Laney and Dilynne are seated to my right, Fletcher next to his fiancée, and George Hart next to him. Rhonan, his nanny Joanne, and daughter Ellis are on my left, followed by Elliot. Carolina is in the row behind us, smiling from ear to ear as Elodie starts to sing the lyrics to “Somebody’s Hero” by Jamie O’Neal. Dilynne and I share a look, but I try to just focus on Elodie and not how badly I want to drive to Garnet Valley to tell her parents off for real.
Elodie keeps playing through her set, singing crowd favorites by Tim McGraw, Shania Twain, Reba McEntire, and George Strait, and I can’t take my eyes off of her the entire time—her smile, her energy, the way you can tell that she feels the music and lyrics in her soul.
Watching her on that stage is making me fall for her even more.
“Thank you so much,” she says before taking a sip of her water. “Now, I love singing, but I love writing songs even more and lately, I’ve had a little bit of inspiration.” Her eyes meet mine. Rhonan shoves me from the side as my grin appears. “So, if you’re willing, I’d love to play a few new songs I’ve written for you.” The applause is instant. “Perfect. Well, this first one is inspired by a little girl I’ve had the pleasure of taking care of for the past three months. She’s brought so much joy to my life, especially at a time when I thought I’d lost all of mine. It’s called, ‘Remember Me.’”
My pulse climbs as I listen to the lyrics Elodie wrote about my daughter, echoing her sentiment that she spoke to me about a few weeks ago—how my little girl has made her see the world differently, and how she worries Remy won’t remember her because she’s so young.
That sting of tears returns because I don’t want Elodie to be someone that only exists in my memory. I want my daughter to know her too, to be raised by her, to look up to her, and run to her when she needs a woman to talk to.
Sure, she’d have Dilynne and Laney, but this little girl deserves a mom and a dad. She deserves the life I didn’t have.
Meghan didn’t want her, but I think Elodie just might.
When Elodie finishes, Laney is wiping tears from under her eyes and glances over at me. “Wow,” she mouths and all I can do is nod.
“Thank you, everyone,” Elodie says before reaching for her guitar and strumming the chords to another song she wrote when she was incollege about following your heart. When she’s done with that one, I check the time on my watch and note that she’s got to be toward the end of her set.
“So unfortunately, our time together is coming to an end, but there’s one more song I’d love to play for you. You okay with that?” The crowd cheers and I draw the blanket tighter around Remy to ward off the cold. “Perfect. This one doesn’t need an explanation because the lyrics speak for themselves. It’s called, ‘On Borrowed Time.’”
Goosebumps break out on my skin under the layers of my coat, but not from the cold.
No.
It’s from listening to this woman tell me in a song everything I’ve been feeling since she crashed into my life.
Your eyes say more than your mouth,
Your touch says more than your eyes,
And each time you look at me,
All I can think about is our inevitable goodbye.
But what if this didn’t have an end?
What if you decided to let me in?
I know you can be that man,
You just have to want it.
I know that you’re scared,
Because I’m scared too.
You have the power to destroy me,
And I can do the same to you.
But we can be scared together,
Life can change on a dime,
Or are these feelings only fleeting?
Because we’re on borrowed time?
