Chapter 70
“I can’t believe that they gave us a bus to ourselves. Look at all this neat stuff!” I exclaimed as I carried my bags onto the bus.
“Well, it is only temporary while we work this month and a half. I tried to have them put everything you would need or want on here so you feel at home. Plus, the bed is different, I normally use a bunk, but we went with a full size bed...” Nick said, blushing.
“Nickolas, you aren’t thinking about sex right now are you?!!!” I teased.
“No, no...I meant that we thought it would be more comfortable for you, in that delicate condition of yours. I mean, it must be awfully uncomfortable to squeeze yourself into a little tiny bunk. I mean, not that I think you are fat or anything...I mean...you are beautiful...and well, you know what I mean.” Nick said, stumbling over his words.
“Nick, you can take your foot out of your mouth now. I don’t mind. Trust me, I actually appreciate that you went to so much trouble for me.” I replied softly.
“Well, I want to be with you as much as possible. Heather, can I talk to you about something? And it won’t upset you?” Nick asked gently.
“Of course...but I can’t promise that I won’t get upset.” I answered curiously.
“Well, I wanted to know. And be honest. How do you really feel? I mean, I know that we aren’t supposed to ask you and I know that you want to pretend like nothing is wrong. But I can’t get this terrible feeling outta my head that I am about to lose you.” Nick said as tears welled up in his eyes. “Please Heather, you have to promise me that you won’t leave me. You have to get better...I can’t live without you.” He said as he scurried off the bus.
I sat there for a moment, taking in all that Nick had said. He knew, he knew that I was sicker than I was letting on. He knew that my life was at risk, and that if I waited until the baby was born, there was less of a chance of survival. It made my stomach feel nauseous as I thought about the idea of Nick and the baby being alone.
“I promise Nick, and I know you don’t believe me, but I will get better.” I said to myself, trying to convince my mind that everything would be fine.
*** *** ***
“Hey, Nick. Is Heather settled into the bus yet? We are leaving in about forty-five minutes.” Brian asked his friend.
“Yeah, she is ready.” He said solemnly.
“Dude, what’s up? You are acting gloomy again.” Brian asked, now concerned for his friend.
“It’s just that I have this feeling that in six months I won’t have her anymore. Maybe I am just a selfish bastard, but she is my life B-Rok. I mean that from my heart.” Nick replied.
“Well, I hate to tell you this Nick. But if you can’t handle the possibility of Heather dying, then you can’t help her. She needs you to be strong, without you, she will die. She needs you more than anything in the world, and you need to be strong. How can we ask her to be strong, if we can’t do it ourselves? Huh? Now come on, the doctors have high hopes that everything will be fine. So, don’t worry.” Brian tried to console Nick.
“Yeah, your right. Well, I have to make this up to her. Can you get the guys to hold the busses until I get back. I should only be about 30-45 minutes.” Nick said with a smile. “I have forgotten something that she likes. Just a little gift to cheer her up.” Nick said as he ran off to his car.
Brian stood there amazed at how Nick could go from one mood to another so quickly. He wandered off to tell the guys to give Nick a little extra time to run his errand, and then let me know that Nick would be back soon. I was invited to hang out with the others until Nick returned.
*** *** ***
I was pleasantly surprised when I saw Nick return, carrying this huge balloon with something inside it.
“Nick, what have you done?” I asked curiously.
“Well, remember how you saw all the stuff at Disney World when we where there? Well, although you didn’t say anything, I knew you wanted something, other than those cute Minnie ears and lollipop that I got ya. I noticed you eyeballing the Tarzan displays, and figured that you wanted the movie. Well, to tell you the truth, I ran out to get something for you. Here ya go.” Nick said as he handed the balloon to me.
As I peeked through the balloon, I could see sitting in the confetti, a gorilla holding a video. “Oh Nick! You got me the Tarzan movie??!! Thank you sooo much!” I exclaimed.
“Well, I thought you would like a fun movie to watch while we are traveling. Do you want to watch it once we get on the road? I would love to see it.” Nick said with a smile.
“Sure! That sounds great!” I said cherrily.
As I turned to Dee and Kat, I gave them hugs. Dee wasn’t going with us for a few weeks. She had a lot of work at the store to do, and with one salesperson short, she had to hire a new person. Business had been going well for her, and she needed to keep the pace up. With the Grammy’s coming up in less than a week, she had orders that needed to be finished and alterations needed to be done.
“I am sure going to miss you, Heather. Nick, you take good care of her and Heather, please, call me all the time girl! I am depending on you to give me all the scoop. Watch out for Kevin for me. Make sure he stays outta trouble.” She said as she nudged me and winked.
“I sure will sis. You take it easy, and don’t work too hard. I will give ya a call tomorrow to let you know how everything is going. I luv ya!” I said as I hugged her. “And Kat, I will see you next week. I’ll keep my eye on Howie for you...and I’ll give ya call later too. Be good!” I said as I climbed on the bus.
I had called my mom earlier this morning and told her where to get a hold of me in case something went wrong. I then said my goodbyes to everyone and the whole entourage of busses left the studios. We were all on our way to the first stop of the second leg of the tour. I knew that this was my opportunity to see the Boys in action and to enjoy what Nick loves the most. The next six weeks would be full of jam-packed action and excitement. I was just hoping that my health would hold up so I could keep up with the pace.
“So, Nick, let’s get to watching that movie! I have been dying to see it.” I said.
Nick and I went to the small entertainment room they had provided for us on the bus. He put the video in and I laid down on the couch, resting my head in his lap and he rubbed my back. We enjoyed the movie, and in the end, Nick found tears pouring from my eyes.
“Heather, baby, what’s wrong?” Nick asked softly.
“Oh nothing, I just love happy endings, that’s all.” I whispered as
we sat there for a while. He changed the television to MTV and we
watched for a while as the busses made their way to our first stop.