CHATROOM LOVE
Chapter Thirty-Two
November 18, 2001
The four kids piled into the limousine, sorry
that Dawn and Tommy weren’t going with them, but excited all the same.
"I never think when I go to Canada that
I get to see an American singer!" Fabrizio exclaimed, relaxing comfortably
next to Helga as the limousine made its way towards the concert.
Rose frowned. "American singers come to
Canada sometimes," she told him. "We’re not that backwards.
And we have some good Canadian singers, too, like Celine Dion."
"I love her music," Helga remarked.
"I have all her CD’s back in Ireland, but I forgot to bring them when I
came to Canada. Do you suppose she’ll ever hold a concert in Edmonton,
Rose?"
Rose shrugged. "I don’t know. I don’t
usually pay attention to things like that." She grinned, leaning against
Jack. "Of course, when you win a concert ticket, that’s different."
"And in America, too!" Fabrizio
added.
"You’re American, Jack," Helga
said, looking at him. "Did you go to a lot of concerts when you lived
here?"
"A few. I lived in Santa Monica, which
is near LA—some people think it is a part of LA—and a lot of concerts
are held in LA."
"Is Hollywood near there?" Fabrizio
wanted to know.
"Yeah, Hollywood is in LA, too. But I
couldn’t go to as many concerts as I would have liked—they’re expensive, and so
is parking, food, drinks…all that."
"Your family wasn’t rich?"
Jack rolled his eyes. "If my family was
rich, do you think my cousins would be living in that rundown townhouse?"
"It doesn’t look so bad to me."
"Hey," Helga interrupted.
"We’re slowing down—do you think we’re almost there?"
"We are! Look!" Rose pointed out
the window at a huge sign. "I hope we can get in there before the concert
starts."
"If we get stuck in traffic, we can
always get out and walk," Jack suggested. "It was nice of Dawn’s
parents to rent this limousine, especially since we don’t have to park it
ourselves."
As it turned out, they didn’t have to worry.
The limousine was able to pull right up to the curb to let them out. A few
photographers snapped pictures of them as they climbed out, then looked
disappointed when they discovered that the four kids weren’t celebrities.
They parted ways soon after going inside,
since Jack and Rose had won tickets near the front, while Fabrizio and Helga
would be sitting farther back. They moved through the milling crowds to find
their seats, then could hardly sit still as they waited for the concert to
start.
"It’s too bad we didn’t win backstage
passes, too," Jack complained. "I’ve always wanted to see what goes
on back there."
"At least we got this," Rose told
him. "I never would have thought of going to this concert if we hadn’t won
that contest, and Mom would never have considered it."
"Yeah, we all did get a good weekend
from this," Jack agreed. "It’s just too bad that Tommy and Dawn
couldn’t be here."
"Dawn’s sick, but Tommy chose not to
come. I was surprised. He loves Britney Spears." Rose sighed. "He
stayed behind for Dawn—that’s one of those things a man will do for the woman
he loves." She raised an eyebrow. "Would you do that for me?"
"Of course I would." He leaned over
to kiss her as the lights began to fade. "I love you, Rose."
"I love you, too, Jack." Rose
returned the kiss, then pulled away. "Now, let’s watch the concert."
*****
"That was great!" Helga shouted
when she saw Jack and Rose emerge after the concert.
"What?" Rose yelled, putting a hand
behind her ear to indicate that she didn’t understand.
"My ears are numb!" Jack added,
laughing. He and Rose hurried over to Helga and Fabrizio. "That was so
loud!"
"Hah!" Rose remarked, tugging on
her right ear. "You were yelling and screaming in my ear!"
"You were yelling, too!"
"Because you were!" Rose punched
him playfully on the arm.
"Ow!"
"What?"
"Ow!"
"I didn’t hurt you, you big baby!"
Rose threw her arms around him, giggling.
"Are you two drunk or something?"
Helga asked, staring at them like they’d each grown two heads.
"No! Just high on life!" Jack told
her.
"And deaf!" Rose added.
"I won’t be able to hear my teachers
tomorrow," Fabrizio agreed. He didn’t look terribly disappointed at the
prospect.
The four of them laughed and horsed around
for a few more minutes, until the limousine finally pulled up to the curb. The
driver drummed his fingers on the steering wheel impatiently, waiting for them
to notice to his presence.
"We’d better get going," Rose told
the others reluctantly. "We have to catch the plane, and we have school in
the morning."
"I don’t know how I’ll stay awake,"
Helga complained, following the others into the limousine.
"Try coffee," Jack suggested.
Helga made a face. "Ugh. I don’t think
so."
"Maybe we’ll be able to stay home
tomorrow," Rose suggested hopefully. Then she thought of her mother, and
her face fell. "No…Mom’ll make me go to school, and if I fall asleep and
get in trouble, she’ll say ‘I told you so.’"
"Yeah. My aunt and uncle will say the
same thing," Jack complained. "Didn’t they ever have fun when they
were kids?"
"Yes," Helga told him. "That’s
why they don’t want us to have any fun."
The others gave her confused looks, but
didn’t comment as the limousine headed back toward the hotel.