Laurie decided to go ahead anyway, so she wouldn't surprise anyone. She knocked on the back door, and a lady opened the door with a little baby in her arms.
"Hello, you must be Laurie. I'm Diana Hanson, Taylor's mom," she said. Mrs. Hanson had a nice smile.
"Hi, yes I'm Laurie. Nice to meet you," she said.
"Thank you, same here. Would you like to come in?"
"Sure." Laurie said. Mrs. Hanson let her inside and she called Taylor.
"Taylor! Laurie's here!" she yelled. She turned back to Laurie and smiled. "Oh, I forgot to introduce you, this is Zoe, Taylor's little sister."
"She's cute," said Laurie. And she was, too. Zoe was smiling and cooing. "How old is Zoe?" she asked.
"Zoe is 5 months old," she said.
"Cool. Hi, Zoe," said Laurie. Zoe giggled. Taylor came rushing down the steps.
"Hi, Laurie. I see you've met my Mom and Zoe," he said.
"Yep. What do you want to do?" Laurie asked.
"Want to see my room?" Taylor asked.
"Sure!" said Laurie.
Taylor took Laurie's hand. "Follow me," he said.
"Okay," said Laurie. Taylor, still holding Laurie's hand, started to run towards the steps. Laurie had to run or else she'd fall. Laughing, she asked Taylor where his room was.
"You'll see," he said. He led her up the staircase and down the hall to the right. He stopped in front of a door. "Here's my room," he said. He opened the door, and Laurie stepped in. Taylor had those glow in the dark stars on his ceiling, and he had about 30 CDs on his CD tower. Covering his room were pictures he had drawn in his whole life. On one wall, pictures covered it of him, Ike, Zac, 2 little girls, and another little boy. Some pictures they were all in, some only one or two members of the family were in. Taylor also had pictures of birthday parties, vacations, and other memorable times on his wall. Right by the window, a computer sat on a desk. He had a bookshelf full of books and movies. A TV and VCR sat on top of the dresser. A blue lava lamp glowed in the opposite corner of the room. There were 2 beanbag chairs on the floor. Taylor truly had a cool room.
"Whoa….." said Laurie. "Cool room, Tay," she said.
"Thanks. Want to meet the rest of my family?" he asked.
"Sure," said Laurie. Taylor took her hand again and led her out of his room. They went downstairs to the basement, where two little girls and a little boy were playing.
"Laurie, over here is Jessica. She's 9," said Taylor. "The other little girl is Avery. She's 7. And the little boy playing with the train is Mackenzie, or Mackie. He's four," he said. Mackie looked over when he heard his name.
"Tay! Tay!" he said. "Look at my trains." Then he turned and looked at Laurie. "Hi, who are you?" he asked.
Laurie smiled. "Hi, I'm Laurie, I'm a friend of your brother," she said.
"Oh, I see," said Mackie. Then he turned to Tay. "Tay, is she your new girlfriend?" he asked her.
Laurie laughed and Taylor blushed. "Not yet, Mackie," he said.
Now it was Laurie's turn to blush. To her rescue, the two little girls started talking to her.
"Hi, Laurie. I'm Jessica and this is Avery," said Jessica. Avery waved hi and smiled.
"Avery's a little shy," explained Tay.
"That's okay," said Laurie. "Hi Jessica, hi Avery," she said. "Jessica, I have a brother about your age," she said.
"How old is he?" she asked.
"He's 8 years old. His name's Mike," she said.
"Cool. Could he come over and play someday?" she asked.
"Sure, maybe," said Laurie.
Just then, Laurie heard a loud drum roll. She jumped.
"Zac!" Tay yelled.
"Sorry, I didn't know Laurie was here," said Zac. He ran over from his drums. "Hey Laurie! What's up? Long time no see!" he said, giving her a hug.
Laurie gave him one back. "Hey Zac! Haven't seen you in a long time, either. I missed you pal!"
"Cool." Then he turned to Tay. "Are we going to practice today?" he asked. "Well, sure we could, if you want to. Does Ike want to practice?" asked Taylor.
"I'll go ask him." Zac bounded up the stairs yelling "IKEY POO! WHERE ARE YOU?"
Taylor smiled. Then he looked at Laurie. "Do you play any instruments?" he asked.
"No, but I've always wanted to learn how to play the guitar," she responded.
"Maybe Ike'll show you some stuff on his guitar," Tay said. "Want to see our studio?"
"Sure, I'd like that," she said.
Taylor grabbed her hand again and lead her to the studio. It was only a few steps away. When they got there, Tay dropped her hand and showed her all the instruments. "Here's where Ike keeps some of his guitars," he said, pointing to a rack holding 4 guitars. "Here's my keyboards, here's the cabinet with the accessories, and here's Zac's drum set," he said. "Plus, you have your everyday microphones and amplifiers," he said, using a supersmooth radio announcer voice. Laurie laughed. "Cool, Tay. You guys have a nifty setup here."
