It had been several minutes, and Taylor and I were still staring at each other. All of a sudden, the clock struck six.
"Whoa...we'd better get back," I said, my cheeks still red from Taylor's earlier comment.
"Yeah, I guess so," Taylor said, a little reluctantly. He took my hand, and we returned to my house. As we approached the door, Taylor stopped suddenly and pulled me aside. He leaned close to me and whispered, "This was the best present I could have gotten, Moni. Thank you so much."
"You're welcome, Tay," I whispered back. "Happy birthday."
Together, we passed through the house to the back yard, where the party guests were still talking and enjoying themselves.
Zac and Anne turned to us curiously as we passed. "What happened?" Anne asked me softly, while Zac pulled Taylor aside to question him. "Your cheeks are red."
I sighed softly, happily. "That was the best thing that ever happened to me."
"But what happened?" she persisted.
Since it was clear to me that she wouldn't leave me alone until I told her, I relented. "We kissed."
"Oh my gosh, that is awesome! Man...I remember Zac's and my first kiss..." she trailed off, apparently remembering that precious moment. Then she asked, "Was that the other present?"
I nodded. "Yeah...I knew I was ready, and I needed to show him."
Anne smiled. "Monica, that is really great. I'm so happy for you." Then she left, presumably to rejoin Zac.
As I followed my sister's progress with my eyes, I noticed that Zac had apparently finished questioning Taylor about his "present". I quickly scanned the yard for my boyfriend, and finally spotted him talking to Michelle. I wasn't at all worried, though. I remembered something Taylor had told me near the start of our relationship. I had asked him why he was going out with me, when there were so many other girls out there. I was afraid he liked Michelle, who had always been beautiful. But Taylor reassured me, saying, "Why would I want her? I have you." Ever since then, I had never worried about him and Michelle. I knew they were good friends, although it still did feel a little strange seeing my best friend and my boyfriend talking so secretively. Just then, Isaac came up to me.
"Monica, could I talk to you?"
"Sure, Ike. What's up?"
He sighed. "A lot. Well, first off, do you remember when I told you about those dreams I was having?"
"Yeah..." I said slowly.
"They're back, and stronger than ever. Did I ever tell you the whole story?"
"You told me about the dreams, but that's all." It was all I could do not to blurt out the whole story from Jamie's perspective, but I managed to control the urge.
"Okay...well, the whole thing started on our first tour."
"Albertane?" I interrupted excitedly. If it was, then the theories Jamie and I had come up with were all correct.
"Yeah, Albertane. Anyway, I started having the dreams then. And it was hard, knowing and yet not knowing who she was. I was just...depressed all the time, even during the shows. Oh, I tried to cover it, but you could tell. It was especially hard during 'More Than Anything'. I nearly broke down several times. That's why it wasn't included in the video. Then, after the tour...did you watch the Women's World Cup in '99?"
I gasped. Jamie and I had both watched it, and it was when the signs started happening to her. "Yeah...yeah, I saw it. You sang the national anthem."
"Yes, we did, and that was one of the hardest things I've ever done. I just kept feeling like she was watching me. I looked, but I didn't find her in the crowd, so I guess she was watching on TV. Meanwhile, we were working on our new album. I tried to include something in the album, like in the thank-you to the fans, but it somehow got cut out. I was hoping to have that, to give her a clue that no one else would see. Then on tour, I searched all the venues thoroughly, in the hopes that she made it to a show. But I never saw her," he said sadly. "Then when we came here, and I saw Michelle...I guess I thought she was the one. I mean, she looked nothing like her, but maybe that was just the dream. I guess I realized she wasn't the one when the dreams came back."
I smiled sympathetically. "Ike...I'm so sorry. I know how hard it must be, not being able to find that special person."
He wasn't listening. He was staring off into the distance, mumbling under his breath. I heard then something that shocked me as I had never been shocked before. Very quietly, but distinctly, I heard him say one word: "Jamie."
Chapter 37
Love Takes Time
Story Page
Back Home
