A few minutes later, the band came back onto the stage and the audience applauded in anticipation and appreciation. Four empty stools were already waiting for Heartbeat's return.
Arabella felt hot emotion well up in her throat and she had to work hard to not burst into tears. Putting a hand to her chest, she took deep breaths, knowing what was to come.
A few more minutes went by while the band played an instrumental medley. The crowd started chanting, "Heartbeat! Heartbeat!"
Still, the stools remained empty, and Arabella knew it was because they were setting up for the live recording of Susan Heart's song. The chants continued, and when the drummer started to let the crowd know the brothers were close to appearing, the anticipation felt like a living, breathing thing.
When Grady, Jimmy, Jesse, and Oliver came back onstage they'd shed their suit jackets and ties. Shirtsleeves were rolled up to their elbows and the first few buttons were undone. Arabella knew they did this to show a more down-to-earth approach to the song, and to connect to the crowd on a deeper, more personal level. The only accompaniment would be a piano, the stripped-down performance making for an intimate experience.
They sat down on the stools and Grady raised his hands, waiting for silence. Instead of the headpieces, they had traditional microphones. Finally, the crowd gave in to his request and fell silent.
"We have a few things to say, so please give us a few minutes while you hold your much-appreciated applause. First, we want to thank all of you for attending," he said, and his brothers nodded. "And thanks to all the local businesses who sold tickets and promoted the concert with posters and word of mouth. We couldn't have done this without the whole town coming together to help," he continued. "Many of you knew us even before Heartbeat was a thing," he said, and had to hold his hands up for silence again. "Our parents instilled the love of music into us from the moment we were born. Singing and playing instruments became part of us as children and shaped who we are as adults." He extended his hand toward his brothers. "We used to joke that living in our house was like being in a constant musical, and we thought it was normal," he said, and waited for the laughter to die down. "And we loved performing for our parents every Friday night. We never wanted to be famous. We just loved music," Grady continued, with a catch in his voice. "But our parents also brought music to Sea Breeze with our music shop that's still in the family. They made sure that anyone who wanted to learn to play a musical instrument or have voice lessons would be able to do so. Broken instruments were fixed and donated to the Sea Breeze High School band and, in their honor, that remains true today," he continued, and had to wait again while the audience cheered. "We lost them way too soon, but their legacy will continue in our hometown. Jesse, Jimmy, Oliver, and I will make sure of that," he said. "And I want to extend a special thanks to Arabella York for the amazing choreography. We couldn't have pulled this off without her. She is the best in the business and is one of the reasons for our success, both in the past and tonight. We were so lucky to have her on board," he said, making Arabella blush at the compliment.
Jesse lifted his microphone and spoke up. "I want to introduce this next song, which means so much to us. It's a tribute to our parents, beautifully written by Jimmy," he said, and nodded to Jimmy.
"While the lyrics were written for our parents, this song also goes out to anyone, meaning all of you, who have lost a loved one," Jimmy said. "We lost our mother from complications due to lupus, and we also want to remind you to give generously, not only to the Susan Heart Lupus Foundation, but to other foundations raising money to fight disease and bring awareness to their cause."
Oliver spoke up. "While the pain of losing loved ones never goes away, precious memories remain. We ask you now to please sit down, listen, and remember that though our loved ones might be gone . . . they are with us always," he said, and then, after a pause, Heartbeat launched into the slow, beautiful song. The soothing piano accompaniment seemed to float through the air while the spotlight remained on the four brothers pouring their soul into the song for their mother.
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Arabella felt tears streaming down her cheeks as she thought of her own grandmother. She could hear and feel the collective emotion of the crowd and knew there couldn't be a dry eye in the audience. She watched Grady and his brothers trying to hold it together and get through the song, and she had trouble not dissolving into a puddle of noisy sobbing herself.