Chapter 48
"Tamzin!" she cried, and I clung tightly to her, crying and shaking as relief flooded through me. She hugged me tightly back, saying my name over and over again.
"Come inside now!" she finally said, prying me off of her and leading me through the doors into the hall of dressing rooms. As the door swung shut, she wrapped her arm around my shoulders and led me briskly into one of the rooms. She shut the door behind her and took my face in her hands. "Tamzin, what's going on!?"
"Where are the boys!?"
"Still meeting with the fans! Tamzin, tell me what's going on!"
"I came back!" I pleaded tearfully, "I want to come back! This is my dream, Barbara, to be here! You don't have a new photographer, do you!? Can I come back!?"
"Tamzin, yes, of course you can come back! I'm so glad to see you! How did you realize this!? Tell me what happened!"
Just then, there was a knock on the door, and Barbara stepped away and opened it, letting in Michele.
"Did I just see- TAMZIN!?"
I jumped forward and threw my arms around him, hugging him tightly, and then I pulled away and hurriedly told them everything that had happened since Ignazio had left me in D.C., panting and wiping the tears from my eyes as I explained.
"We have our photographer back!" Barbara exclaimed when I finished, wrapping me in her arms again, and I laughed elatedly at hearing her say it, almost falling against her in relief. Michele hugged me again too and kissed my cheek, ranting about how happy he was to have me back and how thrilled the boys would be, Ignazio especially.
I couldn't wait to see them, and my heart was bouncing around in my chest with the idea of looking into Ignazio's eyes again. The three of us went back into the hallway of dressing rooms, and as I walked with them, trembling with excitement, I saw the figures of Piero and Gianluca appear at the end of the hallway, escorted by a guard who led them out from the room of fans.
They were wearing handsome black suits and ties and laughing, and then Gianluca looked up and froze, and Piero looked at him and then at me.
They both instantly started running forward at the same time, eyes wide with disbelief as they yelled my name. I raced forward, my red high-tops slapping the ground as I sprinted toward them. Piero reached me first, and he swept me up off of the ground and hugged me tightly, kissing my cheek and laughing in disbelief. Then he let me go and I turned and threw my arms around Gianluca, who also kissed my cheek and held my head to his shoulder as he squeezed me tight.
"What are you doing here!?" Piero exclaimed when Gianluca released me, and I laughed with exhilaration.
"I'm coming back! I'm going to be your photographer again!"
"Really!?" Gianluca asked in excited disbelief, and Piero leaped into the air in excitement as Gianluca laughed at him.
They pulled me into a group hug as they exclaimed their excitement to have me back.
"Has Ignazio seen you!?" Gianluca asked suddenly, turning me toward him and taking me by the shoulders, and I shook my head and grabbed his arms.
"No, not yet! Where is he!?"
"Still at the meet-and-greet, talking with some of the fans!" Piero explained. "Hey, why don't you go to his dressing room and we'll tell him there's someone waiting for him there!"
Gianluca laughed. "That's good! Oh, Tamzin, he's probably going to pass out from excitement!"
I laughed too, and then Piero took my hand and tugged me in the direction of the dressing room, and I sprinted with him down the hallway and into the little room.
"Wait here!" he said, yanking open the door, and I nodded eagerly as he shut the door behind me with a bang and sprinted away.
I stood panting and smiling alone in the middle of the quiet dressing room, and I turned and looked around. Ignazio's brown leather jacket was draped over a chair, and his folded T-shirt and jeans were on the vanity table. His blue tennis shoes were beside the door, and there was a clothes rack with the open and empty suit protector on it and an extra tie hung over the bar. The thing that warmed my heart was the slip of paper tucked into a corner of the mirror, bearing the words, "If you love something, let it go" written in his handwriting. I smiled and moved to the vanity, reaching out and picking up the paper to look at it more closely. I suddenly remembered something, and I looked around for a pen to finish the rest of the quote. Under his writing, I wrote, "If it comes back to you, it's yours forever," and then I tucked it back into the mirror.
I returned to the middle of the room and stood silently, my heart beating out of my chest in excitement as I stared at the door Ignazio would enter through. In only a few moments, I would see him again. After all the racing and worrying and hoping, I was finally going to see him again.
He was so close! I listened intently to the commotion in the hallway, and then it suddenly got quieter and I knew there was someone outside the door. I clasped my hands to my chest, listening. For a moment everything was quiet, and then there was a cautious knock on the door. I stayed frozen, silent and rooted to the spot, staring at the door as the knob turned and the door began to open.
"Hello?" came his sweetly accented voice, and as the door began to open he saw me.
He looked amazing, wearing his black suit and red tie, his dark silky hair perfectly combed through and styled to one side. His dark brows rose immediately and his shining, playful eyes widened, his face stunned. For a moment he stared at me and I stared back, taking in the beautiful sight of him as everything paused.
"Tamzin!" he whispered in awe, then he shoved the door closed behind him and strode forward, grabbing me and pulling me tightly into his gentle arms. My arms went around his back and I clung to him and felt his arms around me as I took in his familiar comforting scent. "Oh, my dear!"
"I love you, Ignazio!" I said, and then he knelt down, taking me with him and holding me to him.
"Tamzin," he whispered, and I looked up into his sweet brown eyes and saw that he was smiling that brilliant, sweet smile, and his eyes were shimmering with joyful tears. "I love you too!"
Then he kissed me, and I closed my eyes and felt his lips against mine, experiencing the reality of it. He pulled back after a moment, but I pulled him back in and kissed him again.
When I pulled back he took my face in his hands and gazed at me, smiling in disbelief.
