They sat in a cozy little restaurant, just round the corner of Hawthorne Lane, one of the few quiet, less touristy streets in the city of May Port. A dim light, caused by the flickering candle standing between them on the table, lit their faces.
Rhys mouth was wide open in a little “o.” She couldn’t stop staring at the glistering object that was extended towards her.
A ring. A diamond ring, for that matter.
“Rhys Lander, will you marry me?”
Unable to speak, Rhys tore her gaze of the shiny ring to look deeply in the eyes of the person where the question came from, Topher Parker. He had been her boyfriend for a few years now and he was in her opinion the most gorgeous man ever. He had an incredible smile, and the most loveable heart.
And he had just proposed to her. Could things get better? Pulling back his arm down slowly, she said:
“Yes, definitely.”
It came out firmly. Strong and solid, without any hesitation.
Maybe a little bit too strong, she worried.
Topher’s eyes sparkled with joy as he reached out for her hand. Tingling all over she let him shove the ring gently down her finger. Then he leaned towards her and kissed her.
“I love you.”
Rhys closed her eyes. Oh yes, he’s the best, he’s perfect, he’s-,
“Oh fuck!”  Topher shouted, when the candle tipped over and the tablecloth caught fire.
And maybe a little bit clumsy.

“Right, I’m off to work.” Emily leaped up from the bed and stooped to grab her clothing from the floor.
“Can’t you call in sick?”
Sitting on the bed and pulling the bed sheet, Eric already knew the answer. Of course she couldn’t, this was the opportunity to take important clients, blablabla, yadayadayada.
Emily shot him a look.
“Eric, you know I can’t.”  She got on hands and feet to crawl under the bed.
Eric heaved a sigh. “Of course you can’t. What are you doing anyway?”
“I can’t find my bloody bra.” She popped up from underneath the bed, her honey blonde hair hanging loosely over her shoulders. She was truly beautiful. With her round, heart-shaped face and British pale skin she looked like a porcelain doll. It was hard to believe that this tiny, delicate-looking woman was in fact a hard, sometimes cold businesswoman.
“I threw it over there.” Eric motioned towards the chair that was a few feet away from the bed. Snatching it, she walked over to the bed and sat down to put it on.
“Crikey Moses, Eric, how did you get it there?” 
Eric hid a smile. He adored her even more when she used her British words. It was too adorable.
“Do you want me to show you?” Grinning, he sat behind her and kissed her on the neck. She gently shoved him away.
“I wish we could,” she said, putting her shoes to her feet.
That doesn’t sound sincere at all, he thought, retreating under the covers, trying not to look disappointed. I should know better anyway, he mentally noted.
“And by the way, you’d better get dressed too. The kids have to get to school, you know.” Emily had now moved on to buttoning her shirt.
“I know. But I also know school starts an hour later because of the school play yesterday, remember?” 
One of the many you didn’t attend, by the way, he added in thought.
“Oh right. Well, now I’m really off. Bye.” Emily headed to the door.
“Don’t I get a,-” he got interrupted by the door slamming shut. “…kiss?’

“You look like you could use some coffee,” Terra said, grabbing two cups from the cupboard beneath the bar.
“Not you,” she added, waggling a finger at her sister, who had practically come bouncing into Electric Glow, Terra’s nightclub. Well, not officially, but Terra always introduced herself as the owner. The manager was OK with it; he was away for travel most of the time anyway.
“But you do.”
Terra poured in some coffee for her brother. He picked it up and immediately sniffed it.
“Don’t worry, it’s Hawaiian Blue,” Terra said, pulling a chair to join them at the small, round table. Eric wouldn’t accept any other coffee than Hawaiian Blue. He always claimed he could smell the difference between Hawaiian Blue and regular coffee, what was nonsense since Terra had served him regular coffee plenty of times, but telling him it was Blue Hawaiian. Actually, it was kind of what she did now.
“So come on, spill it!” she looked curiously from Rhys to Eric.
Innocent-eyed, Rhys looked at her.
“Spill what?”
Terra rolled her eyes.
“Oh come on. You look so hyper and Eric looks so down, it’s like you’ve drained all his energy.”
Eric gritted his teeth. “Just tired, that’s all.”
“Wild night?” Terra raised an suggestive eyebrow.
“In fact, yes.” Eric thought back to last night. It wasn’t really wild as much as perfect, until Emily brought up the work-thing. He never got to wake up with her and just hold her in his arms for awhile. Even ten minutes doing that would mean so much to him.
Rhys pulled a face. “Big, fat eeeww! I don’t wanna know about Eric’s so called adventures!”
“Then tell us yours.” Eager to know why Rhys was so extra-bouncy today, Terra looked at her sister demandingly.
“OK!” Rhys said brightly, then slamming her hand on the table with a loud thud, making Eric jump up. He had spaced out for a moment and confusingly looked down at his younger sisters.
“Christ, Rhys, you nearly killed me.”
“Little bit jittery, aren’t we?” she teased her brother. “Anyway! Now look at my hand!”
At the same moment, Eric and Terra gazed down to her hand. On her ring finger was a beautiful diamond ring. Not too big, not too small, just perfect.
“Oh my God!” Terra exclaimed enthusiastically.
“Is that…?” Eric started.
Rhys nodded so hard it was a wonder her head didn’t fall off.
“It is, it is! Topher proposed to me just last night!” she said, beaming.
“Oh my God!” Terra said again, pulling her in a hug. “Congratulations!”

