Since it was the Anniversary Tour, the guys did all their old hits and some of their new stuff. There were even songs from some of their movies. The arena was pumped. Orlando's crowd was always the best because this was their home. Joey and Justin and JC kept picking at the crowd and getting everyone up and happy. Everything was going without a hitch.
During the next to last costume change, the girls were brought backstage for their part later. They were standing by the stairs when the guys came back out to head back on stage. Each one grabbed their lady and gave them a big kiss. I love yous were exchanged and the guys were on performing their hearts out.
Elaine stood there looking at the ring that Lance had given her. He was so thoughtful and cleaver to design the ring as he did. She remembered telling him about her grandfather and how when she asked him if he loved her, he would say, "Of course I do and you can wrap it up in a ribbon and take it to the bank."
As she thought of all that had happened in just the last twenty-four hours, she lifted her eyes heavenward. "Oh Father in Heaven, thank you so much for the answer to my prayers. You have never failed me and the prayers not answered as I wanted were answered in Your way and Your time. I love him so much. Help me to love him honestly and completely. Help me to make the hurt go away from his heart."
The girls were given microphones to hold in case they wanted to sing along with the guys. They still didn't know what they were going to sing. it was a toss up between THIS I PROMISE YOU or THAT'S WHEN I'LL STOP LOVING YOU. Both songs meant a great deal to Elaine. She was starting to feel a little nervous. Lynne, Rickii and Elaine got together and sang a verse of AMAZING GRACE, the song they had done at graduation, to warm up their voices. As they sang, the people around them stopped and looked in wonder at the three lovely young ladies singing. Their voices blended well and carried even more. When they were through, several people around them applauded. They looked a little embarrassed and turned back to the stairs.
They heard the band break into the music for the last change. The guys ran down the stairs to change into their tuxes. Their ties and cummerbunds were the same colors as the girls dresses. Before they dressed, they guys stood in front of big huge fans to dry off. They didn't want to be hot and sweaty with the girls on stage.
When they came out of the changing room, they looked like they had stepped out of GQ. They each grabbed their ladies' hand and walked with them to the back of the stage. The guys looked at the girls and Chris spoke up, "Are you girls ready for this?" He turned to the guys and asked, "Are you sure you want to do this?"
Everyone gave a resounding "YES"!
"We're going out first and do a little talking and introduce you ladies. Elaine, you'll be first because you're the birthday girl. Everyone ready?" asked Chris.
"Let's go," they all said.
As the guys walked back out on stage in their tuxes, the audience went wild over how good they looked. Chris managed to get everyone calmed down. "Well guys, it's nice to know we still got it." Everyone laughed. "This is a very special show for us tonight. It's the last show of the Anniversary Tour and we're back HOME in Orlando," cheered Chris. The crowd went wild.
Joey picked up from there. "Our fans all over are very important to us, but our fans here in Orlando are like family." Again, the crowd went wild.
JC stepped forward and calmed the crowd back down. "We got some special things going on tonight. Everyone knows Gwen, our secretary, right? Well, due to health problems she is stepping down from touring. She is going to head things up here in Orlando. Most of you are aware that her daughter Elaine is taking over for her. Elaine has done wonders since she has come into the *N SYNC family. The web sites, chats and the fan mail sorts have been big successes." The crowd applauded.
Justin came forward next. "Most of you know Elaine from previous concerts, and those of you that know her, know that today is her birthday. A couple of months ago, we went to her graduation and surprised her and her class by singing at the ceremony. Elaine has always been 'Sissy' to us. She has always been special to us. Well, we invited some of her friends to come on tour with us this summer and we have had a ball."
Lance stepped forward. "First of all, I want you to meet Elaine and her best friends, Lynne and Rickii. Girls, would you come on out?" Lance directed the guys behind the stage to send the girls out.
They had three chairs on the stage for them to sit in once they were done with introducing them. JC took Rickii's hand and walked to the front of the stage and introduced her to the audience. He asked her how the summer had been and she shared the fun they had on tour. Justin lead Lynne forward and they did much the same as JC and Rickii.
