An Endless Serenade

Chapter Thirty-Four

Friday morning was, in the simplest term, hectic. Paul had to be at the hospital for 9AM and I had to be at the music hall by 12PM to sign in and go through a rehearsal. The whole morning I was spacing out and freaking out, my nerves getting the best of me. Example A: I'd made Paul's favorite breakfast before realizing he wasn't supposed to eat before going into surgery. I felt terrible after it because his stomach was rumbling all the way to the hospital.

"I'm so sorry," I kept apologizing, giving him the best puppy-dog eyes I could muster.

"That bacon smelled soooo good," he groaned.

"You're making me feel bad!"

He laughed, putting a hand on my thigh and squeezing it. "I'm just teasing you. You'll just have to make me breakfast another day to make up for it."

"Deal," I said, putting my hand on top of his.

We met his parents at the hospital, as they were going to stay with him for the duration of the surgery. They gave us privacy to say goodbye though. I held his hand tightly.

"I'll be fine," he promised me, offering me a reassuring smile.

"I'm scared," I admitted.

He didn't ask of what. I didn't really know what I meant either. Maybe lots of things. "Look for me in the audience tonight," he replied, kissing my shaking hand. "I'll try my hardest to be there. And if I can't make it, you're going to kick butt. You're ready for this. Don't let anyone else become my partner, okay?"

I nodded. "Don't let anyone replace you."

"Don't worry, I won't." He let go of my hand, tilting my chin up so he could kiss my lips softly. "Good luck, Allie Cat."

I swallowed hard. Crap. I was going to cry. Paul wiped a tear from my eye with a chuckle. "Come on, I'll be fine! It's not open-heart surgery. Get out of here— you're going to be late. Boston's pretty far away."

Not trusting myself to speak, I just nodded.

"I'll see you in a bit, okay?" he continued. "I love you."

"Love you too," I whispered, kissing him again.

"If you get nervous tonight, try to remember playing that piano by the sea. Remember how that felt? Imagine you're there with only me and the ocean to watch you. You've got this."

I sent him off with a smile. I was scared right now, but I knew he'd be okay. If I could just win this competition, everything would fall into place. I believed in Paul, and I believed in myself.

After leaving the hospital, I drove straight to my parents' house. They were on the way, so we were going to take one car up. Jeremy had decided last minute to tag along and I'd wished I'd brought headphones because he babbled almost the entire two-hour trip up to Boston. Although I didn't want to admit it, listening to him helped calmed my nerves.

"And then— the look on your mom's face was great— I went back to go get her and she opened the door and she was in her underwear and she must've thought I'd died when Shawn shot me because the look on her face was priceless," he babbled, a big dumb grin on his face.

I raised an eyebrow as my mom's face darkened. "She saved our lives," my dad commented, glancing in the rear-view mirror.

"Yeah, by losing her pants."

"Are you guys all delusional?" I inquired, actually feeling a little worried about them.

My dad hit his hand on the steering wheel. "It happened! Why don't you ever believe me?"