Epilogue
Bailey
One Month Later
Darren and I stepped out of our Nashville apartment, dressed nicer than either of us had dressed in years, truly feeling like we were quickly ascending to the top of the world.
We released our duo album, Friends/Lovers, a week after Darren had the right idea on what to name it and what order the tracks should be. It quickly rose to the top of several online charts.
“We’re still number 1,” Darren often said through cell phone scrolling during breakfast.
“We got a 3.5 out of 4 rating,” I might reply as I’m seeing what users and fans are thinking and saying about the music on a variety of sources.
We were all ecstatically surprised to watch the album perform so well so quickly upon release, considering I was still a fairly new name, and Darren had never released a song in any capacity beforehand. In the month since we released the album, we had been invited onto several morning and talk shows, and our overall promotion tour was more massive than either of us had ever imagined.
Despite things happening remarkably quickly, and how we’d barely gotten any sleep, this miracle that was becoming our lives was so fun to experience with Darren. None of it felt real to me. I was becoming a popular singer. Darren was finally living and breathing music like I’d always wanted. And through it all, I was falling more in love with him every day.
I still missed my parents, but I took solace knowing that they would surely be proud of me if they were still alive and with me. I was grateful to have Darren with me, and I was thankful that we took care of each other.
As we stepped out into the world, looking like rich people, we called for an Uber to take us to a place called Fine Steakhouse. Although it had an ironic name, it was one of the finest restaurants in our part of Nashville, and we were going there to celebrate and toast our success. Darren had been very adamant about going to Fine Steakhouse, and I was happy to oblige. I’d always wanted to try it, and I just wanted to be with him.
We were holding each other quietly, smiling the whole ride from our place to Fine Steakhouse. We chatted casually with our driver, and before we knew it, we were outside of the restaurant.
At first, I was puzzled as to why the place looked vacant, but then it hit me.
“Darren, why does it look like the place is empty?” I asked knowing the answer.
“Because it is,” he answered.
“Are they open?”
“They’re definitely open,” he said. “I know for a fact they’re open.”
I shook my head, wondering what drastic measures my boyfriend had taken to be romantic. He always went above and beyond my expectations, so I was learning to stop asking myself so many questions and just let it happen.
We got inside the restaurant, and my suspicions were confirmed. I covered my eyes in embarrassment, shocked at what I was seeing.
The place was lit up, decorated with lights and a stream of flowers leading to a specific table dressed up waiting for us. There was good music playing over the sound system, and the staff was there for only us.
“What is this?” I asked.
“I bought the place out,” said Darren. “What do you think?”
I didn’t think people could actually buy out a restaurant, and yet, exactly that appeared to be unfolding in front of me. I was rapidly going through scenarios in my head, wondering what all Darren had paid. You don’t just rent out a fancy restaurant for a light celebration.
“It’s breathtaking,” I replied. “Why did you do all this?”
“I thought it would be a good idea,” he said in his usual cryptic way. “I had a table in mind, but we do have a pretty wide selection of tables and booths to choose from.”
“Let’s follow the trail of flowers,” I said. “I can’t believe you did all this.”
My mind kept lingering on the idea that he was going to propose to me. Darren liked to take things slow, so I felt confident that it would’ve been out of character for him to ask such a question. But, I was still in disbelief that Darren had moved from Rome to be with me, and that had been months ago.
No other idea was coming to mind. I was busy trying to calculate how much money he must’ve spent to rent the restaurant out, and it had to have taken out so much of what he’d earned on our album.
“Darren, I don’t—”
“Let me treat you like royalty sometimes, darling,” he whispered to me.
We sat at our table, staring at each other for several seconds, beaming.
“What is all this?” I asked again.
“I thought we could have the place to ourselves,” said Darren. “You’ve never had a guy rent out a restaurant for you before?”
“No, sir,” I told him.
“You know how lately when we go out to places, someone recognizes us and ends up monopolizing a lot of our dinner?” he asked.
“You wanted it to be just me and you.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said. “Nothing else. Well, except for the kitchen staff and our server.”
“Right.” I laughed.
Our server, Randy, came over and tried to take our order. I was still fixated on him renting out the restaurant for us. We started off with water and bread.
“Did we go gold or something?” I asked him, wondering about our record.
