Chapter 8:
Almost two hours later we arrived back at the hotel. Twenty to thirty fans were spending their day in front of it, so our van rushed right away into the underground car park. I was still laughing, when I stepped out of the van, because of the joke Brian had told.
Marcus, the bodyguard, was there awaiting the Boys and he started telling them something about a change of plans. But I couldn't pay more attention, because I got distracted.
"What's so funny?" a voice next to me had suddenly asked, after I was out of the van. I turned around surprised to find Jerald grinning at me. Now I had time to take a better look at him. I guessed he had been in his late thirties, when he had died. He wore a dark grey suit, and I imagined what kind of life he had probably led. I was pretty sure he had been married. A look at his ring finger told me I was right Maybe he was even someone's dad.
"Oh, umm...Brian told us - well, he told the other guys a joke", I answered, following him and the rest of the bunch. "Wanna hear? I thought it was pretty good." As soon as the words had left my mouth I felt stupid. Way to go, Carrie! The first impression he had got of me was that I was dumb, and it seemed I wasn't doing anything to change that impression. For some reason I thought that I sounded ridiculous.
But Jerald just chuckled and said: "Spill!"
"Okay", I smiled and laughed a little again. "What is the difference between a bad golfer and a bad skydiver?"
Jerald seemed to think about it for a moment, then shrugged his shoulders. "I have no clue."
"A bad golfer goes: 'Whack! Damn!'. A bad skydiver goes 'Damn! Whack!'." I couldn't help myself and burst out laughing again.
I think Jerald was more amused about me than about the joke, but anyway - he laughed. "It's good to see you're feeling alright", he then smiled. "After all, it's your first day."
"How come all of you talk about this as if talking about a job?" I asked with my typical "Duh!"-expression on my face.
"You'll see", Jerald smiled. "After a while it loses this whole mysterious, awesome vibe. Kinda like in your previous life. While you were a kid, all the little things were like a big wonder, until you grow up and it all becomes normal. Like learning to ride a bike!"
I grinned. Not because of what he said, but because he was talking with hand and feet, and with a kind, almost enthusiastic voice. I liked that, and I liked him. I was pretty sure he had known how to enjoy life.
How I wish I had met people like the Backstreet Boys, their crew or their angels, before I had decided to end my life. I had needed people like them, who were so hungry for life and who seemed to so easily enjoy the simple things. They would've been the kind of people to not just drag me along, but show and teach me that - in spite of hard work, stress and the normal ups and downs - life had to offer so much more than pain and loneliness. How crazy that in the few hours I was here (boy, it felt like ages already!) I had probably smiled and laughed more than I had in those poor 20 years of my previous life.
My "previous" life... I guess it felt right to not just call it my "life", but my previous one, because this here definitely felt like a second chance. It was no punishment for suicide - or if it was, "someone" had failed miserably in torturing me. Because here I finally learned what I should've known before. Here I really lived, not just existed. The fact that I was in the process of making a couple of friends cheered me up also, because it meant that I didn't really suck. It just meant that it had taken two lives for me to find a family. I had finally come home.
"Houston calling! Houston calling! Carrie, we have a problem!"
"Huh?" I looked up at Jerald confused, who had ripped me out of my thoughts.
He just laughed and said: "Well, I figure 'Earth to Carrie' would sound kinda dumb for us heavenly creatures, don't ya think?"
I rolled my eyes and chuckled: "Jerald, your humor sucks!"
He grabbed his chest, as if he had been shot, then pouted: "Aw, go and find Brian then!"
"Yeah, he knows how to pull a joke!" I laughed.
"What a pity for you that you're gonna be spending more time with me", Jerald grinned.
"I will?" I asked interested. I hadn't seen much of him so far until now, so of course I was intrigued.
He nodded. "Marcus is AJ's personal bodyguard. He might have been doing other stuff today, but his main job is saving AJ's ass."
"I thought that was my job!" I smiled amused. "Oh well! Guess I'll have to get used to your lame jokes then!" Both of us laughed again, before - to my surprise - Jerald put his arm around me, while we went back up to the Boys' floor. It felt wonderful to have friends.
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