When the lights came back on, no one stood up. No rush. No noise. The stage was empty, but the feeling wasn’t. Johnny Mathis had already walked off, yet his voice still seemed to hang in the air—soft, familiar, impossible to replace. People stayed in their seats as if leaving too quickly might break something fragile. Some wiped their eyes. Others just smiled, staring at nothing. It wasn’t denial. It was gratitude. They understood this wasn’t just the end of a concert. It was the closing of a chapter that had quietly followed them through love, loss, and growing older. And for a moment longer, no one wanted to say goodbye.
When the lights came back on, something unusual happened. No one stood up. The stage was empty. The band had…