Chapter 33: Interior Re-designing



"Hi Kat." I answered the late night call. She always called me on my cell phone, which I kept under my pillow at this time, so I wouldn't wake Ike and Tay.

"Hi Zac, I love you, I miss you, I want you." She said into the phone. I loved when she greeted me like that. It felt nice to be loved by someone other than your huge family.

"I miss you Kat. I have bad news though."

"ARE YOU GOING AWAY AGAIN?!?" She whispered loudly into the phone.

"Yeah, but thats not why I called. My mom found your bra from the laundry room and asked me about it. She said Tay said it wasn't Joey's and since it wasn't yours, it must be one of Ike's girlfriends. She told me that if she asked him and he didn't say it was, then we were all going to have a family talk. I'm thinking of what I should say. I may not ever get to see you again." I teared up. I was a baby. I couldn't believe I cried more than a girl, Joey is a girl. Baby, baby, baby....I taunted myself, making me cry more.

"Zac, honey, are you crying?" she asked with a shaky voice.

"Of course, I'm a big, fat baby, just like Tay said." I was crying harder now, but as quietly as possible.

"No, you're just sentimental, thats another reason I love you." she tried to sooth me. But this time it wasn't working.

"I'm sorry Kat, I just can't picture me without you."

"ZAC! You just reminded me of something! Okay, when you were eight, you gave a concert near here, it was at Stanley Stadium, which is now torn down, and at the end I called your name and you turned around as you were going backstage and came back and got this dark blue, fuzzy teddy bear. Do you remember that?"

"Uh....uh......uh.......OH YEAH!!! THAT WAS YOU? I think my dad got that on tape! I remember watching some old tapes, thinking how nice it was to go back and make that girl feel special, turning around just for her. I can't believe that. That is too strange."

"I remember the look in your eyes. Right then I knew I had to have you. It took four years, but I got you."

"Suuure Kat." I laughed quietly.

"I did." she pouted.




We ended up turning around and going back to the house. Then my mom called me home to help clean the house for some guests, so we decided to go early in the afternoon.

I knocked on Tay's door. It was 11:00. We were getting panicked for time. He opened the door, jerked me in, lead me straight into the garage and into the "getaway car." We bolted out of the driveway, Ike at the wheel.

"Afternoon Ike." I said with a Texas Twang.

"Afternoon lil' lady." We laughed, except for Tay.

"YOU GUYS! How can you laugh when my whole personal life is in the matters of a wacko."

"Sorry sweety." I figured a kiss would wind him down. I gave him a pleasent little kiss and he pulled me into a freakin make-out sesh.

"HEY YOU GUYS! CUT THAT OUT!" Ike yelled.

"Sorry Ike." I sat up. I was now getting ready. I put my hair in a bun, put my glasses on, put my high heels on. I put the survey I typed up last night, in the stack of papers I had and the in the two folders. I put the pencil in the clip of my clip board. Then I put all that crap into my briefcase. The one I was going to stick Tay's journal into. I was going to be a interior designer taking a survey about peoples homes. I was giving a free look over to each house. Suddenly the car stopped.

"We're here." Ike said, almost sadly.

"Alright, wish me luck." I adjusted myself quickly, took a deep breath and got out of the car. Ike drove up the road a little and turned the corner. We agreed I do at least the house next to him, which, luckily, was the last house on the street. I walked up to the door, fixed my skirt and positioned myself. The door opened.

"Good Afternoon sir. I'm from Creative Interiors, we are taking a survey and giving your house a free look over." I said, forgetting the word I was goign to use. "My name is Maria Johns. May I come in?" I ask, looking at him sweetly. He was shorter than I. He was about 5'5. He was fat, had dark hair, dark eyes, and a dark purpose.

"Uh, I'm not interested." He began to close the door, and I was desperate, so I put my hand up to the door.

"Sir, wait, you're house looks so nice on the outside, I bet the inside is better." I looked hopefully at him.

"No, I'm sorry." He began to close the door again.

