Heidi, Janelle, and I went to a coffee house at Jan's school that night. It was this cute Christmas Eve show. Halfwah through, I got this nasty headache that just wouldn't quit. It made me dizzy when we got up to leave.
"Are you okay?" Jan asked.
"I'm mad dizzy," I pressed my temples.
"Let's get home then," Heidi pulled my arm.
The world swirled for a second, and I thought I was going to faint, but luckily I recovered enough to let myself be lead home by Heidi.
I woke up the next morning, Christmas, with no headache, and I was very happy. It was an overtly busy day. We went to my Aunt and Uncle's, then I went with my mother to see my cousins, and then we went to Heidi's house, and then we finally went back to my dad's for dinner. I got great presents, but I was totally, absolutely exhausted by that night. Even so, I stayed up until my dad and Carol went to sleep to ask Heidi, "You know what would be so cool?"
"What?"
"If you came home with me and went to school there."
"That would be awesome!"
"You should ask," I nodded.
"Yea, like they'd let me..."
"There's no hurt in asking. They might surprise you."
“Oh, Heid, that’s silly,” Carol dismissed.
“But Mom, I can go to college there and everything. It would be less
expensive if I went to a community college there. Plus, you could move in here,”
Heidi begged.
“No,” Carol flipped the page of her magazine.
“Mom, I’ll be eighteen soon, and it’s my decision where I want to go to
college,” Heidi yelled firmly.
“Heidi...” Carol said warningly.
“Mom, I want to go with Tay. When you get married and go to visit Drew’s
mother in Oklahoma, I can come home with you if you need me here.”
“Heidi, I know you’re a very willful girl, but you don’t know what you’re
talking about,” Carol waved her hand.
“I do know what I’m talking about!” Heidi yelled defiantly. “If it’s all right
with Tay’s mother, I’m going with her, and there’s nothing you or anyone else can do
about it!”
My father broke in, “Now Heidi, I know you really want to do this, but don’t
get your hopes up too high, because we don’t even know if it is all right with Tay’s
mom.”
Heidi, who doesn’t like to yell at my dad, frowned slightly and left the room. I
followed her.
“You’re right, you know,” I sat on the bed next to her, “you are almost a legal
adult, and you can do whatever you want.”
“I know,” Heidi said shortly.
“If you can get your parents to pay for your food and board and junk, I bet I
can get my mother to let you move in,” I said.
“That would rock so hard,” she said hopefully.
“Could you get them to pay for you?” I wondered.
“Maybe,” she said thoughtfully. SHe paused and then said, “I have the show tonight. Most of the day I wont’t be around.”
“Aw...” I whined.
“I’m sorry,” Heidi said, shrugging.
“I know there’s nothing you can do about it.”
“Tay, someone called for you earlier,” Carol interrupted, walking into the room.
“Who?” I asked, pouring milk into my cereal.
“Um...” she stopped to think. “I don’t remember.”
“Was it Janelle?” I asked, rolling my eyes because I knew it was going to take
her a year and a day to remember.
“No.”
“My mother?”
“No.”
“My cousins or Aunt Nancy?”
“No, it was a boy.”
“Was it Ike, Tay, or Zac?”
“Maybe,” she paused and said, “I wrote it down on the pad next to the
phone.”
“Why didn’t you just say that in the first place?” I said impatiently walking
over to the phone and reading the message. It read: Tay- Zack called, he’ll call later.
“You don’t spell his name with a ‘k’,” I said to Carol, crossing it out.
“Well, was I supposed to know?” she said defensively.
“Chill out,” I walked back to my cereal and brought it into the living room.
Heidi and I sat, watching television, in the living room. I said, “Tonight I’ll
call my mother and ask her seriously about you coming with us.”
“You know, worse comes to worse, I can apply to one of the colleges in
Tulsa, and dorm there, and then we can visit,” Heidi commented.
“That’s true. I never thought of that.”
“Heidi!” Carol called in a sing-songy voice.
“Yea?”
“I’d like you to come to the store with me,” she sat on the arm of the couch.
“Aw, Mom,” Heidi began to protest.
Carol shushed her with her hand, “We’re going to the village.”
“But, Mom,” Heidi continued.
