A/n : Hey guys! So I'm back. Music inspires me to write. There is so much good music out there it's hard not to get inspired. I needed to put into writing what I had in my mind whenever I listen to Christina Perri's "Be My Forever." I love, love, love her songs! She is so talented as a songwriter. So no surprises here, this latest piece is inspired by that song. I hope you like it and please leave reviews. I love to hear what you have to say be it good or bad. I won't be continuing "Coming Home" as I feel that I've written all that I wanted to say in that story. I might write a sequel. Who knows, eh?
But for now, please enjoy this story. All mistakes are mine. I make stuff up when I'm not entirely sure of something. Hehe.
P/s. The POV of this story will be of Bo's unless stated otherwise.
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A pair of wrinkled old hands was joined together. The sound of the rocking chairs' creaking while moving back and forth filled the air. The wind was gentle. The smell of the ocean air a welcome addition to this already perfect setting.
I took a deep breath and smiled. I loved the ocean. Almost as much as she did. This place, this house, has been home for close to 30 years now. We moved out of the city once Ethan had started his own family and Charlie had gotten her own apartment as well.
Lauren had always wanted a house by the beach. She said the sound of the waves crashing helped to keep her mind at ease. We both retired about 20 years ago. I will be 81 this September and she 79 in June.
As I look down at our joined hands, I couldn't help but smile. We have both gotten what we wanted out of life. I wanted a family of my own and to marry my one true love. I was a hopeless romantic. Still am, actually. Lauren wanted to be the best in her field. She was a cardiothoracic surgery attending at one of the best hospitals in the country when she retired. She was the best there was at that time, having won several awards that others could only dream of being nominated for. The hospital wanted her to stay on, even offering her a place at the Board of Directors table. But that's a story for another time.
I squeezed our hands tighter, earning a soft smile from my wife. My beautiful wife. Still is a sight to behold. Her once long blonde locks now gone and replaced by grey ones. Wrinkles now appear showing just how much time has passed. But that twinkle in her eyes was still ever present whenever she would look at me.
Tomorrow will be our 55th anniversary. I remember the day that I proposed to her. We were both so young at the time. But I knew she was the one for me beyond the shadow of a doubt.
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-56 years ago (May 2014)-
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"Bo, where are you taking me?" She asked. "Shhhh... it's a surprise." I said having blindfolded her with a scarf.
"Just trust me." I held her hand and continued the drive to our destination. It was a small family owned restaurant. The owner was a long-time friend of my mom's. I pulled some strings for tonight's special event. Had Kenzi, my best friend since we were kids, pull in some favours as well.
30 minutes later, we finally made it to the restaurant and I took off her blindfold. The place was packed except for one table. I had called earlier in the week to reserve it. It was next to a group of youngsters having a drink.
We sat at the table near the stage. It was open mike night. We ordered our food and were enjoying some light conversation of our day. Once we were finished, I secretly nodded to one of the youngsters, giving him the go ahead.
The group gathered on stage and the lead singer came out from behind the stage. The diners cheered and screamed. They didn't expect this. No one did. Except for me, Kenzi and aunt Felicia, the owner of the restaurant. It was a huge surprise. Lauren had her back to the stage so she thought nothing of it till she heard her name being called.
"So I hear this is a special night for someone. Lauren Lewis, will you please stand up?" the female voice said.
She turned, her face slowly turning beet red, eyes almost ready to pop out of her head at the sight of her favourite singer staring at her with a big smile on her face.
"OMG! Christina Perri!" She squealed with excitement. I had to laugh watching her reaction. Kenzi was friends with the drummer's cousin and managed to somehow get her here for this special night. I owed her, big time. Like big, BIG time.
"Bo! Did you do this?" She turned to look at me. I shrugged. "No biggie," I lied.
"No biggie? How did you even get her here in the first place? And my birthday isn't until next month..."
I was about to answer when Christina cut me off. "Okay, Lauren. So I hear you are a big fan of mine." Lauren turned to look at her with a sheepish smile. Her face turning red once again.
"My new album won't be released till next week. But I feel like giving you guys a sneak peek at my upcoming single." Christina turned her attention towards the crowd, but not without first giving Lauren a wink to which she nearly tumbled when she was trying to sit back into her chair.
"Okay guys. So this single is called "Be my forever". This is by far the happiest song I have ever written. But it's sort of a duet. And my buddy Ed Sheeran isn't here tonight. So, I will need a volunteer." The atmosphere in the restaurant was getting crazy, the younger inhabitants screaming and begging to be the duet partner.
"Bo, will you do the honours?" Christina looked at me, a sly smile creeping across her face as she outstretched her hand towards me. For a moment there, I could see a hint of jealousy and curiosity forming in the corner of Lauren's eyes. I chuckled and took Christina's hand and went on stage with her.
The music started playing and she began to sing the first few lines of the song. We had rehearsed it over the week. Again, I owed Kenzi big time.
We're on top of the world
We're on top of the world
Now darling, so don't let go
Can I call you mine?
So can I call you mine now, darling
For a whole lifetime?
My heart finally trusts my mind
And I know somehow it's right
The crowd was enjoying it; clapping and moving to the beat of the song. Lauren's smile couldn't have been any bigger than it was right now.
And, oh, we got time, yeah
So darling, just say you'll stay right by my side
And, oh, we got love, yeah
So darling, just swear you'll stand right by my side,
I joined in at this part and looked straight into Lauren's eyes.
We're on top of the world
We're on top of the world
Now darling, so don't let go
I've got something to say
You're perfect in every way
I'm gonna shout it out
I wanna tell you now
'Cause I know somehow it's right
Lauren was starting to blush again. Seems like red was going to be her colour tonight.
And, oh, we got time, yeah
So darling, just say you'll stay right by my side
And, oh, we got love, yeah
Darling, just swear you'll stand right by my side
Be my forever
Be my forever
Be my forever
Be my forever
Be my forever
Be my forever
And as she was listening to the lyrics, she had her thinking face on. I knew she was beginning to connect the dots. I smiled and continued the song singing backup for Christina.
You're my bright blue sky
You're the sun in my eyes
Oh baby, you're my life
You're the reason why
We're on top of the world
We're on top of the world
Now darling, so don't let go
1,2,3,4
And, oh, we got time, yeah
We got love
So darling, just say you'll stay right by my side
And oh, we got love
Yeah
So darling, just swear you'll stand right by my side
Be my forever
Be my forever
Be my forever
Be my forever
Be my forever
Be my forever
By the look on her face of a slight panic and nervousness, I knew she had figured it out. So I gave my mike to the backup vocalist and stepped off stage.
Will you love me forever?
I'll love you forever
Be my forever
Be my forever
Be my forever
Be my forever
The song ended and I could feel all eyes on me, but I was only looking into Lauren's who by now had stood up and was walking towards me. I motioned for her to stop as we were standing face to face now. Kenzi who was hiding in the kitchen all this time came out and was holding a silver covered platter. I smiled and mouthed a thank you to her. She winked and whispered, "Good luck, Bobo."
Lauren was clearly puzzled at the tray in Kenzi's hands.
I cleared my throat and took her hands into mine, kneeling down on one knee. "Lauren, I know it's only been 6 months since we started seeing each other, but I know deep within my soul that you are the one for me. It feels right whenever we're together. You give me warmth and strength at the same time. I feel so much love for you that I feel like I could explode from the overload," I heard some laughter from across the room and a snort from Kenzi.
I continued, "You make me want to be a better person. Your smile just lights up my day. I want to be able to come home every day to that smile. Wake up beside you and going to bed with you in my arms. When I have your arms around me, I'm home. Nothing else matters to me, but your happiness. I promise to make it your worthwhile every day. Each day will be an adventure. Nothing can stop us or bring us down as long as we're together. I love you with all my heart, body and soul." I see tears start forming in her eyes.
I let go of her hands and stood up, nodding my head in Kenzi's direction. She came up to me and handed me the tray. I opened the tray to reveal her favourite dessert, a chocolate lava cake, but with the words, "Marry me?" written on it and a diamond platinum ring in the small box next to it.
"Lauren Elizabeth Lewis, will you do me the honour of being my wife?"
She gasped, but immediately recovered and mouthed a yes. Then repeated it. "Yes, Bo. Yes! I will marry you!" The restaurant erupted into cheers. I carefully placed the platter on our table and took out the ring from the box. I slid it onto her finger and pulled her into my arms, kissing her passionately as the air was once again filled with sounds of people clapping and shouting their congratulations to us.
"Congratulations, you two!" Christina said looking at us with a huge grin on her face. "Now let's let the happy couple settle down and continue this party!" She shouted into the mike to which the all too eager fans happily responded by taking out their cell phones getting ready to record and snap pics of the performance. Some had already done that, having recorded my proposal as well.
Kenzi came up to us. A big smile plastered on her face.
"Congrats, Bo! Congrats, Lauren! You finally tamed my Bobo. Well, now she's technically YOUR Bobo." She joked.
"Don't worry, Kenz. She's still your Bo. We can share," Lauren winked. I only laughed. I was too happy to say anything. Here I have the two most important people in the world with me. I could not ask for anything more. I was right where I wanted to be.
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Present time.
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"Bo? Honey?" Her voice brought me out of my thoughts.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing in particular." I smiled. "Just remembering the day I asked you to be my wife."
She smiled. "I remember that day. I still don't know how you got my favourite singer of all time to be there, let alone help you with your plan."
I put her hand down and cupped her cheek. I leaned in and kissed her gently.
"One word, babe. One word. Kenzi."
And on cue as per usual, I heard an all too familiar voice. "Seriously, guys? It's been 50 years! You have grandkids! Oh my eyes! My eyes!" Kenzi pretended to cover her eyes.
"I'm happy to see you too, Kenz," I got up from my chair to give my best friend a hug.
"Don't ever change, Kenz."
"Like I told you all those years ago, I couldn't even if I wanted to, honey." She smiled into my hug.
My life had come full circle. I was happy. My life was perfect.
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-End-
A/n2 : I don't know if I should continue this. If I do, it will have a lot of flashbacks and will probably be a short story. But do let me know how you guys feel about this in your reviews. I need them to plan my next step. Thank you for reading this. I hope I brought a smile to your face. And remember to leave a review, please! :P