"WAIT! Please sir, we are going out of business soon if we don't get some houses to redecorate, please at least let me see." I looked as frantic and pathetic as possible.

"Alright, come in, but just a couple rooms."

"Oh thank you sir, you don't realize how appreciative I am." I was in. I walked into the piano room. I set my briefcase on the piano stool and looked to my right while opening the latches. I saw the dark blue journal sitting on the magazine rack in the back corner. This guy isn't very good at stealing things. I began to walk around, "viewing" the house and answering questions. When we got back to the piano room, I asked him something. "May I have a glass of water?" I asked, clearing my throat. "I'm a little parched from walking around."

"Sure, I'll be back in a sec." He walked out of the room and I had sat on the piano stool. I reached over to the magazine rack and took the journal, I shoved it under the papers in my open breifcase and took out one of the pens and a "survey."

"Here you are." He said. I took the water and before I took a sip, I thought, What if he put something in it, so I looked at the painting. I widened my eyes and walked over to the painting. "What?" he asked.

"I can't believe you are so smart as to have put this right here. It completely balances out the room. Did you ever think about being an interior designer? I might be able to pull some strings for you. You've done so well with your house. But I did spot some things that could go. Your survey will be in the mail by the end of the week." I walked over to him. "Thank you so much sir. And don't forget to go with Creative Interiors if you need an interior decorater." I shook his hand, locked up my briefcase and left. I walked to the next house and put up my sales pitch.

"I'm sorry I'm not interested." the old woman said.

"Thank you miss, have a nice day." I said, rounding the corner. I got around the corner and hopped into the car. "Guess what?" I smiled, taking my hair down and throwing my glasses off.

"WHAT?" Tay looked at me.

"I GOT IT!"

"YES!" they both yelled. I hugged Taylor.

"Thank you so much Joey. Where was it?"

"Lying by the piano stool on a magazine rack. Luckily that is the room I picked to put my briefcase down in. I got it."




When I finally got a chance to look at Joey, I nearly laughed. She looked ridiculously older. When she was dressed as usual, she could pass for 17 or 18, but now she could have passed for at least 21. The suit she wore was very modest and made of wool. Her hair had been up in a bun, but she had taken it down and now it had a large wave in it from it being up. I kept wondering who it was she looked like, and when I figured it out I started laughing.

"What?" she asked, looking at me strangely.

"You look like- You look like- You look-" I couldn't get it out.

"Who?" Joey looked at me with a half-smile.

"Like Ms. Hathaway!" I finally choked out.

"Who?" Joey asked, confused.

"That lady on the Beverly Hillbillies that helped with the bank," Isaac supplied, smiling. Joey quickly reached up to the review mirror and glanced at herself. "Hey! I kind of need that to drive, you know," Isaac protested, putting it back in place.

"Sorry...anyways, I do not," Joey crossed her arms and leaned back in the seat, pouting. My laughter was finally slowing and I noticed that Joey wasn'texactly thrilled by my finding. I leaned over and began kissing her softly. At first she pushed me away a little, but then got into it as I leaned onto her harder.

"HEY! STOP IT! I told you that on the way up!" Isaac scolded from the front seat as we pulled into our driveway. Joey got out and waited for me to get out so that she could grab my hand and drag me up to the house. Once inside, we stopped only a moment to greet my parents and then she dragged me up the stairs and into my room.

"Why are you so eager?" I laughed.

"I want to get out of these scratchy clothes," she replied, taking off her coat and stepping out of her shoes. She then began unbuttoning her silk shirt, concentrating hard on the pesky buttons.

"I-I should go," I stuttered, nearly getting too excited at the thought of her without a shirt on.

"Wha? Oh! I've got a shirt on under this one, dillweed! I was just shedding as much clothing as possible before I go to the BATHROOM to change fully. You think I'd actually freely undress in front of you right now?" Joey laughed. I felt myself flush and I knew I was probably as red as I was when Cindy Crawford said I was a cute guy after House of Style. "I'll be right back."

