Faye started jumping up and down when her parents allowed her to open her birthday presents. “Are these really what I think these are?” Her mother nodded. The girl gazed down at the tickets that she held in her hand.
“That’s not all,” her father said as he walked over and opened the door to the kitchen. A tall brunette followed him into the family room where Faye and her mother were sitting.
“Jacquie?” When the older girl smiled, Faye ran over to wrap her long-time friend in a big hug.
“Um, Faye? I… breathing… need air…” Jacquie burst out laughing as Faye started firing questions at her. “I am here to be your chaperone.”
Faye snickered. “For what?
“For our upcoming trip to New York where we are meeting Melissa and two of her friends at The Rosie O’Donnell Show where, drum-roll please, we will be seeing not one, not two, but all five of the Backstreet Boys LIVE.”
Faye’s eyes grew wide and the last thing that she saw was the grinning faces of her parents and her friend before she passed out.
When she opened her eyes, she could see Jacquie laughing at her. “You are obviously a novice at this kiddo. Most fans wait until they meet the Boys before they faint.” When Faye moved to sit up, her mother gestured for her to stay on her bed.
“I want you to rest for a few more minutes, then you need to pack and your father will be ready to take both you girls to the airport. Jacquie, I need to finalize some things with you before you leave, ok?” Jacquie nodded.
Faye waiting until her mother left the room. “So tell me the whole story.”
“Your parents got you two tickets to see Rosie, and since they have too much work to do with the ranch, they called me and asked for me to come and take you to New York. So I called Melissa and she and Sarah and Emily are meeting us there to help you celebrate your sixteenth birthday.”
Faye’s mother came into the room to bring a suitcase and to talk to Jacquie while Faye packed. Fifteen minutes later, they were in the car headed for the airport.
The flight from Texas to New York City was uneventful, and it was close to five o’clock when the two girls arrived at their hotel. Faye dropped her bags on the bed near the window. “When are we meeting up with Melissa and the girls?”
Jacquie grinned and walked over to the door connecting their room to the one next door. “Right now.” She knocked on the door and it quickly opened to reveal a blonde who smiled when she saw the two girls.
“Hey Melissa! Jacquie and Faye are here!” Melissa ran over to wrap her arms around her two friends.
“Happy birthday, Faye! Hey Jacquie!” She invited the girls into the room. “Let me introduce everyone. Sarah answered the door and Emily is in the bathroom. Faye is the birthday girl and Jacquie is the one with the… the… What color would you say your hair is now, JQ?”
“Um, crystal brown, think.” They all laughed as the missing Emily walked into the room.
“Hey Em!”
“Hi girls. Happy birthday Faye. What are we doing for dinner?” Emily ran a brush through her dark brown hair.
“It’s your call, Faye,” Melissa said.
“Hard Rock Café!”
All the girls agreed, then laughed at Jacquie’s goofy expression.
“Maybe JC will be there…” She stared off dreamily into space, but blinked when a pillow hit her in the face. Faye stood right in front of her.
“I can’t believe you! We came all this way to see the Backstreet Boys and all you can think of is some NSTINKer?”
“But he’s so adorable!” She ducked as pillows came at her from all directions. Jacquie laughed as she escaped back to her room to get ready for their first night in NYC.
“Psst! Hey Mel! Come to the restroom with me, will you?”
Melissa nodded and followed Faye away from the table where the five girls were just seated. Faye stood with her hands under the hand dryer for a few minutes. “It’s way too cold for me up here!”
“You are spoiled with that warm weather back in Texas. I have lived through winters like this before and this isn’t even that bad.” Melissa laughed at her friend who gave an exaggerated shudder.
A woman who was washing her hands spoke up. “That’s okay, being from Florida I know exactly what you mean. This cold weather is driving me crazy too. Want to share the warmth?” All three laughed as Melissa moved away from the hand dryer she was blocking.
“So what brings you to leave Texas for New York?”
