“Alright, well, now we’ve all had a moment, how about we fucking slay this joint,” Sutton says, grinning.
“Shit, yeah,” Dean adds, and we all laugh.
We finish getting our stuff set up before I finally turn back to the room, taking in all the people who have filled the bar.My group of friends have managed to get themselves a table, one I’m sure Lisa reserved specifically for them.
My grin widens when I see Mom and Dad with them, Daisy’s mom and sister also close by, everyone here to support us as we give this whole band thing another go.It’s our second chance, our do-over, and this time, there isn’t a chance in hell we’re going to fuck it up.
My eyes meet Daisy’s.She’s smiling up at me, her smile turning to a laugh when I blow her a kiss, which she quickly returns.With a wink, I turn back to my bandmates.“We good?”I ask.
The three of them all nod, Lacey twirling one of her drumsticks as she grins at me from behind her kit.With a laugh, I nod at her, our go-to signal for her to count us in, as I turn back to the microphone and get ready to play.
We open with some of our biggest songs, the ones that made us when we were first starting out.I don’t speak to the audience at all, always preferring to play a couple of songs first.And holy shit, does it feel like slipping back into something that’s incredibly familiar.
Like home, almost.
When our third song ends, I let go of the neck of my guitar, tilting it down a little as I step back up to the mic and say, “Hey, how y’all doin’ tonight?”
This earns me a loud cheer, not just because this was how I always greeted our fans when we first spoke.I see my brother Kai stick his fingers in his mouth, his whistle loud, even above the yells.Laughing, I shake my head at him before continuing.
“So, in case you didn’t know, we’re Silent Daydream and—” the rest of my words are cut off by another loud cheer, because of course, everyone here knows who we are.This is where we first played, where we got our big break.“Okay, okay,” I say with a laugh, trying to get them to quiet down.“So yeah, we know it’s been a while, but if you’re okay with it, we thought we might play you a few songs tonight.”
Another cheer erupts, this one even louder, as beside me, Sutton leans into his mic and says, “Hell yeah!”
Kai whistles again, the rest of my family and friends all clapping wildly.I can’t wipe the grin off my face.Everything about this moment is so unbelievably perfect.
“We’re gonna play you a lot of our old stuff,” I continue, knowing that’s what they want to hear.“But we might have one or two new songs too,” I add, my eyes locking with Daisy’s.
I watch as her mouth falls open, her eyes widening as she looks up at me.I know she’s wondering if I’m talking about the song I played for her in the quietness of our bedroom.But that’s not the song I’m talking about because that’s a song I wrote when I was trying to write through my anger and grief at everything we had lost.
And that’s not where we are anymore.
So instead, I give her a wink as I say, “This next song is a new one.A song I wrote for my girl.I think you all know who she is, right?”I add, pointing to Daze.“Give it up for Daisy Carmichael,” I say, laughing when she blushes, covering her face with her hands.“Her bakery opens next week, folks, and you’re definitely gonna want to go there.”
“Damn straight,” Sutton adds.“Those red velvet cupcakes are insane, Daze!”
Laughing, I glance over at him before turning back to the audience.“They definitely are.And so are you, babe.This one’s for you.”
And then I begin to play, the words that fell from my heart onto the page only weeks ago, now falling from my mouth as I sing her this song.
You crawled into my head.
And into my heart.
Never stood a chance with you.
You were always gonna tear me apart.
But a love like ours isn’t one you can fight.
And despite all we faced, we got through the night.
I’ve always been yours, babe.
And you’ll always be mine.
Because a love like ours will last to the end of time.
The reunion showis in the books, done and amazing just as I thought it would be, and it feels unreal how everything is just falling into place.
