by Audrina Lane
“That’s fine with me” I said, smiling.
“You don’t seem very nervous about meeting your mystery man?” Ian said.
“There’s too much to worry about for the rest of the day to that one moment. I’ll be fine, in fact I’m looking forward to it” I finished. Standing up I reached for my bag.
“Well, I’m heading home for a final site check and sound check before I get an early night” I said.
“See you in the morning” they all chorused and I left them ordering more pints.
Checking my phone before I set off I spotted a message from Charlie.
“We’re practising on the dance floor and they’re using our music to check the sound system, its brilliant”
“I’m heading home now so I’ll call by” I texted back, before I jumped in the car. As I nearer the car park I spotted that the pub was already busy with people enjoying the late afternoon sunshine. I walked along the path and I could hear the music floating through the air. A few people were walking along the path and many had stopped to take in the spectacle of the stage. I spotted Sarah and Chris heading in the same direction and hurried over to meet them.
“Charlie dropped us a text to say they were practising so we decided to come down” she said.
“I’m feeling really nervous now with it literally only being hours away when things get started” I said.
We paused to watch the girls start their new dance to “Troublemaker”. I spotted Mitch lounging on the grass, his eyes firmly routed to a single dancer. We wandered over and watched them all dancing.
“Hi Stephanie, Sarah, Chris” Mitchell said, standing up.
“Hi Mitch, how are things going” I asked.
“I wish the guys were here so we could have a full practice” he said “Would we get chance to have an early one tomorrow morning if they can make it down for between eight?”
“Yes, I’ll be here broadcasting from our bus over there” I pointed just to the side of the stage our large studio on the move.
“Great, I’ll let them all know, and Dad of course” he said. Pulling out his phone he got started as the girls moved on to “Sky fall”
When the music died Charlie raced over to us all and flopped down on the grass next to Mitch.
“Does it look ok” she asked.
“Yes, but you need to extend more when you prepare for the splits” Mitch calmly mentioned. He pulled her close and planted a kiss on her forehead.
“From an audience point of view it was excellent” Chris said “I’m not as technical as Mitchell but I know what I like” he laughed.
“Anyone want a drink” Sarah asked. Everyone nodded as Mitch pulled Charlie back up and said.
“Shall we have another practise” he asked.
“Yes” she breathed, as they handed a disc to the sound man and took to the dance floor. I watched as Mitchell danced alone to “Suit and Tie” before Charlie crossed from the far edge of the flooring, swaying her hips before reaching for an imaginary tie.
Suddenly my phone started to ring so I walked a little further away and noticed it was James calling.
“Hi James, how are you” I asked.
“Fine Steph, I’ve just been trying to get hold of Mitchell but he’s not answering” he finished.
“He’s busy on the dance floor at the moment” I replied.
“Ok, just let him know that I will have the lads over for around eight in the morning. Do I come straight to the river?” he asked.
“Yes, they’ll be plenty of people around and I’ll be broadcasting until ten in the large bus” I said.
“Ok” he said “I’ll bring coffee and a bacon sandwich” he finished.
“Sounds great, I’ll tell security to let you in”
“You have security?” he asked in amazement.
“Tomorrow I do, after all I have a blind date to meet who could be a deranged psychopath or axe murderer” I giggled.
“You never know, he might just turn out to be your hero” James said. I could hear him laughing too.
Hanging up the call I spotted Sarah heading towards me carrying a large glass of wine.
“I really need that” I said, taking it from her.
“Who was on the phone then” she asked.
“Just James trying to leave Mitchell a message” I said.
“Anything else I should know about” she pushed.
“I have made up my mind to say yes” I said.
“You’re going to start dating again” she breathed, pulling me carefully into a hug as we avoided dropping our wine glasses.
“Do Charlotte and Mitchell know” she asked.
“I think they may have guessed this morning. I had a rather emotional epiphany in the kitchen this morning as Paul played ‘I knew you were waiting for me’ by George and Aretha”
“Does James know?”
“I think the songs I have been playing for him this week may have hinted at the fact” I replied.
Heading back towards Chris we watched Charlie and Mitchell finally finish dancing again and head over for their drinks.
“I’m so excited Mum, I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep tonight” Charlie breathed, in dramatic fashion.
“I’d better get you drunk then” Mitch joked, as he reached over and squeezed her hand “Otherwise perhaps we’d better stay here and dance all night instead” he finished.
“Maybe” she said, a blush tinted her cheeks with a rosy glow.
As it was a nice evening we headed over to the benches outside the pub and ordered some food and more drinks. I found that I would occasionally drift off into my own private day dreams, imagining my joyful reunion tomorrow.
As we headed back through to the car I offered Sarah and Chris a lift home. Charlotte and Mitchell decided to walk.
“You should go through the churchyard to the prospect, the view of the set up looks fantastic from there” I said.
