Prologue: The Choice

The car turned onto the small road. She looked up
for the first time since leaving the Creative Quarter. The impressive stands of
Croke Park peeked out and framed the sky. A hodgepodge of buildings made from
brick, concrete, and glass, formed the base of the stadium that lined the left
half of the street.

Thousands of people walked past, busy and excited,
on their way to enter the temple of music and entertainment. She could hear the
general buzz of excitement, even through her windows.

The sleek black car pulled into the side entrance
and into the backstage area that she had visited the day before. A few seconds
later she was in a massive underground structure, the wall of sound from the
outside was muted, replaced by a new hum of energy.  Everywhere she looked, people dressed in
black were rushing around the large enclosed space, busy with last minute
preparations.

Security checked her badge three more times before
she was allowed into the innermost sanctum of the staging area.

The cacophony started to build. She readied her
camera and said goodbye to Noah. The white walls and black signs guided her
towards the last series of corridors and finally up the steps to the side of
the stage. 

Elizabeth checked her watch. She’d barely made
it—only twenty minutes left.

A small group of people surrounded a man, fussing
with the collar of his tight white shirt, and carefully tending to the mop of
curls on his head. She reached him just as the glam squad dispersed.

Kilian turned around and caught her eyes. His
cheeks were flushed, and his body was tense. “Oh Liz, finally, thank God!”

“Sorry, I’m late—”

He waved her off, “No, it’s not that. I can’t tell
you what a relief it is to see a face I know well.” He smoothed his shirt.
Unsure about where to place his hands, he balled them up and brought them
awkwardly to his side.

He was restless or nervous, she couldn’t quite
tell. She wanted to hug him, but she was afraid of undoing the efforts of the
group that had just left. She reached out and squeezed his arm, “I take it you
don’t know many of these people?”

He shook his head, “Audre contracted them
especially for this.”

Elizabeth looked around at all the people buzzing
about, but didn’t see her best friend. “Haven’t you seen Dree? Where is she?”

“Yes, I’ve seen her, but only briefly. She’s
around, I think on the other side of the stage.” He motioned vaguely in that
direction before suddenly placing his hands on his knees and expelling all the
air from his lungs.

The quick motion startled her, she felt the change
in her own body—now her pulse was starting to race. “Kil, what’s wrong? Are you
really that nervous?”

He was a natural on stage, he loved performing.
She’d never seen him get nervous.

He straightened, focusing on her face.

“Just breathe,” she instructed, trying to calm
herself as well. It was a big day. The culmination of so many dreams.

She waited for him to speak.

“It’s not stage fright . . . or maybe it is . . .
I don’t know anymore, Liz. It’s Croke bleedin’
Park!”

“I know,” she said softly. It had been the focus
of his summer—getting ready for the biggest gig of his life.  

After a few moments, he continued, “It is the show, but it isn’t what’s got me
going mental. It’s, you know . . . the other
thing,” he said pointedly.

He started looking around to see if anyone was in
earshot. “Am I barmy for doing this?” he whispered.

“The concert?” she started, and then she remembered.
“Oh, you mean . . . right.”

She reached for his hand, pried his fingers open,
and squeezed reassuringly, “I think it is . . . definitely bold, and will make for quite a story.” She smiled with
a certainty she didn’t feel.

He waited for her to say something else. When
nothing came, his eyebrows shot up, he could see through her. “Oh Jaysus, I am barmy! Feck!” He looked away out
towards the stage. “Maybe I won’t do it.”

The wall of sound coming from the stadium was
getting louder and louder as the hour approached.

“Is that what you want? Because you can absolutely
go out there and give these people a great show and not do . . . the other thing.”

He didn’t speak.

“What does your heart tell you?”

He brought his lips together in a straight line,
weighing the decision. He took in another deep breath; his eyes found a woman
with sleek black hair and a headset motioning wildly and directing everyone
around her. Elizabeth watched as his chest stilled and his energy changed. A
general calm overtook him. He stood up straight, shifting his powerful 6’2
frame until he looked every bit the confident rock star.

He turned back to Elizabeth, eyes sparkling, “No,
I may be mad, but I’m goin’ for it.” He beamed just as Audre looked up from the
other side of the stage. She gave them a dazzling smile and waved.