It had been a few weeks since I had the accident in dance. Howie had been over every morning and stayed with me all day. We were both exhausted so we often slept a lot. Me in my bed and him on the couch. Almost every day, one of the other boys came to check on me. Amanda and Amy had come over a few times, as well as Danielle and Emily and the four girl dancers. Reggie, Ed, Swoop, Ro Ro, and Sleepy sent me a bouquet of flowers. I had gotten used to my cast really quickly and learned to walk with crutches.
Howie and I had played every single game the two of us owned at least twice. Every day, he either made me lunch or bought something for me. To pass time, we made cinnamon rolls, a pie, muffins, brownies, cookies, smoothies, fruit kabobs and anything else we could think of. That day, we decided we were going to make a cake from scratch.
Sitting on the kitchen counter next to the big mixer, I poured in the ingredients while Howie stirred them. Then, he set the beater on. The cake batter was almost done and I was about ready to make the frosting.
"So, D, what exactly is this cake for?" I asked, randomly. Howie looked at me cluelessly.
"Oh yeah!" he suddenly remembered. "Today's AJ and Emily's one year anniversary." I laughed. I couldn't believe he would remember something that...umm...random. He pulled the beaters out of the cake mix and popped them off, handing one to me. I began to lick it like crazy while he finished the other one. Then, we poured the mix in the pan and stuck it in the oven.
"Now, for the frosting..." I announced, flipping the cook book over to the recipe for cake frosting while D got more ingredients out. I read the recipe to him while he measured everything out. Then, I took an egg beater and whipped the mixture like mad. When I was done, I stuck my finger in the frosting and put a huge glob of it on Howie's nose.
"Hey!" he cried out, giving me this Look. I cracked up. Then Howie put some on my cheeks. So I put some more on his forehead. To get revenge, he put frosting on my arm. So I stuck some on his ear. Soon it was a mad frosting fight. My kitchen was already a mess, with flour and sugar all over the place. Now chocolate frosting was splattered on the floor and counter. And the two of us were laughing hysterically.
"Good going Howie!" I said to him.
"Oh! So it's my fault, Gilli?" Howie argued back.
"Well yeaaaah! I'm just a helpless invalid!"
"Helpless? Ha! You're no paralyzed vegetable to me!"
"Oh well. I don't want to sit in here much longer. Can you stick the frosting in the fridge, please, so we can clean up our mess?" I asked, calling it quits on the argument. He took the bowl from my hands and stuck it in the fridge, while I found stuff for us to clean with.
Twenty minutes later, the cake was cooling, the kitchen was clean, and we were in the living room, watching Grease for the umpteenth time. We recited every word.
"Man, D! We should be in the movie!" I cried, looking at him beside me on the couch. He lifted his hand up from the back of the couch (where it was resting) and rubbed my head viciously.
"And when they come around, wanting to make a new version of it, we'll be right there waiting at the audition right?" he asked, smiling at me.
"Yoooouuuuu betcha! Oh! Here's the best part
D!" I yelled, looking at the screen to see Sandy slamming the door on Danny and his being in great pain. Howie got up and gazed distantly out the sliding glass door. Then, he began to croon out the lyrics, along with John Travolta AKA Danny Zuko. I laughed and got up to join him. Together, we sang
"Stranded at the Drive-In," with little Muchie barking like crazy at us.
"Whhhyyyyeeeeeiiiiiieeeeeiiiiiiieeeeeiiiiyyyyyy....oh Sandy..." we finished. Suddenly, I gasped.
"THE CAKE!" I cried. We had forgotten it. Howie and I ran into the kitchen. It was sitting on the counter. We had completely forgotten that we got it out of the oven before the movie started. "Oh what the hell. We might as well just decorate it. Here. I'll get the food coloring and you put the frosting on. Then, we write something like 'Happy Anniversary Meat and Bone.' Do you like that?" (Because AJ was called Bone and Emily was always with him, we had given her the nickname of Meat.)
"That's a good idea. Great thinkin' Steph!" Howie complimented me.
"Why thank you D!" We finished with the cake and licked our fingers while standing back to admire our masterpiece. And it wasn't even lop-sided! In purple and blue, we had written 'Happy 1st Yr Ann. Bone & Meat' across the middle. It was really squished in there, but we managed.
"Wanna take it over now?" D wanted to know.
"We should call first. Ya know...so we're not interrupting anything," I said. Howie thought for a second.
"Good idea." We dialed up J's number (Memory 4) and told him we had a surprise for them that we were going to bring by. AJ okayed our visit, so we were over in a flash.
AJ and Emily loved the cake. We would've stayed longer, but they were getting ready to go out, so we couldn't. It was nearly 6:00 when Howie and I left. So, he took me out to mexican food. I felt like a spoiled brat. But I loved every minute of his caring pamperment. It was so fun!
When Howie and I got back to my house, we played a few games of pool and double solitaire. Then, D said he had to go home. But first, he put food out for Muchacho and changed his water, then, he went around and locked all my doors and windows.
"Now. Go and get ready for bed and take it easy. And by the way, the tour has been postponed for a month or so. You have more time to heal, so you better do it quickly!" Howie informed me. My face brightened and I gave him a big hug.
"Thank you sooooo much D! I love you soooo much!" I cried, without much thinking. Howie chuckled a little, then pulled away from my hug and told me once more that he had to leave. I waved bye and shut the door when I saw that he was in his car. Then, I turned around and slid down to the floor, my back up against the door. What did I just say?? My big mouth had a tendency to blurt out all the wrong things. I didn't know what to do. So I went to sleep.
The next morning, I woke up a little later than usual. I yawned a few times, sitting up in my bed. Suddenly, I began to recognize the strange music that I now realized was playing.
"All I am, all I'll be, everything in this world, all that I'll ever need is in your eyes, shining at me. When you smile I can feel all my passion unfolding. Your hand brushes mine, and a thousand sensations seduce me cuz I I do, cherish you. For the rest of my life, you don't have to think twice. I will, love you still. From the depths of my soul. It's beyond my control, I've waited so long to say this to you. If you're asking do I love you this much....I do..."
Tears welled up in my eyes as I began to realize what 98 Degrees' vocals were meaning to me. How essential they had become. I listened some more.
"In my world, before you, I lived outside my emotions, didn't know where I was goin'. 'Til that day, I found you, how you opened my life to a new paradise. In a world torn by change, still with all my heart, 'til my dying day I do, cherish you. For the rest of my life, you don't have to think twice. I will, love you still. From the depths of my soul. It's beyond my control, I've waited so long to say this to you. If you're asking do I love you this much...yes I do..."
Now I was wiping away tears and blindly pulling clothes on. I took a quick look in the mirror, then grabbed my crutches, my sunglasses, and my keys, and got in my car.
The drive seemed like hours. It usually took about 15 minutes to get there, but today it seemed to last 45 minutes. Everything was running through my mind at such a speed I couldn't keep up. Everyone was right. How could I have been so blind? It was right there and I didn't even know it. I wondered how long....
I got to my destination and jumped out of the car. I walked up the cement sidewalk and to the door. Then, I knocked on it a few times. It opened and I threw my arms around him and held him tight. Then, I pulled away from him and we engaged in a passionate kiss.