Then, Lance stepped forward with Elaine on his arm.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is Elaine, who has single handedly tackled the web sites and chat rooms to get you what you wanted online and who did the Special Meet and Greet set ups. She has been a God send as liaison for FLE. I don't know what I would do without her."
The crowd applauded Elaine and she lifted the microphone to speak. "Thank you so much. Thank you. We hope we have made the guys more accessible for you by having true up-to-date info on what they are doing and where they're going and everyone seems to like the chats. Also, we would like to thank everyone who has helped with the Special Meet and Greets. This means so much to the guys and especially to these special kids. There will be a new section up on the main site here in a few weeks where you will be able to send your suggestions of things maybe the guys could do to meet you needs. Thank you again for being here tonight."
"Well, I didn't know we were that close to the new addition being up, but thanks Elaine from me and all the guys for all the hard work you have been doing. Also, to Lynne and Rickii who have been helping out this summer and will be staying on now at UCF and with the *N SYNC family," Lance added and looked lovingly at Elaine.
A fan in the third row, front and center noticed the "look" again and the whispered words "you're amazing" from Lance to Elaine.
Lance continued. "Thank you so much for your support. Well, birthday girl, we can't let you get away without singing Happy Birthday to you." He looked out to the audience. "We will do our little rendition of Happy Birthday and then the audience can join us to finish it up."
The guys did their little bit and then all of the arena joined in and sang Happy Birthday. Lance, JC and Justin took the girls to their seats and started singing "God Must Have Spent A Little More Time On You." That song was still special in every Nsync fan's heart. When they were done, the guys looked at Joey and Chris and nodded for them to bring Kelly and Dani out. They stepped off stage for a moment and when they came back out, Joey had Kelly on his arm and Dani was with Chris. There were two more chairs placed on stage for them. Chris introduced Dani and the crowds went wild. They loved her. Then Joey stepped forward to speak as he held Kelly's hand in his.
"Because our Orlando fans are so much like family, that is why I decided to wait until tonight to share something with you. We are celebrating more than Elaine's birthday tonight. There are some other announcements tonight. So I guess I will start with mine.
First of all and most important, we want the fans to know how much we love you and how much your support has meant to us and still does. Because you are so important to us we want to share this with you first."
He turned and looked at Kelly. Then he got down on one knee and took her left hand in his. As he did, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a huge diamond ring. "Kelly, we've been together a long time and I've realized that you mean everything to me. I've realized that my life is nothing without you. So Kelly, will you marry me?"
The audience was deathly quiet waiting for her answer. Joey held the ring waiting to place it on her finger when she said yes. She looked down at him and smiled and shook her head yes as she whispered the word. Joey slipped the ring on her finger and stood up to hug her and give her a kiss. "I love you, baby," confessed Joey. "And I love you, too," whispered Kelly. The crowd exploded into cheers and applause.
Everyone on stage looked relieved. Well, one down and three to go seemed to be the consensus. As the applause died down, JC and Justin decided they would announce their girlfriends together. They stepped up and JC spoke first.
"Success and all is great, but unless you have someone special to share it with, sometimes it can be a little empty and lonely. For years we have tried to 'hide' our girlfriends and deny them. Well, it's time for that to end."
Justin picked up from there. He pointed out to the crowd as he spoke. "You guys are special to us, but, we need more than fan adulation. We appreciate your love and support and we love you for it, but, it's a different love. We're here to share with you that we have found young ladies who mean something very special to us." They walked over and took the hand of their lady.
JC announced he and Rickii were a couple as did Justin with Lynne. Then Lance stepped forward. "You know quite a few years ago there was a country song called 'Looking For Love In All The Wrong Places'. It was a popular song due to the movie 'Urban Cowboy.' Well, sometimes that song is more true than we want to admit, even to ourselves. Over the years I've been involved in some pretty nasty relationships. Some, I'd just soon forget. But God works miracles around us. Sometimes what we need is right in front of us."
Lance turned and walked over to Elaine and took her hand and walked her to the front of the stage. "They say that confession is good for the soul, well let's see how this goes. Five years ago, this young lady came into our lives through her Mom. She would come on the road with us during summer break when we had a tour and at other times when she had time off from school. We've sorta grown up together. I've told you about all the great work she has done just this summer, and she has added a new dimension to our tour. She has helped so many people, including Joey here. But most of all, she has helped me.