“Not yet,” he said. “This isn’t about work or our creations. This is about us.”
“Okay,” I said, grabbing his hands.
“Is this okay?” he asked me about the situation.
“It is, but Darren, this must’ve cost so much.”
“I’ve been spending a lot of big money lately, don’t you worry about that,” he said. “You’re worth the world to me, Bailey.”
“I don’t know what to say,” I said. “I feel like you’re going to propose to me or something.”
“Well, that was the plan,” said Darren.
I let go of his hands, unable to keep mine from freaking out. “What?”
“I wanted to propose to you tonight,” he said again without hesitation.
“Oh, my God, is this really happening?”
“I don’t know.” He laughed. “Is it?”
“I’m going to think about it all night. I think you better,” I said nervously.
“In that case, I guess I’ll go ahead and start talking now,” he said nervously.
“Oh, my God,” I repeated.
“Bailey.”
“Oh, my God.”
We both laughed. We knew this day was going to come, and soon, but it was still alarming to see it unfolding before me.
“Bailey, I love you more than anything else in this world,” said Darren. “I want to be with you for the rest of my life. I’ve wanted nothing more for so long. All I’ve ever wanted was you. I want to live life with you, grow old, release ten albums, have a house full of children, dogs, and cats. I’m tired of not going after what I really want. I’ve been getting better about it over the last few months, and I’m not about to slow down.”
He got out of his seat, walked over to mine, and got down on one knee.
“Bailey, as long as we have each other, we’ll be invincible,” said Darren. “I want you to be my wife, and I want to be forever and always your husband.”
He took out a small jewelry box from his back pocket, opening it up to reveal a large, stunning engagement ring. I could see my reflection in the diamond.
“Darren!”
“I love you, Bailey. I always will. Will you marry me?”
I didn’t have to think about it. “Yes! Darren, of course, I will!”
He slid the ring on my finger, one that I’d imagined receiving. I’d wanted to be Darren’s wife for years.
He leaned up, and I stood up. We wrapped each other in a warm embrace, kissing each other, as fiancés.
“Let’s get married right now,” I said half-jokingly.
“I don’t think anyone in the restaurant could officiate a wedding,” said Darren. “I could ask.”
“Nah, Leah would kill me if we eloped and she didn’t help me plan some big, extravagant wedding,” I said. “Garrett would probably be pissed too.”
“Yeah, he’d hate missing out on free or cheap booze,” he said.
“Darren, you could have proposed to me anywhere, in any way,” I told him. “You didn’t have to go to all this trouble just to propose.”
Our waiter returned, carrying a bottle of celebratory wine over to the table for us. While Darren ordered our food, I stared down at my beautiful engagement ring, imagining the day when we would be declared husband and wife.
After our waiter left, and as Darren was pouring us a nice glass of wine, I leaned on my elbows, watching him admirably.
“I’m the luckiest girl in Nashville,” I said.
“I’m the luckiest man on the whole damn planet,” said Darren, pulling me in for another kiss.
A few days later, Darren and I held a small engagement party at our apartment. We invited many, but we expected a small turnout since many of our friends and family were outside of Tennessee. Fortunately, our two closest friends were able to make it, and that’s who we wanted most of all.
Darren and Garrett were grilling food out on the balcony while Leah and I chatted in the living room. Leah constantly took my hand to praise my ring.
“I’m going to steal this whenever you take it off,” said Leah.
“Then, I’m never going to take it off!” I laughed. “Isn’t it gorgeous?”
“Too gorgeous,” she replied. “Darren probably had to get a loan to afford that.”
“He said that he got a lot more money than expected when he sold his house in Rome,” I relayed. “If I found out this ring has caused him to go broke, I’m making him take it back.”
“No!” said Leah in distress. “It’s too pretty!”
“What would you do?” I asked. “I don’t just want a fancy wedding and a glamorous ring. I want a healthy, good marriage. That won’t happen if we don’t have any money.”
“You’re still worried about money, superstar?” she went. “You guys are going to be set for life soon!”
“Let’s not jinx it or get carried away,” I said. “Just because things are going well right now doesn’t mean they’ll stay that way. I can’t be frivolous.”
“Listen to your man,” said Leah. “Enjoy yourself. Don’t fret about money. Let him show you how much he cares. It’s good that you have a man that wants to take care of you. Don’t take it for granted.”
