The Song

Barry Tolbert, Lookout Lane
He was white knuckling a diamond ring
And fumbling for the dome light
Sherry Lynn knows something's up
'Cause Berry ain't ever been stuck
For words like he is tonight
Since they pulled over, her hearts been beatin' faster
Without that song, who knows, he might have never asked her

Simple words put into lines
Just a melody and rhyme
But at that moment seemed so strong
How can a piece of poetry
Knock a grown man to his knees
And lead him by the heart to where he belongs
Then it came on
The song
~ Craig Morgan - "The Song" ~

     "Nicole! Are you almost ready to go?"
     "I'll be down in a minute!" That usually meant that she would be down in about fifteen minutes.
     "We only have a minute! And we haven't even left yet!"
     She walked to the top of the steps wearing nothing but a bra and panties. She was still curling her hair with an iron. "Do you want me going like this?"
     "Baby!" I paused. "That's fine for around the house, but we're going to a formal party!"
     "Shut up." She laughed as she walked back into the bathroom.
     It had been thirteen years since I had met Nicole. And we had been going out for the last ten. That being said, I had something special in my mind for the evening, even if it wasn't what I told Nicole the night was about. And I don't know how I would get the words out, but I was determined to get them right.

     I had been sitting on the couch for about ten minutes when I heard Nicole's voice from the top of the steps. "Ok. We can go." I jumped up as Nicole came down the steps wearing a beautiful, tight, skin colored dress, which ended just before her feet.
     "Wow." That was the only thin that I could find in my vocabulary that could even begin to describe the stunning angel that stood before me.
     "Justin. After all these years, that's still the only word that you can say?"
     I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head. "What?"
     "Justin. You amaze me."
     "Wait." I paused. "Who's doing the amazement?" I paused again. "I can only remember one time you looked this amazing. And that was ten years ago." I had the sudden urge to drop right there, but I couldn't. The night was still young. And besides. I had it all planned out in my head.
     She came down the steps, and I took her arm in mine. We walked outside, where a long white limo was waiting.
     "Justin!" She looked at me like I was crazy. "Is that limo for us?"
     "Nope. Someone famous just parked outside our house."
     She punched my arm. "Shut up! But really..." she paused a second. "Is that really for us?"
     "Don't want to arrive in style?" I asked her as I opened the door. She climbed in, and I sat down after her. The car pulled off toward the hall.
     "Whats this party for, anyway?" Nicole asked me.      "I don't know. The invitation just says 'Come out for a formal party'."
     She took the invitation from me. "That's not fair!"
     "I wouldn't lie to you about what the invitation said."

     When we arrived, I helped Nicole out, then told the driver thank you, gave him some money, and he pulled away. I took Nicole by the arm, and headed for the doors.
     "You're invitation, sir." the door man stated. I handed him the paper, and he nodded. Nicole and I proceeded in, being lead by a hostess, and headed for the head table. There, we were seated to the right of my cousin, Nick.
     "Nick!"
     "Justin!" We hugged, and then Nick turned to Nicole. "How are you, Nicole?"
     "Good." she said as they hugged.
     I turned and faced Nick. "Can I talk to you?"
     "Yea. Let's go into the foyer."
     I turned to Nicole. "Want anything to drink, Love?"
     "I'm good for now. Thank you, though, Baby."
     "Ok. I'll be right back."
     "Ok."
     Nick and I walked off, and Nicole turned to Alaina, Nicks girlfriend, who had just walked up. "How are you, Alaina?" Nicole got up and gave her a hug.
     "Good, yourself?"
     "Alright." Nicole paused. "I've got a question for you." Alaina nodded. "What is this party all about?"
     "I don't know. Nick wouldn't tell me. And the invitation didn't give a reason..."
     "I know. And Justin wouldn't tell me, either!"
     "Well." Alaina paused. "What do you think it's about?"
     "I don't even know. Justin has been talking to Nick a lot more then usual lately. And he's been acting weird lately, too."
     "They have been talking way more then normal." Alaina agreed.
     "And do you notice how they always walk away when they talk any more? Or they're going for a 'mans night out'?"
     "Yea. We'll get to the bottom of this tonight."
     "Get to the bottom of what, Love?" I interrupted.
     "Oh, nothing. Alaina and I were just talking."
     "Ok."

     After every guest had arrived, and after an awesome ham dinner, Nick stood up to talk. Nicole and I were in the middle of the room talking with some of our friends. The room got quiet when Nick took the microphone.
     "I'd like to thank you all for coming. But I bet you're wondering what we all are doing here. It's for something that kinda hasn't happened yet. So, I'm going to put him on the spot right now." Nick sat back down, and people started to whisper amongst themselves.
     I took Nicole by the hand, and looked at Nick, then Nicole. "Nicole. I've tried, um, I've tried to find the perfect... words. And... I... I couldn't. So... I... I brought you here, um, to... to..." I stopped and looked at Nick, then back to Nicole. At that moment, I heard a Dirks Bentley song, 'My Last Name', start. So I dropped down to one knee, and I saw the confusion in Nicole's eyes. I just started to sing.

               "So darlin' if you're wonderin', why I've got you here tonight.

I wanna be your husband, I want you to be my wife.

Ain't got much to give you, but what I've got means everything;

It's my last name..."

     She started to cry. "How can I say no to that?!" she said through the tears. "Yes! I will!"
     I jumped to my feet and gave her a huge hug. "Nicole, I love you!"
     "I love you, too, Justin." We continued to hug, as everyone took pictures of us. "Wait a minute!" She pushed me back. "Nick's lying!"      "What?" I asked.
     "This was planned from the beginning!"
     I tried to hold back the smile, but I couldn't. "I'm sorry!"
     "Justin!" she yelled at me.
     "I had it all planned out. Every bit of it!" Nicole just hit me. "Well. All but the not being able to get the words out. That didn't go as planned." I paused a moment. "I love you, Baby." I was still smiling.
     "I love you!" she said smiling back.

     We were congratulated by everyone (at least twice) and we finally made it back to the head table about an hour and a half later. I gave Nick a hug, told him thinks, grabbed my coat, and Nicole grabbed hers, and then headed for the door.
     "Wait! How are we going to get home?" Nicole asked. "The limo left."
     "Didn't I say that I had it ALL planned out?" I reached into my pocket and pulled out a set of keys. Nicole just looked at me confused. I pressed the key-less start button on the key ring, and the engine roared to a start under the hood of this brand new Chevy Silverado.
     "What!? Whose is that!?"
     "Ours."
     "Good. Since it's 'ours', I'm driving home."
     We climbed in, and she drove home. I don't think that we had ever made it up to the bedroom faster. Five hours later, and as so many times before, I was looking at that beautiful girl sleep. No night in the past came close to this night.