Chapter 61
“10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, Happy New Year!!!” Howie yelled out. Everyone grabbed their significant other and gave them a passionate kiss.
I turned to Nick and he gave me a kiss and then leaned down to gently kiss my tummy too. “Hey, the baby needs to be welcomed into the new millennium too!” he said sheepishly.
Everyone was at the party...Leighanne, Brian, Kat, Dee, Howie, AJ, Nick, me and Kevin. As the guys shook hands and greeted one another...all of us girls wandered around and gave sweet kisses to the guys. It wasn’t until Dee got to Kevin and AJ. She kissed them gently on their cheeks, and then moved on.
Although they had finally come to an agreement, and decided that yelling fighting wasn’t the answer, it would still be some time before all the bad feelings were gone. Nick and I were just glad that our life could move on and that we could enjoy ourselves as newlyweds.
“Mrs. Carter, I am sorry that our honeymoon was cut short, so, I am looking into some travel plans for us, before we start on the new album.” Nick said.
I just smiled and kisses him again. “Mr. Carter, I love you.” I whispered.
Everyone danced the night away, and then once all the excitement died down...we all sat around to watch their new video. By the end of the video, all of us girls were balling our eyes out and were running for Kleenex.
“Damn....that was good. Why didn’t y’all tell us about the plot ahead of time. I mean, you could have given us warning you know.” Dee said.
“Yeah...pregnant and hormonal woman here...I need warning!” I fussed.
The guys all sat around and laughed. “Well, Heather...it was your idea. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn't have this great video.” AJ said.
“What? I didn’t come up with the idea.” I said with confusion.
“Well, actually hon, you did. You told us we should do a video that told some sort of a story...and well, we did.” Nick said matter-of-factly.
I suddenly remembered the meeting at Dulce Vita’s back in the Fall and smiled. “I never knew you actually went along with the idea though...thank you!” I said and then smiled.
After the party ended, we all made our way back to our homes. The guys had vacation time for about two weeks and then they had rehearsals for the second leg of the tour. However, AJ’s birthday was coming up, as well as his performance scheduled for the Hard Rock, then the American Music Awards, and finally Nick’s birthday. It was going to be one very busy month, so everyone decided that some much needed time was necessary.
*** *** ***
One week later...
AJ had gone off to work on his routine for the Hard Rock show. He was to play a fictional character he created called Johnny Suede. It was something that he wanted to do for VH1’s Save the Music Foundation. We all went to the show that night to watch. From the looks of it, the crowd was impressed with his performance. All we knew was the line of girls outside the restaurant was enough to convince us that AJ had hit on something good.
As soon as we were escorted to our seating, we could see the stage hands running around like crazed maniacs. AJ didn’t want anything to go wrong, so, he had very specific instructions for each of them. He knew that everyone was watching, so he didn’t want to screw it up.
After a short wait, the stage lit up and AJ appeared on stage...although, he was playing “Johnny Suede”. I was a riot to watch him perform some great songs. One of their bandmates, Mindi, was there to perform with Johnny. Brian had a few surprise songs to sing with AJ also. It was a night filled with fun and excitement, and most definitely, one awesome birthday party!
We all partied until well beyond midnight. Nick and I finally decided it was time to go home. He was worried about me for some reason. Nick always worried about me, and said I was looking pale and tired all the time. I didn’t notice it, but everyone else did. Nick and I made our way home, but the others stayed behind to finish the party.
*** *** ***
“Nick, sweetie, I am fine. Honest. I don’t know why you all make such a fuss.” I argued as we drove home. “Look, the baby is very active, and I feel fine...just tired. I just need some rest, that’s all. Please, don’t worry.” I finally insisted.
“Heather, listen to me, something doesn’t look right. You shouldn’t be so pale. Why won’t you just go to the doctor?” Nick questioned, his voice full of fear.
“Nick, I just saw her last week, and she says everything looks fine with the baby.” I snapped back at him.
Nick stopped the car and looked at me. “Heather, I know that everything is fine with the baby, but it is you and your health that is worrying me. But, look, I will leave you alone. Honest. I don’t mean to upset you, it is the last thing I want to do.” He said sincerely, and then we were on our way again.
*** *** ***
“She doesn’t look good. Honest.” Brian said.
“Well, you can’t tell her, she doesn’t want to hear it.” Dee replied. “Look, Heather saw the doctor last week, and she said that she was doing fine. We just need to let it go. I am sure that if something was really that wrong, her doctor would have noticed.” She finished.
“And guys, I don’t think it is fair to talk about her behind her back. If she really is sick, I am sure we would have known by now.” Howie said, then continued, “Nick and Heather, they will take good care of each other. We need to let them live their lives together and quit trying to run it for them.” He finished.
They all sat around, decided that Howie was right and then continued to party throughout the night.
*** *** ***
Nick and I finally arrived at home. I decided that I wanted to take a quick shower and then get ready for bed. As I undressed, I raised my arm to pull my hair down. Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through my underarm. I was scared, but didn’t want to worry about it.
It had been several minutes, and Nick grew concerned. He knocked on the door, and then opened it. “Heather, honey, are you okay?” he asked, as he peered through the steam that filled the room.
I jumped up, and said, “Yes, honey, I am okay...I will be out in just a minute.”
Nick knew something was wrong, but decided to leave it alone.
If it was important, he figured I would have told him. After I came
out of the bathroom, he looked at my, very concerned. “I am fine
hon, I promise.” I said, and then we laid down to go to sleep. I
never told him about the pain I felt, and I didn’t plan on it.