�I�m fine,� the young man said, helping her pick up her books. �Umm, I know you said you were late, but you wouldn�t happen to know where there�s a phone I could use, would you? My car broke down and I need to call a tow truck.�
�Yeah, come with me. I�m already late, so a few more minutes won�t matter much.�
�Thanks, I really appreciate it.� The two walked the rest of the way in silence--she thinking about what Dr. Stewart�s reaction to the first draft of her thesis was going to be, and he wondering how long he was going to have to wait for a tow truck due to all the newly fallen snow. He was sure that it would be a while, there were probably a lot of accidents that had happened.
�If you dial 0, you�ll get campus info. Just ask them for the number for a tow truck company, then dial 9 to get an outside line. I�ve gotta run to a meeting. Good luck!�
�Thanks,� he said picking up the phone.
�Anytime,� Claire said and headed toward the stairs. Partway up the stairs, she came out of the daze she had been in and realized just who she had been talking to. She had to grip the rail to keep from falling down the stairs. It was Darren Hayes of Savage Garden. I can�t believe I just now realized this. I didn�t even ask him for an autograph. Claire continued kicking herself as she made her way to her professor�s office. They talked about her thesis for about an hour, and he gave her several suggestions on what she could do to improve it. As she headed back downstairs, she was still thinking about her run in with Darren. Claire was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn�t even see him sitting on the couch in the Hickock Lobby.
Darren stood up and headed toward her. �Hey, I was just waiting here for you. I wanted to say thanks again for your help.�
Claire looked up at him. �Oh, it was no problem. My name�s Claire Estes, by the way.�
�I�m Darren Hayes.�
�Umm� yeah, I know. I�m a huge Savage Garden fan; you guys are really great.�
�Really? Thanks. Hey, do you know anywhere I can get something to eat around here. I�m really hungry.�
�Well, there�s always the college cafeteria, but I�m not too sure I would recommend that. They�ve been known to poison people,� Claire said.
Darren laughed. �I�ll chance it. Would you join me?�
�Sure, I just need to stop off at my room first and get rid of these books. Do you mind a quick pit stop?�
�Not at all, lead the way.� Claire walked with Darren across campus to her dorm. They climbed the narrow stairs in silence. Claire stopped in front of her door, and as soon as Darren saw what was on it, he started laughing. �Is this you and your roommate?� He was looking at the picture that Claire had taken with her best friend in one of those photo booths at the mall. They were sticking their tongues out at each other, there was fire all around the edge of the picture, little horns on top of their heads, and at the bottom it said ��Lil Devils.�
�Yeah, that�s me when I had long hair. And my best friend Ashlea. She�s in Europe this semester; I miss her a lot. We took that one day when I had to go get a pic taken of me so that I could send the New York Term people a recent one. We saw the �lil devils thing and couldn�t resist.�
�You were in New York.�
�Yeah, I spent last spring there.�
�Did you like it? What did you do?� Darren asked as they left Claire�s room and headed for the cafeteria.
�I absolutely loved it. I had a part-time internship in the chaplain�s office of hospital in Brooklyn, and earned the other half of my credits by going to all sorts of plays, music events, dance events, and going to almost every art museum and gallery in the city. There were 14 of us that came from Coe that semester. We had the best time. What did you think of New York while you were there?�
�I loved it, too. It was a fascinating contrast of differences. Like I could be on a street corner waiting for the light to change, and I realize that I�m surrounded by dozens of people, yet I was completely alone.�
�Am I all alone in the universe, there�s no love on these streets. Sorry, couldn�t resist. Those two lines were running through my head all the time when I�d be on my own walking around.�
Darren laughed. �That�s where the inspiration for those lines came from. I�m glad you can understand what I was trying to say.�
�Me too,� she said, smiling up at him. Darren took hold of her hand as the left the building. Upon reaching the cafeteria, Claire took a look at the menu for dinner. �Blech. Darren, how long�s the tow truck going to take to get here?�
�Actually, I was going to ask if there was a hotel nearby that I could stay at for the night. They said that because of the snow, they�re totally backed up. And since it�s not an accident, or in anybody�s way, they can�t get to it till tomorrow. Why do you ask?�
�Well, the caf is pretty gross tonight, so I was wondering if you�d want to just go out somewhere.�
�Sure.�
�Okay, well it stopped snowing a couple of hours ago, so all the major roads should be plowed by now. We�ll take my car, cuz the only thing around here that�s within walking distance is fast food, which I�m really not in the mood for. How does Greek sound?�
�Sounds great. There�s a Greek restaurant here?�
Claire laughed. �Yeah, it surprised me too, when I found out. But it�s really good food. Cedar Rapids is actually a lot more diverse than I thought was going to be when I came, something for which I am immensely grateful."
Darren took her hand as they walked out to the parking lot. �So do you?�
�Do I what?� Claire asked, confused.
