Page 128 of Close Match

The song ends. The applause rolls like thunder over the crowd. Even with their mics turned up, Linnie and Simon have to yell to be heard by the audience. The curtain closes for a brief minute, muffling the sound. But before I can say a word, it opens again. Simon yanks Linnie toward him to crush her close. I wait, uncertain of what I’m supposed to do.

After all, I’ll stand by her through anything the way she stood by me.

“We’re going to have to give them an encore,” Simon yells to the entire crowd. There’s a war whoop behind me.

Linnie nods excitedly. Her hair bounces around the gold dress she’s been wearing since her solo number. “You guys ready?” she shouts.

The roar from the cast is her response. Giving a thumbs-up to someone to the side of the stage, she moves back into my space. Even though I’ve seen her eyes in Ev’s face, I’ve missed them.The happiness in them right now is the look I want to see in them when I take my last breath, I decide. “This could take a while,” she apologizes with a crooked twist of her lips.

“I’m here for as long as you want me by your side,” I tell her honestly.

Something flashes behind her eyes. She holds out her hand. This time, I take it with no hesitation. Her fingers give mine a quick squeeze as the banjo starts up again. Linnie starts to sing. Simon joins her as they’re both exposed to the audience. The spotlight smacks us all in the face as the curtain opens, and we quickly become blinded. She squeezes and tugs my hand. I move forward right beside her.

I don’t care if anyone can see tears on my face more clearly.

They’re a gift.

Just like the woman holding my hand singing.

* * *

After what seems like forever,the curtain closes. I’m separated from Linnie as person after person sucks her into the vortex of the night’s success. I panic a little when I lose track of her when suddenly she’s hoisted high in the air by a strong set of arms. “She did it! She pulled it off! Let’s hear it for our Linnie!”

Wolf whistles and cheers ratchet up a notch. Even as she blushes, her eyes are searching over the heads until they lock onto mine. Her face softens. Other than the few words, we haven’t spoken. But something inside me relaxes when I see the look on her face.

That is until a hand clamps down on my shoulder. “Linnie looks beautiful, doesn’t she?” Simon comes up behind me.

I nod. “And happy.”

“You have no idea how long it’s taken to get that way.” His hand clenches harder. “Why don’t we wait for her in my dressing room?” he offers. It’s not a suggestion.

My heart thumps madly. It’s my first test. “Have the fixings for a Shirley Temple in there?” I ask quietly. “It’s my newest drink of choice.”

The hand loosens a bit. A ghost of a smile flicks on his lips. “An homage?”

I shake my head. “Maybe at the beginning? Then I found when I drank regular soda I was searching for something else to be hidden in it. This way, I can see, smell, and taste exactly what I’m supposed to have.”

“Which is?”

My eyes find Linnie through the multitude of people who are passing her around. “A chance. I don’t deserve anything more than that, and I’ll have to earn it every single day.”

His hand, instead of clamping down again, relaxes completely. “Let’s get you out of this chaos. I’ll leave word for Linnie to meet all of us down in my dressing room.”

Confused, I let Simon guide me out of the madness. “What did I say?”

“Something she’s been telling me for a while. I guess I just needed to hear it from you.”

Simon’s greeted and congratulated the entire way to the space that’s designated with a signed held up by duct tape as “Houde/Brogan.” “Come on in.” He opens the door.

I step across the threshold, and Bristol Houde is cradling a sleeping dark-haired baby to her chest. “Shh, Simon. I just got him down.” She doesn’t even look up.

“My love, we have company,” Simon murmurs. Bristol’s head snaps up. Her eyes dart to her husband before her face relaxes.

“Montague Parrish.” Her voice sounds so much like Linnie’s it’s almost painful to hear the coolness I expected from one woman directed at me from the other.

“Bristol.” I keep my distance from the small family.

After a few whispered words that I can’t make out, Bristol’s smile warms. “I saw you up on stage, Monty. How did that make you feel?”