Epilogue - Wolf
Three years later
The lights are dazzling. The heat of the crowd is overwhelming.
The first time you stand in front of a huge audience, the sheer warmth hits you first. Thousands of people, all together, generate a lot of body heat.
Then there’s the noise; a cacophony of hundreds of different conversations, laughter, at every volume from whispers to shouts, blending together to create a sound like no other.
Applause is almost a physical sensation; each clap vibrating across your skin and back out into the crowd.
“Thank you!” My voice is hugely amplified as it echoes around the stadium.
I wait for the clapping to die down before I start to speak. “I have a special guest for you tonight. Someone particularly close to my heart.”
A big section of the crowd starts clapping, guessing what I’m about to say next.
I look over into the wings and single out Madison from the crowd of friends, music business executives, family and roadies.
She’s wearing a red vest top and jeans, her pregnant belly rounding out her clothes. She gives me a smile and thumbs up.
“It’s a privilege to have her up here with me and we’re lucky she made it, since our managers can never agree on our schedules these days. That’s going to change when the baby’s here, Jael.” I shoot a look over to the other side of the stage, where Jael’s eye roll must be visible from space.
“Put your hands together for my incredible wife…the one, the only, Madison Tyler!” The response from the crowd is so intense it almost knocks me over.
I walk over to meet her as she comes onstage and hold out my hand.
The tattoo of the little red heart-shaped balloon on my arm matches the one on hers and I can’t help smiling at our little secret gesture.
There’s been plenty of speculation about what our matching tattoos mean, but nobody’s guessed right yet.
Madison’s made a name for herself with her exquisite voice and folk-inspired tunes. She’s guested on a couple of my albums, and has two out herself. We’ve been writing together, inspired by her pregnancy and the new life growing inside her.
We’ve achieved a good balance, spending time in both Snowflake Falls and L.A. when we’re not on tour. Some of the happiest times in my life have been with her in her childhood house, where we’ll have a room for our boy ready so he can grow up in the coziest little town on the planet.
Madison reaches out her hand to grasp mine, her eyes wide. It’s by far the biggest crowd she’s played in front of, but she’s the bravest person I’ve ever met. I know she can handle it. I wait until she’s in front of the microphone stand before I give Vahr the drummer a nod to start.
“One, two, three, four…”
The steady drumbeat is like the regular thump of the baby’s heart we heard on the last scan. The best noise in the world. Happy and healthy, the sonographer said. I can’t wait to meet our son.
The only thing we haven’t agreed on is the name. I want to call him Akira but Madison thinks we should have something more classic, like Alexander. Zuri says she’ll flip a coin if the baby arrives and we still haven’t made up our minds.
Madison is swaying gently in time to the music. We’ve practiced this harmony so many times that I know we’ll kill it. I catch her looking at me and I want to kiss her, but instead I step forward to the mic as our voices join together.
“It wasn’t a mistake.
It wasn’t a fake.
I saw your appeal
And now that we’re real
It’s all rearranged.
Everything’s changed.
Now that I’m here
It’s all so clear,
A perfect view,
Because I love you…”