A few years back, I was in a bad relationship and when it ended, I was in bad shape. I was not the most pleasant person to be around then. But, my best friends here and Elaine remained constant, and Lord knows I gave them every reason to shove me out the door. I couldn't understand how anyone could still care what happened to me after the way I treated them. Then one night, this smart gal here informed me that 'true friends love you no matter what, warts and all.' Can you believe it?"
As he continued, he slipped his arm around Elaine's waist and pulled her close to him, as if for added support to them both. "Elaine has started a Bible Study on our tour and through that, we have all grown and determined that our personal lives need to take precedent at some point. And we are now at that point, as Joey has shared with you tonight with he and Kelly and JC and Rickii and Justin and Lynne.
So, now it's my turn. Elaine is not only the birthday girl tonight, she is my heart and soul. The three couples here, we are just starting out and seeing where it leads. I already know where I want it to go, but, I will NOT rush her. This is too important to me. I want what will make her happy." Lance looked at her and gave her a kiss. The audience went "awwwwwweeeee."
Lance looked out over the arena and calmly spoke. "You are the greatest fans in the world and we pray that you can understand where we are coming from. We're not getting any younger and I, for one, want a chance to have a family, but we will still do our music as long as you want us to. But please, just allow us to have some personal happiness, please be happy for us."
As Lance spoke the last words, tears flowed down his cheeks and the audience was hauntingly quiet. Slowly, fans down in front and all over the arena started standing to their feet and clapping with smiles on their faces. Then they started chanting *N SYNC, *N SYNC, *N SYNC...*N SYNC. The guys and girls looked at one another and smiled and gave each other hugs.
No one seemed to notice or care about the fan in the third row, front and center, sitting in her seat with a look of pure hatred on her face. Her jaws flexed as her teeth clamped together. She was thinking to herself that Lance could not do this. "You're mine forever, Lance."
When everything settled back down, Joey stepped forward and introduced the last song of the show and that it was to be dedicated first and foremost to the girls and then to the fans.
*Get out your NSA CD and play track #10:
When winter comes in summer
When there's no more forever
Yeah, that's when I'll stop loving you
That's when I'll stop loving you
I'm sure you've heard these words before
And I know it's hard for you to trust them once more
You're afraid it all might end
And a broken heart is scared of breaking again
But you've gotta believe me
I'll never leave you
You'll never cry long as I am there
And I will always be there
You will never be without love
When winter comes in summer
When there's no more forever
When lies become the truth
Oh you know then baby,
That's when I'll stop lovin'
That's when I'll stop loving you
That's when I'll stop loving you yeah
As long as sunlight lights the sky
Light of love will be found in these eyes of mine (these eyes of mine)
And I will shine that light for you
You're the only one, I'll ever give this heart to
What I'm trying to say is, nothing will change this (ahh..)
There'll be no time you won't find me there (find me there)
Cause I will always be there
You will always have all my love
When winter comes in summer
When there's no more forever (yeah)
When lies become the truth (ohhhh)
Well you know then baby,
That's when I'll stop lovin'
That's when I'll stop loving you
That's when I'll stop loving you
And when this world doesn't turn anymore
When the stars all decide to stop shining
Til then I'm gonna to be by your side
Gonna be loving you forever
Every day of my life
Ohh..baby..
Well you know then baby
That's when I'll stop lovin'
That's when I'll stop lovin'
That's when I'll stop loving you
When winter comes in summer
When there's no more forever
When lies become the truth (truth... yeah)
Well you know then baby,
That's when I'll stop lovin'
That's when I'll stop loving you (ohh..)
When winter comes in summer (yeah)
When there's no more forever
When lies become the truth
That's when I'll stop loving (well you know then baby)
That's when I'll stop loving you
That's when I'll stop babe
I'll stop babe
Loving you
The girls joined in on the last verse as they sang to the fans. It was really neat the way all their voices blended. When they were done, everyone came out on stage, the band, wardrobe, makeup, everyone came out and the guys thanked everyone for the fantastic job they had done and how much they looked forward to doing it again. When they were through with their goodbyes, they left the stage for the party.