"You came back," he said, and I nodded. His smile suddenly evaporated, and he got quickly to his feet and helped me up, then took my hands and demanded my attention with his serious expression. "But how, Tamzin!? Why did you come back!? You need to be with National Geographic!"
"No, Ignazio!" I said, shaking my head and smiling. "I need to be here!" I pulled him to the chair at the vanity and made him sit so I could explain, but he reached out and pulled me close to sit on his knees. "Ignazio, do you remember when we were in Canada and you asked me what I wanted?" He nodded, and I smiled and took his face in my hands. "I told you that I wanted to capture the beauty of things within the world, and I haven't found anything more beautiful than Il Volo, and you!"
I eagerly told him all about my candlelit night in Botswana and the revelations I had experienced, and he listened incredulously.
"Ignazio, I've been thinking that my ultimate goal was to be a photographer for National Geographic, but it's not! My goal is to capture beauty within the world and present it to people, draw them into the realm of beauty! And Ignazio, now I know! Now I know what it's like to be a photographer for them, and you helped me to get that dream, but there I realized that I have a new dream! I want to come back and be with Il Volo! I want to help Il Volo fly! The landscapes will always be there for me, whether I'm with National Geographic or not! I want to be here with you guys!"
I leaned into him, leaning my forehead against his.
"You are my dream, too," I whispered, and kissed him. He closed his eyes and cuddled me to him, drawing me in closer.
"Really?" he whispered, incredulous, and I laughed and nodded.
"I've never been so sure of anything in my life!"
"You came back!" he said, and then laughed joyfully and kissed my cheek. "You came back to us!"
I laughed too and hugged him, but when I looked up at him he had a strange look on his face. His eyes were shimmering and dancing with excitement, but he was thinking hard about something, and he sat me up on his knee and straightened in the chair.
"I made plans…" he said, his eyes wide as he thought hard, running a hand incredulously through his dark hair. "I was making plans for us, but...I realized they wouldn't work if you wanted something else…if you were chasing a different dream! But now…"
"Ignazio?"
He quickly moved me from his lap and stood me up, jumping up beside me and taking my hand. "Come see!" he said, his bright eyes suddenly dancing with excitement. "Come with me!"
"Where!? Ignazio, what are you doing!?"
He pulled me to the door and then brought me out of the dressing room, swiftly walking with me down the almost empty hallway to the backstage lounge where the others were sitting together, laughing and enjoying themselves.
"Tamzin!" Gianluca exclaimed happily, noticing us, and the group turned and smiled at us.
"I have something to say," Ignazio said, and guided me quickly to the middle of the room, bringing me to the midst of the group of Barbara, Michele, Piero, Gianluca, some of the band members, and assorted theatre staff. Everyone grew quiet, smiling at us and waiting, and I watched Piero nudge Gianluca as they stared at me in delighted awe.
"My dear," Ignazio said, taking my hands so that I turned back toward him. "I was making plans for us, and I was so excited for our future together, but I realized my plans wouldn't work if you had another dream, if you wanted something that you couldn't have with us. But now that you've left and come back to us, you've shown me that my plans can work now, if you want them to, also."
"Ignazio, what are you talking about?"
"Tamzin, I love you so much," he said, squeezing my hands tightly, his eyes dancing eagerly. Then he released my hands and reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out a little red box as everyone around watched intently. I clasped my hands over my chest and stared, wide-eyed, as Ignazio stepped back from me and got down onto one knee. I started to cry, and he opened the box to reveal a brilliant, shimmering diamond ring.
"Tamzin Lucille Montgomery, will you marry me?"
"Oh, Ignazio!"
Everyone leaned forward, smiling wide as they waited for my answer. Feeling the intense warmth in my chest and the dancing of my heart, I nodded, and then laughed and exclaimed, "Yes!"
Everyone burst into applause and Gianluca and Piero whooped and leapt up from their chairs.
Ignazio smiled wide, revealing his dimples, and then I reached my hand down and he slid the brilliantly shimmering ring onto my finger.
Then he stood up and I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him, and his gentle arms went tightly around my back, holding me to him. Then I pulled back and laughed excitedly, and he laughed with me and hugged me tightly.
"Would someone please take a picture!?" I said, and everyone laughed as Gianluca and Piero pulled out their cell phones.
"That reminds me!" I said after the pictures were taken, "My suitcase and camera bag are still in the cab parked down the street."
Everyone laughed again, and Piero and Gianluca said they would go and get them for me. They hugged and congratulated me and then hugged Ignazio and congratulated him. Barbara eagerly speculated about the wedding and admired my ring, and Michele patted Ignazio on the back and talked happily with him. Then Ignazio took my hand, spun me around, and playfully scooped me up, throwing me effortlessly over his shoulder, and I laughed and waved to everyone as he carried me out of the lounge and down the hallway to the dressing room.
He set me down on the vanity and closed the door, then eagerly came up to me and tilted up my chin to kiss me. He stopped after a moment and drew back, and I looked up and saw him looking at something beside me. I turned my head and watched as he reached out and picked up the piece of paper tucked into the corner of the mirror.
"If it comes back to you, it's yours forever," he read, and then looked up and smiled sweetly at me. "Brilliant," he said, and then he pulled me into his arms and kissed me.
*Author's note: Thank you for reading my story! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it! Now that I've finished this one, I've written a fanfiction about each of the Il Volo boys! The others are Gianluca Ginoble and I and Underneath the Moon (Piero Barone Fanfiction), and they are both also on this site, . Remember that you can email me at annawritesfanfiction at gmail dotcom. Thank you so much!
-Anna Babin (annawritesfanfiction)