By My Side, Always

The pressure was off to find new bookkeeping customers to pay for his courses, so as his existing customer base learned enough to carry on without him, Gary just took the extra time back and used it for hanging out with Emma.

They kept in touch with Selina, and she told Gary she envied his ability to play in the park for strangers. Her fame prevented her from doing this. That's why Greg loaded Rocky's with so many of their people the night she'd played with him. He had a chuckle over that confession.

Production on the double album was ongoing as the project continued to evolve, and Selina kept Gary and Emma in the loop on that. She told them Emma's photos, and videos truly gave the project an immersive quality for the fans with their raw, shoot from the hip style. This helped the fans feel like they were behind the scenes with all these amazing artists working on the tribute album.

Customers who purchased the album digitally on Selina's ecommerce site got the full experience with all the images and videos taken that weekend. Purchasers of the physical CDs saw a subset of the photos in the booklet included with the discs. There was also a unique Quick Response code printed on the booklet which they could scan to take them to the ecommerce site to see the rest of the images and videos but without the ability to stream the music.

Selina thanked Emma for capturing some truly wonderful moments of collaboration.

Fall arrived, and Gary returned to college for this second year. Brock was no longer in the Accounting Program, but he dropped by occasionally to shoot the shit and tease Gary. His new boyfriend, Mr. Enormous-and-Uncut, would sometimes join him and agreed Gary was fun.

Li returned and immediately challenged Gary to beat her grades in the second year as they were moving into areas of study she felt particularly confident with.

Jasmine suggested to Li several lewd rewards from Gary if she won. The plump and frisky beauty was back for a second year of tormenting Gary.

A new member was invited to study with them as he'd lost the other members of his study group to failing grades in the first year. Yuri Lebedev was a recent immigrant and had decent marks in the course but still struggled with the language. Gary found his Russian accent fascinating.

The second-year course curriculum was more challenging, but Gary was doing very well, much to Li's annoyance.

Today, they'd had a quiz in their last class, so the study group was camped out in the cafeteria afterward to review, but one member was late and didn't show up until the hour passed.

Gary felt a soft body hugging him from behind.

"You're not getting my notes, Jasmine. You'll have to work out the equations independently, or you won't learn them."

Pouting, Jasmine plunked down on the bench next to him and leaned her head against his shoulder.

Seated across from him, Yuri gawked at Jasmine's display of over-familiarity. Apparently, the man had led a sheltered life with little contact with the fairer sex.

Gary smiled down into Jasmine's big eyes.

"Why are you making eyes at my man?" said a voice behind them.

Jasmine sat up and looked back to snort in amusement at Emma's smile. "It's no use. Gary is impervious to my charms and is disappointingly devoted to you," she lamented.

"Of course I am. I spent my whole life falling in love with Emma, even if I didn't know it in the earlier years," he replied honestly.

Emma swooped in for a kiss, and Jasmine groaned at their sappy display of love. Standing, she waved her hands in surrender and walked away. The canoodling couple missed her wistful glance back at them.

Once they finished their kiss, Emma smiled at Gary. "Ready to go?"

Gary blinked at her in confusion.

Emma gasped in exasperation at his forgetfulness then he smiled. "I'm teasing you! I'm ready."

He packed up his books, pulled on his jacket, said his goodbyes, and they headed out.

They quickly stopped at home to drop off his books and slip on some nicer clothes. Tonight, they would be partying! They made their way to uptown Manhattan and a posh nightclub to meet Selina for the release party for the new tribute album. Most of the artists who played on the album were there. Some leading industry execs and selected press members had also been invited.

They were gathered into a warm hug by Selina when they arrived. The woman had new energy, and confidence seemed to radiate from her.

"It's not too late for you to join the tour," she said quietly to Gary and Emma as she held the couple close. Gary knew she was disappointed, but he'd been clear with her. He was also very much aware that she'd hired a new lead guitar player for the band as he'd been there when it happened and actually helped with selecting her. The musician was young and passionate and came close to Gary's level of emotional connection with his music.

"Michaela is really good. You'll have an awesome time on the tour!" Gary said.

Selina held his eyes for another moment, then nodded. "It will be amazing," she said definitively. Then she took Gary's hand in hers again. "When I get back, I want to start working on a new album anchored by the new track we did for the tribute album. Will you work on that with me?"

