To the Moon and Back

Worth a Shot

"I know it's a long shot Jen," Hunter laid back in his studio chair, "what if we did a Christmas album."

I had to laugh - "Christmas, babe it's like the end of March." I thought about it though, and retorted, "It's not a bad idea. Oh, by the way, I need to start putting together a resume, a few weeks ago my approval for my work visa went through".

Hunter jumped up, "No way! That's great!" the conversation shifted away from music while Hunter asked me some questions for clarification. I can work in the states and live with him, however, by the parameters of my application, I applied saying I would look for work as an Allied Health Professional - either in kinesiology or recreation. "I still think music is in your future sweetie."

Hunter handed me a small stack of papers, and as I began to flip through them, I realized they were songs. Some I knew, but there were two that I read and reread and couldn't place. "There's a singer - shes actually Canadian. Her mentor had her study and rerecord one of John Mayer's albums. I'm thinking, if we record these songs, we can make you a demo."

"Wow," escaped my lips just above a whisper. I didn't know what to say. "That's extraordinarily generous of you." I sat, quietly absorbing the news and looked through the papers again, the songs hand chosen by Hunter to show case my skills. "I don't recognize these two," I said curiously, waving two pages.

"That is because they were written especially for you, by me." Hunter smiled, "I wouldn't be pushing you if I didn't think you could do this. If you're nervous, it's okay. This could all be gone tomorrow but we will always have each other." He pointed toward the recording booth. "You will miss one hundred percent of the shots you don't take and this is a big shot. We can record it all, take our time with it and wait til you're ready."

"I'll never be ready but that's okay." Hunter smiled, realizing I was saying yes. He played the recording of the two songs he wrote for me. Out of all the songs, the one I was looking forward to the most was a cover of Everything Has Changed, and making it a duet with Hunter. We spent a few hours singing, listening back and I had to ask, "This is still or secret, right."

Hunter nodded, "Absolutely. Its your news to share - not mine." I caught a glimpse of the time, we had been in the studio for almost five hours. Hunter and I gathered up our things and made our way back to the condo. Cuddled up in bed, I thanked him for giving me the opportunity to sing, taking time away from his work to create a reality for dream I figured would never be a thought at the forefront of my mind. "Jenna, you don't need to thank me sweetie." He kissed my head and we turned out the lights.