Chapter 50: The Concert

She couldn’t believe she had reached this moment in her career. Likewise, she couldn’t believe she didn’t have anyone to share it with. Her colleagues from the symphony orchestra were there and so were her students. Those individuals would have to suffice.

She would be streamed into billions of homes, schools, and offices. By deciding to charge $4 for each stream, a dollar for each group member, she might make billionaire status herself. This was it: the big time.

The concert had two forty-five minute sets with one fifteen minute intermission. During the break she peered from behind the stage’s curtain to see if she knew anyone else in the audience.

No. Unfortunately it was not like the events associated with Ricky’s law firm where she could come out and mix and mingle with the patrons in the lobby. Looking for the guys in the intermission wine and cheese crowd from the audience was nothing more than wishful thinking. She looked over the music for the next part of the program and checked in with the other three members before the curtain went up.

At the end of the concert the crowd was going wild. They wanted to hear more, but they had exhausted their entire rehearsed catalog of performance pieces. There was just one option, “Three Gentlemens’ Gift”. The quartet had played through it perhaps one full time and then jammed and improvised, revealing its beauty and soulfulness as the other instruments took their turns soloing such that it almost sounded like a fusion of new age and jazz music.

She had not added the words yet either. This was the moment to make a lasting impact and she called out the new piece as their encore.

It had a slow start, but after the three sections, one for each of her three admirers, the quartet’s improvisations swept through the appreciative and artistically open-minded audience. They clearly adored the unpolished nature of the composition and gave them a standing ovation that lasted ten minutes. It was then that she saw them, her three gentlemen, in the box seats, cheering the loudest of all. She was overjoyed.

The end of the concert did not give her any time to try to find the guys. There were photographers, reporters, and others from the music profession that the quartet had to entertain. She ignored her daring to dream hope of seeing them among the well-wishers who eventually made it to the stage. For her it was her students and the symphony, her professional family.

One hour later she was done with the whirlwind of it all. A new beginning was about to take root; the guys and with flowers! They looked stunning in their tuxedos. They were close enough to reach out and touch. She patted each one on the arm to acknowledge them and satisfy herself that this wasn’t another dream.

“Well done, Laura,” Ricky said as he hugged her, “I never tire of hearing you play.”

“Thanks to you giving our little group a chance at your firm’s events, we embarked on the success we are enjoying today...right now,” she said, kissing him on the mouth.

“You were amazing,” Alex told her and kissed both of her cheeks, “Now you’ll have to work with me scoring the music for my screen plays.”

“Oh Alex, you are the best,’’ she whispered in his ear and then let him kiss her hand.

“Do you have any time for the people who knew you way back before the world recognized you as the star we always knew you would be?” Don asked while he squeezed both of her hands.

“For you, Don, I have twenty-four hours, seven days a week, three hundred sixty-five days a year. Just call me first and make an appointment anytime.”

The other two guys laughed at Laura’s joke.

“Surprised?” Ricky asked after she greeted each of them with a loving response.

“Very. This has been quite an evening,” she said.

“You have no idea,” Don commented with a mischievous grin.

“And we didn’t break out into a fight this time,” Alex reminded her, seemingly wanting her kudos for the guys.

At that the guys all dropped to one knee and offered their hearts. One gave her a charm bracelet with a small cello charm. The other two added a heart charm and a treble clef charm.

“We offer you our hearts,” they said at the same time to Laura.

“Can I say yes to you all this time?” she asked.

“Please do so,” Ricky encouraged her to respond.

“Guys, your presence here tonight means more than you know. If you’ll have me, I promise to love, honor, and cherish you...all three of you.” They took turns bear hugging her and expressing their love, dedication, patience, and gratitude.

They left the theater in the limousine and headed for the diner. The four musketeers were finally reunited and confident that they would stay together for the rest of their lives. Each of the four was ecstatic to have finally found love that did not need to be based on continuous competitions.

They had come to realize that trying to outdo one another would never satisfy them and be nothing more than a Pyrrhic victory over the others, risking their lifelong friendship. Each was so different except for one commonality: their inexplicable love for Laura and her inexhaustible love for all three of them.