Willow's Struggle

Jackson has a Surprise

    I was almost done with the song I was writing when I heard my mom shout from downstairs, "Pizza night baby."

    Immediately I set my stuff to the side and ran downstairs.  I love pizza, especially when it's pan pizza.  When I got to the kitchen, my mom handed me a plate and grabbed three pieces of the one with pepperoni and black olives.  

    "Thanks momma, you're the best," I happily exclaimed as I grabbed a soda out of the fridge.

    "You're welcome, sweetie," she said as she sat down beside me.  

    While eating, we chatted about my gig tomorrow, before my mom asked, "So what's going on between you and new guy?"

    "Who? Jackson?" I asked in return.

    She chuckled as she responded, "Who else would I be asking about?"

    "Nothing really, I just met him a few days ago," I nonchalantly answered.

    "He seems nice," she said thoughtfully.

    "So far he has been really nice and he says his family knows people in the music industry and he's going to tell them about me and my music," I explained excitedly.

    She squealed before she said, "Oh my gosh, that is fantastic.  I hope that something awesome comes from that connection."

    "Me too, but for now I am not going to get my hopes up," I deadpanned.

    "Either way, I am so proud of you, Willow," she said as she stood and walked over to me, then gave me a hug.  After she released me from the hug, she grabbed our plates and put them in the dishwasher, while I put the leftover pizza in the fridge.  When we were finished, she said, "I am going to take a bath, then chill out.  Work was kind of brutal today and I need some relax time."

    "Okay, momma, I love you," I replied as she headed up the stairs with me following behind her.  

    As soon as I got to my room, I continued working on the new song I had been working on.  When I was satisfied with the lyrics, I changed into some pajamas and grabbed my cellphone.  As soon as I unlocked the screen, I saw there was message from Jackson.  I opened it and read:

Jackson:    Hey cutie, I just wanted to tell you goodnight

    As I smiled from ear to ear, I texted back:

Willow:    Goodnight sweetie

    I wasn't all that tired yet, so I grabbed my ukulele and played through a few songs before I laid down and drifted off to a sleep.

    After I ate a bowl of cereal in the morning, I went to my closet and pulled out the purple and black plaid skirt and the sparkly black crop top that I bought at the mall.  I laid them out on my bed to put on later, then I worked on my dress for a little while before I did a run through of my selected songs for tonight.

    After I ate some of the leftover pizza for lunch, I soaked in a bubble bath and gave myself a quick shave.  As soon as I got out of the bath and dried off, I added some gel to my hair and scrunched my curls.  I decided to leave it down, but that meant spending more time and more hair gel.  They way the curls spiraled around my face made the extra time more than worth it.  

    When I walked out of the bathroom, I checked the time on my phone and seen there was a message from Jackson.  I quickly opened the message tab and read:

Jackson:    Do you need help getting your equipment to the café tonight?

Willow:    If you are offering to help, I will gladly accept

Jackson:    What time do you need me there?

Willow:    6:30

Jackson:    I will be there

Willow:    See u then

    I got dressed in the clothes I had laid out earlier, then went back to the bathroom to apply my make-up.  I still had a bruise on my cheek, but it wasn't as dark or as tender.  I was able to apply foundation and concealer that covered the bruise.  For my eyes, I applied black eyeliner on my top and bottom eyelids, then I applied a light purple eyeshadow on the lower section of the upper eyelids.  On the upper section, I applied a silver, which I also applied just under my lower eyelashes.  In the crease, I applied a darker shade of purple, then added a black mascara to my eyelashes.  I added a light pink blush to my cheeks and a pinkish purple lipstick.

    I put on my new choker that was made from black leather and had a four leaf clover charm dangling in the front.  I changed my earrings, to a pair of gold hoops and grabbed a black sweater.  

    Not long after I finished getting ready, Skylar showed up.  As soon as I opened the front door to let her in, she excitedly said, "Damn girl, you are going to drive the guys crazy looking that sexy."

    I giggled and replied, "You are looking damn good yourself."  It wasn't a lie.  She was wearing a red tube dress that showed all of her curves.  She had curled her hair and clipped the sides back, while leaving just enough out in the front to frame her face.  She was wearing a light pink eyeshadow and lipstick, with a little black eyeliner on her bottom eyelid and black mascara.

    As soon as Jackson arrived a few minutes later, we got everything loaded into his mustang, then he drove us to the café.  We went through our regular routine of me setting up the equipment while Skylar got me a coffee.  As soon as everything was set up, we got the show rolling.  I had decided on three of my country songs, my ukulele song dedicated to my grandma, and two rock songs.  All but the ukulele song, were ones that I hadn't sang for my fans yet, and included the new love song I had created in the country genre.

