by Lauren Runow
I laugh, “Wouldn’t dream of anything else,” as I lean up to kiss him sweetly.
Paul, Nichole and Sonia meet at our place before we head out to Slims for the Unwritten Law concert.
Grabbing a drink at the bar, we all toast to Lyric and how grateful we are that everything turned out ok.
The lights go dim as the band takes the stage. Charlie and I engulf ourselves in their music as we dance and sing every song at the top of our lungs, enjoying being there with each other.
Charlie turns to me, talking in my ear so I can hear him over the band, “I’ll be right back. Just heading to the bathroom real quick.”
I smile and nod then go back to singing Starships and Apocalypse.
When the song finishes the lights go dim and Scott, the lead singer, walks to the microphone as a single light points down on him. “What’s up San Francisco?” The crowd yells in response. “Ok, ok, thank you, thank you… we have a special surprise tonight.” The crowd yells again even louder. “Sorry mother fuckers, it’s not for you. It’s for a special someone, a special girl in the crowd.” The girls in the crowd scream wildly as Scott smiles a sexy smile turning to the dark corner off the stage.
An acoustic guitar starts to play the intro to Rest of My Life as Charlie walks out on stage playing the guitar. My eyes go huge as he meets Scott in the middle of the stage as Scott begins to sing.
I gasp as I stare in awe at him on the stage, covering my mouth as tears well up in my eyes. Sonia joins me on my left and Nichole on my right. I look to both of them as they smile from ear to ear. “How did he…?” I say, looking to both of them.
They laugh; pushing me through the crowd so we’re next to the stage.
I watch as Charlie picks at the strings of his guitar, looking straight down to me as Scott sings about not wanting his girl to leave for the rest of his life.
Emotions flow through me as tears slowly work their way down my cheek. I can’t take my eyes off the man I love, singing one of my favorite songs next to my favorite band. I almost want to pinch myself this moment feels so unreal. My heart is pounding so hard and my hands are starting to shake.
Nichole wraps her arm around me, pulling me in, kissing my cheek. I look at her and am shocked to see her eyes filled with tears as well.
Charlie plays the end of the song in the same acoustic guitar riff that started it while looking directly into my eyes. The crowd yells as Charlie looks at Scott who nods to Charlie, backing up so Charlie is center stage.
He removes the guitar from around his shoulder and hands it to Scott mouthing, Thanks man, before grabbing a box from his back pocket.
My heart sinks to the ground as I see the light teal box that he’s pulled out from his pocket. He looks at me and slowly gets down on one knee. I feel my legs go limp and Nicole and Sonia grab my arms, steadying me to my feet as Charlie opens the box revealing a stunning carat diamond surrounded by a ton of little diamonds bringing out an antique look.
I grab my mouth as tears fall down my face. The crowd is so loud I can’t hear him but see him mouth, “Will you marry me?”
I slowly lower my hands, revealing my huge smile as I shake my head yes with tears rolling down my face.
Charlie jumps off the stage and picks me up, swinging me around before kissing me with so much love and intensity I forget everyone around us. He holds me tightly to him, resting our foreheads together asking, “How did I get so lucky to find you?”
“I was sent to you. I’m your savior, remember?”
Charlie laughs before kissing me again like he never wants to let me go. I’ve never been so happy and I feel like I never want to let him go either.
Allison’s laying in bed staring at her hand with her engagement ring wrapped around her little finger. Life couldn’t get any better. I come back to bed after making sure Lyric was back asleep and wrap my arms around Allison, pulling her into me.
“Good morning future Mrs. Ashley.”
Allison smiles brightly gabbing my arm and pulling me tighter against her chest. “Good morning my future husband.”
“God that sounds good coming from your lips. Say it again.”
She smiles turning around so she is face to face with me and placing her hand on my cheek, “My future husband,” emphasizing the word my.
I lean in, kissing her softly as my phone rings. “Ugh, don’t people know we have a new born,” I grunt. “What time is it anyway?”
Allison laughs, “It’s actually 9:15, you slept right through his five o’clock feeding.”
I pout my lips, “Sorry baby.”
“No worries. Who’s calling?”
I look down, not recognizing the number, “Don’t know.” I answer, “Hello?”
“Hello. Is this Charles Ashley?”
“Yeah, this is him. How can I help you?” I sit up in bed so I’m holding the phone better against my ear.
“My name is Laura Stone. I am Jacquelyn Sanders’ attorney.”
“Yes…”
“Mr. Ashley, I was hoping you would have time to come into my office today. I have some things I need to discuss with regard to your son, Lyric.”
“Whoa, why? He’s my son. We did the paternity test. Why do I need to come in?”
“I’m sorry Mr. Ashley, I didn’t mean to cause you concern. It’s nothing bad. I have something to give you.”
I sigh deeply, “Uh, ok. What time should I come in?”
“Does today at one o’clock work for you?”
“Yeah, that works. See you then.”
“Yes, see you then. And if you could bring Lyric I would love to meet the little guy. Thank you.”
