Epilogue
"And now for our finale this evening, the insanely talented and popular pianist, Grace Dempsey, will play an original piece, a duet, written by and performed with, Noah Parker."
Jones Quebedeau stood at the microphone, looking back and clapping as Noah and Grace walked onto the stage together, hand in hand, smiling.
He carried his violin tucked under his arm, his bow dangling from his finger as he supported the neck.
Her music was already on the piano, but the last time they'd practiced, she basically had it memorized.
He could not fault her work ethic in any way.
But that was the way she lived her life.
On purpose, with attention to detail. He thought maybe he had helped her loosen up a little bit, although just before they'd come on, she'd looked at him, and there was a little bit of fear in her eyes.
He hadn't said anything. He just leaned down and kissed the corner of her mouth.
It had made her smile, and they had exchanged a grin, the fear gone.
He knew she'd been praying about it, and he had too, and they'd also talked about whether they were a smashing success tonight or whether they crashed and burned, it didn't matter.
God was in control. They knew they had practiced as much as they could, and the rest of the program had gone amazingly well.
Now, as they faced the spotlights and Grace settled down on the piano bench, and he stood behind his music stand, bringing his violin up and tucking it under his chin, they would find out shortly how the last number of the evening would go.
He glanced at Grace, and she gave him an almost imperceptible nod, and then he began with the music that had become as familiar to him as his own body.
It was a dance every time, the story of Grace and him. Some of it they hadn't lived yet, but he had one more thing he wanted to do this evening to make their story move along just that much further.
But first, they needed to get through this.
Both of them played with passion and emotion, and the crowd seemed mesmerized.
When they were finished, the last notes drifting into the night, there was silence for a few beats, before someone started to clap.
Then the entire area around the stage erupted in applause, and people stood to their feet.
They had done it. They had performed the piece that he had written for the two of them, which... In his opinion could never be performed by anyone else as well as it was performed by Grace. And he supposed him, together.
He walked to the piano bench, offering her his hand and helping her to stand. They walked around the piano and bowed to the crowd.
Then, as the applause continued, he turned to Grace and got down on one knee.
"I love you. Will you marry me?"
He was confident in her answer, but he wanted her to have a true, beautiful proposal. Not the backhanded one he'd given her several weeks ago at the table when they had decided that both of them were in it for the long haul and neither one of them wanted to dally around.
Grace's eyes, which had been shining, now filled with tears as her smile stretched wide and huge.
"I love you. Yes. Yes, I'll marry you!"
They smiled at each other, laughing a little, and maybe a tear slipped out, as he stood up and wrapped her in his arms, carefully still holding his violin and bow.
"What a magical night. I love playing with you. Thank you for taking the music I wrote and making it beautiful."
"You wrote our story perfectly. I felt every note."
The applause seemed to get longer and louder, but neither one of them noticed. They were lost in each other's eyes, smiling at the success of the festival, which had broken attendance records by three o'clock that afternoon. And even more people had arrived after that.
Tomorrow would be more festival celebrations and a parade, and he had no doubt that the entire thing would be a huge success. Thanks in part to Grace being willing to take a chance, not just on him, but on herself.
What a great beginning to the rest of their lives.