. I spent far too long holed up in an apartment not to make the most of all of this now. I mean, this lawn is incredible.”
“You’re right. It’s a great yard.”
“I can imagine tea parties happening here many years ago. People dressing up and sitting on the lawn eating little finger foods.”
“And playing croquet.”
“And sipping tea with their fingers in the air.”
“Are you thinking of recreating that?” I asked.
She chuckled. “It’s also seriously overgrown. Can you imagine having people here now? It’s beautiful but kind of a mess. Not exactly the picturesque tea garden image that I have in my mind. I guess I need to start getting someone to come and help with the maintenance around here. I thought of doing it myself, but I don’t know a thing about gardens. And I have a feeling this is not something that can be done by just anybody. This place is too big.”
“I would offer to help, but I don’t have a green thumb,” I said. “And trust, I have tried before. I got a cactus once. One of those little ones. And I only got it because if figured it was the one plant that I wouldn’t kill. Of course, I put it in the wrong place. It had too much sun. Or too little, I can’t remember. And I killed it.”
She chuckled. “Okay, then I’m definitely not going to ask you to do it. I’m the same, though. It’s not my strong point.”
“Well, it’s still nice to sit out here,” I said. “And you’re right; we should do it more often.”
“I thought it would be a nice way to start your big day. How are you feeling, by the way? Did you actually get any sleep last night?”
I smiled. I thought about telling her how much I wished she had been with me last night. How I had imagined her in bed with me. But I changed my mind.
“It took me a while to fall asleep,” I admitted. “You know what I’m like. I battle to fall asleep easily at the best of times. Having something like this on my mind just made it so much worse. But I’m excited. Nervous though.”
“You shouldn’t be nervous. You’ve played up on stage plenty times. And you’re brilliant. It’s not like it’s your first time.”
“And yet, it never gets any easier.”
“Really?”
I nodded. “Oh yeah. I get nervous every single time without fail.” It was a strange sort of nervousness though. I almost enjoyed it.
“You honestly don’t look at all nervous when you’re up on stage.”
“That’s good to know,” I said. “As long as I don’t look nervous, I’m happy. Listen, Riley, I just want to tell you how happy I am that you gave me this opportunity. I know that you put your job on the line for me because of this.”
“Nah, I think you’re great, and I know my boss will think so too. I honestly wouldn’t worry about that. I’ve heard you sing, Silas. You’re amazing. And if there’s one thing I can say for my boss, it is that he has good taste.”
“Thank you. That’s nice of you to say. It will be fun. Nerves or not I always have the best time when I’m up on stage.”
We spent a relaxing morning together out in the sun. We kept going back inside to get more refreshments or snacks, or books to read. It was the most relaxed I had been in a very long time, and we made a promise to do it more often. It was probably the best way for me to spend my day before a big gig. Riley then went out for the afternoon to go do some shopping and said that she had promised to spend some time with Paisley. I told her that I would meet her at the pub if I didn’t see her.
She wasn’t home by the time I had to leave, so I made my way over to the pub by myself. I felt a flutter of nerves and excitement as I arrived, and I couldn’t help but chuckle at the difference between this pub and the one I was used to singing at. This place was packed with people, with a line of people still waiting to go in. I walked to the front and told the bouncer my name, and he let me in. It was the most I had ever felt like a celebrity in my life, and I enjoyed the feeling. I probably wasn’t going to be afforded this opportunity again for a long time, and I wanted to make the most of it. I saw someone look at me as the bouncer let me in. I was sure they were trying to figure out who I was and why I was being given special attention. If this got me excited, then I couldn’t even imagine how I was going to feel if I ever really made it big. Was that a feeling that people just got used to?
The minute I walked in, I saw Riley. She came running over to me with a huge grin on her face, and I knew that I would play my heart out just so that I didn’t let her down. She said she had faith in me but that only made me want to prove to her that she was right to give me a chance. She took me over to her boss and introduced me to him.
I could see why Riley didn’t like him all that much. He wasn’t the most pleasant man to talk to, and he made it perfectly clear that I was only there as a favor to Riley. Unlike the bouncer, he didn’t seem to be treating me with any sort of respect whatsoever. I would have to also prove to him that I was worth the effort.
“Don’t let me down, Silas. Riley said you are good and right now the only thing I can do is trust her.” He said it in a way that made me think that he didn’t trust her at all. Poor Riley. I felt bad that she had to put up with this guy all the time. She said that he was very nice to the other bands that played, but that he took a long time to warm up to people.
I smiled. “I’ll do my best,” I said and hoped he didn’t notice how nervous I was. I saw Riley throwing daggers his way.
“You’ll need to do more than your best,” he said. “Okay, are you ready to go on?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I said and followed him up onto the stage. I stood to the side as he spoke to the audience and saw that Riley had pushed her way to the front. I took a deep breath as he called my name and I walked out onto the stage to more cheers than I had ever experienced before.