As soon as her brother and sister had left, Eric to pick up the kids from school for lunch and Rhys off to her work at the May Port Courant, Terra grabbed the broom out of the closet for a quick sweep. In a half hour she had arranged to meet the new upcoming band that would play her club. She preferred to have more known bands in the club but they simply couldn’t afford it. But oh well, it was cool to get to know some new rising music too. And live music was live music and that was after all Terra’s biggest passion.
“Terra, the band’s manager is here.” Seth, one of her workers, popped his head around the corner.
“Are you nearly done yet?”
“Yep, send him in.” Terra put the broom away as Seth flung open the door to let in a bald man, dressed in a yellow sleeveless shirt and white jeans, probably the tour manager. He was followed by a very tall and very good-looking guy wearing black and white checkered Vans shoes, blue faded jeans and a shirt with the band’s logo on it, a less tall girl with bright orange hair and a nose stud, wearing skinny jeans, heels and a purple top, a bushy blonde haired surf dude and a tattooed, black long-haired guy. That was probably the band. They let their gazes dart across the room and waited for the manager to speak.
“Hi, I’m Alistair Driver. Six Strings’ tour manager,” the bald guy said, shaking hands with her. “We spoke on the phone. You must be Terra. Well, you are as beautiful as your voice sounds.”
Terra smiled sheepishly, not knowing what to do with this information. Was he being polite or trying to make a move on her?
Sliding his hands in his pockets, he let his gaze dart across the room.
“Nice club you have here,” he said.
“Thanks,” she replied politely. “So, are you guys any good? If not, I’ll have to kick you out.”
She smiled at them, to make sure they understood she was joking. Well, a little bit she was. If they did suck she would get rid of them as soon as possible.
“Trust me, they’re good,” Alistair said with a half parted smile.
“I trust you, but I’d really like to hear them myself, before I put them up there this weekend,” Terra said, motioning towards the stage.
“Of course.”
Alistair turned around to face the band and cocked his head slightly. “Kids?”

“Dad!”
Eric leaned against the school’s gates, while waiting for the blonde little girl to run across the school’s playground and reach him.
Panting, June excitedly stopped and said in one breath: “Can Suzie come with us for lunch? Please? Pretty pretty please?”
“Who’s Suzie?” Eric was digging in his memory, but he never heard of a Suzie. He only knew June’s two closest friends Cathy and Kym.
June rolled her eyes.
“Duh! Only the coolest girl in school!”
Eric scratched his head. “Oh. Right. Well, OK I guess.”
 “Yay!”  June clapped her hands in excitement and then beckoned a girl standing in the middle of a group over.
As she made her way over to Eric and June, Eric had the chance to take a look at her.
She had brown, waving hair, a pale little face and very red lips. She wore a little too much eye make up for a nine-year-old. Actually Eric thought that nine-year-olds shouldn’t be wearing any make up, but this was just too much.
“Hi Suzie. Are your parents OK with it if you come with us?”
She shot him a look. “Sure, whatever.”
Eric raised an eyebrow and looked at his eldest daughter, but she refused to look back at him.
“Daddy! I made a butterfly!”
Another blonde tiny girl, this time his youngest daughter, came running at them, waving with a paper pink butterfly. 
“Hey Billie!” Eric picked her up. “That’s a beautiful butterfly you have there!”
“Here, for you!” she said, chucking it in his hands.
Oh, how I love kids at these age. Still so innocent, he thought.
“Thanks honey!” he carefully placed her back on the ground.
“Shall we go then?”
As they made their way over to the car, Eric listened to the kids talking.
“June, you brought a friend! Hi, I’m Billie! Maybe we could play with the dolls!” Billie said excitedly in one breath.
“Eww. That’s so childish,” he heard Suzie say.
“No it’s not,” Billie continued. “June and I play with them everyday, don’t we June?”
“Eww, Billie!” June said. “Of course we don’t, I’m way too old for that! Honestly, you’re such a stupid child!”
At this time Eric knew Billie’s eyes were watering and her lip shaking while she softly said: “No I’m not…” before bursting into tears.
Eric turned around and waggled a finger at June. “June, don’t make your sister cry!”
“I didn’t! I can’t help it she’s such a baby!”
“WEEEEEEH!”  Billie went on louder.
“June, I’m serious. If you go on like this, you can’t bring any friends over for the rest of the year. I mean it!” he said when she pulled a face. “Be nice to your sister.”
“Fine.” She rolled her eyes.
He turned his back on them, picking Billie up and patting on her back to calm her down.
“Fathers,” he heard June mutter under her breath. Suzie chuckled.