With that, Joey picked up a bag of clothes and kissed me on the cheek as she went out the door. I shook my head, embarrassed at my own stupidity. I then went to Joey's briefcase and opened it up, wondering if she had written anything on the papers inside. I looked at the survey she had taken and read a few of her comments. "Ugly vomit-looking carpeting. Nasty dust everywhere. This house looks like a freak show." I flipped through much of the white paper when I found a few pieces that had been doodled on. "I love Taylor Hanson. I heart Taylor Hanson. Jordan Taylor Hanson," I read off the page. Then I saw a name that didn't ring a bell. A guy's name. "Joseph? Who's he?" I asked aloud.

"What did you say, Taylor?" Joey asked as she reappeared in the doorway. She came over to the bed and sat down beside the briefcase. I moved the parcel and sat down beside her, clutching the paper. I pointed at the name.

"Who's this Joseph guy?"

"Oh..." she groaned. "It's not a guy. It's me actually...I was about to write my full name, but I decided not to. It just looks so hideous on paper."

"It just occurred to me that I - your loving boyfriend who knows some very intimate things about you - I don't even know your real name."

"You don't want to," Joey shook her head.

"Yes I do. I like to know everything about you," I scooted closer, putting an arm around her.

"You really want to know this, don't you?" Joey gave an unsure glance at me. I nodded my head. "Okay, well, the only other person outside my family that knows this is Kat. My full name is too long and gross for anyone else to know. Whenever people in school used to share their full name, I'd totally shy away from the whole situation. There was this one girl who's name was-"

"Joey, quit stalling," I smiled.

"Okay, okay. My full name is...Josephina Meredith Baldwin," I saw her wince at her own name.

"I think it's gorgeous, just like everything else about you," I said in admiration. Her distinctly feminine name completely contrasted her rather masculine nickname. Joey just smiled up at me and hugged me closer. "Josephina Merideth Baldwin. Josephina Meredith. It's pretty."

"When you say it, it doesn't sound quite so repulsive," Joey laughed.

"When you say mine, it sounds good, too," I added.

"Jordan Taylor Hanson is a cool name. It sounds...new age. Josephina Meredith sounds like a name from the thirties or something," Joey insisted.

"Well, I think it's beautiful. Just like you," I whispered into her ear. I gently kissed her soft skin around her ear and watched her as she closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation. I then moved to her lips, maneuvering mine around hers to create a sweet rhapsody of kisses. I then gently laid her back on the bed and moved slowly until I was partly on top of her with one hand on her neck and the other on her soft stomach. I could feel her hands working their way from my chest downward and loved the sensations they were leaving me with.

"Sick! I have to sleep on those sheets, you know!" Zac groaned as he walked into the room. "You could at least have the decency of using your own bed!"

"At least we had the decency to not be half-naked in the laundry room!" I shot back. I saw Zac's face turn immediately red and he looked down at his feet.

"Mom told me to come up here and tell you that Joey need's to go home cuz we have to have a family meeting," Zac mumbled.

"Alright, now go away," I snapped at him. Zac quickly obeyed, knowing I had more on him that could ruin his life in a second. I stood up with Joey and smoothed out my clothes. "I guess I'll see you later. Sorry about that. Sometimes little brothers aren't as fun as they should be."

"Believe me, I know," Joey winked at me and then kissed me gently once more before turning and leaving.




Chapter 34: Family Matters


"Is everyone here?" My father asked as the family gathered around the kitchen table. Mom did a headcount and then nodded. "All right then, we can start with the little kids. Mackie, Avie, Jessie, there was something found yesterday behind the big green chair in the living room. It looked and smelled like a combination of play dough, peanut butter, and gum rubbed into the carpeting and then covered with a book. Who is going to fess up to this crime."

I looked around and immediately knew who it was. Avie was sniffling and looked like she'd explode if she tried to hide it any longer. She was never good at the lying thing.

"Avie, can we take your sniffling as an admittance?" Mom asked. Avie simply nodded before she started sobbing.

