Chapter 18

                                    

                                          
Brazil - Rio de Janeiro
(Tori's POV)
Oh my god! We're finally in Rio! We've got three nights of performing, and then the next day... 'el carnaval'. 
I've always wanted to see the Rio Carnival in person, and there's a reason why it's dubbed 'the greatest show on Earth'. The whole thing looks spectacular! 
After performing for three nights in Buenos Aires, we then travelled up to Lima, in Peru, and then even further up to Bogota, in Columbia. After spending a few days in Bogota, performing for two nights, we then travelled back down to Brazil, to Sao Paulo. That was definitely a city to remember, due to some of the beautiful places we visited in the city, like the Museu de Arte, the museum of art, which displays incredible works of art by the likes of Renoir and Van Gogh, and Ibirapuera Park. This stunning green space, with its monuments, gardens, trails, lakes and performance spaces made for such a romantic walk and visit for me and Eddie. It was truly a leisure paradise. 
That now brings us to Rio. Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires are two extraordinarily beautiful Latin-American cities, but with the carnival fast approaching in a few days time, the entire city of Rio is going to be swarming with vibrant colours and breathtaking parade floats, as well as impressive and spirited samba dancing. Heck, it already looks like a fantasy world with all the preparations going on. 
I can't wait! 
Standing backstage, running through my usual warm up routine before a performance, I listen as the stadium we're currently in, starts to fill with thousands more adoring fans who have come from far and wide to watch, listen and enjoy mine and Eddie's music. After much contemplation about why this stadium's name seems so familiar to me, I finally realise why and find the answer on the tip of my tongue. This is the Maracaña stadium, the venue for some of the biggest and highest attending concerts in history, like for Paul McCartney's World Tour in 1990 and Tina Turner's Break Every Rule world tour in 1988. Now that I think of it, I'm really not surprised that this very venue is the home to some of the music industry's biggest concerts because, well... It's freaking massive!
I begin chatting with the backing singers and dancers, and watch on as Eddie tunes his guitars: electricic and acoustic, a few meters away. 
He strums a few notes on each guitar, making sure the sounds are just right, before placing the instruments on the ground when he notices Shawn approaching him. 
Our manager looks in my direction and waves me over to join them both. 
Once I reach them, Shawn speaks up. 
"So you two, I have some exciting news that's sure to put you in an even better mood right before tonight's show" Shawn says as he rubs his hands together excitedly. 
"Go on" Eddie says with intrigue. 
"Well, Tori, you'll be very happy to hear that Treat Myself has been nominated for the Song of the Year and Record of the Year categories for the Grammys, as has your song Blow, Eddie" Shawn explains. 
I instantly leap in the air, joy and exhilaration flowing through me. 
"Yes! That's amazing!" I squeal as I hug Eddie tightly. 
"And that's not all" Shawn then adds, once he's stopped laughing at my over the top reaction. 
"Eddie, From Nothing To Something has been nominated for the Album of the Year category, while Blow has also been nominated in the Best Rock Performance category, and finally, Tori, Treat Myself has also been nominated for the Best Pop Solo Performance category" Shawn finishes, causing even Eddie to let out an excited cheer with me. We both hug, and Shawn congratulates us both on all of the nominations. 
"Ooh I'm getting a call from Andre" I say when one of our assistants passes me my phone, which is currently playing out loud an acoustic version of Eddie's song Over and Over Again, as my ringtone. Hearing my ringtone always makes him smile, as he knows how much I still love the song that he wrote for me when we first started dating all those years ago.