Her

30 (epilogue)

Lin:

August sixth.

"Alexander Hamilton: An Americal Musical" Opening Night.

The career that I've always wanted to pursue. The idea stuck in my head for years. When people used to insult me, drag me down, or even laugh at me when I tried to explain this to them. Now, it's selling millions of tickets. And this is just the beginning.

Who's laughing now?

I make my way with Desi, one of the only people who supported me throughout this odesy, down the sidewalk of the New York City streets. We turn and we're finally here, right in front of Broadway.

Who would have thought that I met Desi right in this same spot, and six years later, I was opening my very first broadway show with her standing by my side. Who would have thought, right?

We enter the theater and we're instantly getting cheered on as we make our way into the dressing rooms. I say hi to my parents and talk with them before going to my dressing room with Desi.

When I'm done talking with them, I get changed and into hair and makeup while Des lays on the couch, scrolling through her phone and talking with me.

As I'm finally changed into my wig and my Alexander Hamilton costume, the hair and makeup people leave my dressing room, leaving Desi and I alone. We start talking about tonight and as always, she calms my nerves down with one of her amazing pep talks.

After chatting for a while, it was almost time for me to go onstage so we pray. We thank God for everything that He has provided us and I thank Him endlessly for her. I leave my dressing room and Des gives me one hell of a kiss. "You go, babe! Good luck!" She says and I throw her a kiss.

I hear my cue, aka Leslie singing "What's your name, man?" and I walk upstage before singing my first line, "Alexander Hamilton".

Suddenly, I see the whole audience stand up, and before I know it, the theater is filled with applauses and cheers for one minute. One minute standing ovation? Holy fucking shit.

When the audience calms down, we continue the song as if nothing happened. Suddenly, Act One has flown by. Oh my God, the feeling of the audience, the feeling of being there onstage, the feeling of perfominh on fucking Broadway, it was all so surreal.

The minute I enter backstage, everyone cheers and gives me hugs. I hear a lot of people saying "good job, Lin" as I make my way back to the dressing room and thank them. I see Desi run up to me, giving me the biggest hug.

"The fucking standing ovation!" She freaked out with me. "I know right? Ugh, it was amazing! I wish I could stay in that
opening number forever!" I say and she laughs.

I'm now changed into my other costume and I'm behind the wings, ready for Act Two.

Now that I think about it, you could think of Hamilton as Thank U, Next by Ariana Grande. Act One teaches you love, Intermission teaches you patience, and Act Two teaches you pain. Prove me wrong.

I step back onstage, performing Cabinet Battle #1 which was one of my favorites to sing and act. There was so much pretend fighting and arguing, it's always fun as hell. Especially with Daveed and Oak, they make everything like ten times funnier.

Before I know it, Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story is playing and I only go onstage once to glance at Eliza. I could hear the audience sniffing and crying from here. Same, audience. Same.

We go out for role call at the end and take our bows confidently. When the crowd quiets down, I figured it's time. My crew knew what I was about to do, so they gave me a microphone and got Desi to come out onstage.

"Desi, I am so in love with everything about you. You've inspired in thousands of ways no one has. You've stuck by my side, and for that, I am forever thankful. I vow to help you love life. I promise to always hold you with tenderness and to have the patience that love demands. I promise to live within the warmth of your heart and always call it home. I am so committed to you and us, and I promise to love you patiently and kindly. My heart is completely and fully yours. I hope that from this day on, you never have to walk alone. My heart will be your shelter and my arms will be your home." When I finish, I see her struggling to keep her tears from falling and I could say the same thing about me.

I get on one knee and she gasps, as well as the audience. "I'm going to spend the rest of my life with you wether you marry me or not, but I hope you say yes." I say and she chuckles through the tears.

"So, Desdemona Marie Gray, will you do me the honor and make me the happiest man on Earth?" I ask and she nods frantically before saying yes.

I stand up and put her ring on after we hold on to each other's arms and hug. When we pull away, I kiss her forehead.

"Forever," I whisper.

"And always," She responds.