Tay bowed. "Thank you, thank you," he said. Just then, Ike and Zac came down the stairs. "Hey, Tay, we're going to practice," said Ike. Then he looked at Laurie. "Would you like to stay and listen to us?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'd love it, Ike. Thanks," Laurie said.
Ike smiled back. "No problem, Laurie. Anything for you," he said.
Laurie smiled and sat down in a chair. The boys huddled and whispered. They then got out all the necessary percussion equipment.
Zac put on his headset. "Welcome, Glenpool! This has got to be our biggest crowd ever!" he shouted into it.
Laurie laughed. Zac continued with his speech. "We're going to start out with Thinking of You and then go into a Minute Without You! Zac, hit it!" he yelled. He grabbed his drumsticks and counted off. "1, 2, 3, 4!"
Laurie smiled and settled back and listen to the music. Taylor's voice soared through the basement.
"Fly the wings of an eagle
Glide along with the wind
No matter how high
I'll be thinking of you the whole time."
Laurie felt ready to melt. Ike kept looking over at her and giving her shy smiles. Laurie returned them back to him. Taylor kept grinning broadly at her and Zac......well, Zac was Zac. He kept being crazy and......well, and Zacish.
Thinking of You ended and a Minute Without You began. Ike sang the lead on this song. This song was one of Laurie's favorites. She was totally absorbed into the song. After the song ended, they played MMMBop and a few other songs. Then, they packed up. Tay whispered something into Ike's ear. Ike came up to Laurie.
"Hey, Laurie. Tay told me you wanted to learn how to play the guitar. Want me to teach you some things on it?"
Laurie couldn't believe her ears! She smiled at Tay, who was already grinning away.
"Sure, I'd like that."
"Okay. Here, sit down next to me and I'll show you where to put your hands," Ike said. Laurie sat down next to him. Ike put the guitar in Laurie's lap and positioned her hands.
"Okay, now strum the guitar. You'll need a pic, though, so let me give you mine to use." Ike slid it gently into her hand. "Okay, go ahead and strum the guitar."
Laurie moved the pic gently along the strings. It barely made a sound! Ike smiled at her.
"Try going a little faster and a little harder," he said.
Laurie took his advice and tried it again. The sound came out strong!
"Okay, I'm going to position your fingers for the first chord." Ike moved her fingers around. "She has nice hands," he thought to himself.
After about a half hour, Laurie knew a few chords and could play a simple song. Ike was proud of her. He called Tay and Zac downstairs to hear Laurie play.
"Hey Tay! Zac! Come downstairs and listen to Laurie!" yelled Ike.
Footsteps thundered over their head and then down the steps. Tay came down first, holding Mackie, with Zac sliding down the bannister.
"What Ike?" asked Tay.
"What's up?" asked Zac.
"Listen to Laurie play the guitar. She just learned this stuff."
Ike nodded at Laurie, and she knew that was her cue. She played the song, messing up only one time. She could feel their eyes looking at her. Ike gently put a hand under her chin and tilted her head up. Laurie smiled and kept playing the chords. Finally, she was done.
"WOO HOO! All right Laurie!" Tay gave her a hug. Zac gave her five. Ike gave her a hug and even kissed her cheek.
"Good job, Laurie, I'm proud of you, kid," Ike said, giving her a shy smile.
"Thanks, Ike. Thanks for teaching me how to play," she said.
"Anytime," he said.
Then, Mackie decided he had to get in on the act. "All right Laurie!" he said. He gave her a big hug and planted a huge kiss on her cheek.
Laurie smiled, blushing. "Thanks, Mackie," she said. Then Laurie looked at all of them and smiled at them.
Just then, Mrs. Hanson called from upstairs. "Laurie! Your mom called! It's time for you to go home!" she said.
"Okay!" Laurie yelled back. She gave Mackie a hug, Zac a high five, Tay a hug, and Ike a hug. "Bye guys," she said.
"Hey wait, I'll walk you," Tay said. He walked up with Laurie, holding her hand. Laurie turned back and waved to the guys downstairs. They waved back. Ike smiled at her, and Laurie smiled back. When they were upstairs, they ran into Jessica and Avery. "Bye Jessica, bye Avery," said Laurie.
"Bye Laurie!" they said.
Taylor walked her outside. They were heading through the yard, holding hands. They got to Laurie's back door. Tay shifted around and looked a little uncomfortable.
"Well, Laurie, I'll talk to you soon," said Tay.
"Bye, Tay," she said. They looked at each other for a moment. Then Taylor leaned over and gave her a soft, sweet kiss on the cheek. Laurie was surprised.
"I'll talk to you soon, Laurie," said Tay. He turned around and started to walk back to his house.
"Wait, Tay," said Laurie. Tay turned around.
"Yes?"
Laurie gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek back. "Bye," she said softly.
Tay smiled. Then he turned around and headed back to his house.
Laurie smiled and went inside. Little did the two of them know Ike was watching them through his bedroom window, with a single tear rolling down his cheek.
Chapter 7
Chapter 5
I Knew Them When
While We Grow
