Music, Love, & Grace

Chapter 2

May 3rd

                I woke up at 9:45am to an empty bed. I was only wearing one of Jaime's shirts and underwear, so I put on some shorts, threw my hair up into a bun, and went out to the living room. Everyone was gone. The blankets were folded and the pillows were neatly placed on top. I was confused and a little angry that Jaime just left without saying goodbye, so I decided to call him and see what was up.

"Hey, baby girl. What's up?"

"What the hell, babe? Why'd you just leave? Where are you?"

"Did you not read the note on the kitchen counter?"

"What note?"

"I want you to go to the kitchen. There's a note on the counter for you."

I went into the kitchen and, lone behold, there was the note he was talking about. It read:

"Good morning, my love <3 the guys and I went to go check on Vic's car. We will be back around 11 because we've got some other errands to run on the way home. Be ready to leave when we get back. I love you so so so much <3 J"

"Where are we going?"

"You'll find out. I have to go, we are about to hitch Vic's car to my truck. I'll text you when we are on our way home. I love you!"

"Alright. I love you too."

Dazed and confused, I jumped in the shower and started getting ready. I didn't know how to dress so I texted Jaime.

To: My Love❤︎

Hey, love. How do you want me to dress for today??

From: My Love❤︎

Hmmmmm. Semiformal. Maybe that cute little dress that I love and your sparkly converse. But no matter what you'll look drop dead gorgeous. I love you❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎

To: My Love❤︎

I love you too, Jaime❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎

                The dress he was talking about was a blue-green strapless dress that Tony got me for my 24th birthday and to pair that with my sparkly silver low-top converse. Therefore, that is exactly what I did. After my shower, I put a robe on, did my makeup, curled my hair, and then put on my outfit. 11:23 came rolling around and they still weren't here. I was starting to get worried so I tried calling Jaime but to no avail. I tried Tony's phone, no response. Vic's phone, no response. Mike's phone, no response. At 12:50, I gave up hope. I sat down on my couch and started to cry. My makeup ran a little but nothing that couldn't be fixed if they actually showed up, that is.

Around 2:30, there was a knock at the front door. I sighed and slowly got up to open the door. As I opened the door, there stood Tony, Mike, and Vic all wearing a dress shirt with bowties and each holding a rose. I was baffled, "What the hell is going on?" Tony cleared his throat,

"Grace Harmony Perry, an anniversary eve adventure awaits you."

He handed me the rose and took a step back. Vic stepped forward and cleared his throat as well.

"Our fellow brother, Jaime, planned this magical night for you all by himself."

He handed me his rose, took a step back, and Mike stepped up.

"He wants to let you know that he loves you with everything in him and these past almost 4-years have been absolutely amazing."

He handed me his rose and they all separated to reveal Jaime standing behind them holding a dozen more roses. He walked up to me, handed me the roses, grabbed me by the waist, and kissed me. He pulled away; I covered my mouth and started crying, "Jaime, what is this?" He took me by the hand and led me to his truck with the other guys following behind.

"It's our anniversary eve, babe. I want to treat you today and tomorrow and as long as possible."

We all got in his truck and started driving. "So are you going to tell her where were going, Jaime?" Vic asked. "Yeah, Jaime!" Mike and Tony said. They all started hitting his shoulder and laughing. He hit all their hands away and laughed along. "Do you want to know, baby?" I shook my head yes, "Well, my dear, we're going to Oceana Coastal Kitchen. Yours and Tony's favorite if I recall."

He was right. When Tony and I first moved out here, I was 16 and he was 21. The night we moved in to our tiny apartment, he took me out to dinner at Oceana Coastal Kitchen. It means a lot to me that Jaime remembered that because I told him that when we first started dating.

We arrived at the restaurant at 3:45 and were seated at 4:00. We ordered the potluck special, which was 8 lobster tails, 8 crab cakes, 16 crab legs, and 10 oysters. As we delved in to our delicious food, I looked over at Jaime and noticed him smiling while looking at his lap. I tapped his arm and mouthed, "Are you okay?" He put his hand over his mouth, looked at the guys and laughed. I was now really confused again.

"You know, babe. We have been together for so long and I love you so much. I can promise you that I will love you as long as possible. I promise to always take care of you. I promise that someday I'm going to marry you and be the happiest man alive. And I promise you all of that, with this ring."

                Jaime pulled a little silver box out of his pocket, opened it, and revealed a white gold heart ring with the word Promise engraved on it. I put my hands over my face and started crying my eyes out. Vic, Mike, and Tony started clapping and whistling as Jaime grabbed my hand and gently put the ring on my finger. I pulled his face to mine and kissed him hard. "I love you so much, Jaime." "I love you so much too, Grace."