It was the song that had always made me feel powerful, even when I felt anything but.
As the first notes left my lips, something magical happened.
A couple of phones came out, but not to record a train wreck. They were capturing something beautiful.
People started swaying.
A woman in the corner wiped her eyes. Someone started clapping halfway through the song, and others joined in.
Even Todd stood there with his jaw hanging open, trying to process how his waitress had just saved the day with her beautiful voice.
When I finished, the applause was thunderous. People were on their feet, cheering like they’d just witnessed something incredible.
Which, I guess, they had.
“Thank you,” I said into the mic.
“I’ll get back to bussing tables now.”
Two guests, who were local musicians I’d never met, approached me before I could even untangle myself from the microphone cord.
“Have you ever performed with a band?” the older one asked. “Because you’ve got something special. One-in-a-million tone.”
They handed me a card.
“We’re jamming this weekend. You should come.”
I looked at Todd, who was still standing there looking stunned. Then I slowly untied my apron and handed it to him.
“I guess I’m not throwing anyone off tonight, huh?”
I left the kitchen.
Haven’t looked back since.
We formed a band not long after that night. Me, Jake, and the two musicians from the crowd.
At first, it was just small gigs around town, playing at coffee shops and local bars. But something clicked between us.
Our sound was unique, and word started to spread.
Within two years, we were playing real venues, getting paid decent money, and building a fan base. Music, which I thought I’d left buried in childhood, suddenly became both my purpose and my paycheck.
Three years later, I’d paid off my student loans, bought a house with a bedroom on the first floor for Dad, and finally gave us the life we never thought we’d afford.
Funny how Todd tried to humiliate me in front of a crowd… and ended up launching the best chapter of my life.
