Laura spent all day Sunday doing what she loved most, writing songs. She sat in the middle of her living room on a thick, shaggy throw rug, surrounded by notebooks and sheets of paper with scribbles everywhere. She’d lost track of the time completely and jumped when there was a loud knock at the door. It couldn’t be Dylan already? She glanced at the clock on the wall and was surprised to see that it was nearly six.

It was Dylan, holding a large pizza box. The smell of tomato and cheese assaulted her senses, making her stomach rumble. She hadn’t stopped for lunch. Dylan handed her the box.

“You have that look about you. Have you had anything to eat today?” Dylan opened a bottle of wine while Laura set the pizza on the kitchen table and went to get napkins and plates.

“I had breakfast.”

“That’s what I figured. Productive day, though?” He poured two glasses of wine and handed one to her.

“It was a great day. First time in ages that I didn’t have to go anywhere. It was nice.”

They ate and then topped off their wine glasses, brought them into the living room and settled comfortably on the sofa. Dylan seemed to be in a relaxed, mellow mood, and Laura was grateful for it. He’d been somewhat moody lately, and Laura begged off ongoing out twice recently because she just didn’t want to deal with it. Staying home alone was more appealing. She sensed that he could tell she was pulling back though because he’d been on his best behavior all week.

Dylan took a sip of wine and then casually said, “So, my lease is up in two months. I need to decide if I want to renew or not.”

“Oh?” Laura had a sinking feeling about what was coming next.

“It seems silly for me to renew that lease if we’re going to be getting married. Maybe I should just move in here with you?”

A wave of panic came over her.

“Now?”

He laughed. “No, not now. But soon, when my lease is up. I need to let him know if I’m not going to renew.”

“Oh, I see.”

“So, that’s it, then? I’ll tell him tomorrow?”

“Do you have to let him know now?” Laura wasn’t ready to say yes to Dylan moving in, but she wasn’t ready to end their engagement just yet, either. She did like Dylan. Maybe she even loved him. But it all like felt too much, too fast.

“I have to give him a month’s notice. So, a month from now.”

“Let’s talk about it in a few weeks then. I’m sure it will be fine. It’s just that everything is moving so fast lately.”

Dylan brushed a wayward strand of hair off her face and kissed her gently.

“Everything is changing for you. But it’s all good,” he said confidently.

* * *

Cole loaded his suitcase in his truck Monday morning and had a second cup of coffee at the kitchen table while he waited for Chelsea to finish getting ready for work. He figured they’d leave together and say their goodbyes. He had no idea how long he’d be gone for. He heard the faint sound of a cell phone ringing, Chelsea’s voice answering and a moment later, laughing. Her voice was soft so he couldn’t hear what she was saying, just the occasional laugh. He wondered who would be calling so early in the morning and what could possibly be so funny. When she came into the kitchen a few minutes later, he asked her.

“Who was that on the phone?”

She seemed surprised by the question. “Oh, no one. Just someone from the office.”

Of course, it was someone from the office. That made sense.

“Busy week?” he asked.

She brightened at the question. Chelsea loved to talk about work. “Yes! We have so much going on. We have some exciting new projects.”

“That’s great. So, do you think you might be able to make it to Nashville at all? I won’t have much of a cheering section.” Having someone there to help calm his nerves would be awesome.

Chelsea bit her lip. “I don’t think so. I’m sorry. I can’t take time off right now, it’s much too busy. But you’ll do great! I know you will.” She wrapped her arms around him and gave him an enthusiastic kiss that was over as soon as it started.

“Good luck, Cole. Text me when you get there, so I know you made it.” She walked out ahead of him, climbed into her car and a moment later, she was gone.

* * *

The next morning at eight a.m., Cole was in Nashville at the studio along with forty-seven other contestants. Everyone was friendly and most seemed as nervous as he was. There were people from all over the country, ranging in age from fifteen to fifty. And as he quickly learned, everyone was good. Some were so good that it was intimidating. He tried not to let it throw him off-balance, though. He knew that all he could control was his own performance. He’d just go out there and do his best and see what happened. He smiled as he thought of something Laura used to say, “If it’s meant to be, it will be.”

And for week one, it was meant to be. Cole made it through the first round, along with twenty-three others. The size of the group had been cut in half. There would be another cut this next week and the week after that, and then the final twelve contestants would move on to the live shows. They’d receive a lot more attention then, and there would be guest coaches coming in each week to give extra guidance to the contestants. Cole hoped that he’d make it to that point. He wanted to go as long as possible but tried to keep his focus on surviving one week at a time.

He really liked working with Gary Jones, his coach. Gary still toured and had an amazing voice. Even though he sometimes came across a bit grouchy, he was passionate about music, and he’d been nothing but encouraging to Cole.

“You’re really good, you know. You have a deep, pure voice. There’s only one problem.” Gary put his hands on his hips and looked Cole in the eye. “You lack conviction. You don’t believe that you deserve to be here. You need to get over that and go own that stage. Because you do deserve to be here.”

Cole swallowed. He was embarrassed that it was so obvious how he felt. He did feel like he wasn’t as good as some of the others and it intimidated him.

“I’m serious. You’re as good as anyone here, and you have as much of a chance as they do.” He paused and then added, “You could win this thing if you just let go and dig deep. I know you can do it.”

“You do?” Cole normally was confident, but this was just so important. There was so much at stake that uncertainty had taken hold and his confidence was shaken.

“Believe, and you can achieve. Sounds hokey, I know. But it’s true. If you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will. Now, let’s hear it again, from the top.”

Cole grinned and relaxed. And then he sang like he’d never sung before. When he finished, there was a moment of silence and then the sound of one person clapping. Gary walked over to him, pulled him in for a hug and slapped his back.

“Now, that is what I’m talking about.”

* * *

The next day, for the actual competition, Cole channeled the confidence he’d managed the day before when it was just him and Gary. It felt good, and he was relieved that his performance the day before wasn’t a fluke. He did even better and all four judges gave him a standing ovation. They’d only done that for one other contestant so far. He breathed a sigh of relief. He hoped it would be enough to get him through to the next round. And it was. Now, he’d be going on to the live shows.