We hang up and I look at Allison. “That was Jacquelyn’s attorney. She wants me to come in at one today. Says she has something for me.”
“Ok, I’ll stay here with Lyric.”
“She asked me to bring him so why don’t you come, too.”
“Ok. Now,” she grabs my arm, wrapping it around me tightly, “where were we?”
I wrap my hand around her left hand, playing with her ring in between my fingers as I kiss her lips.
Lyric is fast asleep in his car seat as we walk into Jacquelyn’s attorney’s office hand-in-hand.
“Thank you for coming. Laura Stone, you must be Charles and Allison is it? I heard Charles had a new girlfriend.” She reaches her hand out to Allison and I.
“Hello, yes, please call me Charlie and this is Allison, my fiancée.”
Laura pauses, then smiles sweetly, “Congratulations. Is this the little guy?” She smiles sweetly, whispering once she sees he’s asleep.
“This is our little man,” I look down, smiling proudly at Lyric.
“He’s such a cutie. Thanks for bringing him in. I knew Jacquelyn for years so it’s exciting to meet him. Please, have a seat.” She motions to the chairs in front of her desk. “So, you’re probably wondering why I called you here today.”
“Yes, you said you have something for me. What is it?”
“Well,” she sighs deeply. “I’m sure you know now that Jacquelyn had no family and her divorce was complete before the unfortunate incident at her home took place. So, with Lyric as her only living family member,” she pauses as her lips turn to a small smile, “her entire estate will be transferred to him and I have drawn out a schedule of payments for you to raise him in the manner that she would have, monetarily I mean.”
I sit, stunned, “Excuse me?”
Laura laughs, “Her entire estate, totaled at $50 million along with the monthly royalties she receives for her patens, will be transferred to this little guy with you and I as the executors until he turns 18, or an age that we mutually agree upon. Until then, you will receive payments of $80,000 a month in order to raise him in the manner he would have been raised if Jacquelyn was still alive.”
I sit back in my chair, running my hands through my hair before looking over to Allison who’s sitting wide eyed, staring at Laura, then me, then Lyric. Both her and I are speechless.
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Laura laughs, “I know this is a lot to take in, but I know this is what Jacquelyn would have wanted. She wanted to be a mom more than anything and after seeing this little guy, I know she’s smiling down, knowing that he’s being fully taken care of.”
I grab Allison’s hand before looking up to her as my lips tilt up into a small smile. Looking to Allison I say, “We love this little guy more than anything in the world,” then I look back to Laura, “Wow, this is just amazing. I promise you we’ll do our best to give him the best life he could ever imagine. Thank you for this.”
“It’s my pleasure. We have a ton of paperwork we will need you to fill out and once we handle the sale of her home we can add that into everything as well. I have your first check made out here. It’s for two million to get you started, then your $80,000 will start next month.”
She reaches in a drawer and hands me an envelope. I grab it, not being able to hide the fact that I’m shaking.
Laura smiles, “I’ll let you get this little guy back home. It was great meeting you both. My assistant will give you all of the paperwork, please send it back to us as soon as you can.”
She escorts us out of her office and Allison and I are quiet until we get back in the car.
I go to start the car and pause, looking over at Allison who’s still silent. “Well…” I pause, smiling at her.
We both break out laughing as the shock of the moment washes over us and reality hits.
“Did she really say $50 million?” Allison asks.
“Yup, she did. Can you believe it?” I lean over, kissing her before turning on the car and pulling out of the parking spot.
Allison and I head to Vacaville early in the morning for the annual Fiesta Days Parade. I’m so excited to bring my son to his first parade. Yeah, I know he’s only a few weeks old but I don’t care. It’s been in years since I’ve been to the parade and the thought of reliving some of my greatest childhood memories have filled me with so much hope for the future.
We are meeting Jason and Jen who have a truck set up backwards along the parade route so we can see the parade from a higher point. Allison grew up in San Francisco so this whole small-town parade thing is something that she’s never experienced.
We park a few blocks away and walk through the crowds to Merchant Street where the almost mile-long parade route runs as hundreds of people line the streets, waiting patiently for the parade to begin. Allison smiles as she watches all of the kids playing while they wait for the parade to begin.
Jen spots us as we approach and runs to give us a hug. “I’m so glad you guys could make it. Let me see this little man.” She moves in front of the stroller. “Ah, he’s gotten so big already. Come on, I want to hold this precious baby.”
She walks us back to where they’re set up and reaches down to grab Lyric from the stroller.
Jason’s mom beams from ear to ear saying, “Oh, Charlie. He’s precious. Congratulations you two.” She gives both Allison and I a hug before stealing Lyric from Jen to hold him close.
I smile proudly, wrapping my arm around Allison as a C5 Air Force jet flies over signally the start of the parade. I can’t help but have my eyes tear up at the thought of being here, back in Vacaville with my own family now.
I kiss Allison on the head as we set up our seats and enjoy the almost two-hour long parade.
