Meet On The Ledge || Greta Van Fleet

Chapter 40

May 2021

"Hey J! Can you grab my cap?"

"Yeah I've got it." I sighed looking down at myself, a purple gown sat on my shoulder with a yellow sundress underneath it. He walked in holding the cap that matched my gown and handed it to me.

"Thanks babe." I said, giving him a quick smooch. "You're the best."

"We're going where exactly?"

"Graduation, then to a bar with the girls to celebrate."

"Should I tell the guys?"

"Yeah." I fixed my short hair in the mirror once more, "And Jake?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for being here." I gave him a little smile, one that was filled with nerves. What if I fell, what if I threw up on someone?

"Anything for you."

"Alright mush, let's go." I grabbed his hand as we began walking down the buzzing streets of New York. It was weird now, how people looked at him. With those eyes, searching for where they knew him from. Girls seemed to realize more easily, but you could tell when they wanted to play it off like they were cool. I always laughed at those times. I loved how successful they were, it was just so new to me. Times like this I tried to make it through.

"Hey man, you're in that band." A big guy said, he must've been about 60 or so. Jake gave him a soft smile and nodded. "I love you guys, so does my daughter, can I get a picture?" His thick New York accent trembled over his words.

"Yeah of course." Jake said kindly.

"Will you take it?" The man said, directing his attention to me, handing me his phone and giving me no other choice. I grabbed his phone, taking a couple pictures before handing it back to him. "Thank you so much. You two make one hell of a couple." I awkwardly laughed. "Well, it was great to meet you and congratulations."

"Thank you." I said quietly.

"Nice to meet you too, have a good one." Jake said. He was always so nice to them and out of all the people we could meet, the older crowd was my favorite. Those guys with long hair who probably saw the Grateful Dead live while tripping hard. They were people that lived in a time that I never could.

"He was nice." I said simply.

"Yeah he was, wasn't he."

I did it, I walked across that stage and graduated. How did I do it? I have no idea, but that's besides the point.

"Let's get fucked up!" Kate yelled as we entered a small bar near Washington Square. "Tequila shots all around, por favor." The bartender pulled out a big bottle, pouring so many shots that without actually drinking one I felt wasted.

"To the us and everything coming our way!" Dylan toasted.

"Let's dance!" I squealed taking Sammy to a random spot in the bar as the bartender turned the music up. I watched Josh request a song and as it came on I squealed even more than before. "If you're down and confused and you don't remember who you're talking too. Concentration slips away cause you're baby is so far away. Well there's a rose in the fisted glove

and eagle flies with the dove. And if you can't be with the one you love honey love the one you're with!" We sang and sang songs new and old all night. Drinking what felt like the entire contents of the bar.

It got quiet for a moment and then a few chords played, chords I knew because Jake had watched the movie that went along with it so many times I wanted to break the TV. I turned to look at him and he made his way to dance with me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and swayed with my head on his shoulder. When he started to sing, I teared up a little. I always thought he had a beautiful voice. "In your little yellow dress. You thought you were a mystic. You thought you could predict it, but you never could. A little yellow dress, made me go ballistic. I never will forget it and I never should." I sniffled as the song finished and he pulled me closer than I was before, like our bodies were intertwined. "I fell in love with you the first day I met you. I remember it so well. Your mom brought you over so we could meet you, you were just this tiny thing, so was I, I guess. She put you down next to Sam to play and I couldn't believe what I was feeling. Three years old and already in love."

"You never told me that." He shrugged.

"Then in middle school everyone said the way to get a girl was to be mean, so I did it. I ignored you, hoping you would somehow reciprocate my feelings. I just pushed you away." I looked into his glassy eyes, trying to see what he was going to say. "In the 9th grade, I made the mistake of telling my mom. I told her that one day I was going to love you so much that you couldn't help but love me back. I've loved you my whole life and I only realized what that meant a few years ago. Mags, I want to love you forever. I want to have babies with you and grow old. I want to marry you." My eyes almost popped out of their sockets when he said that. My body quivering slightly looking up at him with wide eyes. He reached for something in his jacket pocket and pulled out a small ring, getting down on one knee. A tear fell down my cheek cascading to my smile. "Will you marry me?"

Life went on after that, I started working for a gallery in the village and we rented an apartment to live in. Though, I was alone a lot when Jake was on tour, but I was happy. People always told me, when I was a little girl that you had to get through the hard things so you can enjoy life. Experiences are simply what you make of them. I've made mistakes, I can't deny that, but I came out a better person.

You see, I got lucky. I count my stars everyday and wonder how this all happened. When I said yes to marrying him, when we read our vows, when we moved to Maine in search of mountains, on our eldest child's first day of preschool, and on our fourth's last day of high school. I count those stars because I get this weird feeling like we were written into them.

-- Author's Note --

So this is the end... I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. It's been such a joy to know you've liked it. I've received so many private messages from you guys about this story and it truly warms my heart and brightens my days. I'm going to be writing another story about the boys soon and I hope you'll take the time to read it, I'll post a chapter updating you on when it's been released. Again, thank you so much. I love you mystical people!!