"Okay, come on. We'll go take care of your punishment," Dad said sadly. I knew he hated to spank us, but he also knew it was the best form of punishment for small children you couldn't ground. I saw Avie bawling as Dad took her hand and led her back to the room he shared with Mom.

"Jessie, Mackie, go upstairs and play. I've got to talk to the big kids now," Mom announced. I knew what was coming and I felt my palms sweat and knew I was probably turning red. I just hoped my appearance would admit my guilt for me as Avie's had. "Boys. I've talked to you each about this matter and none of you have admitted guilt. It's the matter of the girl's bra I found in the laundry room. I want to know whose it is and I want to know now. I will give five minutes for one of you to fess up and if you don't, punishment will be given to all three of you."

With that Mom turned around and began pulling things out for dinner while she waited for a confession. I looked at Taylor and Isaac who both looked back at me. I realized that punishment would probably be suspension from Kat if I confessed and I couldn't let that happen. I sat and waited and kept pushing the idea of confessing around in my mind. I couldn't decide which was worse: having my brothers mad at me or not seeing Kat. Suddenly, Mom spoke up again.

"Time's up. Who's guilty?" she stared us coldly in the eyes.

I was about to speak when I heard someone mumble, "It was me."

"Who?" Mom asked again, for she had barely heard the confession. I then saw Taylor look up and stare her in the eyes.

"It was Joey and me. We got carried away," he stated simply. I nearly choked on my own spit at his comment.

"Zac, Isaac go to your room; I need to talk to your brother," Mom said through clenched teeth. I looked at Taylor as I passed and saw not a look of contempt for me but rather one that said, "I'm bailing you out of this, little bro. You owe me. Big Time."




"It was you wasn't it?" Isaac asked about half an hour later as we sat on our beds working on a song.

"What?" I asked, knowing exactly what he was saying.

"You know. It was you wasn't it?" he said again. I just nodded.

"You better thank your lucky stars that Taylor spoke up for you, Zac. If mom had found out that it was you, she would have banned you from ever seeing a girl again until you were 20. With Taylor she'll probably give him the whole sex talk and tell him to slow it down. And of course she'll keep an eagle's watch on Joey and lose a lot of trust for that sweet girl." Isaac paused and I saw a look of wonder cross his face. He was probably debating on tellng me something. "You remember when I was 11 and had that huge crush on that Trisha girl?"

"Yeah, I was like six years old and she took me with you her and a bunch of your friends to the movies. What about her?" I asked.

"Well, one day, when I was at her house, Mom came to pick me up to take me to soccer practice and walked in to find us with our hands up each other's shirts. Needless to say, I never saw Trish again," Isaac explained. "You see, Mom is real protective of us if you haven't noticed and when she finds out that her son that isn't even a teenager is getting that intimate with a girl, she tends to want to kill. I recommend you do some major ass-kissing for the next few weeks, or Taylor will use his knowledge."




"The Power Of A Hug"


 There's something in a simple hug, That always warms the heart, It welcomes us back home, And makes it easier to part.

A hug's the way to share the joy, And sad times we go through, Or just a way for friends to say, They like you 'cuz you're you.

Hugs are meant for anyone, For whom we really care, From your grandma to your neighbor, Or a cuddly teddy bear.

A hug is an amazing thing, It's just the perfect way, To show the love we're feeling, But can't find the words to say.

It's funny how a little hug, Makes everyone feel good, In every place and language, It's always understood.

And hugs don't need equipment, Special batteries, or parts, Just open up your arms, And open up your heart.

(actually by: Jill Wolf) we will credit it...where i got it( http://www.geocities.com/southbeach/lagoon/9676/thoughtsonfriendship.html )

Mom knocked on the door after I finished that poem.

"Hi sweety."

"Hey." I said, in my usual, bored tone.

"Um, your three weeks is up."

"It is???? GREAT!" I yelled. I shoved all my poems and songs, all 124 of them into a little brief case and walked to Zac's house. Mom offered me a ride over there, but I wanted and needed to get out. I finally approached the walkway, then knocked on the door.

