I feel really bad because somebody told me to update soon and it's been like two years. :s
Yeah, and I don't remember where I was going with the last cliffhanger so I'm just gonna try to make something up.
Two hours later, Drake stood in jeans and a Beatles t-shirt on a small stage in a dimly-lit coffee shop. His daughter sat with Josh and Mindy in a table near the front and his beautiful, timid girlfriend, Dawn stood right next to him on stage. When she had said she had an idea, Drake was about to do backflips but now he felt like he might pee his pants in front of the almost crowded coffee shop. It wasn't just the people, in fact he had been playing in front of more people than this when he was fourteen. No, the pee-in-the-pants-factor was the man in the gray business suit wearing a blue button down and a silver tie sitting in the closest seat to the front staring directly at him. This man held so much power: he was the man that made Drake homeless or wealthy. He was the man that made Drake a household name or a nobody. This was the talent scout looking for a nobody to make famous. This was Dawn's step-father.
Suddenly, Drake felt his fingers move to the song he had written a few years ago. All Drake could think about was striking the wrong chord or hitting a wrong note and his almost-career was over. He was stuck in an office listening to teenagers wanting to "make the big-time" and being reminded of his younger self everyday for thirty years or so until he could retire. Or maybe his rich aunt would suddenly realize she didn't need her money and give it all to him. Yeah, that's a dream.
After a few seconds, Drake felt his lips move and his vocal chords vibrate. He was singing. He was singing his own words. The words he had written for his newborn daughter a few years ago. Visions of newborn Lola filled his eyes along with a single tear in each pupil. He blinked. After the first verse, Dawn joined in singing the harmony to his chorus. Drake smiled, especially when he looked at Lola and saw her singing the well-known words. He had forgotten that when Lola was younger he used to sing this very song to her as a lullaby.
His hands moved accordingly to how he memorized the song. He didn't even have to think about which chords to play, his hands just moved there. The song was almost over and Dawn's step-father, the man with Drake's life in his hand, was looking pretty stunned. Whether that was a good stunned or a bad stunned also had Drake in the pee-in-the-pants state. The song came to an end, and Drake stood frozen still holding his hands in the position of the last note. Claps resounded, and a few young women wiped their eyes. Applause echoed in the small coffee shop, but Drake didn't care. He was still frozen, eyes staring at Dawn's step-father.
As Dawn put the microphone back and stepped off the stage, Drake followed, setting his guitar on the stage.
"That was great!" Josh exclaimed as he approached Drake and Dawn about fifteen minutes later when the crowd had died down.
"Thanks," Dawn giggled nervously. Suddenly the world stood still for only about three seconds when Dawn's step-father, Jared, approached the group.
Drake's muscles tensed. The moment of truth.
"Good afternoon," Jared said with his hand outright to be shaken. "Jared Daniels, Varsity Records."
"Hey Jare," Dawn said warmly.
"Nice to meet you," Drake said nervously while shaking his hand.
"Honestly I was…" he paused for a second. Drake's mind panicked. I was… disappointed. I was… embarrassed. I was… angry that I took the time to listen to that horrid song. I was… mad. Laughing. Amused at your puny efforts. A million different thoughts invaded his mind in the brief pause Jared had taken. "I was amazed," he finally added.
There was the pee-in-the-pants-factor. The relief flowed almost a little too much and Drake could only imagine Jared laughing and taking back his compliment after seeing the pee drip from Drake's jeans.
"You were amazed?" Drake asked.
"Of course, I have never ever ever seen such amazing talent from somebody without even a small contract. You are going to be BIG."
Dawn squealed and hugged Drake. "Oh my goodness! You're going to be famous! You're going to be rich, Drake!"
Drake smiled, "No honey, we're gonna be famous and we're gonna be rich. I want you to be my harmony forever."
"Forever?"
"Yes. I know I want to marry you, but not just yet. Maybe a year or two from now. And once I have the money to buy you a ring, I will. I'll get you the best ring in the store."
She smiled, "So like, your proposing to me?"
"Yes!" he laughed. "Thank you so much, Mr. Daniels but I really have to get going. The band I am managing is having a performance in an hour or so down the street and I need to make sure everything is good."
"Wow, a young band? Our label was actually looking for a teenage band with a good alternative sound. Do you mind if I come?" Jared asked.
"Um, yes of course, I'd love it."
And so many hours later, Free Parking had performed and Jared was beaming. "I'm going to get such a big raise for this!" he exclaimed. He pulled out his phone, punched in a number and talked excitedly into it, "Yes, hello Mr. Garret. The Drake Parker guy my step-daughter was telling me about is just what we were looking for, I'm going to bring him in for you to listen. Yes, yes, he's amazing. And, yeah I know you're going to love me for this. I'm standing in a small pizza parlor with a teenage band called Free Parking with an alternative music sound and I'm going to bring them in for you to listen to as well. Yes, I think they're going to be even bigger than the Parker kid, (no offense)," he said while covering his phone with his hand.
When he had hung up, Drake was dizzy. Two weeks ago, he was married and working at a dead end job. Now he had an amazing fiancée and a record contract. Life had gone by so fast in the past days, but Drake just knew that that was his life. He had married Marie after getting her pregnant only six weeks after they had started dating. He had broken off so many relationships after only a week or so because he knew there were so many options and he was the one who had to try all of them. Now, he figured he had finally found the missing puzzle piece of his life and from now on, he would take his time with his decisions. But then again, once you're in the fast lane, it's way too hard to get out. ;)