The Time I Met Them Again

Tom was pulled away by one of the security guards just after I had enough time to let those two words sink in.
I knew that that name was familiar, but I couldn’t quite place why.
It wasn’t until halfway through the concert that I realised where I knew him from.
“Hey!” The lead singer called into the crowd, causing wild cheers and screams to erupt from all around. “How about we get someone up here with us?”
More screams.
More cheers.
A few girls around me started crying.
I just stood there grinning.
I don’t know for sure, but it looked to me like Tom was staring right at me. He walked over to the lead singer and whispered something in his ear. The other man just shrugged and handed the microphone to Tom.
“I know who I want up here,” he said, his eyes scanning the crowd.
Another wave of screams and cheers.
“Is there a Nerina Gaffney out there tonight? I know I saw your face earlier.”
My heart began to pound at that. That was my name he had just called. Not just Nirri, which is what most people call me, but Nerina. Nerina Gaffney. My heart was pounding so hard and fast that my chest began to ache.
That was when I knew--I just knew--that it was me that he was looking at in the crowd.
I started to make my way over to the stage, but a security guard stopped me. “I’m Nerina,” I told the guard.
“Prove it,” He ordered.
I rolled my eyes and brought out my wallet, which contained my school I.D. card, and showed it to him. The guard eyes the car suspiciously before sighing and letting me by. There was no reason for him not to let me past, seeing as I’d provided the right kind of proof for him.
As I neared the stage, I could feel heat rising to my face and my heart pounding even harder--if that’s even possible.
When I reached the top of the steps, Tom was there waiting for me.
My breath caught in my throat.
He was beautiful.
I’d only seen one or two pictures of him with his band, but now that I saw him up close, after all these years....
Holding the neck of his guitar in one hand so that it wouldn’t swing, Tom reached out to me. I took his hand, my own shaking like the tail of a scared rattlesnake. “Don’t worry,” he whispered in my ear. “Everything’s fine, Nerina.” I hadn’t heard any real German for years, and this came as a bit of a shock to me. But it was a beautiful shock.
My heart felt as if it were going to explode when he said my name.
“Tom...” I mumbled, close to his ear.
... And then he hugged me.
His arm slid around my waist and he pulled me in close.
I felt as if I were going to cry.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and breathed in deeply.
“I’ve missed you so much,” Tom murmured into my hair. I could barely hear him over the noise in the stadium, but he was close enough to my ear that I could.
I couldn’t tell him the truth--that I had forgotten about him and his brother completely until that night--it would break his heart. So I just hugged him tighter and my body shook, sobs bursting out me.
“Shhh,” He said, stroking my hair. “It’s okay. But we’ve got to get on with the show, now. Can you sing?”
He pulled away from our embrace and I nodded. “I don’t know how well, but I can try.”
Tom grinned. “Brilliant.”
He guided me over to the mic, where the lead singer was staring at me, open-mouthed. I gave him a weird look, and he just kept staring at me, his mouth flapping open and closed, much like a fish.
“Nerri,” He breathed.
My eyes went wide and my mouth dropped open.
“Bill?! Oh my god, you look so different!”
I embraced him, his leather-gloved hand wrapping around my waist as his brother’s had, and his chin resting on the top of my head.
Damn, they had grown!
“I missed you so much,” Bill muttered in my ear, in English, as if I had forgotten how to speak German. “But hurry, we have to get on with the show.”
I nodded and released him from our tight embrace.