"Hi Kat."

"Hello Mr. Hanson, don't we look nice today. Pretty spiffy suit you got there."

A large smile crossed his face. "Really? Thanks, its new." He invited me in.

"Thanks, where's Zac?"

"In the boys' room."

"Thanks." I made a mad dash up the stairs and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?"

"The cleaning lady." I said, "Come on Zac, open the door."

"Kay, hold on." I heard him rustling around and a drawer closed. Then the door came open and he had a pair of jeans on and that was it. I didn't even give the child time to speak, I hadn't had his lips in three weeks and I wanted them now! I pulled him into an extremely long kiss, walking in and closing and locking the door behind me. I swear it lasted ten minutes. We pulled apart and took deep breaths. "Did you miss me?" He asked, still a bit out of breath.

"Not one bit." I grinned. He smiled too. Then he unlocked the door. "Whatcha doin?" We always kept the door locked, incase we got carried away.

"New policy, if you have girls in your room, the door can be shut, but no lock."

"When did this come about?"

"Today. See, mom found your bra downstairs, from that one time," he began to blush, "and today, she asked one of us to fess up, and right when I was about too, Tay did, even though it was yours. Ma's still talking to him about it and he's not going to be able see Joey for awhile probably. And he did it all for me, because I'm too young to get into trouble for things like that."

"I'm sorry Zacky." I hugged him. I had got Taylor into a world of trouble and now he would hate me. "Tay's gonna' hate me now."

"No, its my fault too."

"I know, but if we just hadn't been moving so fast."

"I know. And off that subject, whats in the briefcase?" He asked, reminding me of my things.

"Oh, yeah!" I picked it up from where I had dropped it by the door, and opened it. "Remember all those poems and songs I told you I wrote?" He shook his head, "Well, here they are. All one hundred and twenty-four of them."

"ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FOUR!?!?!" He began looking through them.

"Yeah, I figured you guys could use them for your new album if you wanted to." I shrugged.

"Maybe. I'd have to talk to Ike and Tay."

"Great!" I loved the thought of them singing one of my songs. Then the door opened and Tay walked in, looking like a zombie. "Tay, are you okay?"

"No!" He shouted, jumping onto his bed.

"What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? What's wrong? WHAT'S WRONG? I'LL TELL YOU WHAT'S WRONG! I TOOK THE RAP FOR SOMETHING I DIDN'T DO BECAUSE I LOVE MY LITTLE BROTHER TOO MUCH TO SEE HIM GET INTO TROUBLE INVOLVING THINGS LIKE THAT! AND I WAS RIGHT ABOUT YOU FROM THE BEGINNING! YOU ARE A SEX-CRAVING SLUT THAT IS TRYING TO SEDUCE MY LITTLE BROTHER INTO DOING THINGS YOU ARE USE TO DOING!" He yelled. The words he exchanged pierced my heart like a million knives. I had tears brimming from the first sentence, and now they were pouring down my face. I got up, approached Taylor, who was now standing, huffing and red-faced, and smacked him clear across the face.

"I am NOT a slut, and don't you EVER forget that." I was, for the millionth time, reminded of Jo's tone, only this was colder and deeper than the fire in Taylor's eyes. I walked out of the room, sobbing like a baby, Zac was still on the bed, stunned at what had just happened.

"Slut." Taylor called after me and I turned back around and jumped on him, beginning to punch him and hit him, Zac was trying desperately to get me off Taylor, whom I had knocked over from the surprise. Zac was now calling at his mom and dad. But it seemed they weren't here. So he was now calling at Ike.

"IKE HELP! HELP! HELP!" Zac's yelps were the farthest from my mind. Then, a split second later, I felt myself being lifted off Taylor, rage and fear made me continue strugling as the strong arms threw me onto the small bed. I realized my face hurt and I was bleeding. Taylor must have gotten a few hits in as well.

Chapters 35-36
home

EMAILS: