“What are you doing?” I ask her, just as Maggie comes out in the purple shirt. “Definitely that shirt. It’s perfect.”
“Maggie,” Bridgette says, still looking at herself in the mirror. “When you said my ass looked like two Pringles hugging, was that a compliment?”
Maggie laughs. “Have you seen your ass? Of course it was.”
“I don’t see it.” Bridgette pulls another Pringle out of the can and holds both chips back to back so that they’re curved away from each other. “This is not attractive.”
Maggie walks over and grabs the two Pringles, turning them inward. “Like this.”
Bridgette stares at the chips and nods, like it finally clicks. “Oh. Yeah, it kind of does look like that.”
•••
Ridge and Warren have been at the venue helping the band set up for the show, so Maggie and I rode with Bridgette. Ridge isn’t playing tonight, though. He said sometimes he just likes being a spectator.
Maggie has a smile on her face as we get out of the car, but I can tell it’s strained. She pauses as she looks up at the building. “I wish Jake could have made it,” she says quietly.
I grab her hand. “He can come to the next one. Just try to have fun.”
I’m anxious to get inside, so I pull her after me and text Ridge to let him know we’re at the back door. A moment later, the door opens and Ridge walks out. He’s followed by Warren. I feel bad because Ridge is giving me a hug, and Warren is giving Bridgette a hug, and Maggie is just standing there, awkward and alone.
It won’t last long though.
Just when the door slams shut, it’s pushed open from the inside. Jake walks out.
It’s been hell keeping it from her, but he really wanted to surprise her. He was able to switch his on-call weekends, but he didn’t want her to know. He’s planning on staying with her until Monday morning.
As soon as she realizes he’s actually here and she’s not seeing things, she lights up all over and runs at him. She jumps on him and wraps herself around him like a spider monkey, her feet locked around his back, her wrists locked behind his neck. He’s holding her with little effort, and it makes me envious that I can’t jump on Ridge like that. I mean, I guess I could. But I’m not as tiny as Maggie. We’d need to plan it. We’d need a spotter. And a mattress for when we fell.
They’re so in love. It’s so adorable.
Ridge leans into my ear and says, “You look beautiful.”
His comment gets him a kiss. We’re so adorable.
Warren opens the back door and holds it for everyone as we all shuffle inside. I feel my phone vibrate, so I look back at Ridge and he indicates he just texted me something.
Ridge: I gave Jake the ring.
Me: You did? Did it freak him out? Or did he seem appreciative?
Ridge: He thanked me like five times and kept staring at it on the drive over. I doubt he waits long.
That makes me smile. I know marriage wasn’t an item on Maggie’s bucket list, but I think she’s at a point in her life where she wants to add more to the list. And Jake isn’t going anywhere. I can see that just by the way they look at each other.
The room is packed when we get out to the floor. Luckily, one of the crew members saved an area up front for us. Perks of writing music for the band.
Jake and Maggie stand next to us. He’s standing behind her with his arms wrapped around her. When Brennan and the band walk on stage, Maggie separates herself from him and starts clapping and jumping. I have no idea how long it’s been since she’s seen them play, but she’s genuinely stoked to hear them. It makes me think about everyone’s dynamic and how she’s been a part of these people’s lives since right after they started the band. I’m sure Brennan and everyone on stage mean more to her than I ever realized.
It makes me appreciate what we had to go through to get here even more. Had we all not figured out a way to coexist, she would have had to give up huge pieces of her life. I never would have felt right about that.
I look over at Warren and Bridgette, and even she’s smiling and clapping as Brennan introduces the band to the audience. Warren has his hands cupped around his mouth as he yells for the band. Then he drops his arm and wraps it around Bridgette’s waist. She looks up at him and he smiles down at her, then gives her a quick kiss. It’s so odd to see them in moments like this, but when I do get glimpses of it, it’s beautiful. They love each other, even if they do it differently from everyone else.
That’s the beauty of love, isn’t it? It comes in so many different forms, shapes, sizes, textures. And it’s ever changing. Like the love Ridge held for Maggie. It’s still there… It’s just a different form. And that’s what I love the most about him. He never stopped loving her. He never stopped caring for her. And now that she’s one of my closest friends, I can’t help but love that for her, because she deserves it. She deserved his love then as his girlfriend, and she deserves his love now as one of his best friends.
Ridge moves closer behind me and wraps his arms around me, lifting one hand to my chest. He rests his palm at the base of my throat and presses his head to the side of mine. He wants to hear the concert through me, so I start singing along to the music. And I don’t realize it until halfway through the song, but I’m crying.
I don’t even know why.
I just love him so much. And I love being here with him. And I love his friends.
I just…love.
She knows every word to every song. I’m not sure when she learned all the songs that were written before I met her, but it makes me wonder if she learned them for me. For these moments when we’re watching the band on stage, so she can sing them to me.
