I Will Always Come Home to You (Ally and Stevie)

5. Hold my Hand (Ally said)

I was up since 7:30 in the morning. I don't think I was able to sleep at all. I dusted my mini studio where we will work. I cleaned my room in case I have to give her a tour. I even washed my hair. My adrenaline was just too high.

We set to meet at five at my place. It was 4:57 when our doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" I screamed as I ran down the stairs. I checked my face in the mirror then smoothed out my shirt. I took a deep breath, put on a smile just like I practiced it, and opened the door.

It was not Stevie.

"I knew it!" my sister Kimberly said as she gave me a peck on the cheek. "This girl made you carry your butt out of your room to open the door. Impressive."

"And what are you doing here?"

"Mom slipped and told me your new girl friend is coming over."

"No I did not," my mom said as she sprung out of the kitchen, greeting Kimberly with a kiss. "I told you it was her 'co-worker.'"

Then the doorbell rang again, giving me a slight heart attack. It was finally Stevie.

"Hi! I'm sorry I got lost," said Stevie, giving me a polite hug.

"It's okay. Come in," I said. The rest of the unplanned welcoming committee (my mom and Kimberly) was still there so I made the necessary introductions,."Stevie, this is my mom and my sister. Mom, Kimberly, meet Stevie."

"Hello. Nice to meet you," Stevie said as I dragged her and rushed to the stairs. She managed to say, "Please excuse us for a bit, Mrs. Hills."

When we reached the attic I realized I was holding her hand the whole time. I wanted to savour the moment but I had to let go.

"Welcome to my humble abode," I said leading her to the couch while I was settling on a chair in front of her.

"Nice place," she said.

"Thanks."

"Shall we begin?"

"Yeah."

I played the song that we are filming for on Monday. I described how some scenes could roll out. I identified scenes for close-up grabs, parts of the song that would be better if I would just be singing, transitions, and everything else. I was trying hard to impress her.

She was attentively listening and was intensely looking at me while occasionally taking notes. I avoided eye contact in the fear of melting away.

"Those are wonderful ideas," she said. "You keep on surprising me, Ally Hills."

"I hope in good ways.  Ha-ha."

The meeting ended with my mom calling us for dinner. Kimberly was on her best behavior (well I already bribed her with babysitting) and my mom asked Stevie the right questions (which I traded for doing the dishes for a week).  The tandem got back at me with some of my most embarrassing moments while growing up. It was okay though because I love seeing Stevie laugh.