After an unexpected transfer in her career, a young singer is swept into a whirlwind of life-changing events surrounding new romance, intergenerational friendships, and the music that intertwines it all.
Inspired by true events.
(( COMPLETED )...
Faye looked more beautiful than I had ever seen her that morning. Little freckles dusted the slope of her nose, thanks to all the time she'd spent tending the small vegetable garden she'd planted behind the farmhouse that spring. The poppy red of her dress drew eyes in her direction as we walked down the street towards the festival. The hum of the nearby stages and the bustling crowd would echo down alleyways as we followed the parallel block to our staging area. We'd arrived early to meet with event managers and staff, but had the rest of the day to kill until we were due onstage.
Faye had spent the months leading up to the festival researching places to visit, writing up an itinerary for us all just like she had for New York, but this time, little did she know, I had used it to my advantage.
THREE MONTHS AGO
"Jane, I need to ask you a favor."
Faye had gone grocery shopping one afternoon while Jane and I were finishing up our lessons for the day. When her last student left, we sat down in the kitchen with two fresh cups of tea.
"Well, of course. What is it, sweetheart?" Jane was excited to be in on something, especially something I was planning for Faye, I thought at the time.
"I am devising a plan..." I hesitated at first. Would she disapprove of something so big so soon? Ultimately, I decided, it didn't matter. "A proposal kind of plan..."
She gasped and for a split second I panicked. But then, she broke into a teary-eyed smile, "Proposal!?"
All I did was nod with an affirmative grin and she leapt into my arms for an enthusiastic embrace.
"When!?" Jane begged to know more, but I hadn't come up with all the answers yet.
"I haven't set a date, but I think I'm going to do it while we're at the festival in August. And I thought you might be able to help."
"How?" She was excited and quickly pulled us both down onto the couch to continue our chat.
"I will need you to distract her..."
FAYE
Jane stole me away from the boys and we found a bench beneath a tree where we sat down with cups of wine we'd grabbed from one of the festival vendors. She said we needed some girl time; that the boys needed time to go play before the show. I didn't argue with her. Jane always knew best.
"Are you nervous for tonight?" she asked.
"Of course. Other than The Blue Note a few months back, I've never played a show this big."
"Your father will be so proud tonight," she was trying to give me a boost. I knew her ways.
"I know. He's been texting me all week about it. I'd say he's probably a little excited..." We laughed together as I scrolled through the dozen or so texts my dad had sent in just the span of a couple of days.
"He loves you, Faye.
I thought Jane would lead me back to the place where we'd agreed on meeting the rest of the group, but instead, she walked me away from the wharf, away from the crowds, towards a... waiting car?
"I thought we were supposed to meet everyone for dinner...?" I questioned aloud.
"Only you, dear. Yoongi made different plans for you two." I pouted playfully at first, feeling left out of whatever those two rascals had planned together, but then thanked her, blowing her a kiss before the driver pulled away from the curb. I watched Jane head into the cafe a few doors down. Hobi held the door open for her and I saw a glimpse of Tae behind him.
They were up to something. I was convinced. I just couldn't begin to guess what it was.
YOONGI
I didn't expect to be so nervous about her arrival, but I couldn't help it. This wasn't an ordinary day.
"Mm... look at you..." unable to hold back my thoughts, I snaked my fingers around her hips and pulled her into my awaiting arms for a hug that, to outsiders, probably looked like we hadn't seen each other in months rather than mere hours.
"What's all this?" she giggled, scrunching her nose.
"This way..." I led her into the park. The sun was beginning to move lower in the sky, but there was still plenty of daylight left. We held hands and strolled through the fountains, admiring the brightly colored blooms that greeted us along the way. She was particularly drawn to the pink flowers, stopping more than once to look at them up close.
She got lost in them at one point. The sight of the purple buds climbing towards the sky fascinated her. She said they looked like they were reaching for the clouds.
When she turned around, she was shocked to find me bent on one knee, a small, ornately decorated silver box shaped like a grand piano resting in my hands. I could feel my palms beginning to sweat, but then I saw her light up, her smile washing away all traces of nervousness left within me.
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FAYE
I didn't know what to say at first.
Time was frozen. My heart was full. He was holding... a ring. "Yoongi..." my eyes welled up with tears as he looked up at me from below.
"I believed once that love wasn't possible; that it wasn't in the cards for me. Yet day after day, you show me love like I've never felt before. No one's ever cared so much for me as you have... No one has ever taken the time to know me like you have. And I can't imagine sharing my life with anyone else."
I couldn't believe my ears, but I felt every word he uttered, in every fiber of my being. I was finally able to pull my fingers away from my mouth long enough for him to reach up and take my hand into his upturned palm.
"Faye... will you be my wife?" a tear glazed his eye, "Will you stay with me for the rest of our lives?"
We held each other beneath the fountains as the sun began to set, a scattered applause surrounding us as passersby noticed our special moment. With a ring on my finger and a renewed bounce in our step, we made our way back to the festival for the show, excited to share the news with our musical family.
