a/n italics are flashbacks! :)
also please give this song a listen ^^ such a beautiful masterpiece
BRADLEY GRABS MY HAND AND LEADS ME TO THE PIANO. I sit down next to him as he begins to play a familiar tune.
"I'm a stone's throw from the mill
And I'm a good walk to the river"
He starts singing to me. His familiar smile brings up some old memories.
"My workin' day is over
We'll go swim our cares away"
We're back at my father's house. We spent the day together, celebrating our acceptance to Top Gun. He sat down at my mothers old piano and started to play a song I've never heard before.
"Put your toes down in the water
And a smile across your face"
I sat down next to him, listening intently. He picked one of my hands up and helped me play the chords of the song. I giggled because it was hard to hit the correct notes, even with his hand guiding mine.
"And tell me that you love me
Lovely Lady May"
I blush and smile at the lyrics. It was like this song was written about me. I rested my head on his shoulder and watched as his fingers rhythmically danced over the keys on the piano. He hummed the melody in my ear and smiled softly
"Lovely Lady May."
"Now I ain't the sharpest chisel
That your hands have ever held"
I'm snapped back to reality when Bradley picks my hand up and guides me in playing the chords of the song. I rest my head on his shoulder and sing along. I don't think I could ever forget the words to 'my song' as Bradley likes to call it.
"But darlin' I could love you well
'Til the roll is called on high"
"I've seen my share of trouble
And I've held my weight in shame"
I can see my fellow aviators gathered around the piano watching the scene unfold. I don't move, and I don't feel self-conscious. This is a beautiful moment, the man I love sings to me in front of all of our friends.
"But I'm baptized in your name
Lovely Lady May"
"Lord, the wind can leave you shiverin'
As it waltzes or it leaves"
We're back in a random bar after our Top Gun graduation. We are both in our crisp, white uniforms slow dancing as the bar closes. Few people are in the room with us.
"It's been rushin' through my timber
'Til your love brought on the spring"
I was crying. I was feeling so many emotions. Pride, joy, love, anxiety, fear. Bradley helped calm all those emotions with our swaying movements. All but one.
"Now the mountains all are blushin'
And they don't know what to say"
I couldn't deny it, I was utterly in love with Bradley Bradshaw. I didn't want to tell him, I didn't want to find out what we could be. I didn't want to be devoted to someone who could be dead the next day.
Funny how life works, because I have been devoted to him all of this time.
"'Cept a good long line of praises
For my lovely Lady May"
More tears spill down my face as he kisses my forehead. I'm sad to leave him. He's being stationed in Washington, and I was moving to Colorado. But, it's moments like these that I'll never forget. These memories will never leave me.
"Now I ain't the toughest hickory
That your ax has ever felled"
The bar starts to sing along with us. I smile with joy, feeling tears come to my eyes as I look around at my makeshift family. Oh, how these people enter my life at just the perfect time, but leave too soon.
"But I'm a hickory just as well
I'm a hickory all the same"
Bradley stops playing, the crowd that has gathered keeping the tempo for him. He stands up and pulls me with him, and we start dancing. He takes his hand in mine, and I feel like my heart will burst with love.
"I came crashin' through the forest
As you cut my roots away"
I rest my head on his chest and he kisses the top of my head. We sing the last lines together.
"And I fell a good long ways
For my lovely Lady May"
The crowd begins to cheer and go back to what they were doing. But Bradley and I, we don't move. Because in that moment, I felt infinite.
"I like the way your hand fits in mine." He smiles a soft smile.
"I love you, Bradley Bradshaw."
"I am so in love with you, May Austin."
He leans in, giving me a soft kiss.
"Be my Lady May?" he asks.
In his eyes, I can tell just how much he cares for me. I can see all the pain and heartache he's been through. I can see all the happy memories in his eyes. I can see all the love he has for me.
We were destined to be together, and we were too stubborn to accept it.
"I have always been your Lady May."
「 © 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐 | -ASTXRRISM 」
-¯ 𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐲 ¯-