Page 47 of Face the Music

We start driving, and Connie snuggles up against me, typing out on her notes app and sending emails to Ripple Records.

Once in a while, she looks up at me. “I love you, Eric.”

I feel so whole with those four words, like every broken piece has been filled in with liquid gold, solidified, stronger than before, beautiful. Connie feels so completely like home in a way I never knew a person could be.

I kiss her hairline. “I’m never letting go of you again.”

Epilogue

Connie and Eric were bringing in boxes from the rented truck. Eric didn’t have too much stuff to move from his mom’s house; his brother was mostly excited to have his own room.

Lilli had moved out a few days before, moving into a condo with her sister closer to Beverly Hills.

Eric had helped Connie set up their bedroom in what had been Lilli’s room, the largest room in the condo. Connie’s old room was going to be an office for Eric to write in, with a daybed that doubled as a couch. The downstairs room would remain a music room, and Connie had soundproofed the walls as best she could. Eric had been hired onto the writing team for a superhero movie, the third in a franchise of what would hopefully be a multiple series saga.

Connie was getting ready for the release of her debut album,Flooded.

“We need to get as much done as possible,” she told Eric. “The listening party is tomorrow, and people will start arriving a bit before. I really want to finish setting up the house by then.”

“It’ll all fall into place, stardust,” Eric said with a crooked smile. “You’ve been decorating and everything for weeks. I just have to put away these books and some clothes. That’s all I have.”

Connie smiled softly back. “I love that you’re such a minimalist.”

Eric scoffed. “Said the maximalist.”

“More space for the things I like.”

“Whatever makes you happy,” he laughed as he planted a kiss to her forehead.

Flooded, Connie’s debut album, topped the charts and was nominated for a Grammy for Album of the Year. Lilli’s album,Mindscapes, was also nominated.

Eric’s first screenplay became a blockbuster hit with an 82% on Rotten Tomatoes. They’ve adopted a kitten they found at a park and named her Calliope.