Lessons Learned, Healing Hearts

Prendere il Volo -Take Flight (Chapter 22)

Gianluca was the first to sing. As he opened his mouth, a beautifully rich voice poured over the auditorium. The sound was so powerful that Marlow's chest rattled from the force of it. It was a song she had heard before—one she hadn't really cared for. But, here, now live, it struck a chord somewhere deep inside her soul, and she wasn't sure she had ever heard anything more beautiful in her life.

Then Ignazio came in.

Marlow sat frozen in her chair. His powerful tenor voice, far different from Gianluca's deep baritone, entwined itself perfectly with the strings that accompanied them. Standing tall, but relaxed next to him, Piero finally joined in. So different from what she had heard in the car or at the house, and so full of power, his voice wrapped around her body.

Content to have just listened to each one sing on their own, when the boys' rich harmonies melded into one beautiful sound, Marlow felt the air shift. A chill ran down her spine and her eyes misted over, causing her to blink against the emotion clawing in her throat. Ending in one long sustained note, the audience erupted with clapping and whistling, and a few people even stood. Transitioning from one song to the next, the reaction was always the same. Marlow, however, remained still, wrapped in something far more intimate than the moment could hold. She had come expecting a concert. Instead, her night was becoming far more unforgettable.

Just like the past six days, the banter between songs had Marlow holding her sides. There was no distinction between personal persona vs stage. They were simply...them. Gianluca tried to keep order, Piero tried to keep up, and Ignazio did his best to unravel both.

"Ignazio, what are you doing?" Gianluca asked as Ignazio wandered toward the front of the stage.

"Just wait a minute," he said, sheltering his eyes from the glare of the spotlight as he looked out over the audience.

"Igna," Piero called out. "Just quit whatever you are doing..."

"Or thinking of doing," Gianluca interrupted, causing everyone in the audience to laugh. "Come back and introduce the next song."

Ignoring them, Ignazio hopped off the stage.

"Out of the three of us," Piero said to the crowd, "he wastes the most time."

"My time is not wasted," Ignazio said, proceeding up the aisle. "My time is important to me."

"To you, yes," Gianluca countered. "But to us and them? No!"

Marlow's eyes narrowed as Ignazio closed the distance between them. What are you up to?

"Hi there. What's your name?" he asked, holding his mic out in front of her.

Marlow stared at him.

"...It's Marlow."

"That is a beautiful name for a beautiful girl."

Ignazio pulled Marlow to her feet. When he felt her hesitate, he wrapped his arm

around her shoulder and held her tight.

"Why are you trembling? You look afraid," he teased.

"I am."

"But why? I am not some scary guy." Ignazio smirked, clearly enjoying her discomfort a little too much. "Just think of me as..." he paused and then spoke, "...a big, cuddly teddy bear."

The audience laughed, and so did Marlow as she knew exactly what he was referring to.

"Come with me. Don't be afraid. We won't bite," he said, gently guiding her toward the stage. "Do you know this next song?"