“Tomorrow is my birthday, so I came up here with some friends to celebrate,” Faye explained as they left the restroom.
“Ooh! I love birthdays! How old are you going to be?”
“It’s Faye’s sixteenth, and we are taking her to the Rosie O’Donnell Show tomorrow,” Melissa shared.
The woman’s eyebrow arched. “Well, Faye, I hope you have a wonderful birthday.”
“Thank you so much!” Faye and Melissa smiled at the woman who waved then left to find her party.
Melissa nudged Faye. “Did she look familiar to you?” The younger girl nodded, but since they couldn’t place her, they headed back to the table.
“I love the fajitas.”
“Oh, that reminds me of this time when I was in Argentina…” Emily playfully rolled her eyes at Jacquie as Sarah kept reminiscing. Emily asked Sarah something in Spanish, so the two girls conversed in the foreign language for a few minutes.
“Enchilada.”
“What?” Emily looked at Jacquie.
“Quesedilla.”
“Hungry, JQ?” Sarah laughed.
“Yo quiero Taco Bell.” Jacquie grinned. “I felt left out, so I thought I’d join in. Mi casa es su casa.”
“You are nuts, Jacquie.” Emily shook her head.
“No, the word is loco,” Sarah added.
“You el stupido Chihuahua!” Jacquie’s last comment sent all the girls into gales of laughter.
“What on earth are you girls talking about?” The voice came from behind them.
Jacquie wiped tears of laughter from her eyes. “I was trying to impress them with my oh-so extensive Spanish vocabulary,” she explained without turning around.
Another softer voice spoke this time. “You do know that putting ‘el’ in front of a word doesn’t make it Spanish.”
She playfully tossed her menu on the table. “Ssshhh! Don’t give away all of my secrets!”
Everyone laughed and Jacquie, finally noticing the other girls’ expressions, turned in her chair. Her initial surprise turned to amusement as she recognized Howie and AJ from the Backstreet Boys standing behind her. The guys smiled back and slipped into the two vacant seats at their table.
“Hi, I’m Sarah, this is Emily, and ‘yo quiero taco bell’ is Jacquie.”
“I’m AJ, and this is Howie. What are you girls doing this evening?”
“Eating.”
“No kidding, Howie,” Sarah dryly said. He laughed at that.
“Just getting dinner with some friends. Actually, tomorrow we are seeing you guys on the Rosie O’Donnell Show.” Emily sipped her water.
AJ shouldn’t have been surprised, but he was. “You recognize us?” “Let’s just say incognito is not one of your strong points, eh AJ?” He threw a napkin at Jacquie.
Emily continued to explain. “Jacquie is from Ohio, but she flew down to Texas and brought Faye up here. Sarah, Melissa, and I came down from New Hampshire to meet them.”
“You came all that way just to see us?” Howie asked.
Sarah shook her head. “Yes and no. We came to help Faye celebrate her sixteenth birthday tomorrow. Getting to see you all was just a lucky break.”
“So where is the birthday girl?”
“She went to the restroom with Melissa a few minutes ago. I think she was going to stand under the hand dryer and try to warm up.”
Howie looked up in that direction. “There’s my sister, and she’s talking to two girls.”
“Mel is on the left and Faye is on the right.” Jacquie pointed them out.
Both guys stood up. “It’s been lovely chatting with you girls, but we need to be going,” Howie smiled at all the girls.
“Yeah, and don’t tell your friends you met us, okay?” The girls grinned at AJ’s parting comment, and then the guys were gone.
“What were y’all smiling for?” Faye took the chair Howie just vacated and Mel sat next to her.
“Um, JQ was trying to talk in Spanish,” Emily muttered.
“Trying is right,” Sarah teased.
“It’s not my fault! I took French!” Jacquie threw her hands up as the other four began chatting in jumbled Spanish. “Hey! I do know what “chico mal” is, Melissa!”
“I dunno. Maybe we’ll find out tomorrow,” Sarah replied.
“I hope so. Good night, Sarita.”
