by Alexa Davis
“Yeah.” I nodded slowly. “It is all good.” And I meant it.
Epilogue
Lila (2 Years Later)
“Wow, it looks great in here!” My eyes shone brightly as I glanced around the room, drinking everything in. “Jo has done such an amazing job. But then again, she always does.”
We were regulars now at the fundraiser for the orphanage, only now I didn’t attend it as a singer; I was a guest, which I liked just as much. Maybe even more because I didn’t have the nerves to go along with it.
The cancer had taken away a lot of my voice, too much for me to continue with my singing career, but it didn’t bother me. Even when I’d first found out, I didn’t mind too much because I had other things to keep me happy. I had Xander and Sadie, and a future with them.
Plus, it was always Kyle’s dream to make it to fame with music, and he didn’t need me for that anymore. He could do it all alone. I’d done enough. One platinum-selling album was more than enough to keep me happy. Now, I wrote song lyrics for other musicians, which suited me a whole lot better.
“Yeah, doesn’t it feel crazy that this is the first place we met each other?” Xander pulled me closer to him by throwing his arm over my shoulder. “If I hadn’t come here that night, if you weren’t singing, we might never have met. Can you imagine that?”
“I don’t want to!” I exclaimed. “I don’t want to ever picture my life without you. I don’t know where I’d even be now if I didn’t meet you.” Probably still in that crappy apartment, if I even survived the cancer! Maybe without something so solid to fight for, I wouldn’t have been able to do it.
“Is Uncle Kyle up on stage soon?” Sadie tugged on my dress, trying desperately to get my attention. “Mom? Mom?”
“Yes, he’ll be up soon. Come on, let’s go and find our table before Jo comes over here to make a fuss.”
“Oh, my goodness, you’re here!” It was too late: she’d seen us. “Come on, we have a very special table set aside for you guys. You’re our guests of honor.”
“We don’t want you to go to any trouble,” Xander started, in the way that he always did, but of course, Jo wasn’t going to listen. Once she got on a roll about something, that was the end of it. I was kind of with her on this one though. The first year I’d met Xander, he’d paid for a playground at the orphanage. The second year, he’d paid for a library full of books, and this year, he was having a whole new wing built onto the home.
He was slowly transforming it into something incredible, and I was proud of him for it. Maybe we couldn’t adopt all the foster kids, but we could make it better for them. I’d done my part with the money I’d earned by buying new equipment for the place, but it was nothing compared to Xander.
“And, Sadie, you look lovely. That red dress suits you. You look like a princess.”
As Jo and Sadie talked about her outfit, I leaned into Xander and clutched his fingers tightly between mine. “I’m still grateful for everything you did for me, you know? I’ll never forget that you were there for me through all of that awfulness with my health.”
“I’m just glad that you’re much better now.” Of course, I wasn’t totally in the clear, remission wouldn’t be official for three more years, but I was confident things would turn out all right. “I’m so glad that we made it through all of that.”
“Hey.” We both spun around as Kyle slapped us both happily on the back. “It’s good to see you all here, I’ll be much happier up there knowing that you guys are supporting me.”
“Oh, come on, you’re doing just fine with your band; you don’t need us anymore,” I teased playfully, pushing him gently. “But, yes, when you hear the loudest cheer, it’ll be coming from this table.”
“I don’t have the band tonight. It’s just me.”
That took me back a bit. I didn’t ever see Kyle playing on his own anymore – he was so in demand, everyone wanted a piece of him. Maybe he was just going back to his roots, to where he came from.
“Well, that’s good. I still can’t wait to see you.”
“I better go. Jo will be on the warpath looking for me soon. I’ll see you in a bit.”
With that, Kyle raced backstage where he belonged, and I sat back in my seat in the prime position in the audience, where it seemed that I belonged these days. I still couldn’t totally shake off the sense that I didn’t fit in, but with my family by my side, it was growing easier by the second.
***
“And coming up next is Kyle Monrose!”
We all jumped up and cheered, with our table screaming the loudest. I was so proud of my brother. As he walked out onto the stage, he looked like he owned the place, which warmed up my chest. He’d grown so much from the shy guy he used to be. He was a successful rock star now, and that was incredible to see.
A hush filled the room as he took his seat, and his fingers moved expertly over the piano keys, transforming the building into a magical scene off some kind of movie set. I held my hands over my heart and beamed brightly as I lost myself in the tune. I was so focused on my emotions that it took me a while to realize that I actually noticed the music... And then Kyle stopped playing...