When the song ends and she starts clapping, I notice tears are falling down her cheeks. I wipe one of them away and then lean in and kiss her briefly before walking away. She tries to grasp at my shirt, but I disappear into the crowd before making my way on stage. Brennan told me to come up after the first song to perform the one I wrote for her, but I didn’t tell Sydney I wrote a new song for her.
When I get up on the stage, I can feel the excitement of the room, even though I can’t hear it. The looks on their faces, the people in the front few rows jumping up and down, the heat from the lights, the smile on Sydney’s face when I finally find her in the crowd. I lean in to the microphone and sign while I tell her out loud why I wrote the song.
“Sydney.” She’s grinning so wide right now, it makes me smile. “I wrote a happy song for you this time. Because…well…you make me happy. No matter what happens or where we go…we’re in it together. And that makes me so fucking happy.”
She laughs and wipes at a tear, then signs, You make me happy, too.
I take the guitar Brennan hands me and wait for his cue. Then I close my eyes and start playing the chords, repeating the lyrics quietly in my head while Brennan uses his voice to sing them out loud.
Well maybe we can be
Somewhere where the land and the water meet
Somewhere where the worry just can’t be
Only got enough room for you and me
Well maybe the sun will rise
And peek through the pulled down bamboo blinds
Shine across your slept on perfect hair
And we won’t care
No, we won’t care
Cuz we got everything, everything we need right here
The world can try to make it all disappear
But let me tell you something that I happen to know
It’s gonna feel like this wherever we go
Wherever we go
Well what if all we saw
Was the rain dancing off the roof as it falls
Swaying in the leaves at the top of the tree
Water washing sand right from our feet
Well what if all we knew
Was right from wrong with no point of view
The day can go off the tracks up in the air
And we won’t care
No,
we won’t care
Cuz we got everything, everything we need right here
The world can try and make it all disappear
But let me tell you something that I happen to know
It’s gonna feel like this wherever we go
Wherever we go
You know we’ll be here for a while
I think we better do it with a little style
So we make the most of every day like it’s faded away
We’ll be alright
Cuz we got everything, everything we need right here
The world can try and make it all disappear
But let me tell you something that I happen to know
It’s gonna feel like this wherever we go
Wherever we go
When the song is over, I hand the guitar to Brennan and make my way back down to the floor. I find Warren and Bridgette. I see Maggie and Jake. I spin around, but there’s no Sydney. I look at Maggie and sign, “Where did she go?”
Maggie points to the stage.
I spin around and look at where I was just sitting. Why is Sydney on stage?
Brennan is saying something to her as she takes a seat on the barstool. He looks out at the crowd and says something into the microphone, then signs it for me. “This is Sydney Blake. She’s one of our songwriters, and this is her first time on stage. Give her a round of applause.”
She looks nervous, but I don’t think she’s as nervous as I am for her. I had no idea she was doing this.
Brennan starts to play, and I move closer to the stage to see which chords he’s playing…which song. And I realize almost immediately that it’s “Maybe Someday”—our song. I look at Sydney, just as the lyrics are about to start, but there’s no microphone in front of her.
That’s when she starts to sign the words.
Holy shit. She’s signing the song for me.
Fuck. How am I supposed to just stand here and not get emotional?
I shake my head when she makes eye contact with me. I’m in complete disbelief as I watch her sign the lyrics to a song she’s completely rewritten into a new song.
Maybe Someday Now
I am right in front of you, here to stay
Breathe a little easier every day
Now that I’m yours. And you are mine.
You ask me what I’ll want someday
It’s the same as yesterday
All I want…is you
With you I’m at my best
Someday has been laid to rest
I am ready to make that a vow
Maybe tomorrow
Maybe now
When you speak, I listen close
Hear all the words you say in prose
We’re only silent when we kiss
I smell my perfume in your bed
Thoughts of you invade my head
Truths were written, now they’re said
With you I’m at my best
Someday has been laid to rest
I am ready to make that a vow
Maybe tomorrow
Maybe now
You hear my heartbeat every night
Life with you, it feels so right
We are endless, like our song
Only good can come this way
Nights with you turn into day
Forever yours, Forever mine
With you I’m at my best
Someday has been laid to rest
I am ready to make that a vow
Maybe tomorrow
Or maybe now
I don’t remember when the song ended or when she walked off the stage or when she appeared right in front of me. I just know that in one moment, I was watching her on stage, and the next moment, I was kissing her. I can feel the music to the next song playing, and I’m still kissing her. My hands are in her hair when I finally pull back and press my forehead to hers. “I love you,” I whisper.
I do. I love her so damn much.
•••
I’m not even sure what other songs were played after that. I couldn’t focus on anything other than Sydney. After the show, everyone met with the band backstage to figure out where we were going for dinner. While they chatted, Sydney and I stayed out in the hallway and made out. We’re at dinner now, and it’s torture keeping my hands off of her.
