The rest of the reception went great! Everybody had a good time and by the time it ended, my friends were practically pushing me and Brian into the limo. Brian and I took a plane down to Puerto Rico, where we boarded the Monarch of the Seas (a luxury cruise liner). For two weeks, we sailed to islands in the Caribbean, including St. Thomas. Martinique, Barbados, Antigua, St. Maarten, etc. Though we were reluctant, we caught a plane back to Orlando.
"Are you sure you don't want to go back?" I whined as the seat belt sign turned off.
"I wish, but we have to see them again sometime," Brian said, laughing.
"Do we really?" I asked, standing up and picking up my carryon luggage. He nodded and kissed me softly. We walked off the plane and down the terminal. As soon as we reached the airport, hundreds of camera flashes went off. I saw N'Sync and the rest of Galaxy and the Backstreet Boys waiting for us, surrounded by a huge mob of fans and paparazzi. I turned around to go back.
"And, just, where do you think you're going?" Brian asked, taking my hand.
"Back to the Caribbean," I said, smiling at him. "You can join me if you want."
"Uh, uh. You've got to face them sometime," he repeated. I sighed and turned around. My friends ran towards me and I got crushed in a six person (Galaxy and Justin) hug. After greeting the others, I turned around and gave Justin another hug.
"Yes," I whispered in his ear.P>
"How do you know I was gonna ask that?" Justin asked.
"Because I know you," I answered simply.
"Well, I was gonna ask if you guys . . . ate hamburgers," he improvised. I rolled my eyes and hit him playfully in the arm. "Back for two seconds and I'm already getting abused!" Then he leaned down to whisper in my ear. "Was he good?"
"That I will not answer," I said, rolling me eyes again. As soon as we were ready, the combined security teams of Galaxy, N'Sync, and the Backstreet Boys ushered us out of the airport and into three limo's. They tried to separate me and Brian, but there was no way that was going to happen.
When we got to our house, AJ rushed to the door before anyone else could get there.
"Wait!" he yelled. "I have to make sure everything's ready." he peeked his head inside the door, then turned back to us. "All clear." I gave him a strange look and patted his hair before walking inside. I looked around and gasped. There were candles everywhere and snack trays on the coffee table. The place looked gorgeous!
"I hope you didn't leave all these candles lit without somebody here," I said, looking accusingly at AJ.
"Nope, they didn't." I turned and saw Harold walk out of the kitchen with a frilly apron on. AJ stuck his tongue out at me.
"Even worse," I told him, trying to hit his tongue.
"The food's almost ready," Harold said as I went up and gave him a hug.
"I hope you had some help," I said.
"He did," Tim said as he and Jerald came out of the kitchen.
"Mental note to all," Rachel said, "Richardson's can cook, Littrell's cannot."
"Hey!" Brian and Harold protested.
"Sorry, babe," I said, kissing Brian's cheek. "She's right."
"And if that was your best argument, then I'm not eating anything you guys make," Joanne said, laughing. As soon as the food was done, Harold, Jerald, and Tim joined us in the family room, where we'd made a fire. Everyone started rehashing the past few weeks events to me and Brian. Apparently, we missed a massive raid of fans, JC forgetting his lines at a concert and doing the weirdest improvisation on the face of the earth, and there is supposed to be a promo tour that is starting sometime in the next two weeks. In the middle of our conversation, Maribeth excused herself and ran upstairs. When she didn't come down after a few minutes, I excused myself and walked up the stairs. When I got to the top of the steps, I heard noises coming from the bathroom. I opened the door and saw Maribeth sitting on the floor next to the toilet.
"You okay?" I asked, sitting down next to her. She shook her head. "What wrong?"
"I've been 'worshipping the porcelain throne' for a few days, now," she said, smiling slightly.
"How come you didn't call me?" I asked, concerned.
"I didn't think you wanted me to interrupt your 'fun' time," she explained. "If you interrupt my honeymoon, the next place we'll be seeing each other is at your funeral."
"That's a theory I don't think I'm going to test," I said, laughing. "C'mon, let's go to the doctors."
"You okay?" I asked, sitting down next to her. She shook her head. "What wrong?"
"I've been 'worshipping the porcelain throne' for a few days, now," she said, smiling slightly.
"How come you didn't call me?" I asked, concerned.
"I didn't think you wanted me to interrupt your 'fun' time," she explained. "If you interrupt my honeymoon, the next place we'll be seeing each other is at your funeral."
"That's a theory I don't think I'm going to test," I said, laughing. "C'mon, let's go to the doctors."