Carol stood up, finalizing their plans, “And then we’ll get a bite to eat, and
I’ll take you back to your father’s house to get your stuff for the play, and then I’ll drive
you to the theater. Maybe I’ll even stay and watch the show!”
“Great,” Heidi turned her back to her mother and made a face to show her
disgust.
I held back giggles becuase I didn’t need another fight with Carol.
“Get ready, and we’ll go in a few minutes.”
“Well, Tay, it looks like you’re on your own today. I’ve got plans,” Heidi
rolled her eyes and pointed to her mother, who was walking down the hall.
“It’s all right, Heid. Maybe I can do something with Ike, Tay, and Zac. You
have fun on your outing,” I playfully punched her in the arm.
“Heidi!” Carol called from the hall, “Get ready to go!”
Heidi left the room, grumbling her way down the hall. I leaned down on the
couch and flipped through the channels on the TV. A few minutes later, Daddy called me
because the phone rang for me.
“Hello?”
“It’s Zac.”
“Oh yea, Carol said you called.”
“Are you busy today?”
“Nope. Heidi can’t do anything, and so I’m all alone.”
“We have a concert tonight...” his voice trailed off. I heard voices in the
backround. “Do you want to come?”
“That would be awesome!” I exclaimed.
“Cool. Can you come over now?” he asked, laughing slightly at my
enthusiastic reply.
“Yea, I think so. Be there soon,” I responded. We hung up. “Daddy!” I called,
jogging over to the door of my father’s room.
“Don’t yell!” Carol reprimanded.
“Yes, Tay?” My dad responded, fixing his hair in the mirror.
“Can I go to Ike, Tay, and Zac’s concert tonight?”
“Yea, sure,” my dad reached to his back pocket for his wallet.
“Drew,” Carol said ashamedly, “A concert?”
“I’ve been to concerts before, and I go dancing alone all the time,” I said,
rubbing the facts in her face.
“Well, I don’t think that you should be going...” Carol protested.
“Well, I don’t think it’s your decision,” I said matter-of-factly.
“Here, Tay,” my dad reached across Carol to hand me a twenty dollar bill. He wanted to get the fight over with as soon as possible.
“Thanks,” I smiled. I hopped into my room, where Heidi was getting ready. I
pulled out a pair of jeans and this blue Hawaiian flower shirt.
“Going to the hotel?” Heidi wondered, yanking on a sock.
“Yea, and then to their show tonight,” I smiled proudly, pulling on a white
cardigan over the shirt. I reached for my sneakers under the bed, and got a pair of socks
out.
“Lucky,” she pretended to scowl at me.
“Heidi!” Carol called again from the hall.
“Coming,” Heidi rolled her eyes impatiently, stepping into her shoe.
“See you tomorrow or something,” I called after her as she followed Carol
down the hallway and out the door. I fished my coat from the floor where I had dropped
it the previous night.
“Tay?” Daddy called from the living room, where he was gathering the
breakfast dish someone left on the table.
“Yes?” I replied, walking to see what he needed.
“You mother called this morning, too, and she said that your plane ride back
to Oklahoma is on Thursday.”
My smile faded. It was Tuesday. Two days left. Then I went home. No. Then
I went back to Oklahoma. “Let’s go!” Mr. Hanson said, opening the door of the van. As I climbed out, he
handed me a backstage pass.
“Thanks,” I laughed, remembering the last time.
There were only like, three Hanson fans at the doorway. Ike, Tay, and Zac
signed autographs and took pictures for them. Then, we went inside. It was a different
venue than the first time, and so while the boys were sound checking, or whatever it is
that they do, Jessie, Avie, and I went exploring.
“Did you really used to live in New York?” Avie asked.
“Yes,” I responded.
“Was it neat?” Jessie wondered.
“Yea, it was so cool.”
“What was it like?” Avie wanted to know.
“Well, it was really awesome because there’s a bunch of teen clubs all
around, and you get to go dancing. And for a little while I rode the subway to school. My
best friend Janelle went to school with me, and so we would ride the subway together.
Then, after school, we could take a cab or a bus or the subway to anywhere in the city.
We went to stores, shows, clubs, restaurants, and all kinds of cool places. Then, when I
went home, I liked to sit my the window and watch the lights on the buildings light up,
and watch the cars and people down below my apartment.”
“Wow,” Jessie said, in awe.
“Yea, it was so cool.”
