It was a beautiful, starry night. Out of the plane the stars looked as if they were brighter than diamonds. Tay was fast asleep next to me, his arm lazily strewn over my shoulder. It had been quite a rough night for him. Barbara was now locked in first class for disturbance of passengers. I could hear her muffled cries for Taylor through the metal door. I snuggled up to Tay’s arm and fell fast asleep.
***********************************
“Flight 347 to Paris, France will be boarding in about 30 minutes,” bellowed the speaker throughout the airport. I sat back, tired, and a poor victim of jet lag. Thank god, we had lost Barbara about an hour ago, when her plane to London, England forced her to leave us behind. I prayed that she wouldn’t somehow ruin my vacation by rerouting her tickets to arrive in France. I looked around for Zac and saw him running around the airport playing with his megaphone. I didn’t understand how he could be so hyper, after such a long time without sleep. Finally we boarded the plane.
*********************************
After 2 hours we arrived at our destination. We found the hotel easily. I shared a room with Tay and Ike, while Zac had to share with Jessica and Avery.
“Why do I always have to be with the girls?” Zac whined to me and Ike as he dragged his black Adidas duffel bag through the door and into the next room.
“ZAAAACCCC......will you SeRve The TeA at our tea party.....PLEASEEEE!!!!” Jessica yelled at Zac as she pulled at his shirt. Avery took hold of his other arm and yanked him into the chair next to Mac.
“NOOOOOO! I refuse to play your girly games!” Zac screamed as he got out of the chair and stomped across the floor to the bathroom.
“But Zacky...Mackie is coming to our tea party, why won’t you?” Avery cried impatiently.
“BECAUSE I DON’T WANT TO, OK!!!!” Zac yelled.
“Zac, play with your sisters,” Mrs. Hanson said to Zac.
“Why can’t Tay play with them, I have other things to do,” Zac complained to his mother.
“Because, I’m not a whining baby, like you,” Tay answered.
“Taylor watch your mouth---.....Zachary just go to your sister’s tea party,” Mrs. Hanson said sternly.
“I don’t get why I always get stuck with the girls, Tay looks more like a girl than I do!” Zac moaned.
“Alright that’s it, Zac,” Tay threatened running after his brother.
“THAT’S IT!” Mrs. Hanson yelled, “I’m tired of all your whining! Taylor leave Zachary alone, and go back to your own room and unpack. Zac go to your sisters’ tea party!”
Defeated, Zac returned to his seat next to Jessica and Avery. Annoyed, Tay walked back into his room and locked the door behind him.
*****************************
It was 9:00 PM in France and we were all about ready to turn in. I got out of the shower and it was Tay’s turn. He was still in his tight, blue turtleneck, and black vinyl pants. I kissed his cheek and put my arms around his neck. Suddenly I felt something sharp, and metal sticking to Tay’s shirt.
“What have you got on your shirt, Tay,” I asked him. I turned his back to me and saw a gold chain necklace with a pendant stuck to Tay’s sweater. I fiddled with it, trying to yank it off.
“What are you doing back there, Gwen? You're not staring at my butt are you?” Tay asked.
“I’m trying to get this necklace off your sweater,” I replied ignoring his comment. I tugged one more time, and finally got the necklace off. I read the gold pendant.
“I LOVE HANSON,” I said out loud. Tay turned around and took the pendant.
“Where did I get this from?” Tay asked me.
“I dunno,” I replied puzzled.
*******************************
~Meanwhile in London, England~
Barbara sat crying in her hotel room. She felt her bare neck and burst into another fit of tears. Her friend from London, Summer, sat next to her trying to comfort her.
“You can get another one made, Barbara,” Summer said, and then added,” last year at Sunfest my friend Winter left her diamond bracelet in Taylor’s pants, and he called her right away and returned it.” Barbara’s face brightened at the thought, then her temporary smile turned to an expression of anger,” Wait....why was her bracelet in Taylor’s pants?” Barbara asked Summer.
“Ummm.....that’s not the point....I just wanted to give you some hope or something,” Summer replied,” Look on the bright side, you still have the block necklace that says TZI on it.....you know the one Spring and Fall gave you for Christmas last year.”
“Yeah..I guess,” Barbara said,” but the gold one was worth $300.”
*******************************
Ike bit the necklace with his teeth.
“Hmmmm....I think this might be real gold guys, and if it is we need to return it to the owner,” he stated after analyzing the precious metal.
“But we didn’t come in contact with any Hanson fans, except for......”Tay started,” OH GOD....it’s BARBARA’S!!!!!!” I realized he was probably right.
“Uh oh,” Ike said worriedly.
“Why don’t we just keep it until we get back to Tulsa,” I said, determined not to ruin my time with my boyfriend.
“I bet she’s devastated, though,” Ike said, concerned. I ignored Ike and proceeded to fluff my pillow and roll back the comforter on the hotel bed. I knew that if I was going to wake up at 5:30 AM the next morning I was gonna have to get some sleep. I slid into the covers and went to sleep. Tay slept on the other bed and Ike on the floor.
The next morning, I woke up before Ike and Tay, so I decided to take the extra time to unpack. First, I slid off my maroon velvet pajamas, and put on my pink, teri-cloth slippers, black mini-skirt, and Taylor’s green sweater from Delia*s. I heard a squeak of a mattress and looked up to see a sleepy-eyed Tay looking at me. I smiled and walked into the bathroom.
*******************************
When I finally came out of the bathroom, everyone in my room was up. As I stepped out, Tay’s lips met mine in a deep kiss. As I moved around him, he noticed the green sweater I was wearing.
“Hey, Gwen isn’t that mine?” Tay asked. I went to the closet to get my purse, and ignored his question.
“IT IS! isn’t it! Now I remember, I wore it at ABC!” Tay finished. His angry expression turned into a smile and he said,” Go ahead, you can wear it.” I kissed him on the cheek as a thank you, and went to find Diana and Walker.