As usual, once I got up and started singing, I forgot about everyone and everything around me. I was glad that I was able to do this despite being in front of such a big audience. I felt nervous at first, but the moment I started singing, I got straight into the familiar groove that I was used to. This was a longer set than usual, and I’d prepared a few extra songs to perform, but I was surprised at how quick it went regardless. I loved every moment of being up on stage, and I didn’t once wish to be anywhere else. This was a feeling I didn’t get from construction work, or from anything else in my life. This was a feeling that completed me. I had to keep this dream alive. I couldn’t give up. I had one more song to go, and as I looked out, I smiled when I saw how many people were watching me. I scanned the audience until I found Riley and beamed at her. Then I played my last song as passionately and soulfully as I could. When I finished, the lights came on, and the entire audience began to chant my name.
It was only then that I felt the nerves come rushing back, and as I walked off stage, I thought my legs were going to collapse on me. They felt like jelly. I was just about to walk toward Riley when a man came up to me and pulled me aside.
“Sorry about that,” he said. “I just wanted to talk to you before you got engulfed in that crowd.”
I tried to figure out if I recognized him, but he didn’t look familiar to me. He was a middle-aged man with a big smile and beady eyes. I couldn’t decide whether or not I liked him or not, but he was smiling at me so broadly that it was hard not to smile back.
“Do I know you?” I asked.
His grin widened. “I’m Garren Knead. I was actually here to watch the band that was supposed to come on. I was annoyed when I heard that they got canceled and I almost didn’t bother staying. I’m glad I did now. I’m an agent, and I’m always on the lookout for fresh new talent. I love it when things like this happen. I was here for one band, and now you’re here in front of me. I always feel like it was meant to be when this happens.”
I stared at him, still trying to comprehend what he was telling me. He was an agent? An agent was standing in front of me? Was my dream really coming true? My mouth had gone dry, and I was desperate for a glass of water. My knees had felt weak when I’d come off the stage, but they were barely supporting me at all now. I realized that I had better say something because I was coming across like a complete idiot.
“An agent?” I managed to gasp.
“Tell me you don’t already have one.”
I shook my head. “No, I don’t.” Perhaps I should’ve lied and told him that I had a few people interested in me. Maybe it would’ve looked good if I at least pretended that there were other people that wanted to sign me up. But at that moment, I simply couldn’t help but tell the truth. My mind was just not working fast enough.
“Then please, take my card and call me next week. I would love the chance to talk more with you. You’re just the sort of guy I’m looking for. Hopefully you’ll be as interested in me as I am with you. Give it some thought and let’s talk more. Like I said, you’re just the kind of guy I’m looking to sign up.”
“You want to sign me up?” I said in surprise. I had dreamed of this moment in forever, and in all those dreams I was cool, calm, and collected. Not this bumbling idiot that stood there now. But I couldn’t help myself. I was just too surprised. Even though I wanted to happen, and even though I always told everyone that it was going to happen, I wasn’t sure how much I believed it. More and more I had started to believe that my dream of becoming a singer was never going to happen.
“I sure do. You’ve got talent, Silas. Some serious talent. A lot of guys think they have talent and want to have talent, but not a lot of them actually do. But you do. And you’ve got the looks. You’re the whole package. Which, of course, makes my job a whole lot easier. But listen, I have to run off. I have a plane to catch, and I’m already running late. I’ll talk to you soon, okay?”
“For sure,” I said, and watched in shock as he walked out.
I was still standing there, staring at the card, when Riley walked up to me.
“You were amazing!” she said.
“I didn’t make you lose your job?” I asked and grinned back at her.
She laughed. “No way. I think my boss actually likes me now after this. So, you probably ended up doing me a favor. You were great. I was so proud of you.”
“Thank you,” I said.
“Who were you talking to when you came off stage? And why do you look so shocked?” she asked. Then she looked down and saw the card that I was holding, and her eyes shot back up to me. “Is that what I think it is?”
“Garren Knead,” I said and held the card in front of her. “He’s an agent, and he wants me to call him next week. He was here for the other band but decided to stay and listen to me sing. Can you believe it?” I said and shook my head in amazement. “Oh my God, Riley. I’m still in shock. This is happening. It’s actually happening. Wait? What if this is a joke? What if this guy was just joking?”
She grinned and chuckled. “It’s not a joke. This is real. I always knew it would happen. You deserve this so much.”
“And I owe you for you it. I would never have gotten this opportunity if I continued playing in those tiny pubs. I needed to come here, and I would never have gotten in without you. You had faith in me when nobody else did.”
“It’s a pleasure, Silas. Now, let’s get a drink to celebrate.”
We walked off, and a few strangers patted me on the back, and high-fived me as I walked to the bar. It was a strange feeling, and so completely different from the looks of pity I usually got from people. These people had all stopped what they were doing to come and watch me for perform. Most of them had stayed through the whole set, and now they were taking the time to congratulate me. It was so strange. So beautifully and deliciously strange. We ordered a beer, and I grinned at Riley. I owed her so much for this moment. I would never forget what she did for me.