“Night, Em.”
The next morning found the five girls shivering outside the TV studios waiting to be let in to the Rosie O’Donnell Show. Trying to keep entertained, Mel and JQ got the entire line of people to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to a blushing Faye.
She blushed even more when she opened Jacquie’s gift. It was a brown paper bag. Even Melissa had to laugh at that. Then they were allowed inside.
“Finally! I think I just about froze out there. We’re talking Faye-sickles.”
“Texas wuss,” Jacquie teased.
The girls found their seats. Melissa and Faye noticed the woman they met at the restaurant last night sitting only a few rows ahead of them.
“What’s she doing here?” Faye wondered.
“Maybe she’s a fan,” Melissa replied.
“I’d hope so if she came all the way up from—“
“FLORIDA!” Both girls looked at each other then back to the woman.
“Ohmigarsh, Faye! Isn’t she Howie’s sister?”
“You betcha she is!”
Hearing Faye’s Texas accent, the woman turned around and spotted the girls. She smiled and waved at them. “Happy birthday, Faye!” She called.
“Thank you!” Faye and Melissa waved back, and then it was time for the show to begin.
The girls were having a marvelous time watching their favorite group do what they do best: entertain. After singing a few songs and answering some questions, Rosie brought the interview to a close.
“Before we go, Rosie, we have a surprise for one of your audience members,” AJ smiled up at the screaming fans.
Faye held her breath.
Howie started talking. “My sister is here today with us…”
Faye’s heart dropped.
“… and last night when we were at dinner, she met some fans who traveled from New Hampshire and Texas to be here today.”
Melissa and Faye looked at each other.
“And Howie and I met three of their friends from New Hampshire and Ohio,” AJ added.
Melissa and Faye looked over at their grinning friends.
Brian smiled. “ Hey Polly? Can you bring Faye down here?”
The woman, who was indeed Howie’s sister, Pollyanna, pulled a stunned Faye out of her seat and led her onstage. Howie moved from his seat so Faye could sit between Nick and Rosie.
“Now, the guys tell me that today is your birthday. Is that true?” Rosie asked.
Faye nodded.
“How old are you?” Nick asked.
“Sixteen.”
“Are you always this quiet?” Brian asked.
“Yeah, right!” The guys looked up and laughed at Jacquie’s outburst. Faye relaxed and laughed.
“Would you like your friends to come down here with you?” Rosie suggested.
“No way! They’re all mine!” Faye joked, but nodded yes.
“Okay, we’ll be right back with Faye, her friends, and the Backstreet Boys! Stay tuned.” Rosie went to a commercial break.
Melissa, Emily, Sarah, and Jacquie were brought down onstage, and were seated in chairs behind the Boys. Everyone chatted and introductions were made all around.
When the show came back on, the Boys were standing around Faye’s chair and sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to her.
“What’s that popular saying about a girl and her sixteenth birthday, Frick?”
“It’s ‘Sweet-Sixteen-And-Never-Been-Kissed’, Frack.”
Nick turned to grin at Faye. “Well? Are you?” Her jaw dropped as her friends burst out laughing. (AUTHOR NOTE: Think Nickers trying to look sexy…lol)
AJ stepped forward and kissed her on the cheek. “Not anymore, fellas!” Kevin and Howie each kissed her hand, and Nick shyly kissed her cheek.
Not one to be outdone, Brian moved in front of Faye and kissed her nose. She burst out laughing at that…well, that and Jacquie chanting “Faye’s getting sugars” behind them.
Rosie came out and thanked the Boys for coming today and the show was over.
The Boys chatted with the girls for awhile before they had to leave. The girls all got autographs and pictures and had a great time. As he was walking out the door, Howie pulled a small package out of his bag and handed it to Jacquie. “This is from AJ too.” Then they were gone.
“What is it?” The other four girls crowded around Jacquie as she opened the package. And promptly burst out laughing.
It was one of those talking Chihuahuas from Taco Bell.