    At the end of my set, I walked up to the mic and smiled wide as I said, "Thanks for joining us tonight,  I hope to see you all again next week.  We will have a special surprise for all of you.  Have a great night everybody."  

    The crowd cheered in response, Jackson sprinted onto the stage and cheerfully exclaimed, "I got you a meeting with my parent's friends.  They will be here for your next gig."

    I squealed as I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him.  He wrapped his arms arounds me and hugged me back.  He pulled back from the hug just enough to lift one of his hands to my face and cup my cheek.  He gazed into my eyes as he said, "Your show was amazing," before he smashed his lips down onto mine.  Instantly I kissed him in return as butterflies erupted in my stomach.  When he pulled back from the kiss, he gazed into my eyes again as he said, "I have wanted to do that since I first laid eyes on you."

    I smiled up at him as I said, "Thank you, for everything."

    He gave me another quick kiss before he said, "You're welcome.  Now what can I do to help."

    "You could start taking the stuff out as I get it all unplugged," I replied still smiling up at him.

    "I got you," he said as he smiled wider in return.

    I quickly got everything unplugged while he carried my equipment back to his car.  He was a lot quicker at getting the equipment loaded back into his car, than me and Skylar.  In no time, everything was loaded and we were sitting at the counter chatting with Skylar, Savannah and my mom.  

    "So what's this surprise you have planned for next week?" Skylar asked intrigued.

    "You are the surprise," I deadpanned.

    She gasped, then wearily asked, "How am I the surprise?"

    I shrugged then took a drink of my coffee before I looked at her and smiled as I said, "I wrote a new song last night.  It is a duet that you will be singing with me, so we will need to spend more time together this week to make sure you are comfortable with the song."

    "No s**t?  This is going to be so much fun," she excitedly gushed.

    We all chuckled at her before I responded, "No s**t and I think you are going to really like the song."

    "I can't wait.  Hey why didn't you show it to me earlier?" she asked.

    "I wanted it to be somewhat of a surprise for you," I replied as I winked at her.

    "You definitely succeeded," she said as she winked back.

    "Jackson also has a surprise," I said as I looked over and flashed him a smile.

    He chuckled then said, "I have some important people lined up to meet with Willow after her gig next week to discuss her music and possibilities for the future."

    My mom, Skylar and Savannah all cheered while Skylar fist pumped the air as she exclaimed, "That is amazing news.  I don't know how you did it, Jackson, but that is awesome."

    He chuckled again before he replied, "I only showed them a live video of the gig tonight.  Willow is the one who impressed them enough to want to meet with her."  He looked back over to me as he gave me a genuine smile.

    I smiled back before I looked over to my mom and said, "I don't know about all of you, but I am exhausted.  We are going to head home."

    "Okay sweetie, great show tonight," she said as she gave me a quick hug.

    I hugged her back, then gave Savannah a quick hug.  After we exchanged goodbyes, Jackson drove us back to my house.  When we got there, we all went to the kitchen and finished off the leftover pizza.  After we ate, Skylar went to my bathroom to take a shower while Jackson and I sat on the porch swing together.

    He grabbed my hand and stared up at the night sky as he said, "I would like to take you on a date tomorrow night if you are willing."

    When I didn't respond for a few seconds, he turned to gaze at me.  I smiled at him, then responded, "I would like that.  What time should I be ready?"

    He smiled from ear to ear before he said, "Does six work for you?"

    "Works for me," I happily responded.

    He smiled even wider as he looked back up at the stars.  He was still holding my hand while he gently swung us.  When my eyes started getting droopy, he said, "You look tired.  I am going to head home so that you can get some rest."

    "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow at six," I sleepily replied.

    He chuckled as he leaned over and placed a quick kiss on my cheek before he said, "Yes you will, cutie."

    As he got into his car, I headed back inside, locking the door before I headed to my room.  When I got there, Skylar was playing sudoku on her phone.  I quickly changed into some pajamas then joined her on my bed after I grabbed my notebook.  I flipped to my newest song and handed it to her.  When she was finished reading the lyrics of the song, she looked at me with a few tears in her eyes as she said, "This song is beautiful and I am honored that you want me to sing it with you."

    I smiled at her as I replied, "I wrote this song for you and I am delighted that you like it."

    She gave me a bear hug that I returned, then we laid down and chatted about everything that had been happening and about my next gig.  After a while, we were both yawning and decided to call it a night.