“Do you like Oklahoma?” Avie wondered.
“It certainly is different. I mean, after school I usually just go home and do
homework, or go for a walk. My friends and I just chill at each other’s houses, and we do
more outdoorsy stuff.”
“I wish I could live in New York,” Jessie said in amazement.
“Me too,” I said glumly, under my breath.We rounded a corner and came to a
big door that read “Backstage Door” in big red letters. “Do you think we should go in?” I
asked them.
“It doesn’t say we can’t,” Avie shrugged.
“Very good observation, Avie,” I said, genuinely impressed. Now that’s how
you get ahead in the world, stretching the limits, but not breaking the rules.
I opened the door and led them in. It was as it was last time, a sound check. A
very fat man with a jelly doughnut and a large cup of Dunkin Donut’s coffee stood by
the door. He let us stand and watch for a few minutes, but he started to look at us
disdainfully when we made ourselves at home and sat down in the corner. “Hey guys,” I
called over the music, “Let’s go back.”
“All right,” Avie said, quickly agreeing because her arms were getting tired of
covering her ears.
As we reopened the stage door, I gave the fat fellow a dirty look and wrinkled
my nose at him as I ushered the girls in front of me. Some people...
“Tayler,” Diana said, sounding flustered when we entered the “dressing
room”, “I really hate to do this to you, but my husband and the boys and Jess and Avie
can help you... Can you take care of Zoe tonight?”
“Sure,” I shrugged.
“I think Mack might be sick or something... He just puked all over the place,”
she sighed, pointing to pale Mackie slumped in a chair. Next to him on the floor was a
pile of crumpled paper towels.
“Eeew!” Avie winced.
“Avie go outside,” Diana ordered, not wanting to start more trouble.
“I can watch Zoe for you. It’s no trouble,” I shrugged, trying not to look in
Mack’s direction because puke repulses me.
“Thanks so much. If my husband or my sons or anyone else in this damned
place is looking for me, tell them I’ll be back at the hotel,” she half-laughed as she
gathered Mack in her arms.
I went to the seat where Zoe sat quietly and removed her from it. There was
no way I was going to sit in there with a puddle of vomit. “Feel better, Mack,” I said as
Diana left the room with him. After situating Zoe in my arms, I met Jessie and Avie in
the hall.
“Mommy went back to the hotel?” Avie asked.
“Yea,” I nodded.
“Can we go exploring again?” Jessie asked.
“Sure, but nowhere where we have to climb mountains or swim, because I
don’t know if I can hold Zoe for that long,” I teased.
“Okay,” Avie laughed.
We walked in the opposite direction of the way we went before. There really
wasn’t anything interesting. We found a Coke machine and a candy machine, but no one
had any money. After walking for about ten minutes, my arm was hurting. “What do they
feed you, Zoe?” I asked, shifting arms. She drooled in response. “Thanks,” I said
sarcastically, using the hem or her already dirty t-shirt to wipe her mouth.
“Can we go get money from Daddy?” Avie asked as we passed another Coke
machine.
“I don’t think we should bother him,” I shook my head, “but maybe if we go
back, he or one of your brothers will be there.” I also wanted to put Zoe down. Not only
was she heavy, but she was getting cranky and wriggling around a lot, making her harder
to hold.
We returned to the room. No one was in there. No one had cleaned up the
puke, either. “I know I’m the baby-sitter, guys, but puke is disgusting,” I shuddered at the
thought of cleaning it up.
“It’s okay,” Jessie said, equally repulsed, “I wouldn’t want to clean it either.”
“I know,” I had an idea, “Why don’t we go on a quest to find a janitor?” I
asked. Something to keep us amused, and something to keep me from going within
twenty-five feet of little boy puke.
“Yea!” Jess and Avie replied in unison.
I went by Zoe’s bag (avoiding the paper toweled spot on the floor) and got her
this cool water filled rattle-type toy thingy to keep her happy. Then, we set off to find a
maintenence guy.
We spent a while just looking in the hallway and we went out into the seated
area and we searched the bathrooms (we knocked on the men’s room door, we didn’t go
in) and we even went all the way back to the room to see if someone had already cleaned
it up. No one had. Finally, we decided to go backstage and ask one of the crewmen. We
went back through the stage door. Mr. Hanson was speaking with someone, but when he
saw us, he waved for us to come over.
