Page 86 of The Pursuit of Happiness
“I don’t know if I’m ready,” I worry.
He takes a deep breath. “Fine. I’ll ask again tomorrow and if you still aren’t ready, I’ll ask the day after that and the day after that until you say yes.”
I laugh and he smiles as he presses another kiss to my lips.
Epilogue
Aria
Three months later
“Here we fucking go,”Ivory squeals as she squeezes my hand under the table. We’re at the Muse Awards and they’re about to name the winner for the best rock album of the year. We’re seated at a large, circular table surrounded by hundreds of other famous artists from all genres.
Ivory sits beside me and Brody sits beside her. Sly’s hand is on my thigh over the silk of my baby-blue dress. I squeeze Ivory’s hand so hard and I notice she and Brody are doing the same. We’re all holding our breath.
Across the table from us is Nate, Selene, Miles, and Miles’ wife. Brody’s fiancé sits beside her with a hand draped over the back of her chair, his black eyes trained only on the side of her face. The announcer starts, “And now, the nominees for best rock album of the year.” She smiles at the audience as she raises a piece of paper and starts reading, “Thunderstrike’s ‘Follow the Lightning,’ Satan’s Angels’ ‘The Masks We Wear,’ and The Silverbirds’ ‘Clipped Wings.’”
Sly leans in close to my ear and whispers, “Marry me.”
I laugh, shaking my head at him. We’ve been doing this everyday for months. He asks, I say ask me again tomorrow, and then he asks me again the next day and we repeat.
“And the winner is,” the announcer reads the name and smiles as she looks up. This is it. This is the moment we’ve been waiting for. Brody, Ivory, and I press our heads together and Brody grabs my other hand, creating a sort of circle between us.Her giant marquise diamond ring is digging into the back of my hand, but I don’t complain. I’m too anxious to hear the name that’s about to come out of her mouth.
“Satan’s Angels’ ‘The Masks We Wear!’”
Brody leaps out of her chair and screams in excitement. Ivory jumps up and down, clapping her hands. I rise from my seat and feel so much happiness wash over me. I look down at Sly and he’s smiling so wide. He’s so happy to see me win even if it meant he had to lose.
As Brody and Ivory start walking closer to the stage to accept our award, I lean into Sly’s ear and whisper, “Yes.” Before I turn and follow them.
We step onto the stage and make our way to the microphone. Sly’s eyes are the first I find and the wide eyed, shocked expression on his face says it all. We accept three, giant music note shaped awards that are way heavier than they look.
Brody gestures with her head towards the mic, “Go ahead.”
She wantsmeto do the speech? I shake my head, but Ivory shoves me forward. I stop in front of the microphone and hesitate, looking across the sea of faces before me. When I look at Sly, I relax and take a deep breath. “We are so honored to have been chosen for such an award. This will easily be one of the most memorable and important moments in our lives and careers. We’ve had a lot of ups and downs while making that album and in the end, it turned out beautiful. To us, it isn’t the album winning that’s important. It’s about what it means to win. What it means to be the first female band to win a Muse Award.
“The rock industry has always been centered around male rock stars and when people think of rock, they think of men and the icons who were there before us. It was hard to rise to fame in such conditions, but we managed to do that. It was hard to earn the respect of our fans and peers, but we managed to do that too. It was hard to make that album when we had our ownpersonal issues going on, but we managed to create something beautiful.
“What I’m trying to say is that we’re proud to honor all those little girls who are sitting home right now, dreaming of being a rock star when they grow up. You can do it. You can do every and anything you want to and you should never be afraid to be doing something different than what is already being done. You should never be afraid to inspire change.” I take a step back from the mic and the room is silent.
Brody nudges my shoulder, “That was fucking awesome, dude.”
Ivory whispers, “Eleven out of ten.”
The room erupts into claps and cheers and I blush as I feel hundreds of eyes on me and the eyes of people watching from home.
As Brody, Ivory, and I march off the stage with our awards in hand and back to our seats, Sly is immediately on me, kissing me on the cheeks, nose, forehead, everywhere. “I’m so fucking proud of you,” he beams.
Brody and Harvey are huddled close together and Nate is patting Ivory on the back. Selene is ecstatic, no doubt proud of my speech and of the achievement we’ve just earned.
Sly places a finger under my chin and turns my face to meet his, “Say it again.”
I smirk, “Say what again?”
He gives me a pointed look and I laugh before giving in. “Yes.”
“Yes, what?”
I lean in so close, our lips are a centimeter apart, “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
