Melody's Muse ✓

32. Brahms - Intermezzo in A major, Op. 118 No. 2

Melody

"To a new beginning." Cole raises his glass towards us for a toast.

"To a new beginning," Mr. Carter and I chime, reaching over to lightly clink glasses of champagne together.

It feels like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders and I'm just floating up in the clouds. From what mom has told me, news websites and social media have been in a frenzy over me since the interview this morning. My PR team is handling everything though, so I'm not particularly worried. Cole and Mr. Carter insisted I stay away from the internet for now and just relax.

That's proving to be quite difficult, however. I do my best to ignore the bustling commotion coming from inside the penthouse. It sounds like the catering and servers have just arrived.

Cole notices me wincing and gets up to close the balcony's stained glass doors, muffling the sounds of talking, hasty footsteps, furniture being dragged around, and clanking utensils. It's all too familiar. As a child, I would slip away once no one was watching when mom would host parties. I can still feel the weight of my warm covers while I laid in bed, hiding upstairs. Mr. Carter would usually find me and spend the evening either playing cards or reading books with me.

"I can't believe you actually agreed to this, Mel," he remarks. 

I shrug and take a small sip of my champagne, hoping the alcohol will soon numb the tension in my body. "I told my mom that I would only do it if she promised to handle everything."

She's fulfilling her end of the deal, I didn't doubt that she would. Mom is downstairs, probably ordering around the staff she hired for tonight. It's what she does best.

-----

I can't hide my laughter when Cole comes out of my bathroom with a scowl firmly stuck on his face. His tie is lopsided and the back half is hanging lower than the front.

He groans and tugs at it, making it worse. "It's hard to tie a tie, ok?"

I hop off the bed as he comes over to me. With a couple careful maneuvers, I re-tie his tie into a neat Windsor knot.

He stares at himself in my mirror and examines the tie. "Why do you know how to tie a tie?" He furrows his brows.

"Ms. Daphne." I roll my eyes. Even as a ten year old, I thought her reasoning to learn how was pretty sexist. As far as I'm concerned, guys can learn to tie their own darn ties.

I apply some more hairspray to my hair. It's in a loosely curled half updo. My hair options are quite limited with my lack of skills, but I can still manage to squeak by most of the time. Mom wanted to hire another team of stylists for the party tonight, but I put my foot down. Normal people don't have stylist teams.

Cole helps me with the zipper at the back of my dress. It's a simple muted blue dress that I wore for a couple of performances on the tour. I examine myself in the mirror for a moment and can't stop a small grin from tugging at my lips. I've been finding it almost difficult to recognize the Melody that looks back at me these days. I'm not used to feeling truly happy and it's a feeling I don't ever want to let go of.

"Ready?"

-----

Cole and I head downstairs into the crowded living room. It's full of guests in elegant gowns and sharp suits with a strong cloud of perfume and cologne hanging over them.

I immediately recognize the music being played in the background, they're my recordings - mom must've chosen the music. I recognize Brahms' Intermezzo in A major. Not exactly one of my favourite pieces. Unsurprisingly, mom didn't consult with me about it.