“Daddy, Mommy went back to the hotel,” Avie said.
“What?” Mr. Hanson didn’t hear.
“Mack threw up, and so your wife took him back to the hotel,” I stood on my
toes to say it in his ear.
He nodded and stepped to the side with us, waving to the man he had been
conversing with.
“I’m baby-sitting,” I explained.
“Thanks a lot, Tayler,” he said gratefully. “We’ll be done here in a few
minutes anyway, and my sons can join you guys while we do lights.”
“All right,” I nodded and smiled, “Oh, and do you know where we might find
a janitor or something to clean up the... puke?” I asked, calling in his ear again.
Mr. Hanson pointed to the fat man in the corner who was now eating a cream
doughnut, “Him.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle inside. “Thanks,” I said to Mr. H. That fat man
had tried to make me think he was someone all important or whatever, but he was really
just the janitor. Proudly, and maybe a little arrogantly, I led the girls over to him. “Excuse
me, sir, we need you to come clean up.”
He didn’t hear me, and so he waved his hand in front of his ear. If he thought
I was going to lean close to his ear and talk in it, he was nuts. I would rather clean up the
vomit myself than to put my mouth by his ear. And so, I opened the stage door to the hall
and waved for him to follow.
“What?” he asked when he was in the hall.
“We need you to clean up in the dressing room,” I explained politely.
“Yea, yea, I’ll be there in a minute,” he stuffed the rest of his doughnut in his
mouth and went backstage for a minute to get his cleaning supplies. We led him to the
room, his cart rattling behind us.
I smiled smugly when he grumbled after he’d lifted the first paper towel.
That’s all I wanted to see. We walked back into the hall to wait for him to finish. It
served him right for being nasty and rude and trying to scare a bunch of little girls. It took
him only a few minutes to clean, and then he exited the room, glancing at me looking
slightly bothered. Now that it was safe, we went into the room and plopped down in
chairs. I positioned Zoe in my lap and let her play with my hand as Jess and Avie decided
to put on their ballet production for me.
Ike, Tay, and Zac came in the room. Ike said, “Sorry our mother left you with
them.”
“It doesn’t matter, we had fun. We went on a quest for the janitor,” I
shrugged, pulling Zoe’s fingers out of my hair.
“He smelled funny,” Jessie noted, still dancing.
“Yea, he did,” I scrunched up my nose.
I pulled Zoe’s hand from my hair again. “Do you want me to hold her?” Tay
offered, seeing how Zoe kept refusing her rattle and insisted on pulling my hair.
“Thanks, Tay, but considering that you’re hair is longer than mine, I don’t
think it would make much of a difference,” I laughed. Maybe his hair wasn’t longer than
mine, but it was at least the same length.
Matt, Scott, and Jay came in the room then, too. They immediately went to
Ike, Tay, and Zac to talk about some kind of technical stuff that wooshed right over my
head. I went back to watching Jess and Avie, who had started their dance over.
A half hour later, the rush of screaming had sstarted, and Ike, Tay, Zac, Jay,
Scott, and Matt were called backstage. Zoe had fallen asleep in her little seat, and Jess,
Avie and I sat in the room, looking at each other.
“Do you want to go watch them?” Jessie asked.
“Yes, I do, but it’s no big deal,” I shrugged, fixing Zoe’s blanket.
“I could watch my sisters,” Jessie offered.
“Yes, you could, but I don’t know if your parents would be very happy if I left
you here alone,” I explained.
“That’s true,” Jessie nodded.
“Why don’t we have our own concert?” I asked.
“Huh?” Jessie seemed skeptical.
“We could sing and make up our own dances right here,” I said.
“Hey, good idea!” Avie perked up.
“What songs could we sing?” I asked them.
“‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’!” Avie exclaimed.
“I hate that song, Avie!” Jessie whined. “We can sing ‘Build Me Up,
Buttercup.’”
“Okay,” Avie and I said at the same time.
“And ‘Help!’ by the Beatles,” Avie suggested.
“What about ‘Bohemian Raphsody’ by Queen?” I asked.
“Those two sound good,” Jess nodded.
“Can we sing ‘Wannabe’?” Avie asked.
“All right,” Jessie said unenthusiastically.