I looked over at Darren, who was laughing and grilling vegetables with Garrett. Still, I was in disbelief at how perfect everything felt.
“Have you decided what you guys are going to do about your upcoming solo albums?” Leah wondered. “Have y’all sorted through the list of interested labels and picked one that suits you?”
“I think we’ve been doing excellently just releasing our material online by ourselves,” I said. “I can’t speak for Darren, but I don’t think I’m interested in signing with a label. I think our albums will sell great without them. Together, he and I are invincible.”
When the food was cooked, we broke out the liquor and started pouring shots for all of us. In less than an hour, we were all full of food and booze, and we had all gotten a little silly.
Toward the end of the night, we all started singing various songs together, having fun, occasionally making funny quips about our upcoming wedding and enjoying each other’s company. During a pause when we were trying to determine what song to sing next, Darren poured us all shots and raises his glass.
“To Bailey,” Darren proclaimed. “You are my muse. You inspire me in life. You make me want to be a better person, work harder, and love always. I’m thrilled that we moved to Nashville, and I’m excited for wherever our journey takes us next.”
“It’s going to be an amazing journey, baby,” I told him.
“You’ve asked me many times since we moved if I was truly okay with being here,” he continued. “I say here, now: I’m more comfortable now than I ever was in Rome, Georgia. It’s not just because I’m no longer alone; it’s because I’m with my partner. I’m here with the woman of my dreams. How could I not be overjoyed with where I get to be? I get to live in a beautiful city with the most beautiful girl doing what I’ve always wanted to do. Now, I have everything to look forward to. I can’t wait to marry you, Bailey. I love you.”
I walked up to him, hugged him and kissed his lips. We stayed connected for several seconds, uncaring of our company’s reaction.
“Get it,” laughed Garrett.
We separated, and we clumsily poured back our shots. After we finished, I started pouring more. I handed them all out and held mine up high.
“Darren, as usual your words will go unrivaled,” I said. “I can’t express my feelings remotely as good as you can.”
“It’s not a competition, baby,” said Darren.
“I have to say these last few months have been really strange,” I said, unsure of where I was going with it. “I mean, losing my dad, we both moved from our homes, and we’re doing big things together with our music. It just—I’m still waiting to wake up and realize that this is all some elaborate, crazy dream.”
“It’s all real, milady,” said Darren.
“I want to toast to the future,” I said. “To the limitless possibilities, to the goals we’ll meet, and to unions.”
“Here, here!” said Garrett.
We knocked back our shots. I snuggled up to my fiancé, squeezing his body. I looked down, spotting Bo and his adorable face.
Garrett and Leah were able to maneuver through small talk with each other. In fact, as the night evolved, they were talking more with each other than the whole group.
I wanted to imagine what it would be like if our best friends got together and were happy, but I was too busy living in my own daydream.
***
Later that night, after Garrett and Leah had passed out in the living room, I was busy plucking away on the guitar, playing sweet sounds for Darren as he drifted to sleep.
“It’s like you’re playing me a lullaby,” he said.
“That’s exactly what I’m doing.”
“How haven’t you passed out yet?” he asked.
“I’m too excited,” I replied.
“What about?”
“I get to marry my dream guy,” I explained. “How could I not be excited?”
“We’re not getting married tomorrow.” He chuckled. “Come to bed.”
I played a while longer but relented fast. I wanted to kiss and touch him; I wanted much more, but I could refrain until our company left.
“So, are we getting married by the beach, in a church, or in another country?” he asked.
“I don’t know yet,” I answered. “Where do you want to get married?”
“At the top of a mountain,” he answered jokingly. “The higher, the better.”
“What’s your second choice?” I asked.
“I do love the beach,” he commented. “I don’t know.”
“Will we play music for our guests, or will we be hiring someone?” I asked.
“Why not both?” he replied. “There are so many songs I could sing to you on our wedding day.”
“What about our wedding night?” I teased, poking his sides.
“I could still write symphonies about our nights together,” said Darren. “I’ll be dreaming about some of those nights while I sleep tonight, I’m sure.”
As I fell asleep, I found myself thinking about the same things as he was. I held onto my lover, my best friend, my man, and I knew I was right where I needed to be.
***
END OF THE SECOND STORY