by Ewens, Tracy
She stopped crying and looked at her parents in the audience who were now both crying for her. She was squeezing the one hand of his she had left as Peter dropped to one knee right there on the stage in front of everyone. If the audience knew Peter the way Sam knew him, they would see that this was the most spectacular gesture of love and courage.
“Samantha Cathner, I love you with everything I am, you are my very best friend. This play is about our past. I promise to make plans and cherish you every moment, for the rest of my life. This is the only ending that works. Will you, will you marry me?”
Peter looked up into Sam’s eyes, the eyes he knew so well, and saw that he was loved. He knew her answer. He knew after that day at the Huntington. He knew when they were on Catalina. Even when she pushed him away, he still knew. He gave her space and made a plan. Now Sam knew she needed to stop blubbering and find her ability to speak. The theater was silent. Sam wasn’t sure anyone was even breathing. Peter was still kneeling, holding an exquisite antique diamond ring in a quilted box. She pulled him to his feet and looked deep into those eyes. She knew she would spend the rest of her life with Peter Everoad and that she would look back on this day thousands of times. She wanted to remember it. Remember Peter, those eyes, his plan, and their very own beginning. Through her tears and a radiant smile Sam said: “Yes.”
The theater, onstage, backstage, and in the audience erupted, clapping, and hooting. Well, Grady was the only one hooting. Peter shook as he put the ring on her finger and then held her face and kissed her as if no one was watching. He gently wiped the tears from Sam’s eyes and whispered across her lips: “You were right. Reading your own lines is much better.”
They both laughed, Sam smelled Life Savers, and he kissed her again. Everyone in the theater was on their feet as Sam and Peter turned toward the actors onstage to acknowledge their performances, as the clapping continued. They then turned toward the audience for their own curtain call.
Holding Peter’s hand and looking out over the people who supported them and challenged them, Sam and Peter knew this was only the beginning, the premiere, of their life together.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank:
The Pasadena Playhouse and the community that keeps her going.
The Catalina Island Conservancy for protecting and pre-serving one of my favorite places.
Maya Rock for editing me into fewer words, more meaning.
Mr. Kenyon, at Barry Goldwater High School, for putting me on my very first stage.
About the Author
Tracy Ewens was born in San Francisco and enjoys traveling to far-off places—both around the globe and in her mind.
She believes television is highly overrated and almost anything worth saying has come from either Anna Quindlen or Robert Fulghum.
Premiere is her second novel, and the first in her A Love Story Series. Tracy lives with her husband and three children in New River, Arizona.