“Which one do you want to do first?” I asked them.
“‘Bohemian Raphsody!’” Jessie laughed.
We spent the next half hour or so trying to remember all the words and what
order they went in. Then, we spent fifteen minutes singing it. We couldn’t stop laughing.
Mrs. Hanson came in the room.
“You’re back?” I asked.
“Yes,” she lay a sleeping Mack on a couch in the corner, “He’s fine now, and
he’s asleep.”
“We had fun, Mommy,” Avie reported, “We had our own concert.”
“You are a Godsend,” Diana praised me.
“Thanks, but it was really no big deal.”
“Why don’t you go watch what’s left of the concert?” she recommended,
sitting down.
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“All right. Want to come?” I asked Jessie and Avie.
“I will,” Jessie accepted my offer. Avie declined because she doesn’t like the
loudness.
Jessie and I walked toward the stage door. “Now you get to see your
boooyyyfriend,” she sang at me.
“What are you talking about?” I laughed.
“My brother,” she winked at me.
“He’s not my boyfriend,” I probably blushed a little.
“Mmm hmm,” she nodded, not believing me.
We approached the stage. “I’m serious,” I said, still laughing a little.
“Whatever,” she put her handle on the door and slipped inside. I followed.
It was incredibly loud. My ears almost ached. There was a tap on my
shoulder. It was Mr. Hanson. I had to yell at the top of my lungs in his ear to
communicate that his wife had returned. He read my lips and gave me the thumbs up
sign. He handed a little package of earplugs to both Jess and me. Even after I put them in,
it was loud. Jess and I danced with each other in the wings. Then they played “I Will
Come to You” and so Jess and I stopped dancing. The screaming grew a lot louder during
that song, and it started to make my head ache. It also felt like my earplugs were swelling
in my ears. I waved to Jessie that I was going to stand in the hallway for a few minutes. I
yanked the earplugs from my ears when I was in the quieter hallway. My head still ached.
“Not again,” I said to myself, remembering the terrible headache I’d suffered from
previously. The song ended and they launched into “Ever Lonely.” I stuffed the earplugs
into my ears and went back out there.
“Are you okay?” Jessie mouthed to me.
I nodded and leaned up against a pole of some sort to watch the rest of the
show.
I hate planes. No, I hate this plane. It was taking me away from my home again. I gripped the arm rests anxiously and angrily as the plane took off and left New York behind again. Sighing, I glanced over my shoulder to wave at Ike, Taylor, and Zac.
Zac, who was in the aisle seat, waved for me to come over. I did so. "What's up guys?" I asked.
"I'm bored," Ike yawned.
"Well then you're lucky I'm here to entertain you," I giggled, laying myself across the laps of the boys.
"And just how are you planning on entertaining us?" Tay asked evilly, tilting his head (he was at the perfect angle to see directly down my shirt).
"Hey!"
"Ow!" Zac frowned. "You kicked me!"
"Sorry," I adjusted my feet, which were on Zac's lap.
"I think I like this arrangement," Ike smirked. My entire lower abdomen was basically in his face.
"I didn't know you were a pervert, Ike," I scowled.
"I think I have the best view," Tay teased again.
"If y'all are going to molest, me, I'm leaving," I started to get up.
Tay wrapped his arms around my middle and said, "Oh come on, you know we're only kidding."
"Do I?"
"Yea."
"As long as you're sure," I rolled my eyes as I lay back into his lap.I stayed that way for a while, and I guess I fell asleep, because I was awakened by a stweardess telling me I would have to return to my seat very soon.
"Good morning," Tay smiled down when he noticed I was awake. Ike was asleep as well, and Zac was using my legs as a book rest.
"Dude, can you feel your legs?" I asked Tay, feeling bad that I had slept like the whole time.
"I have legs?"
"You idiot, you should have woken me up a long time ago if you can't feel your legs!" I shifted quickly so that my body was no longer flopped over all three of them. I woke Isaac up. "Let go of me and I'll go sit in my seat." I was referring to Tay's arms, which were still wrapped around me.
"Maybe I don't want to."
"I don't have a problem with that," I said all breathily in my best impression of a phone sex operator, pressing my forehead against Tay's.
"Miss, can you please return to your seat?" the stewardess asked.
"Sure," I frowned, unclasping Tay's arms from my waist.