“Sounds good Mum” Charlie replied “We’ll see you in a little while” she finished. Linking hands they headed further along the river and then up into town. In the car Sarah and Chris said they would head down at around eleven. Dropping them off Sarah smiled broadly at me.
“I’ll let Chris know, just so he doesn’t say anything tomorrow. He’s still upset over what James did to you” she finished.
“I think he spoke to James at the bar in the hotel and warned him” I said.
“Well, good luck in the morning. We’ll be listening in as much as possible” Sarah finished. She kissed me though the open window of the car and then I pulled away. I raised my hand to wave and then headed slowly through the streets and home.
Chapter 68
Charlie and Mitchell walked hand in hand along the path that headed into town. Carefully Charlie steered them in the direction of the church, instead of through town so that they could take in the view. Leaning over the railings they stared down onto the stage and dance floor spread out before them. “That’s a fabulous sight” Mitch breathed.
“It still looks huge from up here” Charlie said in awe. She felt Mitch’s arms around her shoulders and she moved in tighter towards him.
“Let’s walk this way” Charlie eventually said. She moved down the familiar paths that led to her Dad.
Silently she paused in front of the headstone. She had only been here a few times over the years, mostly with her Mum. Kneeling down she spotted the fresh flowers lying there, as she ran her fingers over the engraved name.
“Hi Dad, this is Mitchell. We’re dancing together tomorrow and I hope you’ll look down on us and watch” she whispered silently. Mitch rested his hand on her shoulder and read the inscription. Although he spent very little time with his Mum now, at least he still could. Charlie had very few memories of her Dad to cling too. Standing back up she turned to Mitch and he held her in his arms.
“I just felt that I had to come here” Charlie said, softly.
“I know it must be hard for you, as you never really knew him” Mit
ch replied.
“I think that it’s more to do with the fact that my Mum is going back to the person she really loved and I don’t want Dad to think that I will love him any less” she sighed “It’s kind of hard to explain” she finished.
Looking up into his face she watched his lips head towards hers as he kissed her with a tenderness she had never felt before. As the darkness started to fold its cloak around them they walked slowly home. The lights of the house were already on as they stepped through the front door.
“Mum we’re home” Charlie called.
“That’s good, I really need to get to bed” I said, appearing in the hallway.
“Ok Mum, we’ll see you in the morning. I’ll come down with Mitchell to meet his Dad and the guys at eight” she finished.
“Night Stephanie” Mitch said. I watched them head into the kitchen to grab another drink. Locking the front door I headed up the stairs to bed.
Mitch watched as Charlie filled the kettle and made them a Hot Chocolate. They headed through to the conservatory and sat down together on the small sofa.
“Can’t wait for tomorrow” Mitch said.
“Me too. I think it’s going to be one hell of a day” Charlie replied. Leaning across she planted a kiss on his cheek. Mitch turned his head slightly as he planted a kiss on her lips. He could taste the sweetness of the chocolate that lingered there.
“Let’s go up to bed” Charlie murmured.
“What happened to being too excited to sleep”
“I don’t think I said anything about sleeping” Charlie grinned.
“Lead the way” Mitch said, pulling her up off the couch as they headed for the stairs.
In my room I kept thinking about the whole day ahead of me tomorrow. I knew the event was going to be a success with the amount of tickets we had already sold. I also knew that I had made my decision about James. I still hadn’t planned everything about us getting back together but we had time to discuss that after tomorrow. Grabbing my phone I quickly sent James a text.
“Goodnight, looking forward to seeing you tomorrow morning”
After a short wait his message came back to me.
“Goodnight Steph. I’ll be there in the morning” he replied.
With those words in my head I turned my light out. I could just hear Charlie and Mitchell heading up the stairs to their room. Their soft giggles echoed through the door as I thought about all the times that James and I had crept around in my parent’s house. I wondered what they would say when I told them we were back together? I had sent them some footage of Charlie dancing in London and I knew that sooner or later I would make the trip to New Zealand to see them.
When my alarm sounded at five in the morning I flicked it to snooze and had a further ten minutes to finally wake up. I grabbed a quick shower and then took a look out of the window. The sun was shining in a perfect blue sky a real rarity. Opening my wardrobe I found my new sundress that I had bought last week. Putting it on I fastened my hair up in a loose ponytail and applied a light coloured lip gloss. I didn’t need any other make up as my skin seemed to glow and my eyes were bright with love. Grabbing a quick coffee I headed out of the door. Even at this hour the sun felt warm already as I made the short walk down to the river.
Mark had driven the radio bus down to the site and was sat outside waiting for me to arrive.
“Morning Steph, did you order the weather” he asked.
“Of course, it’s going to be a perfect day” I replied. In fact that was the very song I would start the morning show with. Heading in I checked the set up and started up the music and the tone for the whole day ahead. My phone beeped and I checked the screen.
“Heading along the motorway now, listening to some great music” James said.