He moved toward the microphone and grabbed it tightly between his fingers. “This music isn’t as good without a singer, is it?” My heartrate kicked up a notch, and I glanced around the room, trying to work out what the hell was going on. Was this planned, or was Kyle having some kind of breakdown? “Now, I don’t think I can do it alone, and there’s only one person I want up here with me.” He paused for dramatic effect, and I sucked in and held my breath. “My sister, Lila.”
The spotlight fell on me, and my face heated up with shame. I’d sung a little bit since I’d recovered from the treatment, but only to practice the lyrics of my songs, not in front of anyone. I glanced desperately toward Xander, hoping for an escape, but he simply sent me an encouraging grin.
“Come on up, Lila; we haven’t heard you sing this song in years. It’s for the kids, so you can’t say no.”
Damn it; he was right. If I turned his offer down now, then I would look like I was mean. I had to do this, for the children. Even if it sounded like shit, it wouldn’t matter, surely?
Nerves coursed through me as I slowly moved myself into a standing position. I kept my eyes on the floor, so I didn’t freak out. I wasn’t used to be center of attention – I certainly hadn’t been for a very long time – and it felt unnerving now, especially because I wasn’t expecting it.
Then I moved my feet as quickly as I could manage and got up onto the stage. I kept my eyes closed as I stood up by the mic, trying to get that feeling of power coursing back through my body. It used to come naturally, but now it’d been too long. Still, I sucked in a deep breath, and as my cue came along, my voice burst out into song...
Okay, so maybe I didn’t sound as great as I used to, but it didn’t seem to matter. Everyone burst into such loud cheers that I could barely be heard anyway. When I finally worked up the courage to open my eyes again, I could see Sadie and Xander screaming the loudest.
We practically took the roof off, the screams lasted much longer than the song, but it seemed like the surprises weren’t going to end there. Without me even realizing, Sadie and Xander had joined me up on stage, and he’d taken his position up by the microphone. I tried to grab him, to pull him back to me, but he wasn’t going anywhere.
“Thank you everyone for such a warm welcome,” Xander boomed in a commanding way, bringing silence back into the room. “I have an announcement to make about the future of Kyle Monrose.”
I glanced toward my brother, but even he looked confused now. He had no idea about what was about to happen. “I would like to gift him with his own recording company and a million dollars to get him started.”
“What the...” My question was lost in the noise, everyone was cheering too loudly for me to be heard. Kyle’s face was ashen, but he looked happy, too, like his whole life was finally coming together...which I supposed
it was.
I pulled Kyle in for a big, celebratory hug, so happy that he was getting what he wanted. If anyone in the world deserved it, it was him.
But it seemed that Xander wasn’t done. He took the mic off the stand and moved it down to Sadie, who spoke loudly and confidently as if she belonged on the stage. “Mommy?” she asked, turning around to look at me. “Will you marry Daddy?”
My heart stopped, the room spun, and dizziness filled my mind. Is this really happening? Of course, I’d been dreaming about Xander making if official for a very long time, but now that it was becoming real, it felt a little crazy.
“I...”
Xander took the microphone, and he knelt on one knee, proving that this was real after all. “Lila Monrose, you crashed into my life in this very room, turning everything on its head. I wasn’t expecting it, but I don’t think you were, either, and that made it even more special.” He smiled that gorgeous grin at me, and my heart melted. “And ever since then, we’ve built a life for ourselves. We have our home, our careers, our lovely, amazing daughter—”
“That’s me!” Sadie yelled, causing everyone to giggle.
“We should have done this a very long time ago, but the time seems right now. I want you to be my wife. I want to spend the rest of my life making you the happiest woman alive, so... what do you say?”
What do I say? I already knew what I wanted to say, but I had to catch my breath first. I needed to ensure that I answered the most important question of my life in the best way possible.
“Of course,” I gasped as tears filled my eyes. “Of course, I want to be your wife.”
Xander stood up and pulled me close to him, while sliding the most incredible diamond ring onto my finger. As he kissed me lightly, showing me his passion and love for me in a socially appropriate way, the room went wild. People yelled and cheered, showing their happiness for me... for us.
“I love you,” I murmured into his mouth. “Forever and always.”
“I love you, too,” Xander agreed with me. “You and Sadie. I’m the luckiest son of a bitch around. I get to keep you two forever.”
Forever...
That sounded good to me. I could just picture us, saying our vows on some beach somewhere, with Sadie at our feet in some beautiful dress. Maybe by the time we got married, we would have another adopted child, or one of our own. The possibilities were endless.
We had our whole lives ahead of us, and anything could happen...
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