Bryce squeezed my leg and whispered into my ear. “She has been practising a lot.”
“When? How?” I asked, dumbfounded.
“Sometimes it’s easier to hide something blatantly than it is to hide it furtively.”
I shot him a quick glance. Shit! Did he know about my surprise? I smiled timidly and turned back to Charli. She was more than half way through the song with no hesitation, just confidence and poise; loving what she was doing. Her ability to take that stage and sing to a room full of people made me so proud of her. It also gave me the nerve I needed to do the same for Bryce, that, and Carly’s advice to just sing it to him.
As the song winded down to a close and Lucy slowly pressed the final keys on the keyboard, the room erupted into a round of applause. I got to my feet— thankful that I no longer needed any form of walking aid—and clapped the loudest.
“Thank you very much,” Charli said as she positioned herself in the middle of the stage and curtsied. I laughed at her brazenness and winked at her as she made her way toward me.
Meeting her half way, I knelt down and wrapped my arms around her, giving her a tight squeeze. “That was absolutely beautiful, Charli-Bear. I am so proud of you.”
“That was so cool, Mum! I want to be a singer when I get older.”
Normally I would say ‘add it to the list’ or ‘that’s nice’ knowing she would change her mind more than likely the very next day, but I could see the determination in her eyes this time. “You can be anything you want, Darling.” I gave her a quick squeeze then noticed Derek grab Bryce’s guitar.
Lucy stepped down from the stage and squatted next to us. “Well done, Charli. That was perfect. Now it’s Mummy’s turn, and she is going to be perfect too.” She gave me a reassuring grin. Charli looked at me confused.
I winked at her and put my finger to my lips. “Shhh, it’s a secret for Bryce.”
Standing back up, I smoothed down the front of my pink floral patterned dress. I’d pinned my hair up on purpose, making sure it was neatly secured and out of my way.
“You’ll be fine,” Lucy said as she stood, giving my hand a quick squeeze. She then proceeded to direct Charlotte back to the table. I continued on and stepped up on the stage, taking a deep breath before turning around. When I did turn around I found Bryce’s eyes and his eyes only, causing an overwhelming calm to roll across me. I smiled at him and his brow furrowed.
Derek stepped up to the stool I was standing by and handed me Bryce’s guitar, having prepared it for me moments ago. I put the strap over my head and took a seat on the stool, adjusting the microphone comfortably.
As I repositioned it, I spoke to the crowd, but my message was for one person. “Hello everyone. I have to let you all in on a little secret. You see, for the past few months, I have been learning to play the guitar for the sole purpose of performing here today as a surprise for someone who means the world to me.” I allowed my eyes to find Bryce’s again. “This special someone and I suffered a great tragedy recently, and in amongst that tragedy, I came to realise that I couldn’t live without him. He always finds ways to support me and give me everything that I could possibly want or need. So I wanted to give him something back, something only I could give him. Bryce, this is from me to you.”
His face was emotionless, but not in a bad way. I think he was in shock in some way or another. I looked down and positioned my fingers and began strumming, counting the 6/8 time signature. Derek joined in, playing his part and smiling encouragingly at me. I looked up again, deliberately finding Bryce as I sang the opening line. He adjusted his seated position, leaning forward with his elbows balanced on his knees and his hand covering his mouth. He shook his head in disbelief, which made me smile through the lyrics as I continued to play the song.
When I got to the chorus, I emphasized that he was my only exception by looking deep into his eyes and singing the words to him and him only. He repeated the shaking of his head at me, shock and disbelief still plastered across his face. Lucy gave him a loving nudge to the shoulder but he didn’t take his eyes from mine.
As I began the second verse, I relaxed a little and swayed to the rhythm, closing my eyes and letting the song absorb me. I sang like this until the song escalated into the chorus, which was when I reopened my eyes to find Carly, Nate, Charli and the rest of the band smiling and swaying along with me. The fact that I had naturally closed my eyes stunned me a little, instantly worrying me that I may have stuffed up my playing in one way or another. Ironically, worrying if I had stuffed up or not, caused me to then accidently miss a chord, but luckily it was the chord that Derek played along with me, so my mistake would’ve gone unnoticed to majority of the room. I gave Derek a knowing look, but he just continued to smile reassuringly.