Oh God, the lead singer was so gorgeous. She didn’t even really hear the music; all she saw were his incredible blue eyes and black little curls and all she heard was his voice. Maybe she was imagining it but they had eye contact all the time.
Terra had trouble not to drool.
“And?” Alistair’s bald head suddenly popped up. “Will you have us?”
I’ll have him, she thought, still non-stop looking at the black-curled cutie.
“I’ll certainly will have you guys! The lead singer’s voice is incredible.”
“Yep, that’s our Max.” Alistair looked at her, a feint trace of pride evident on his face.
“Actually,” Terra said. “Why don’t you guys stick around for a while, play a few more times than just this weekend…? I mean, as long as you don’t have any more gigs to do.”
“Sounds good.” Alistair rubbed his head, went silent for a moment and then asked:
“Do labels check in here?”
“Regularly. They know we always have rising bands performing. Don’t you guys have a label yet?”
Terra was amazed. The band was really good. Well, at least the lead singer was.
Alistair shook his head.
“No, and I’m just an amateur tour manager too. I’m Haylie’s father.”
He motioned towards the girl with the short, orange hair, now playing a solo on her guitar.
“Haylie and Max have been friends since they were eight. They started the band together.”
“Are they…?” Terra hesitated. “…together? As a couple?”
Alistair burst out in laughter. “No way! No, no. They’re like brother and sister.”
“Oh.” Terra sighed in relief.
“Anyway, I’ll leave you to it.” Alistair rose from his seat.
“I think the kids will enjoy having some time on their own. City has enough to see.”
“Yeah, OK,” Terra said, nodding. “I’ll be here doing some financials, if you need me.” She too rose from her seat.
“I don’t think I will, but thanks. I’ll go tell them you’ll have us.”
Alistair headed towards the dressing rooms, where the band had disappeared in just a few seconds ago. 

“Suzie, do you like to have ham on your sandwich?”
Eric stood by the kitchen counter, having buttered a bun and waiting for Suzie’s answer.
She cocked a perfectly pencil sharp eyebrow and shook her head in dismay.
“Ham? No, I’m a vegetarian. And is that butter light?”
“Err, no.” Eric didn’t even know that light butter existed.
“We don’t have such thing.”
Suzie sighed deeply, giving her shiny brown hair a toss like a real diva.
“OK…I’ll have that butter then.”
 She said it as if it was the biggest torture she ever had in her life. “And cheese.”
“I’ll have cheese too!” June quickly said, before her father could put ham on her sandwich. Eric looked astonished. Since when did she eat cheese? June never ate cheese. She said it made her puke.
He saw that Billie, happily eating away on a ham-sandwich, rolled her eyes at her sister.
“June, you don’t like cheese. You always take ham.”  Eric looked mystified.
“But I do like cheese. And by the way,” June put her hands to her hips.
“I’m vegetarian now.”
“No, you’re not,” Eric immediately said. “You’re a growing girl. You’ll eat as many cows and chickens as I order you to!”
June pulled a face. “That’s not fair, daddy! I don’t want to eat cows and chickens! I’ll ask mommy if I have too!”
Suzie looked amused and seeing the way she looked at this brief argument Eric wanted to slap her around the face. Preferably with a whole chunk of ham.
“I’ll discuss this with your mother,” Eric said. “Till then you’ll eat what I give you.”
He tossed a ham sandwich on June’s plate.
“That’s not fair! Mommy’s not back until after this weekend!” she bellowed.
“Exactly. Now tuck that in!”

“You were looking at me all the time.”
Terra’s heart jumped. She had been so concentrated on the financials she was doing, she didn’t hear him coming. Also she thought everyone had left by now.
Slowly she glared up, to look into a pair of blue eyes she was all too familiar with. After all, she had spent the past hour staring at them.
“Maybe I was,” she said, dimpling coquettishly. “But you were looking back.”
“Maybe I was.” His eyes were fixated upon her as he ran a hand through his black curly hair.
“Are you interested?” she asked.
“It depends. Are you single?”
“I am. Are you?”
“Very single.” He paused. “So…would you like to get a coffee sometime?’
“No.”
She was highly amused by the “Oh-God-I-Just-Got-Rejected!” expression on his face.
“Not sometime. I want to get it now.”
[Next Chapter]