VIRTUOSO - A MYG Story

LEGATO

"I couldn't bear it, Faye. You look just like her," he whispered into my ear, his voice shaking.

I pulled my head from his chest, leaning back to look at him directly.

"Mom?"

"She loved music, Faye. She would sing, play guitar, play piano..." he reminisced. Dad never told me about any of this before.

Mom was a musician?

Like me?

"When you were small, you were dancing, singing, putting on shows all the time. I had to nurture your talents, your passion... But every time I would look at you, hear you sing, all I could see was your mother. All I could hear was your mother. It was just so painful. I didn't want to take you away from what you loved, or to make your passions a place of sadness and loss, so I just kept my distance. I didn't want you to see me... not like this..."

I had never heard my dad speak so candidly about his feelings before. His emotions were raw and real, and I could see the sadness in his eyes.

"I had no idea..." I whispered, wiping away Dad's tears with his hanky, "I hope that we can sit and talk soon, Dad. There is so much more I'd like to know about Mom. I hope you'll tell me all about her."

"I will," he sniffled, looking over at the guys standing around us, "And I will be at more of your shows. Enough is enough. It's time for me to be here for you. This isn't fair to you at all, kid. You need your Dad. I haven't been enough of a Dad to you. You deserve so much more, Faye."

"Today's the day we start anew, Dad. So much has been changing in my life lately, and much of it has happened just today alone," I reassured him, "Let's start a new motto. Yesterday was the greatest day of my life. Today has already got it beat."

Dad and I stood there, holding each other outside of the most important venue I'd ever played at, and we embraced our moment of positive change.

"All we have to do is live by that. Always strive to make the next day better than the last. The past is the past, Dad. I forgive you and want you to be here with me moving forward," I smiled, my face finally beginning to dry of tears.

"You got it, kid," Dad smiled ear to ear, full of pride, "So, Yoongi..."

Yoongi was a bit intimidated to be meeting my father in-person, but he handled it well.

"Sir?"

"So, are you and my daughter an item?" Dad asked, shooting Yoongi a playful grin, releasing his hug to let me slink back into Yoongi's arms.

"Yes, we are, sir," he said, slipping his arm around the small of my back, "I love your daughter very much and I intend to take good care of her for a very long time."

"I can see that, Yoongi. I can see that you're a good man. I can also see how happy, and how confident, my daughter has become as a result of working with you on her music. I have a good feeling that you guys are going to win the Showcase tonight. The talent in your group was out of this world."

"That means a lot to us. Thank you, sir. Won't you join us inside? We were going to find a table to sit and watch the rest of the show while we wait to hear the awards announced," Yoongi rubbed my arms up and down, trying to tame the goosebumps and shivers taking over my body. Once the body-overheating from the stage lights subsided, my sweat turned cold in the brisk New York winter air, and I was clinging to Yoongi for warmth.

"Come on, let's get you inside," Yoongi smiled over at me, his arm wrapped around my shoulder as he shuffled me into the building, Dad trailing right behind along with the rest of the band.

The show was an absolute blast. Jimin and Hobi couldn't stay off their feet - all they wanted to do was dance. Yoongi and I sat and talked to my dad the whole time, enjoying catching up on things, sharing old memories with Yoongi. It wasn't long until the two of them were running the whole conversation, talking between each other like old frat buddies.

I could do more of this - watching them together, talking.

"We want to thank all of our bands for coming out to play the Showcase tonight! We've had a full night of remarkable talent from all over the country; names you'll probably hear more of," The MC's voice grabbed the attention of every person in the club, pulling their focus like puppet strings, right up to the folded cardstock in her hand. The winner was written on that cardstock.

Oh no. Here it is. The announcement of the winner...

"It was an incredibly difficult decision, but our adjudicators were able to choose," she scanned the room, looking over the mass of talent scattered throughout the audience, "Tonight's winner will be awarded with the opportunity to Headline the East Coast Jazz and Blues Alliance Festival, which is set for August 12th. In addition, as a bonus for our winners, our good friends over at Threshold Studio would like to offer a recording session and demo push. They will be recording a full-length studio album for the winning band and will assist in promoting their music to potential labels."

What?!?

"This is unbelievable," Yoongi said, looking at me, unable to hide his smile of excitement and hope.

"So, now it is time to announce the winners of our Songwriters' Showcase. The winner of our grand prize..."

Yoongi squeezed my hand, biting his lip.

I glanced around the table at all of my dear friends and bandmates, who were waiting, itching to know the results. We had all worked so hard to get there, and though no one wanted to get their hopes up, we couldn't help but bite our fingers waiting for the answer.

"...is...SUGA from Chattanooga, Tennessee!"