Your Voice Was The Soundtrack Of My Summer

We had a gig tonight, and I didn’t know how to break the news to all the guys. I know I had to tell Lacey somehow, and she would eventually tell her brother who would no doubt tell Beef and Martin.

So I had to tell the guys, even if in my heart, I wanted to keep everything a secret.

Indigo was going to be transported back to her home today. I insisted that I watch her, but she protested that I should be practicing with the gig.

So, here I was walking along the sidewalk, graced with the company of silence and pitch-black darkness. And I was still wondering how to break the news to the guys.

Walking into the old bar, trying to break through the crowds of people, I finally saw a familiar face. There was Beef, waving his hands frantically at me, from the sardine packed people bumping up the stage to some single folk singer act.

“Paul boy! We’re waiting for you!” Beef slapped my back playfully, as me and Delilah made it through the crowd, somehow unscathed.

“Where’s your girl?” Beef asked as we made it into the backroom.

“She’s, uh, at the hospital, I’ll explain later,” I said hurriedly while Beef made that shocked face look.

“If you say so buddy,” Beef shrugged, shoving me into the room.

Martin was testing the mike with cuss words, winking at Lacey who rolled her eyes at him. Bryan was tuning the guitars, while yelling at Martin to shut up or they might get thrown out of the bar, which was ironic to me.

“You guys! Paul has something to announce here!” Beef shouted. Everyone stopped what they’re doing and looked up at me with wide-eyed curiosity. Martin with huge eyes held the mike in his hand and stole a couple of unnoticed glances at Lacey. Bryan put down the guitar and looked up from the floor. Lacey was on the sofa reclining with an Elle magazine in her lap, pushing her blue eye glasses to the bridge of her lightly freckled nose.

Beef nodded for me to go on, and I swallowed hard, twisting the ring in my finger nervously.

“Indigo is being transported to house care, because she has mother to child transmitted AIDS, and like that movie,” I paused glancing at Lacey for help.

“A Walk to Remember,” she commented.

“Right, anyways it gave me inspiration to uh, propose to her, because she has limited time to live, and well she said, well to put it this way we’ll be having a small wedding a couple days from now,” I continued.

“Ohmigosh,” Lacey gasped.

“No way, you’re like what, 17?” Beef exclaimed.

“Man, I want a chick like yours, does she have friends?” Martin winked at me.

Bryan stared in awe and gave me thumbs up.

I smiled my relief, and picked up Delilah while everyone else started to crowd around me and shout they’re congrats. Lacey ran to me engulfing me into a hug.
“You’re amazing Paul, you really are,” she said in my ear, as Martin scooped her off from my clutches and kissed her full on the mouth.

“Johnson, lay off my sister dude!” Bryan laughed, struggling to pull off a love struck Martin out of his sister’s mouth.

“Lacey? Indigo wants you to be the maid of honor, and Beef? Will you do me the honor of being the best man?” I asked.

“Of course, anything man,” Beef nodded.

“No way!” Lacey shouted, embracing Martin, who looked more than delighted.
“When is it?” Bryan asked.

“Two days,” I answered, silently praying thanks to my mother who agreed to plan everything for the wedding.

“I’m in love with you and Indigo’s love,” Lacey smiled, while a clinging Martin stared on dreamily at her.

“And I’m in love with how you act over Paul and Indigo’s love,” Martin swooned.

“Now let’s get this act together, so, Paul, how about turning that acoustic song of yours into a fully fledged instrumental song?” Beef asked, winking at me knowingly.

“You should name it Thunder,” Lacey smiled.

Thunder. She would always be my thunder.

“I should,” I agreed.

-

“Her mom is going to give her away, Lacey is her maid of honor, and Beef will be my best man,” I told my mom as she hastily held scribbled notes in a jumbo sized yellow paper notepad.

“Right, I’ll just have some family over, like your grandma and your dad’s parents. Just a couple, and remember Aunt Verne? Um, I got a priest scheduled, and relatives should be coming over tonight. Did Indigo get her dress and family?” my mother was talking to the pen, not once looking up and sorting through some formal wear.

“Yeah, we’ve got some friends coming, and she has some relatives, and she’s going to wear her mom’s dress,” I answered, helping her fold discarded clothes.

“Wow, I never thought I would be helping plan a wedding for you this early, Poolie,” my mom took a breather and smiled at me for the longest time.

It felt good to be loved.

“Me neither,” I shrugged, sneaking a glance at the notepad.

I couldn’t make out a thing.

Tomorrow would be the big day. Of course it wasn’t going to be an elaborate wedding, but it wasn’t a Vegas wedding with people in jeans and T-shirts.

My mother was in beast mode, ordering catering and all that fancy stuff. My dad was off talking to the priest about the wedding and Indigo was fitting on the dress with her mother.
And here I am, stuck in the middle of all this, watching as my life was unfolding permanently in front of me like a cherry blossom blooming in the winter, way before its time, and only to end up being shriveled and pruned in the spring time.

I ended up lying on my bed staring at the black tie suit my mother ironed out for me.

I closed my eyes. In the back of my eyelids a movie played on in the quality of a home video recording.


There I was waiting at the altar smiling at a beautiful Indigo in a snowy white silk dress, walking down the aisle with her mother a nervous smile plastered on her striking face. Beef was at my side, wearing a goofy looking purple suit that reminded me of the Joker. Lacey was there, looking as gorgeous as ever in a designer pink dress, her golden hair looking like it was modeled for a prom, and her makeup looking almost alienistically beautiful.

And it’s the perfect day, but Indigo stumbles and gets a rare attack that causes her to faint. She falls, looking at me in horror. I run to her, but I don’t know what I feel, as I run to her aid. Her mom is cradling her in her arms and people are screaming and dialing 911.

And I’m crying at this perfect disaster.

Shoot.

Everything I dream has turned true one way or another. It was an undiscovered ability of mine. This dream doesn’t count. Did it?

I opened my eyes and I see the suit again. I breathe in and don’t dwell on the scene; I was determined not to let that happen.

I closed my eyes. I couldn’t dream that night.

When I opened them again, it was six and it was pitch black in the sky. And today, I was getting married.