The Saddest Song - By Susie Kaye Lopez Page 0,25
His voice was deep and rich and took me by surprise. Apparently the rest of the audience was pleasantly surprised by his talent too, because soon their applause was enthusiastic and genuine. Max whispered in my ear when he sang the song that he had helped write, and I clapped extra hard, feeling pride in Max’s work.
When Colin announced the last song of his set he stopped and looked down at the table where Sophie and Ethan were sitting.
“This last song is a very special one. The lyrics were written by my best friend Ethan here,” he pointed to him. “He wrote this for his girlfriend, Sophie.” Sophie looked at Ethan, surprise on her face. Rylee looked back and forth between Colin and Ethan her mouth open in shock that she did not know this was happening. “This is called, Beyond Forever.”
The guitar started soft and sweet. Instead of listening to the lyrics I was watching how Ethan never took his eyes away from Sophie’s. As the song went on he watched her face as she reacted to the words with such pure joy it almost hurt to watch. I felt like I was witnessing an intimate moment. I tried to listen and managed to pay attention to the last words of the song .
“…So make my dreams come true and love me beyond forever”
Then, as the song ended, Ethan dropped down to one knee in front of Sophie. He reached into his pocket and held out something shiny, asking, “Sophie, I love you beyond Forever, will you marry me?”
Tears poured down her cheeks and she smiled and nodded as cheers rose up all around us. I watched as he placed the ring on her finger, then standing, pulled her up into his arms and kissed her.
I felt the familiar sting of tears in my eyes and marveled that for once I was actually crying for a happy reason. I looked over at Max and he smiled, and Rylee threw her arms around the happy couple, literally jumping up and down in her happiness.
When headliner Mark Kerrey took the stage, the atmosphere was festive and he congratulated the newly engaged pair before beginning his set. I loved Mark’s songs and while I listened I couldn’t help sneaking glances at Sophie and Ethan. They were so cute it hurt to watch. His arm was around her and they both kept looking at the ring and kissing. Their happiness was plain on their faces and I envied them their happily ever after.
The concert ended and we waited back stage while Colin joined Mark in signing autographs and taking pictures. You would have thought it was Rylee that had become engaged, her excitement bubbled over. Sophie showed me her ring and I told her I thought it was the prettiest one I had ever seen. It was a large heart shaped diamond with tiny diamonds surrounding it. It was set in Platinum and Sophie said it was an antique. It was obvious she loved it, and I smiled at the way Ethan never took his eyes off of her.
I felt suddenly conscious of the promise ring that I still had not removed. The promise had not been broken, it had been stolen from us by a twist of fate. Wearing it now, I realized was just sad and pathetic. Garrett would have been the first one to tell me it was time to take it off, move on with my life. Actually he had told me to take it off that day at the psychic medium’s house. I looked down at my hand and the sparkle of the tiny diamond on the thin golden band, and I felt Max watching me. I dropped my hand and smiled, reassuring him I was not heading for that dark, cold place. Not now anyway. I was enjoying myself and Max hadn’t smiled this much since the accident. I would not ruin this evening for either of us.
Once the fans had cleared the venue, Ethan announced that we were all going to Colin’s house to celebrate his and Sophie’s engagement. Max and I both texted our parents to let them know where we would be and told everyone we would meet them there.
As we headed for the truck, Max placed his hand lightly against the small of my back, guiding me in a protective gesture.
“Well, what did you think?”
“I loved it! Colin and Mark are so talented, and the engagement was so sweet. That was the most