Isaiah
"Are you sure I didn't get you in any trouble?" I inquired while speaking with Grace.
She ended up leaving the studio around 1AM last night in a panic. I thought it was because of the incident earlier, she had fainted in the middle of her praying and I moved us to the couch. However, she was mumbling that her dad was going to kill her so I figured strict parents.
That's typical of Christian parents though. To be cloaking up their 20 year year old daughter inside.
"No, everything is fine." Her soft whisper like tone came over the speaker.
I closed my eyes as the familiar calmness I feel when she speaks to me bathe me. This girl is special.
"Are you at the studio again?" She asked and I sighed.
I left the studio right after her last night and I haven't been back. I have the recording of her singing the song from my dreams on my hard drive and I'm not ashamed to say that I have been obsessively listening to it all day.
She sounds exactly like how I heard it in my dreams.
"No, I'm home today." I say, looking out at the waterfront view in front of me.
I love staying here when I'm in Jamaica. It's the only place where I have found some semblance of peace over the past six months. It's my escape from my cruel reality.
"Well, I was going to grab some lunch in town and I was wondering if you wanted to tag along." She said in a rush.
If I wasnt paying attention I probably would have missed it. This is her first time initiating anything like this so I definitely couldn't tell her that I have a online meeting with my label execs in the next hour.
I had to make use of this opportunity.
"What you planned on getting?" I asked while getting up from my seat on the patio lounge chair.
"I was craving some lobster to be honest." She says and I nod.
"Lobster? I think I know a spot that you may like. Can I come pick you up?" I asked.
It's not a date or anything but I don't want us to drive separately.
There was a pause and I was scared that she would turn my offer down.
"As long as you get me home in time. It's too early to have a repeat of last night." She says after a moment and I smiled.
That makes me super happy.
"I have no issues with that. I'll get you home safely. Will you be able to be ready in an hour?" I ask and she replied with an affirmative.
I felt giddy at the prospect of actually having lunch with Grace. I want to spend an unexplainable amount of time with her and I'm not even scared by the thought of it.
" okay, I'll text you my location."
"Awesome, see you in an hour." I say and then hung up.
I did an embarrassing happy dance around the living room of my villa. I felt alive in this moment and I stood basking in the feeling. I haven't felt much of anything in a long time.
Sending a quick text to my assistant, I cancelled my label call and headed for my bedroom.
What am I going to wear?
.
.
.
"How me live a Bay suh long and never know bout this place?" Grace says in awe, while she looks around the restaurant.
I chuckled
"Cause you lock up in the house like furniture Miss." I tell her and she looked at me shocked.
"Did you really just call me a house rat?" She says in jest and I shrugged.
That's what she is.
She was looking at me intensely and I stared back at her until she finally broke the eye contact.
"I used to go out often enough." She says while bringing her attention back to the sea in front of us.
The strong stench of seaweed was permeating the air but I was high on her. Everything she does is so soft and angelic. It's like there is a glow to her.
"Used to? So why have you stopped?" I asked curiously.
Her smile drops and so does my heart. Did I say something wrong?
She picked up the menu and I followed her actions. She was staring at the laminated paper intently but I could tell that her eyes were not focused on the words.
I think I might have said something wrong.
I signaled the waitress who had taken our drink orders earlier and she walked over with a smile.
"Hi guys, are we ready to order?" She asked and I nod.
"Let me get the fried calamari platter to start, the crab stuffed salmon looks good, so I'll have that for my main. I'll love a glass of your best Pinot Noir." I conclude my order
She repeats it to me and I nod.
We looked over at Grace who was still eyeing the menu. Did I not buy her enough time?
"Do you need more time?" The waitress asked and she shook her head, no.
She quickly ordered her lobster and another glass of strawberry lemonade before handing over the menu to the young lady.
Now I wait for her to look at me.
She looks out at the view instead.
"Have you ever written music?" I asked something that's been on my mind since I left the studio early this morning.
She looked at me questioningly.
"Umm, no. I'm not an artist, I just sing." She whispered and I chuckled.
Something in my spirit told me that wasn't true.
As I mentioned earlier, I have been obsessed with the recording of the song and I've probably played it a 100 times from then til now. When I woke up this morning, the chords and Melodie's for the verses came to me but I couldn't pen a single lyric.
I spent the entire morning trying to until Grace called me. Sitting across from her now, I just had this deep understanding of why. They weren't my lyrics to write.
"So, you have never written any words or lyrics that you felt like should have been a song?" I pressed her and she chuckled.
"Of course I have, but they were all trash. So, I just stick to the singing." she says with a sad smile
I don't want her to be sad around me. I want to see her smile at all times.
I pulled her clasped hands apart and held them in mine. They fit perfectly, like this is where they truly belonged.
"Writing a song is much more than penning lyrics. It has to have the right melody, tuned at the perfect key, timed right. That's what a producer is for, that's what I do, bring life to the lyrics you write. I want you to write for me." I say and her face is pure shock.
"Are you kidding me?" She stuttered out and I shook my head.
"The chorus you sang last night need verses. Verses, I believe I don't have the qualifications to write but you just might. Actually, I know that you can write. It's a gospel song Grace, and I'm just a worldly man with a beat but you are aligned with the Devine power that sent those words to me. You know this is more powerful than the both of us, there is no denying that. Don't you know?" I say to her.
I refuse to believe that this mystical energy around us is only being felt by my me. She has to know that us colliding in that patty shop was destined to be.
I saw the moment she realized that what I was talking about.
"I heard your voice in a dream, calling out to me." She said after a moment of silence between us.
I was stunned. What in world is the big man upstairs trying to do?
"I've been hearing it for months prior to meeting you hence my reaction on the first day we met. I was scared." She tells me with her eyes growing glossy.
"You sang to me." I confessed.
"Your voice was my saving Grace on many a dark nights. You sang to me and your words changed the trajectory of my thoughts on so many occasions. I believe these lyrics will do the same for others." I say to her.
I'm not lying.
Her song saved me from jumping off my apartment's balcony too many times. I could be selfish and keep this to myself but I feel like that's not the purpose of our meeting.
I believe the world needs to hear Grace's song.