Face the Music (20 page)

And I have to agree with him there. It is amazing. It’s like God has given each one of us something special and unique. Something we alone can contribute to the planet and the human condition. Something that can make a difference, maybe even change the world. And yet that something may seem small and insignificant to us, but if we trust God and use what He’s given us, it might grow into something totally beyond our wildest imaginings.

Attention, everyone! Breaking News Report! Josh Miller has asked Caitlin O’Conner to marry him, and she said YES.

Well, of course I knew it would happen someday, but I have to admit that it even caught me off-guard. This is how it happened. And I think the story is pretty right on since I got to hear it from both Josh and Caitlin during lunch today. Josh invited both families to join them for lunch while the two of them made their big announcement.

Apparently, after the wedding yesterday, Josh invited Caitlin to take a walk in the park with him (smart move on Josh’s part to ensure that his “intended” was feeling romantic). Anyway, Caitlin said she thought this was a little odd since it was almost dark out and looked as if it could rain, but still she agreed. She said Josh was acting kind of strange and pretty quiet as he drove them across town, and she was actually starting to get worried, thinking maybe something was seriously wrong, like he was going to tell her he had six months to live or something.
Now, I can understand her concern since Josh is usually pretty talkative.

Of course, Josh said that his silence was mainly due to fear and nerves. He didn’t know if he could handle being rejected by Caitlin again. They have quite a history, you know. He said he almost decided to turn around halfway there and just forget the whole thing. But as it turned out, he had others involved, and it would’ve been awkward. So he drove on over to the park by the lake.

“We got out and just started to walk,” said Caitlin. “The sun had gone down, and it was kind of dusky and a little on the chilly side.”

“Yeah, talk about getting cold feet,” said Josh. “Poor Caitlin had on these pretty shoes that were getting totally soaked from the damp grass.”

She smiled at him. “Those shoes are goners now.”

“But as usual, she was being a good sport,” said Josh.

“Although I was wondering,” continued Caitlin. “I thought something must really be wrong. I’d never seen Josh act so weird. So serious and glum. But I was afraid to ask.”

“I walked her over by the docks,” said Josh, eager to get this part of the story out. “You see, I’d had a couple of guys from youth group help me set this up. We had a table with a tablecloth and everything, and chairs, all set up right by the lake.”

Caitlin nodded. “He even had candles and music and flowers.”

“Yeah, you should’ve heard Caitlin,” said Josh. “At first she thought we were intruding on something someone else had set up.”

“Well, it just looked so strange,” admitted Caitlin. “I mean, it was really pretty and everything, but it was kind of surreal. I really thought that someone else was having some sort of party and that we should walk around another way and not disturb them.”

“Then I told her it was our party, and she was pretty stunned.”

“Speechless.” She shook her head as if she was still amazed.

“I pulled out a chair and invited her to sit,” said Josh. “Then the guys, dressed like waiters, brought us our dinner that had been cooked by Alex DeBorge’s mom—”

“And man, can she cook,” said Caitlin. “It was amazing.”

“I’ve heard she’s quite the gourmet,” my mom said, the first word anyone else had been able to get in.

“She is,” said Caitlin. “I almost forgot how weird the whole thing was once I started eating her homemade linguini with pesto sauce.”

“I knew that was Caitlin’s favorite,” said Josh.

“Well, we were almost done with the meal—”

“But we hadn’t had dessert,” added Josh.

“When it started to rain.”

We all made compassionate sounds of empathy.

“Yeah,” said Caitlin. “The candles were sputtering out, and everything was getting totally soaked.”

“I didn’t know what to do,” said Josh. “I felt bad Caitlin was getting wet.”

“So, he got out of his chair and put his coat over me,” said Caitlin. “And then he got down on one knee, right there in the mud…” She looked dreamily at my brother.

“And I popped the big question,” he finished.

“Let’s see that ring again,” said Caitlin’s mom.

Caitlin held out her left hand, showing everyone the solitaire diamond that Josh had picked out the previous week—with the help of Beanie Jacobs, who had been sworn to secrecy, which she’d apparently managed to keep.

“It’s exquisite,” my mom said for the second time. And I know she’s got good taste in jewelry so I’m guessing it’s a pretty nice ring.

And so there you have it. Josh and Caitlin are engaged. They’re talking about a spring wedding but haven’t set an official date yet. Naturally, both sets of parents are excited and looking forward to being involved in the wedding, although I couldn’t help but cringe when Mrs. O’Conner and my mom began to politely disagree over the best
location for the reception. Mrs. O’Conner, who’s pretty down to earth and practical, felt the church fellowship hall would be perfectly fine, but my mom, still a little stuck in her old ways, insisted the country club would be better. So it should be interesting.

I think if I ever get married (and believe me, I try not to think about this too much), I’ll just elope or something. Of course, I would never tell my parents this (especially my mom), since I’m sure it would hurt their feelings. Also it probably wouldn’t help Caitlin and Josh’s case since then my well-meaning mom would think this is going to be her one and only big wedding.

Anyway, however it works out for Josh and Caitlin, I’m just glad they’ve finally figured it all out and are actually going to be married. And naturally, I offered the services of our band to perform at their reception—whether it’s in the fellowship hall or the Taj Mahal!

We’re flying to Nashville now, where the holiday tour will officially begin on Wednesday night. We have six concerts to perform in two and a half weeks. I think we’re up for it. Allie says she’s never felt better. But Elise insists she will be taking it easy. I think we’ll all be taking it easy—in between performances, that is. I plan to take it hard and fast while we’re on stage. That’s who we are and what our fans expect. We can’t give them less than our best.

I’m looking forward to seeing Jeremy again. I would be lying to say I wasn’t. Still, I am telling myself to watch it, to keep things even keeled, to not be swept away. We’ve been e-mailing pretty regularly, and I think we’re both on the same page in this regard. We get to admire one another from a safe distance. But oh, how I would love to wrap my arms around him and—okay, now just stop it, Chloe. Control yourself. Sigh. I guess I’m still human after all.

Fortunately, I have Laura and Allie to help keep me grounded. I know I can’t get away with
anything
with them around. And believe me, I’m
thankful for that. I love Laura and Allie so much. They feel like real flesh-and-blood sisters to me. I don’t know if I will ever love any other girlfriends as much as I love those two. Okay, maybe Caitlin. And Beanie comes in a close second. I guess there’s enough love to go around.

I finished up all of my tests and classes in order to graduate early. Mrs. King said they were all very impressed with the results. So I suppose this means I’m pretty much finished with high school now, although I don’t feel like it. I may decide to march with the graduating class next spring after all, just so I’ll know that I really made it. Or maybe not. We’ll see how life goes.

Omega is already scheduling us to make another CD next April, so I guess our career is still on track. Even so, I remind myself daily that everything is in God’s hands. And if all this ends tomorrow, whether I have a big old music contract or not, I will trust Him that life goes on no matter what. I can live without a lot of things, including my career in music, but I cannot live without God.