More Than a Moment

Six

"Good morning," Magnolia greeted John as pleasantly as possible due to the fact that she had to wake up at nine in the morning on her day off. Why did they have to start so early?

"Morning, Magnolia," John chirped. "Luke should be here within a half an hour. His flight landed about an hour ago."

"I thought my morning was early." Magnolia sipped her coffee, appreciating the fact that she isn't Luke. 

"Yeah, well, the time zones help out a little bit, but he still had to get up earlier than usual. Why don't I show you where we'll be for the day. And I hope that's black..." John pointed to Magnolia's cup. He lead Magnolia through the hall and into a room that was fairly large and had a smaller room within it. 

"So, this is where we'll be today. Out here is the down room, and through there is the sound booth and recording equipment. Not much to see, but there's couch for you to wait on." John motioned toward the leather sofa against the wall, and Magnolia didn't hesitate to sit down.

Magnolia wasn't sure what to say, so she just lightly tapped against her coffee cup. "Nervous?" John's voice rang out from what seemed to be far off. 

Magnolia brought her lips into her mouth and furrowed her brows, contemplating whether she should be honest or not. "Uh, yeah... I am." She smiled faintly, and John sat on a chair across from her.

He looked hard at her for a bit. She just looks nervous. "Have you ever sung professionally?"

Magnolia shook her head 'no'.

"Taken any singing lessons?" John squinted, trying to read her.

"Nope. My experience only goes as far as high school choir, otherwise all other singing is recreational and usually takes place in my car," Magnolia blushed, now embarrassed by her lack of experience.

"That's actually pretty impressive. I figured you'd never sang professionally, but I expected some lessons or you being in a musical group at school or something." John popped his eyebrows up. He's not being friendly; he's genuinely surprised. 

"If I ask you something, will you answer honestly?" Magnolia asked quietly.

"Go for it," John said, leaning back and taking a drink of his own coffee. 

Magnolia has always felt just adequate-- like she's good at a lot of things but never great. "Do you think my voice is anything special because I really don't, but here we are?" 

John took a deep breath, pursing his lips and squinting his eyes, trying to think of how to respond. "Here's the thing, Magnolia," he began, and Magnolia listened intently. "Your voice isn't really all that special, like there's nothing that really sets it apart from others', however, the way you sound with this band is special. Not all voices blend well together. Yours uniquely sounds great with all four of their voices. That's not something you find very often." 

Magnolia took in what he had to say and nodded, feeling relieved. "Good to know. Thank you."

John almost laughed. "No problem. You know your voice, and you know how to use it and manipulate it to adapt to what you're singing and who you're singing with, and a lot of professionals struggle learning that."

What a catch. Magnolia amazes John. How did this kid find her way here, working with a band she's probably obsessed with? He's always been a strong believer in fate, and this is nothing short of being just that. Her time working with the band may not last long, but he doesn't doubt she'll stop being in their lives once their professional relationship is over. 

Luke finally arrived after an excruciatingly long morning. He had plenty of time to think on the plane, and today should be fine. There's nothing to worry about-- there never was. He was just caught up in the moment before, and that's all it will ever be-- a moment.