Over the next few weeks, I became better friends with Odessa and Brix. We dressed up for
Halloween together (I dressed up as a cat, in case that matters). I attended school (major,
major yawn) and made more friends there. I guess I was kind of getting used to
Oklahoma, but I was also longing for my good old city life. Even when I lived in New
Jersey, it was more citified than Oklahoma. Well, Ike’s birthday arrived, I was excited
that Tay, Ike, and Zac would be coming home. Maybe the life that I was adjusting to in
Oklahoma would become less bland and more exciting when they were there (even if it
was only two days).
I was walking home from school the day before Ike’s birthday. I entered my
house and plopped my bookbag on the floor. I went into the kitchen to get something to
eat. I knew that the “guys” would be home that day, but I didn’t know when, and so I
decided to wait and call them later. My phone rang as I was making a peanut butter
sandwich.
“Hello?” I asked into the phone, licking peanut butter off my finger.
“Hi,” a very young sounding voice said.
“Who’s this?” I wondered.
“It’s Mackie.”
“Oh, hi, Mack. You guys are home?” I asked.
“Yes, we took a plane,’ he explained.
“Cool, was it fun?”
“Yes. Avie threw up,” he giggled. I heard someone yelling “I did not!” I figured it
was Avie.
“Is she better now?” I asked.
“Yes.”
I heard a voice in the backround saying, “Mackie, what are you doing? Who is
that?” The phone was handed over to someone else.
“Hello?” that person asked.
“Hello,” I said, “This is Tayler.” (I didn’t call myself Robinson in case it was like,
Mr. Hanson or somebody).
“Oh, hey, Robinson! It’s Ike.”
“Hey, Ike!”
“Did Mackie call you?” he asked.
“Yea.”
“Hold on a sec,” he sighed. I heard him put the phone down and say, “Mack, how
many times do you have to be told, don’t play with the phone? Where did you get the
number?”
Mackie whined, “Zac told me to do it.”
“Mack, you also are told that lying is very bad.”
“But Zac told me to call Tay’s girlfriend!” Mack whined.
Wait a minute... Tay’s girlfriend?
“I’ll deal with him in a minute,” Ike said. He returned to the phone, “Robinson,
can I call you back in a minute?”
“Sure.”
“If you want, you can come over here in like, fifteen minutes?”
“Okay, I’ll see you then,” I said.
“Bye.”
We hung up. Hmmm... Tay’s girlfriend? Was that supposed to be some kind of
sick joke? Why would Zac say that? Well duh, to make Tay mad. It’s not like I wouldn’t
like to be Tay’s girlfriend, but... Wait, did I just say what I thought I said? No, stop it
Tayler, you are not going to form a crush on Tay. You aren’t... He's definitely too much of the boy next door. Way way too wholesome for you.
I ate my peanut butter sandwich while I thought all this. I slipped back into my
shoes and walked over to the house that could be seen from my bedroom window and
hadn’t had a light on in weeks. As I approached, I could still hear Ike scolding Mackie
and Zac.
“Zac, why did you do that, you knew Mack was going to get in trouble,” Ike
reasoned.
“It was just a joke, Ike. It didn’t even work, Tay didn’t even hear,” Zac sounded
kind of disappointed.
“Yea, well, don’t joke, cuz then Mack isn’t going to know when you are supposed
to use then phone and when not to. Remember the time he called a number in China and
left the phone off the hook?” Ike shook his head.
I giggled. I knocked on the back door. Jessie let me in. “Hi!” she smiled.
“Hi! I like your skirt,” I said. She was wearing a purple tutu.
“It’s my ballet costume,” she explained.
“I like it.”
“I think that deserves a ‘thank you’, Jess,” Tay said as he entered the kitchen.
“I was just getting to that,” Jessie told Tay. She turned to me and did a neat little
curtsy, “Thank you.”
“You’re very welcome,” I bowed.
