The Best Of Me

Chapter 3

Harmony

5 years later

         "Let's go to Nashville for your birthday. Just the two of us. It's only about a 5 hour drive we could leave right after work Friday afternoon and get there shortly after dinner. We could hit up a few bars on Broadway, get some sleep, and see the rest of Nashville on Saturday. Then we could leave Sunday afternoon and get back with plenty of time to spare for work on Monday" I looked at Melody like she was crazy. A spontaneous expensive sounding trip was definitely something I'd expect her to suggest a year or two ago. But now she was getting married and she hardly ever went anywhere without him. My wild child out of control sister was settling down. "I'm turning 26 it's not like a huge deal Melody. Why don't we juts go in two years for your 30th?" "because by then I'll be married, fat, and hopefully either pregnant or already have a baby. Think about this as a dual purpose trip. Your birthday and my last hoorah before settling into the married adult life. Come on Harmony. What do you say?" "Fine, We'll go but we have to be back by Monday. I can't miss work""Fine, Fine. Always the good girl." I flipped her off "I'll show you a good girl this weekend"

I wasn't really a huge fan of long car rides. Not that I'd been on many. Melody loved them though. After high school her and a group of friends had gone on a cross country road trip. She was so full of stories sometimes I wished I'd done something adventurous with my life. The farthest I've ever been outside of Clarke County was the next county over in Jackson County, GA. I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I was just a bit excited for this trip. We could have drove and hour and a half into Atlanta, Hopped on a plane, and been in Nashville less than 3 hours after leaving the house but Melody insisted on driving. She said it would be more fun this way and it was. About 3 hours later we came up on a big sign that read

TENNESSEE
The Volunteer State
Welcomes You

I can't remember a time I had been so excited for something. In almost 26 years I'd never been to another state and in 2 hours I would be in the very heart of country music. Nashville. It was a lot to take in for a small town country girl. I couldn't wait though. Melody made fun of me when we stopped to fill up the tank and I bought a keychain that said Chattanooga on it. I wanted something to remember this trip by and it was the first city in Tennessee that we'd stopped at. "Harmony can you drive? I'm tired and we're more than halfway there anyway" "Sure I'll drive. wouldn't want you too tired to party on my birthday weekend" "shut up" I laughed and climbed behind the wheel. The next hour and a half or so was pretty quiet but peaceful and beautiful. Melody was sleeping and the radio was going in and out as we drove from city to country and county to county. Sometimes the only sound was the occasional GPS voice telling me what way to turn or reminding me to keep straight.

I woke Melody up when I could see Nashville from a distance. My heart was racing. We were here. I could see the infamous batman building from miles away. Outside of the city I pulled into a gas station so we could fill up and Melody could drive. I hated city driving more than anything. I was in absolute awe as we drove by the Grand Ol Opry and it's crowded parking lot. Next to it was the biggest mall I'd ever seen. The Opry Mills I'd heard about the massive aquarium they had in Bass Pro Shops and I couldn't wait to check it out tomorrow. I felt every bit the small town girl in a big city as I took it all in.

We pulled up to the Union Station Hotel on Broadway. To me the building almost looked like a castle or an old timey train station. Of course that's exactly what it was. Walking into the building I tried to take it all in. Soak it all. The elaborate soaring ceilings, gold and brown walls, and stunning marble floors. The whole place was marble, stone, and oak. We checked in and went to our rooms to change and get ready to go out. The rooms were as beautiful as the entrance. There was so much room and the beds looked so comfortable I couldn't wait to sleep in them. Probably because unlike my sister I hadn't slept the whole drive. Who could sleep when there was a whole new world to see.

I ran a bath and added a few bubbles before climbing in. I needed a tub like this at home I could fit my whole body in it no problem. A smaller person could practically swim in this tub. There was a separate walk in shower and Melody was showering while I bathed. I know she was in a hurry but I just wanted to take this all in. So far I was in love with the city and I never wanted to go home.

"So where to first?" "Somewhere with food. I'm starved" "I doubt you're actually starved but lets just start walking and see where we end up" I grabbed Melody's hand and ran out of the room full of excitement like a child. We were laughing as we stepped onto the busy street. It didn't take us long to get lost in the lights and sounds of Broadway. One bar blended with another and I couldn't keep track of where we were. Sometime shortly after 2 a.m. we drunkenly stumbled into one of the many bars and ordered drinks. There was a live band and they were really good. They played a song I'd heard on the radio many times and I just figured it was a cover band. It took me a few minutes to realize that we had stumbled into a free concert being given by a sort of new artist. not just a cover band. I couldn't really see the stage but I was there to drink and dance so I wasn't too worried about the band. That is until I heard a song I vaguely recognized. Almost as if it was coming to me through a heavy fog. Or a drunken night 5 years earlier.

I grabbed Melody's hand so I wouldn't lose her in the crowd and pushed my way to the front. I stared at the singer He was older and had more tattoos but I recognized him as the singer who had punched the shit out of James 5 years ago on my 21st birthday. He looked better and sounded better. I looked to the sides and back of the stage to see if the tall, confident, brunette from 5 years ago was with him but I didn't see her anywhere.Of course he probably had an entourage of beautiful girls following him around what would he want with one girl?

Halfway through the next song his green eyes locked onto mine. Even in the dark crowded bar his eyes sparkled from the lights shining off of them. For what felt like hours but was likely merely minutes I couldn't breathe or move. He had a look on his face like recognition or confusion but I'm almost certain I was imagining things. He couldn't even see me out there in the crowd and even if he could he couldn't possibly remember me from one night 5 years ago. Especially when I could tell from the glazed over look in his eyes that night that he had been beyond wasted drunk. I had thought about him from time to time. Wondered who he was and how he was doing. I could never explain how a stranger had such a hold on me. I forced myself to look away. I didn't know this man. I didn't even know his name. So why was my body reacting to him in this way.

"Hey isn't that the guy that used to play in the bar in Athens" "How would I know? I don't go out as much as you do" "The one that punched James out on your birthday all those years ago?" "Do you know how drunk I was that night? I barely remember anything." Melody laughed "I'm almost certain that's him. He has more tattoos and he's more built but that is definitely Brantley Gilbert. Holy shit. I used to love him and his band. I went to that bar almost every weekend to hear him play. I don't think I ever saw him again after your birthday though. I wondered what happened to him." Holy shit was right. All these years I'd wondered who he was. I'd wished I at least knew his name and all this time I could have just asked my sister.

The next song he sang was a little slower. It was a beautifully written song about lost love full of emotion. I had never heard anyone sing anything the way Brantley sang that song. I wondered if he wrote it and if he did who broke his heart so bad. Just listening to him sing broke my heart into a million pieces. Suddenly I didn't care that I didn't know him, I wanted to. I wanted to know him very well. The problem is I'm sure I wasn't the only girl here that had the same wish.

  "Come on I'm tired let's get back to the hotel and into those comfortable looking beds." "Alright" I looked back at Brantley one more time as I followed Melody out of the bar. Once outside I could breathe again. I didn't realize how stuffy the bar was until I was no longer in there. The walk back to the hotel I had to listen to Melody drunkenly reminisce about what she called the good old days and about how much she was going to miss it but that she had no regrets or second thoughts. My sister was truly happy and in love and I envied her for that.

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