A long lane at night

1.EXTRA 5. SUPER TROUPER

** ALLAN **

ALL THE LIGHTS WENT OUT. THE MURMURS OF over five and a half thousand people talking subdued immediately. A few seconds of complete darkness followed, accompanied by an anxious silence. Much like the very first soundtrack he ever composed, the very first notes of Brian's music reached our ears before anyone could make out anything onstage.

Even though I knew it was coming, the beginning of 'A Long Lane at Night', my song, played for the very first time in front of such a large audience, brought tears to my eyes. A single super trouper was turned on with a closed ray, showing the Opera House who was playing.

Applause erupted everywhere as Brian came into view, sitting by this grand piano on an elevated platform taking centre stage. He continued playing, not paying attention to the applause. And I'm positive that, of all those thousands of people, no one was applauding him harder than the seven-year-old boy standing on his seat next to me.

'Dad's beautiful!' Jack whispered, his face in awe.

'He really is,' I whispered back as I helped Jack to sit down again. I looked at my stellar husband and I could see the concentration his curtain hair was hiding on his face. His shiny black suit reflecting the lights back at the audience giving him an almost ethereal look.

Brian was getting close to the end of the song, but before he could get there, the sounds of many strings merged with the melody, changing the song to a rather famous one he had composed for my gaming videos. Four violin players came into view as the lights focused on them, giving Brian the time to leave the piano and take his place at the conductor's podium. When the song reached its crescendo, all the stage lights turned on at once, revealing the full orchestra that had started to play on cue. The combination of lights and sound gave me goosebumps and I heard the 'oooh' from some people around me, including my mother, who was happily sitting on my other side.

The songs merged into one another, never leaving a silent moment onstage, and for the next hour and a half, Brian led the orchestra through an array of classical rock and pop hits, including songs he had played during his teenage career, along with songs from the many soundtracks he had already composed. The audience could feel the thrill with every note and it was a magnificent concert.

His conductor podium also moved around the stage and when the concert was reaching its end, it had somehow met his piano platform, both of them being elevated. Brian swiftly moved to his piano stool, making all the music drop at once. He took a deep breath and resumed playing 'A Long Lane at Night'. As the piano platform spun back to the ground, the song ended, and the lights faded to black.

Even more applause came from every single seat in the Opera House. All the lights, both stage and seat, turned on, revealing that Brian's first concert as a headliner had earned him a standing ovation. Between all of the applause, I could see he was beet red, but beaming like crazy. He pointed to his fellow musicians, who took a bow and left the stage, leaving him by himself to take the curtain call. He bowed and waved left, right, and centre, saying 'thank you' every time he turned. Then, my personal favourite moment happened.

Our eyes finally met and I could see his smile open on his at-long-last relaxed face. Of course, he knew we were here, but it felt like it was only now he was truly allowing himself to believe it.

'I love you,' he mouthed to me, and I mouthed it back. He gave a small nod to someone I couldn't see and the piece of stage he was standing on started to descend, making him finally disappear from view.

My mother, Jack, and I weren't exactly sitting on the front row. I wanted to sit as close as possible, but I also wanted to have a full view of the stage. Brian knew exactly where we were. As the people sitting in the rows in front of us slowly left, I enjoyed the memory of an evening that happened the previous month, one day before the tickets went on sale. Brian had me go to the Opera House with him to choose my seat.