Brennan and the guys needed to get on the road, so it’s Syd and me, Maggie and Jake, and Warren and Bridgette. I’m not sure why we even got a communal table, because none of us couples are paying attention to each other.
Well…we weren’t. But Warren has turned his attention on Sydney now.
“Settle something for us,” he says, referring to Bridgette and him.
“What’s up?” Sydney says.
“So…in the song you rewrote…you mentioned vows. Was that a hint that you want to get married?”
Sydney laughs and then looks at me. She looks back at Warren and shakes her head. “We talked about how we weren’t ready a few months ago. When I was rewriting the song, I realized maybe I am. I mean…” She looks at me. “Did you take it that way? I wasn’t saying I expect a proposal. I just meant whenever you’re ready…I’m ready.”
Yeah, I’m ready. But I don’t tell her that. She deserves a more thought-out proposal.
“Hold up,” Warren says before I can even respond. “Slow down. Bridgette and I have been together the longest. We should get married first.”
“No,” Bridgette says. “I think Jake and Maggie should get married first. She has less time.”
I was hoping I misread her lips, but she just made Sydney spew out her drink, so I guess I understood what Bridgette said just fine. Bridgette is lucky that Maggie is laughing at her right now, rather than choking her.
“What?” Bridgette says innocently. “It’s true.” She looks at Maggie. “I’m not trying to be mean. But seriously, you should try to do as much as you can as fast as you can. It makes sense. Add marriage to your bucket list and get it over with.”
Maggie’s cheeks are a shade darker than they were before all the attention was on her. Bridgette doesn’t seem to care that she’s embarrassing her. Or maybe she just doesn’t notice.
“We aren’t getting married,” Maggie says. “We’ve only known each other for a few months. Statistically speaking, the less time you date someone before you marry them, the greater your chances of it ending in divorce.”
Warren leans forward, holding up a finger in thought. It always makes me nervous when he tries to impart wisdom on other people. “Maybe so,” he says. “But wouldn’t adding marriage to your bucket list be worth the risk? You and Jake can date like this forever and you’ll never know what it’s like to get married. Or you can risk it and possibly experience marriage and divorce before you die.”
Jake cocks an eyebrow and glances at Maggie. “Sounds like a win-win to me.”
Maggie’s eyes widen. Jake smiles at her while he takes a sip of his drink. And then he says, “It makes sense if you think about it. At the risk of sounding like a medical professional, your life expectancy isn’t as long as mine. So…I’m ready when you’re ready.”
Maggie stares at him blankly. We all do, actually. I don’t think anyone was expecting him to agree with Warren.
“I hope that wasn’t a proposal,” Maggie says to Jake. “It didn’t even come with an I love you. Or an engagement ring.”
Jake stares back at Maggie for a moment. Then he reaches his hand out across the table. “Give me your keys, Ridge.”
I don’t even hesitate. I give him my keys, and Maggie watches him in bewilderment as he leaves the restaurant.
“What is he doing?” she says. “Is it something I said?”
Warren is shaking his head. “Fucker is gonna beat me to it.”
“To what?” Maggie says.
She seems confused, so none of us gives her any hints that we know what’s happening. When Jake walks back into the restaurant, he approaches the table with purpose. He’s holding the ring I gave him earlier, but be
fore he opens the box, he stands at the head of the table and looks at Maggie. Warren signs everything he says.
“Maggie…I know it’s only been a few months. But it’s been the best few months of my life. From the moment I first saw you, I have been absolutely consumed by you. I wish I had this speech and this moment planned out, but we both like spontaneous.” He gets down on one knee and opens the box. None of us can tell what Maggie’s thinking. This could go one of two ways, and I’m not so sure it’s going to go the way Jake wants it to.
He opens the box. “This ring belonged to your grandmother. And I wish more than anything that I could have known her, because I would have thanked her for raising such an amazing, independent, perfect woman. And the perfect woman for me. Whether you marry me or not, this ring is yours.” He pulls it out and lifts her hand, then slips the ring on her trembling finger. “But I would really love it if you would take the biggest risk you’ve ever taken and marry me, despite knowing very little about me or if we’re even compatible for a lifetime or—”
Maggie interrupts him by nodding her head and kissing him.
Holy shit. He did it.
Sydney is crying. Even Bridgette wipes away a tear.
Warren stands up, grabbing his wine glass to make a toast. “Congratulations, you two,” he says toward Maggie and Jake, even though they’re still kissing and not paying attention to him. “But this also kind of sucks because tonight was supposed to be my night.”
To everyone’s shock, Warren pulls a box out of his pocket. He opens it and turns toward Bridgette. “Bridgette, I wanted to propose tonight. I still do, even though I’m irritated that Jake did it first. So, before Sydney and Ridge steal the rest of my thunder, will you please marry me?”
Bridgette is looking at him like he’s crazy. Because he is.
Maybe Now (Maybe #2) Page 29
