I saw April’s parents toward the back. They’d been a little late, but they were here. After the shock had worn off that her parents were there to see her, I’d seen the pride in their eyes when April had taken them around and showed them what she’d be doing here. And when her dad had shaken my hand and smiled like he knew exactly what they were doing here, I swear I almost threw up.
Johnny and Bex started with a slow guitar chord progression, both of them looking at one another as they played with the slide guitar. Tanner was playing the pedal steel. We didn’t use it during our regular sets, but Bex had gotten one from Beats, so he was using it for this song. I had chosen a song that wasn’t ours, but I wished it was. One of my favorite bands was Staind, and they had this song called “Tangled Up in You” that spoke to exactly how I felt about April. I wasn’t needed for this song, so me sitting behind my drums was purely for looks until it was my turn to come out.
Johnny’s voice started the song. The low, gravelly sound reverberated around the room as he began the lyrics. Bex joined in after a few chords and the two of them belted out the song that shredded my heart to pieces. Not because it was sad, but because it explained everything to her. I watched her. At first, her eyes were on Bex and Johnny as they sang, but once she heard the lyrics, her eyes shifted to mine. When they got to the part that talked about the “hand to hold as I grow old,” I stood. My hands were sweaty as I put the drumsticks down on my seat and stepped around my drum kit. April watched me as I walked to the middle of the makeshift stage, Bex and Johnny’s voices surrounding me. Robbie beamed as I indicated for him to come up.
April’s mouth dropped, and a buzz started in the room as Robbie came up next to me on the stage. He walked over to Tanner and played a few notes on the pedal steel that he’d practiced with him. April’s eyes widened as she saw Robbie playing.
I waited for the point in the song when I’d ask April to come up onto the stage with me. When they approached the part I was waiting for, about hoping it never ends and wanting it forever, I walked to the edge of the stage and held out my hand for April. She took my hand and came up next to me, her expression one of apprehension and confusion. She’d know soon enough what I wanted from her. All I could hope and pray now was that she was ready for it.
As Bex and Johnny reached the chorus, the song winding down, I took her hands in mine and began to mouth the words to her. I wasn’t a singer, and I wouldn’t want to overshadow the powerfulness of this song by distracting from what they were doing. But I wanted her to hear the lyrics—really hear them. I meant every word of this song. She was my lifeline, my medicine, my light in the darkness. Every part of her was tangled with me, and I wanted it to stay that way. I never wanted to be without her again.
As the song wound down, I licked my lips nervously. My throat was dry, and I felt like I’d swallowed rocks with my dinner. But I had to push that all aside and tell her exactly what I wanted her to know.
The crowd clapped and hollered, but they got under control quickly as they realized whatever they saw onstage wasn’t over yet. I cleared my throat. I hated talking in front of people. I caught Natalie’s eyes, and she had her hands over her mouth, obviously figuring out what I was doing. I was glad I hadn’t told her. Robbie came up next to me, his debut of playing now complete.
“April,” I said, my voice shaking. “I wish I would’ve written this song because I could’ve written it for you. From the second I saw you, you’ve had me tangled up over you. I never thought I deserved you, and I still don’t. But that’s neither here nor there because I love you. You’ve been there for me at my lowest, and I want you to be there at my highest. You love my son like he’s your own, and you make me feel like I can do anything.” I watched as Robbie took the small pouch out of his pants. Yes, I had entrusted my nine-year-old with the ring. He was less nervous than me.
Her eyes zeroed in on the ring Robbie placed in my hand. “Apr—Mom,” Robbie said. “I never had two parents before. I love both you guys, and I want us to be a real family. Will you marry my dad?”
When the words crossed his lips, I dropped to one knee, holding the ring between my fingers. April took her hands and covered her mouth, a small squeak of surprise coming before she began crying. The crowd gasped and then awed, waiting for her response.
“April Knight, will you be my wife? Will you grow old with me?”
The soft chords of the song started again as Bex and Johnny began playing softly. April’s eyes shifted to them, out at her parents in the crowd, and then back to us. My stomach was in knots wondering what in the hell she was thinking.