You Saw Me

91

The doors opened, and there was a cheer and applause as Henry emerged from the elevator. He held my hand, leading me out into the crowd of people, who were there to see him and celebrate the release of his fourth album. I was searching the crowd for familiar faces; familiar faces of people I actually knew. In the crowd I suddenly spotted a very familiar face. Gayle was there! 

"Gayle?!" I exclaimed making a little jump. Henry laughed and looked adoringly at me. 

"I figured you might like having her here?" He kissed the top of my head. 

I looked up at him, and mouthed "Thank you". He smiled and bent down to kiss me. "I love you", I whispered against his lips, before I dived into the crowd to hug my best friend. 

"Elliepea, you're so beautiful", Gayle hugged me and admired my belly. "She's growing so quickly, isn't she?" She put her hand on my stomach. 

"Tell me about it", I laughed. "I can't hide the bump anymore." 

"That dress is fire", Gayle said as she checked it out. "Very nice choice! Let's go sit down, hon. I promised your husband that I'd take care of you, when he had to mingle and chat to people. He knew you wouldn't be comfortable, so he called for assistance." She smiled and led me to a table, where there were more familiar faces. James and Julia were there, Glenne and Jeff, aswell. Jeff and James kissed my cheek and then they were off to mingle with Henry. Anne was there with Darren and a family friend, Louise, who was like an aunt to Henry. When Anne spotted me, she got up in a hurry and rushed to hug me. 

"Oh Ellie, look at you!" She exclaimed emotionally. "How are you, love? Do you need something to drink? Let's get you off your feet. Darren! Be a dear and get Ellie something to drink, will you?" She was such a lovely, caring person. Gayle and her got along like two peas in a pod. They both mothered me and for some reason, I couldn't help but wonder, if Henry had decided they both needed to be there, so he didn't have to worry about me and my well-being. Whatever the reason was, I was grateful to him for arranging it, so I didn't have to be on my feet all evening. 

We ended up being a table full of women talking about the baby. Anne was over the moon, she couldn't wait to be a grandmother. Gayle was a little quiet, which was unlike her. Of all the people I had in my life, Gayle's place in my baby's life was already set. She would be her godmother and aunt, just like Gemma. 

"Are you okay?" I whispered to Gayle, when we had a moment just the two of us. 

She nodded and smiled. "Yeah, I'm just sitting on something, I need to talk to you about." "Xander and I have been talking..." She paused for a moment. " We can both find good jobs here in LA, and the kids can relocate and start High School here... I think, we want to move to California." She looked at me expectantly, waiting for my reaction. 

I put my hand over my mouth and stared at her in shock. "Really?" I asked, my eyes tearing up. "You'll move over here?" 

Gayle nodded and dried her eyes with a tissue from her purse. "Yeah, I love it out here, there's so much interesting real estate for me to explore, and Xander can work finance wherever. The kids would take to Hollywood like ducks to water", she grinned and held my hands in hers. "And being close to my best friend and my little goddaughter has its appeal". 

I was just about to dry my eyes with the back of my hand, when Anne and Gayle both passed me a tissue. We laughed and I accepted both tissues. "I have two eyes after all", I joked. 

***

There was going to be a showing of a short documentary they had filmed while Henry recorded the album. Henry came to fetch me, so we could sit together and watch it. He kissed his mother on the cheeks and hugged Gayle. Then he took my hand and showed me to an adjacent screening room. I shook a few hands and greeted people on the way, Henry constantly beaming at me. I noticed a few women in the crowd, who I knew he had been romantically involved with. It was possibly a little bit of jealousy, I was feeling at the pit of my stomach, but the way he looked at me, meant I never had to worry about him looking at someone else. 

We were seated in comfortable seats for the screening of the documentary. I had Gayle on my left side and Henry on my right. Henry seemed nervous, so I held his hand and whispered that I was sure it was going to be brilliant. He kissed me on the cheek and squeezed my hand. 

The documentary started and the very first screen showed the album dedications: 

For Ellie

Of all the things you could see, you saw me

I love you

The crowd awed at the screen and I put my head on Henry's shoulder. He kissed the top of my head and put his arm around me, so he could pull me close.

The footage for the documentary was collected from his time in Anguilla and up to just days before the release. He was being interviewed throughout the process and the first interview they had filmed, was on the day after we met. He was tanned and looked exactly like I remembered from that day. I giggled and Henry smiled at me. 

It was Jeff and Lloyd who were asking the questions. They were behind the camera and Henry was sitting in a chair in the home studio at the Beckhams' beach house. 

"What are you writing?" Jeff asked off camera. 

Henry was sitting by a piano, a black leather-bound book he was writing lyrics in, lying on top of the piano. "Umm, I have a melody stuck in my head. I met someone who put a tune in my head", he smiled cheekily at the camera. 

"Would you care to elaborate on that?" It was Lloyds voice. 

Henry chuckled, looking absolutely adorable. "I don't kiss and tell", he said cheekily and put headphones on. 

They had filmed him through the process of writing You Saw Me, and interviewed him. He got more and more open as the song evolved. He told them about me, about things I had said and done, and how I made him feel. The songs from the album were introduced, and he explained how they were like a love letter. 

"How is the album a love letter?" Jeff asked. They were in the studio at our house. 

Henry smiled and looked pensive for a moment. "She's in every song. I just want her to know she has my heart. And that I see her and love her. That I've never been seen like she saw me. She and I are like sweet music".