Emma's grin told Gary she was onboard, so he nodded with a smile of his own. "Of course! Have your people talk to my people. Wait! Your people are my people!"

Kevin was standing nearby and heard this as Gary pitched his voice to include him.

"What's this? More collaborative work between my favorite two clients?" the man teased, and Selina's happy smile and nod told him all he needed to know.

"Gary, let me get the details from the woman, and I'll get back to you," Kevin said as he guided Selina away.

The talented woman Gary had been talking about joined him and Emma, and they shook hands. "So glad to meet you again, Gary, Emma," Michaela said in her lovely Irish lilt. She had an enormous mane of red hair, a pale complexion, and rosy cheeks. Her lively green eyes sparkled with delight at being amongst all of her favorite celebrities.

"Good to see you again as well," Gary said.

"I can't believe I'm going on a tour with Selina! I'm so excited!" the woman said.

"Better you up there on stage than me," Gary said as a shudder went through him.

The guitarist gave him a concerned look. "Still struggling with the stage fright?"

Gary shrugged. "Luckily, accountants don't work on a stage before a live audience," he grinned.

Michaela giggled and shared a smile with Emma. "I love the pictures and videos you took of all the musicians!" Emma gave her a proud nod.

They made their way further into the party and greeted the artists they'd worked with, and introduced Michaela to them.

Benny and Oscar greeted Gary and Emma enthusiastically. The conversion of the cassettes to digital was almost complete. They were excited about releasing the first album next year and discussed releasing the collection on vinyl first. More opportunities for royalties.

The party included dinner, and people found tables and shared them with others. Michaela stayed close to Gary and Emma throughout the evening.

Several musicians Gary played with on the album dropped by to say hello, and some asked if Gary might be willing to jam with them sometime. Gary was surprised by this, but Emma was delighted and added dates to their shared calendar for these get-togethers.

As the evening was winding down, Gary and Emma found themselves in a lounge sitting on a sofa with Michaela, Gary between the two redheads. Across from them were Selina, Eric, and Julie. Benny and Oscar completed their little group.

Michaela seemed to be working up the courage to ask Gary something, and as he thought about it, she might have been all night. He finally looked directly into her lovely green eyes. "Would you like to ask me something?"

She burst into giggles as she'd been caught, and she nodded.

"I'd like to know what you draw upon to reach the emotional core in your playing," she said.

He saw Selina's eyes light up as the woman leaned forward to hear his response as well.

Gary smiled and nodded gently. "That's easy. It's changed in small ways over the years as we grew up, but now I understand its true significance." He saw he had their complete attention. "I hold a mental image of a farmhouse in the distance at dawn on a warm sunny morning. A double-track farm lane stretches away from me toward the home. Running down the lane toward me is a creature of such beauty and grace, all I can do is open my heart completely to her, hope I'm worthy of her love and pray she'll remain by my side, always."

Emma watched Gary with tears in her eyes as she recalled their last day in high school, how he was late, and how she'd run to meet him. Her love for him threatening to burst from her heart, she pulled him into a fierce hug and kissed him.

Selina smiled broadly at the display of the couple's love for each other.

When Emma got control of her emotions once more, she flashed a brilliant if shy smile at the others.

"I'll say it again, Gary. You're a lucky man!" Eric said with a smile. Gary nodded, the lump in his throat stopping him from speaking.

Julie sighed wistfully. "Do ya think a hard-rocking drummer chick like me will ever find that kind of true love?"

Selina smiled at her and nodded. "I thought that's what I had with Greg, but he got lost along the way, poisoned by his jealousy, then blinded by his guilt.

But looking at Gary and Emma, I can't help but believe in love, the possibility of love, and the potential of love out there for me," Selina said with a sweet smile.

Gary and Emma nodded to her, and her smile brightened.

She raised her glass, and everyone seated with her joined in the toast.

Selina grinned at her friends. "Here's a toast to a future filled with success in our ventures, laughter in our days, comfort in our nights, friendships that deepen, and most of all, love to fill our hearts."

Gary couldn't think of anything to add to that and saw Emma's love for him in her eyes.

With her love, he could do anything.