Finding Carla

Chapter 24 - Always Be My Baby

Her

We just finished a marvelous dinner. The food was amazing. Gavin was a gentleman. He kept his promise to let me enjoy the night by engaging me in light conversation. He cracked some jokes that put me in a better mood and made me forget about my irritation with Santi. I was relieved that he didn't pursue the topic about liking me as I didn't know how to respond to that. All I know is I want to enjoy his company tonight; forget about Santi acting like a total jerk.

We were enjoying our wine after an emotional toast by the parents of the bride and groom when the string ensemble on the stage stopped playing music and took a break to give way to a special performance.

Then, out of the blue, I saw Santi, Milo, and two other guys walking up on the stage. They started setting up their instruments. There was suddenly a roar of applause and shouting from the crowd. Everyone was excited to see them all on stage. As what Gavin predicted, it became a high school reunion for their batch.

"Seems they are the surprise performers tonight. They're called "The Guys Next Door" when we were in high school. They used to play in our high school events. Nate, the groom, was also a part of their band." Gavin explained while I was looking at the group setting up on the stage.

The disappointment in Santi's behavior I was feeling a while ago was replaced with excitement. I want to see "Mr. Perfect" play. After a few more minutes of doing sound check, he got the microphone and addressed the crowd which resulted in a thunderous cheer from everyone.

"Good evening, everybody! I hope all of you are enjoying this wonderful evening. We want to extend our heartfelt congratulations and best wishes to the bride and groom. As most of you know, Nate is part of our band in high school; but since his hands are full right now while enjoying this momentous event in his life, we'll try our best to play without him. Nate, we want you to sit back, relax and cherish your lovely wife, Ria." He smiled and winked at the couple.

I could tell he's used to doing this. I didn't even notice any slight nervousness in his voice. As if he was born to do this; entertain large crowds of people. This is another side of him that I just discovered right now. This guy is full of surprises and never fails to amaze me. Then, he continued his speech,

"Nate and Ria, we hope that you will continue to love each other unconditionally. I've been a witness to your relationship since we were in high school. I've seen how you truly cared for each other. You've been through a lot of ups and downs in your relationship, but you never gave up on each other. You've shown everyone the meaning of true love. You deserve each other. Cheers to Mr. and Mrs. Lopez!" There was a loud roar of applause from the crowd.

"This is Nate's theme song to Ria. We hope you'll enjoy this." Santi finished his introduction and looked at his band mates. He gave them a soft nod giving them a cue. Then, he started strumming his guitar. The crowd went nuts as soon as he played the intro of the song, and then, all I could hear was Santi's mesmerizing voice....

"We were as one, Babe. For a moment in time.

And it seemed everlasting, that you would always be mine.

Now you want to be free, so I'm letting you fly.

'Coz, I know in my heart, Babe, our love will never die...."

As soon as he started singing, his gaze settled on mine. I'm not sure if he was looking directly at me as the lights on the stage were too bright. My heart was beating crazy; his voice was sending shivers throughout my body. I was spellbound. I could not tear away my gaze from him. I was feeling every lyric of the song as if he was dedicating it to me. I was transported to another universe. It was just me and Santi, everything around us was a total blur.