“HI!” Zac screamed when he, too, entered the kitchen.
“Hi,” I smiled.
He bounded over to me. He took my hand and practically dragged me into the
living room.
“Look!” he pointed at me, “It’s Robinson!”
“Hey!” Ike said from the couch, where he was plucking his guitar.
“What’s up guys?” I asked when Tay had come into the living room as well and
we were all sitting on the couch or the floor.
“Nothing,” Tay shrugged.
“Yea sure, you just come back from Europe and nothing’s going on,” I shook my
head.
“Jealous?” Ike asked, pausing from his songwriting.
“You bet.”
“Hey, Robinson, guess what?” Zac declared.
“What?”
“Guess where we’re going for Christmas?”
“Where?”
“New York!”
“That's definitely no fair.”
“Yea.”
“Now I’m definitely jealous. You have no idea how much I miss it,” I said and
sighed.
“Hahahahaa,” Zac taunted.
“You're evil. Shut up,” I whined.
“Too bad you can’t go,” he said, being a slight bit more serious.
“Maybe,” I brightened at the thought, “Mom will let me go visit my dad for
Christmas!” I began to formulate a plan. She could stay with Uncle John and Aunt Nancy
in Jersey and I could room with Daddy... and then I could hang out with Tay, Zac, and
Ike when they weren’t performing... oh man!
“That’d be awesome!” Zac said, getting excited from my excitement.
“I know, it really really would.”
“Hey guys- sorry to interrupt, Robinson- what do you think of this?” Ike said,
playing a few chords on the strings and humming.
“That’s okay, but I think that you should add a little something,” Tay said,
re-singing Ike’s little song and adding a few notes. I wasn’t paying much attention. I was
too excited. I would get to see all my cousins and my best friends, Janelle and Heidi. Not
to mention I could visit my old school, and all the people... and I could go visit my aunts
and uncles, and best of all, get to hang out with Daddy.
“Robinson?” Ike was asking.
“What?”
“I said, which one do you like better?”
“What?”
“Which version, mine or Tay’s?”
“Hmm?”
“Hello? Are you alive in there?” he laughed.
“Sing them again.”
They did. Both sounded pretty good. Not really being a songwriter, I didn’t want
to be the one who prejudged the destiny of a song.
“I like both a whole lot, but I think that you need a drum solo right in the middle,”
I smiled, looking at Zac.
“Good idea!” he smiled. He was looking kind of glum or something.
“Hey, I bought your cds, guys,” I said proudly.
“How do you like them?”
“They’re actually pretty good, even though they’re not quite my style. I like them,
but I guess I’m biased,” I shrugged.
“How are you biased?” Ike wondered.
“Well, I knew you guys first, and I like you, and so I’m inlcined to like your
music.”
“You feel obligated?” Ike said. This seemed pretty serious to him.
“Not obligated, inclined. I mean, I know that you guys are cool and funny and
stuff, and so whereas someone else might have judged your music purely be its sound, I
partially judged it from your personailities.”
“So, are you saying you don’t like it’s sound?” he said.
“Jeez, Ike, lighten up on her,” Tay said.
“Ike, you’re putting words in my mouth. What I’m saying is, I like you guys, and
so I bought your records thinking I was going to like them, and I do. Other people might
buy them to try them, and so they didn’t have my predisposition.”
“But you like them?” Ike asked.
"Yea, I do.”
What’s your favorite song?” he wondered.
“Madeline. But I also really like ‘Stories’, ‘Ever Lonely’,
and ‘What Christmas Means to Me’.”
“You bought all four albums?” Tay was surprised.
“Yea,” I said, kind of embarrassed.
“You said our music isn’t your style?” Ike asked. I nodded. “What is?”
“Oh, I love Green Day, Reel Big Fish... Sublime,” I explained.
“Marilyn Manson?” Tay wondered.
“A little, I guess,” I shrugged.
“I also like swing and electronica.”