I put the next song on it was “Somewhere out there” by Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram.
“Somewhere out there
If love can see us through
Then we’ll be together
Somewhere out there
Out where dreams come true”
I smiled as I could feel my heart starting to beat that little bit faster at the thought of my true love. My phone went again as James requested the next song. It was “Waiting for a star to fall” by Boy meets Girl. The words perfectly matched mine and the way we were both feeling as we teetered on the brink of rediscovery.
“Waiting
I don’t like waiting
It’s so hard waiting
Seems like waiting makes me love you even more”
Continuing with the show I was soon playing requests for people preparing to head over for the event. As I watched the clock tick by I looked up to see Charlie and Mitch standing there, holding coffee’s in their hands. Then Mark popped in and waited until a song was playing to talk to me.
“Steph, there’s a guy outside with a coffee and bacon sandwich for you” he said, looking puzzled.
“Send him in” I said, as I lined up the next song to automatically play and stepped out of the tiny studio. When he walked onto the bus I could feel my heart already increasing in tempo at the sight of James
“As promised” James said, offering me the coffee and sandwich. I stepped forward to take them and then put them straight down onto the nearby table.
“You look beautiful” he continued, as he closed the gap between us.
I heard the second song start to play and knew that I would not have much time before I needed to be back behind the desk. Looking down I spotted how my hands were already shaking from the tension that surrounded us. When I looked up I was staring directly into his blue eyes, as I stepped into his open arms. Breathing in I closed my eyes as my heart hammered in time with his, feeling his hands pulling me in tighter. I looked up again to a sight that took my breath away, he was here, he was real; James was mine again. His lips captured mine at that point and I struggled to remain in reality as the feelings of love exploded inside of me, escaping their years of confinement. I felt like a butterfly emerging from it’s chrysalis into the warm sunshine and feeling alive and free.
Pulling away I still couldn’t speak as I motioned to the song that was starting to fade out. I hurried back behind my desk as James watched with interest as I found my voice and announced the next couple of songs coming up. Then after another three songs were set to go I felt calm enough to leave the safety of the studio booth.
“Hi James” I said, as I stepped back out and picked up the mug of coffee.
“Hi Steph” he breathed “How long have you got before your session finishes” he asked.
I looked at the clock to see that it was heading towards nine and I had another hour before Mark took over.
“An hour” I said “Hope you don’t mind waiting just a little bit longer” I said.
James shook his head “If that kiss means what I think it means then I’m more than happy to wait” he finished. He was still the gentleman that I remembered when he had waited for me all those years ago.
Mitch and Charlie re-appeared round the door of the bus.
“Everything looks great and sounds great” Charlie said “James bought us some breakfast so we’re having an early picnic on the grass outside” she finished.
“I’ll join you when my show finishes in an hour” I said.
“I’ll join you now in a moment” James said, as we watched them head back outside into the sunshine.
“I should be able to sneak away for an hour after my show and you can drop your bag off at the house” I said, smiling shyly at the thought of James seeing my home.
“Sounds like a plan, meanwhile how many songs do we have left” he asked. He took my coffee mug from my hand and then pulled me close once more. “I’m struggling to let you go” he whispered “I keep thinking you might be a figment of my imagination” he finished.
“I’m definitely real” I said as I reached up and my lips found his.
The hour passed surprisingly quickly and when I emerged into the sunshine I found
the riverside already bustling with people. The girls from Charlie’s group had appeared and they were already warming up ready for a final run through of their dances. I found James waiting for me, whilst watching all the activity. A number of the local bands had already turned up too and as I wandered towards him I suddenly spotted Jack heading in my direction.
“Hi Jack” I called out
“Hey Steph” he replied “What a glorious day to spend by the river” he said. He pulled me in for a hug and then turned to take in the stage and the dance floor before him.
“It really does look good, has our big star arrived yet” he asked.
“Rick’s due here at around three this afternoon” I said “But I have an hour off and there are a few things I need to get done” I said, smiling as I spotted James heading in our direction.
Jack turned to see where my attention had wandered off too. Spotting James, he grabbed my arm.
“I hope you’re going to give it another chance” he said.
“I am” I said, smiling as James stood before us.
“Hi James, this is Jack. You might remember meeting him some years ago” I said. James nodded and stuck out his hand.
“Hi Jack, can I possible whisk Stephanie away from you” he asked.
“Sure” Jack said “See you later” he finished. We watched him walk towards the dance floor and talk to Charlie.
“At last” James said “I have you for a whole hour”
We walked to the minibus and James grabbed his bag and then my hand.
“I’m sorry I’m not letting you go” he said.
Walking along the river we headed through the Swimming pool car park.
“God this brings back memories” James said, as we paused to look at where it all began.
“I know, I still swim sometimes” I said “But swimming was never the same without you” I finished. James pulled me close and brushed a light kiss on my lips.