Afterwards we all go to Jason’s parents house for a barbeque. The day is going perfectly and I couldn’t be happier.
I have something I want to show Allison before it gets too dark so we say our goodbyes and head out.
I drive through Vacaville out to the country, smiling about what I’m about to show Allison.
She looks around smiling, “I know that little boy grin you have on your face. Where are you taking me?”
I wink at her, “You’ll see,” as I turn up the radio smiling at the irony of My Town by Montgomery Gentry playing.
We pull up to a small country property and I smile to Allison, not able to hide my excitement. I turn to Lyric to see he’s fast asleep. Pulling my finger to my mouth, I whisper, “Shhhhh,” then tilt my head to the side motioning to quietly get out of the car.
Allison laughs, not sure what I’m up to but gets out of the car and follows me to the front where I grip both of her hands in mine and smile sweetly.
“Allison,” I look to the house then back to her. “This is my childhood home. I grew up here.”
Allison gasps, smiling as she looks at me and then the house.
“I haven’t been back here since I moved in with Jason after my parents passed. I couldn’t get rid of it though so I’ve had a property management company take care of it ever since. The rent I got on it originally just barely covered the mortgage so besides annual phone calls and little things here and there I never thought about it. Until the other day when the management company called to tell me the renters were moving out and it was empty.” I pause, leaning down to look straight into her eyes.
“Let’s move here.” I pause again to gage her reaction before repeating myself. “Allison, let’s raise our son here, in Vacaville. We have enough money now to where we can tear it down and build our dream home. And we can build you a separate building for your own photography studio. And you can live your dream, being an amazing photographer who never has to worry about money so you can shot only the things you want to. We have five acres. Look, the property goes from here to there.” I point at the fence lining the property. “Lyric can play outside anytime he wants when he gets older. I can teach him to throw a ball and ride a bike at the same place I learned how. And Vacaville is such a great community to raise a family in. You saw for yourself today. There are tons of things like that. And I’ve always wanted to teach kids to play the guitar. Jen said she could set me up to volunteer in the schools here within their music department. She said they’re lacking big time with funding so it’s perfect. And, I already looked into it, there’s a CrossFit Vacaville here…” I say the last line in a sweet enticing voice.
Allison sits silent with no expression on her face. I tense up, afraid of her silence. “What do you think?”
“No,” Allison looks down.
I frown, “But Allison…”
“No, Charlie. We can’t tear down your childhood home…” She pauses smiling sweetly looking up at me. “We can remodel if you want but I wouldn’t dream to tear down any memory of your childhood.”
My face explodes with excitement as I wrap my arms around Allison, swinging her around before placing my hands on either side of her face whispering, “I love you, Allison,” before I kiss her softly.
We’re back home getting ready for bed. I turn to Allison, “I just have to do one thing then I’ll be in for bed,” I say as I kiss Allison’s head.
Allison walks into the bedroom as I sit at the kitchen bar pulling a check out of my wallet. It’s a cashier’s check for $825,000.
I grab a notepad and an envelope addressing it to Detective O’Brien. Inside the letter I write:
Turns out we did inherit her money. Now go save your girl.
Love,
Mr. Ashley
Lauren Runow is a lover of music and songs that speak to her or make her dance. She is a graduate from the Academy of Art in San Francisco and lives in Northern California with her husband and two wild and crazy boys. If she’s not at her local CrossFit or working on the community magazine her husband and her publish together, she’s at the baseball field with her boys or taking them to the skatepark.
Her only vice is coffee and she swears it makes her a better mom!
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dreads
• Up All Night by Unwritten Law
(Charlie plays this on the way to the hospital to see Jacquelyn for the first time.)
• Pain by Three Days Grace
(Charlie stops his workout, contemplating the lyrics to this song.)
• Love Love Love by Unwritten Law
(Charlie plays this for Allison when he picks her up from the airport.)
• Beethoven Symphony No.3 Eroica
(Charlie plays this the first time him and Allison are back together while they make love.)
• Waste My Time by Saint Asonia
(Charlie plays this song for Allison saying it reminds him of himself and how he feels about her.)
• We Found Love by Rihanna
(Paul and Nichole dance to this at the club.)
• Casual Sex by My Darkest Days
(Nichole sends this song to Paul when they are discussing their relationship status.)
• Savior by Rise Against
(After Charlie walks in on Allison and Alex kissing this song plays on the radio. The same song that they first discussed at the coffee shop.)
• Bad Girlfriend by Theory of a Deadman
(This song plays at CrossFit when Nichole joins them for the first time on New Years day.)
• In Da Club by 50 Cent play
Riot by Three Days Grace
(These are the songs Andy plays at CrossFit on Charlie’s birthday.)
For Charlie’s birthday scene Allison plays these songs through his earphones.
• Love Love Love by Unwritten Law
• Elva by Unwritten Law
• Because of You by Unwritten Law
• I Like the Way by Unwritten Law
• Rest of My Life by Unwritten Law