Life With Trent Harmon

Part 20: A Surprise

You scoot to the edge of the chair and look back up at the tv. Trent is singing his hometown tribute song, Tennessee Whiskey and he has no idea of the surprise that awaits him when he is finished. You listen as he flawlessly executes one of his favorite songs and watch him closely. He seems more comfortable than ever on the stage, and is working the cameras better than ever.
"Honey I stay stoned on your love, all of the time...." He finishes and then smiles out at the crowd as they go wild and then he does a small bow. The pride inside of you swells and you can't help but smile at the guy on the TV screen, listening intently to what the judges are telling him.
Once they all talk to him, Ryan Seacrest comes onto the tv and stands next to Trent on the stage.
"So Trent, your family hasn't been out here this whole time. What was it like getting to finally see them this weekend?"
Trent smiles at Ryan and says "yeah, I've missed them so much but when I saw them we all picked up where we left off. I mean I talk to them every night and so it wasn't like I hadn't spoken to them, but it was great to finally hug my mama."
"So, do they watch the show, or do they just wait for you to call and tell them results or?" Ryan asks Trent.
"No, sir. They have a big viewing party every week. We've done that all the other 14 season of Idol. Just kinda a tradition where my friends come over and we pick our favorites and eat, and they decided to keep it going this year, but I think they might all have the same favorite.." Trent laughs and then says "but I'm not sure, my sister really likes Dalton, so who knows." The camera pans around to Dalton, who is laughing and then goes back to Trent and Ryan.
"Oh so they are all watching together right now?" Ryan looks at Trent.
Trent looks down at his watch and then at Ryan "yes sir they are prolly all sitting in the floor eating pizza and hearing me say this right now." Trent says and then pauses before lifting his hand and saying "hi mom!"
Ryan smiles and says "oh really, well why don't you tell them hey. Hey mom? Hey dad? Hey little sis?" Ryan says into the side of the stage and Mrs. Cindy, Mr. Randy and RK walk onto the stage. When the camera goes back to Trent, he is standing back up from almost falling to the floor with tears in his eyes. He walks up and wraps his Mrs. Cindy in a hug. You hear him ask "how?!" As he hugs her and she laughs. He hugs his dad, and then pets Charli Kate, who is in RK's arms, and then hugs RK quickly as Ryan says "we wanted them to be here tonight, for you." Trent walks over and shakes Ryan's hand, and the camera closes in on his face, and you can see the tears trying to fight their way out of his eyes.
"And next, Mackenzie performs, and then we reveal our top 3. We will be right back" Ryan says as Trent goes back and hugs his mom again, and the screen goes to commercial.
You smile and wipe the tears off of your face and lean back into the chair. You are surprised at how easily the producers has pulled off the surprise. You laugh to yourself as you think back to the look on Trent's face when Ryan had called all of them back onto the stage.
You are brought back to the present by voices outside of the door, and you take a deep breath as it opens. Trent walks in and grabs a water bottle out of the refrigerator as his family walks in behind him and silently wave at you. When he turns around to face them, he sees you sitting in the chair and stops mid sentence.
You stand up and slowly walk over to him, careful to stay balanced in your boot. When you get over to him, you wrap your arms around his waist and he looks down at you as a smile reaches from ear to ear. "Surprise!" You say as you pull him in for a hug and his family laughs.
He wraps his arms around you for a second and then pulls back quickly "you knew too? You're here too?"
"Haha yes I'm here too." You laugh and he pulls you back in for a quick hug. And the looks around "are clay and Ashley hiding in here too?"
"They are already in the theater." You laugh and he looks at you shocked again. "You don't know how to keep secrets"
"Apparently, I do." You kiss his cheek and step back. He laughs and then you say "I gotta get to my seat. Goodluck!!" And then walk out of the room. He comes running out of the room and grabs you by the waist and you turn around. He looks into your eyes for a second and then touches his lips to yours briefly. "Thank you" he whispers and smiles. You smile back and then walk away with the girl taking you to your seat.
You sit down just as Mrs. Cindy, mr. Randy, and RK take their seats on the stage next to the other parents. You look over at Clay and Ashley and they smile at you. During the next commercial break, Ashley leans over and whispers "how'd it go?"
"I thought he was gonna cry when he finally realized I was really in there."
"Bless his heart. Did you tell him we were here?" Clay asks as Ashley laughs.
"Yeah. I wasn't sure if his heart could handle any more surprises." You all laugh and the lights go down again.
When the camera starts, Ryan walks on stage and is followed by Laporsha, Dalton, Mackenzie, and Trent. They all stand side by side as Ryan smiles into the camera and says "okay. Time to find out who our top three are."
He takes a deep breath and you focus your eyes on Trent. You see him glance at the three people beside him and then back down at the ground.
"And the first person to make it to the top three is...." Ryan says and pauses before saying "the Texas hometown hero, Dalton!" The crowd erupts and Dalton hugs the three still on the stage and then goes to sit next to his mom and dad on the side of the stage.
"the next person to go through to the top 3 is..." Ryan says and your heart rate speeds up. "It's the pride of.. Mississippi...." Your stomach drops as the anticipation builds, and finally Ryan says "Trent!"
The crowd cheers again and you along with clay and Ashley jump to your feet and scream. Trent smiles and points up to heaven and then hugs Laporsha and Mackenzie and then runs over and plops down next to Mrs. Cindy as you sit down. He looks over the crowd and your and Ashley wave, and he finally makes eye contact with you and smiles and the looks back at the stage.
After it is announced that Laporsha is the last of the top 3, there is another commercial break and the top 3 go backstage to get ready for their next song.
You feel your phone buzz and you pull it out of your purse and see a new message from Trent.
"Thank you for being here x 1000! I love you."
You type back "I love you more."
And then slip your phone back in your purse and smile, as you wait for your boy friend to take the stage again, as one of the top 3 of the final season of American Idol.