37. Nick
Chapter thirty-seven
Nick
The crowd roars as I sing the last lines of “My Woman: The Only One,” and the spotlight centers on Maddie walking out onto the stage.
Her gaze never wavers from mine as I serenade her.
I love her so much, and I want the world to know it.
When she reaches me, I hold her hand and take a bow with her.
The whole band joins us up front, and we all take a bow. It’s our second encore.
“Kiss, kiss!” yells the crowd.
“Thanks much,” Maddie says to me, and she pulls my head down for a kiss. The roar of the crowd fades into the background as I savor the promise of this life with Maddie. I pick her up, not breaking our kiss, and head backstage. I missed her so much.
I only put her down once we arrive in the green room. But I don’t let her go.
She kisses me again and says, “I love you.”
“I love you,” I say.
“And you were okay with the public version?” I ask. “I know you don’t want to be the story.”
Maddie cradles my cheeks. “I’m happy to be the story if that happily ever after includes you. I also realized that being a journalist is not necessarily behind the scenes. Twyla is not behind the scenes, and I’m getting used to that.”
This woman. I will never get enough of her. I kiss her tenderly again. When we remember that we don’t have all night, she adds, “I like all the versions, but the private concert made me cry because I wasn’t sure if we’d be able to get back together and I was so happy.”
A knock sounds on the door. “Can we come in?”
“Come in,” I yell.
“We thought we were going to be out here forever,” José says.
“We didn’t hear you,” I tell him.
“So we gathered,” he says wryly.
I hug the band in our post-concert ritual.
The Beacon. I can’t believe we played here. Another band had to reschedule because their lead singer needed knee surgery, and I was able to include it as part of our contract re-negotiation. I choke up, telling my bandmates how much I love them.
José pats my shoulder. “I thought I was getting emotional with the prospect of having a baby. But we’re family. All of us. We will always have each other’s backs. We’ve been through too much together.”
As Maddie’s friends also join us in the green room, my found family is growing. Maddie has two weeks off and is joining me on the tour.
Another knock sounds at the door, and Amira brings in my mom. I invited her to this concert at Maddie’s suggestion that maybe if she saw me playing and met the band, she’d change her mind. My mom looks a bit shell-shocked by it all, to be honest. Elena, with her belly, hugs her first.
“Nick’s mama, we’re so happy to meet you,” she says. “You’ve done such a good job with Nick. I want all of your tips. José and I are having a baby, and even though José may be on the road, I am lining up all the aunties and uncles.”
Maddie and I introduce my mom to everyone. I can literally see my mom relaxing and realizing while meeting my bandmates and Maddie’s friends that we have a strong community and discipline—this is not the route to a life of dissipation.
I offer my mom a bottle of water, and she smiles at me.
“You have such a wholesome group of friends,” she says. “This is nothing like your dad’s band.”
We may be wholesome, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not counting the minutes until I get Maddie alone and in my bed tonight.
“Can I have a band T-shirt?” she asks, pointing at my Orchard Folly T-shirt.
“Yes, definitely,” I say, shocked.
“I should advertise my son’s band,” she says.
I pull her in for a tight hug.
We all leave via the back exit of The Beacon, and I hug my mom good night again as she leaves to return to her hotel room around the corner.
“Shall we go home now?” Maddie whispers as she holds my hand.
“I have a short scavenger hunt for you,” I say. “Because I missed celebrating Valentine’s Day with you, and you like puzzles.”
The band members climb into the van, but I steer Maddie to a black sedan behind it. Inside, on the seat, is a box. She slides in and opens it. Inside is a piece of paper: What to feed Maddie when she’s sad. Go to that place.
She glances at me. “Dumplings or M&M’s?”
I shrug. I’m not telling. Maddie gives the driver the address of the dumpling place.
She snuggles into me as we drive there. “You didn’t have to do this. Honestly. You already gave me a great Valentine’s Day gift. And I’m just so happy to be with you.”
“I wanted to,” I say.
We enter the dumpling place, and the woman behind the counter smiles broadly when she sees us and nods excitedly at me. She hands Maddie a plate of dumplings. The dumplings are arranged in the shape of an “I.” She also gives her an envelope.
I’m starving after the performance, so I order another plate, and we sit by the window and eat them.
It’s funny to think of all the times I picked up dumplings for Maddie here when I wanted to curry favor for playing too late, as well as the chance meetings where we’d run into each other here and eat together as casual friends.
I was an idiot not to realize sooner how much I liked her.
Maddie opens the envelope. Inside is a photo of graffiti.
“Strangelove!” Maddie says. “That was not on my bingo card for tonight.”
“It was very memorable,” I say.
She kisses me quickly. “You were so cute and protective that night. Let’s go.”
The sedan takes us to Strangelove, with Maddie curled into me. I kiss the top of her head and breathe in her peony scent. We step out of the car at the bar.
“Do you notice what’s different?” I ask.
“LOVE is spray-painted in red across the door,” she says. “How did you know they did that?”
“I did it. I promised I’d come back and add STRANGE tomorrow,” I say. “The owner liked the idea of Strangelove graffitied on the door.”
“I bet,” Maddie says.
We go inside. It’s crowded tonight, but somehow it feels a lot more welcoming, especially because the bartender immediately plays “Fevered Dreams.” Several men ask me for autographs.
Others are grooving to the music. Maddie looks around but then heads straight to the bartender and asks him if he knows where I hid the clue.
The bartender hands Maddie an envelope, giving me a big wink.
Maddie takes out a photo of an orchard.
“Home,” Maddie says.
Home. My home is Maddie.
We give the driver the deli address on Allen Street. It’s still best to be cautious.
The sedan lets us off at the deli, and once the car pulls away, I suggest we walk around the block to the front entrance of our apartments on Orchard Street.
We hold hands, Maddie pulling my hand into the warmth of her pocket and chiding me for forgetting gloves again.
“I brought my gloves,” I say, “but I prefer holding your hand.”
She kisses me, distracting us from the mission, until we’re finally recalled to our surroundings by some catcalls.
We turn the corner.
She immediately looks up at the fire escape to find our connected apartments. Three gold balloons spelling “YOU” are tied to the metal slats.
“I love you too, Nick,” Maddie says.
We jog up the stairs to my apartment, and I sit her on the couch. I hand her the last box. When she opens it up, a floor plan falls out.
“What is this?” Maddie asks.
“I asked the landlord if he would let us combine our apartments so we could have one larger one. Here’s how I sketched it out, although I’m open to your ideas.
It seems it would be relatively easy to put a door in the wall between our apartments where there are no structural supports.
I’ll also soundproof my bedroom so I can practice in there. ”
“Nick, this is amazing!”
“You’re okay with moving in together? My feelings are not going to change. I know you’re the one for me. I can’t imagine my life without you. I want the world to know what you mean to me.”
Maddie hugs me tight. “Yes! You’re the only one for me. Once I met you, I think nobody else compared, at least in terms of the attraction that I felt. And then as I got to know you even better, my feelings for you grew because you’re such a good guy. I feel so lucky to have found you.”
I feel such love and joy. Maddie is my forever family. And I can’t wait for her to hear my latest song in California this weekend.