“Yea, I guess we listen to some of that,” Tay shrugged.
“But you like oldies, don’t you?” I said. I’d gotten that fact from one of the many
articles I’d read about them. I’d done my research.
“Yep.”
“So, Ike,” I said, completely changing the subject, “What do you want for your
birthday?”
“Umm... I think I want a new shirt.”
“Okay.”
“Hey, how come you didn’t get me a present?” Zac pouted.
“I got you... no wait, I made you a card.” In my mind I made a mental note to buy
Zac a present, too. I usually don’t buy presents for people I don’t know all that well, but I
felt like I’d known them for years (actually, I kinda had, if you look at it, but we just
don’t remember) and also, I knew I wasn’t going to buy some eighty dollar shirt, just a
nice one from the mall.
Avie came in the room, “Do you wanna see our ballet dance?”
“Sure,” I answered for everyone.
Avie got Jessie. There was no music, and Avie was about a count and a half off,
but they looked pretty good. They did little pirouettes and arabesques, and some other
moves for about a minute. When they stopped, we all clapped.
“I might get toe shoes soon,” Avie hopped excitedly. Jessie rolled her eyes.
“Keep practicing, and you will,” I affirmed.
Anyway, the guys went on writing their little song. I listened for a bit,
daydreamed about New York for a bit, and plotted on how I could make our trip to New
York sound irresistible to Mom.
After a few hours, I had to leave. I promised to go over their house again the next
day. I went home and found Mom upstairs in the tub, taking a bubble bath with special
“relaxing bubbles”. I decided to find something tasty to eat. I went into the kitchen and
searched the cabinets for something relatively yummy.
As I was peeking in the fridge, I heard a knock on the back door. I moved aside
the curtain and saw Zac standing there with a very different look on his face than he
normally had. He looked... depressed, something I never thought Zac could be. I
unlocked the door and let him in.
“What’s up, Zac?” I asked, ushering him to the kitchen table.
He shrugged.
“Are you okay?” I said, stepping back from the fridge to look at him.
“I dunno, I get like this sometimes, you know, just... depressed I guess,” he
frowned.
“Come on,” I led him by the arm into the living room. I sat on the arm of the
couch where he sat. “Tell me.”
“Tell you what?”
“Anything you want to,” I rest my head on top of his.
He was silent a minute. Then he spoke up, kind of quietly, “Sometimes I just get
angry because I don’t get to do all kinds of normal-people things.” He paused again and
said, even more quietly, “Like, I’ve never kissed anyone, or even been kissed. I’ve never
been anything but silly, wacky, and loud. I mean, I like being silly, but, having to live up
to expectations I’ve set by previous things I’ve done, I never get to be serious.”
“That can take its toll,” I said.
“And I kind of feel weird talking to my brothers sometimes. I mean, I’m sure they
feel like me sometimes, but, well, sometimes I don’t think they take me seriously.”
“You can talk to me anytime you want to,” I brushed his hair behind his ear.
“But, I mean, when we’re on the road, I can’t...”
“You can call me or e-mail me or anything you want, I promise.”
“Thanks.”
We sat for a few more minutes. Zac looked at his watch and said he had to go. I
led him to the door. I opened it, and leaned on the door. He stood in the doorway, leaning
against its frame. After a second, I gave him a hug. When I let go ( I don’t know what
possessed me to do the following), I pulled him close again and our lips met. It’s not like
we stayed that way for a long time, and as a matter of fact it probably felt longer than it
really was. Zac stepped away from me with a semi-surprised look on his face.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said. I was practically clueless. Tons of questions flew
by my mind. Why did I do that? What must Zac be thinking? Did I really just do what I
think I did? Um, ew? Will he tell his brothers?
“Yea,” he smiled feebly and walked away.
I shut the door. Whoa. More questions flashed by my mind. The one that flashed
by the most was, why did I do that? I took a deep breath and walked upstairs.