�Do you know of any hotels around here?�
�Well, the 5 Seasons is about a mile down 1st Ave and I could probably arrange for you to stay at the Alumni House. Or if you�re really desperate, you can stay with me. They haven�t given me another roommate yet, since Ashlea left.�
�Would that bother you, if I stayed?�
�Not at all, so long as you don�t mind being in a building full of women, but something tells me you won�t,� Claire said, grinning at him.
�Hmm�staying with you could have more advantages than I originally thought,� Darren said with a pensive look. Claire laughed, and Darren couldn�t manage to keep the straight face he was trying for and started laughing as well.
�Okay then. I�ll get out the extra sheets when we get back.� The two reached Claire�s car and climbed in. She started the engine and carefully backed out and pulled into the street. �So how long are you guys here for? The concert�s not for another couple of days.�
�We got in yesterday afternoon. After this concert we have a couple of weeks off before the tour continues. So we�ll probably all scatter to the winds after the show. I�m not sure yet what I�m going to do afterwards.�
�Well, whatever it is, I hope you have fun. How�s the tour been so far?�
�It�s been really good. Some shows are better than others, but they�ve all gone pretty well so far.�
�Good, I�m glad.�
�So what about you? What are you studying? What year are you?�
�I�m a senior. Can�t wait to be finished. And I�m majoring in religion. I�m in the middle of writing my honor�s thesis right now.�
�What�s it about? What do you want to do after you graduate?�
�It�s on feminist theology and Orthodox and Reform Judaism. Right after graduation, I don�t much care what I do so long as it pays the rent. I have to save up for a while for grad school, and then I want to become a rabbi.�
�Wow, that�s really cool. I am impressed.�
Claire smiled at him, �Thanks,�
�You�re welcome.�
�Okay, here we are.� The two got out of the car and went into the restaurant. Because it was a Thursday night and snow had been falling for most of the day, there weren�t many people at the restaurant. The two were seated right away.
�Wow, that was really good,� Darren said as they were leaving. �Cedar Rapids has impressed me.�
�Yeah, it does that every once in a while.� The drove in a comfortable silence back to the college, and went back up to Claire�s room.
�So do you have any homework, or anything that you need to get done? I don�t want to be in your way.�
�No, you�re not in the way at all. It�s J-Term right now, which is a three and a half week period when Coe offers some fun courses that normally wouldn�t be offered. Some are slack off courses, others can be really demanding. I�m doing in independent study for my thesis and auditing Psychology of Religion so I don�t have to do any of the homework. As for my thesis, I just work on that when I want to.�
�Okay then, what would you like to do tonight?�
�Veg. I�ve been working almost non-stop for the past week trying to get the first draft of that stupid thing written, and I think I deserve a break.�
�I think that sounds good. How about a movie?�
�Sure. There�s the ones on that rack over there,� Claire said, pointing at her movie rack, �or we could go over to the library and get one from Audio Visual.�
Darren looked at the movies Claire had. �Oh, you have the Star Wars trilogy.� He looked over at Claire with big puppy dog eyes. �Please?�
Darren looked so hopeful, that Claire couldn�t resist torturing him for a little bit. She groaned, �Ugh, not again! I just watched those not too long ago.�
�Oh,� Darren said. His face fell. �Well, how about, umm�well��
Claire couldn�t contain her laughter any longer. �Darren, I was just kidding. I love the Star Wars movies. Of course we can watch them if you want.�
Darren got a very serious look in his eyes and started advancing on Claire. �So you thought you could tease me about Star Wars and get away with it?�
Claire got a very worried look on her face and tried to back away from him, but she ran into her stereo stand. �Umm�well you see�� She couldn�t think of anything to say to get her out of this mess.
�You know that you�re going to have to pay for teasing me.� Darren reached out and started tickling her.
Claire was laughing so hard she could barely breath. �No, stop�.please!! I�m soooo ticklish!� Her legs wouldn�t hold her up anymore and she collapsed onto the floor.
Darren sat on top of her thighs to pin her legs to the floor, and continued tickling her. Claire, never one to give up easily began trying to tickle him too. Success!! Or so she thought. Darren grabbed her hands in his and pinned them above her head. They were both breathing hard and still laughing a bit. Then the expression in Darren�s eyes changed, and he began to lower his head toward hers. He stopped when is mouth was just a few inches away from her. �Is this okay?�
�Yes,� was all Claire said. She was thinking, okay? Of course it�s okay, you goof. I�ve only wanted this since I can�t even remember how long. And then she wasn�t thinking at all, so swept up in the sensations that Darren�s lips on hers were creating.
Claire's mind was still spinning when Darren pulled away. "Umm�maybe we should watch the movie," she said shakily.
Darren laughed, "Okay." Claire got up and moved the rack of movies out of the way. Darren grabbed a pillow off her bed and propped it up against the side of the dresser. He laid back against it, and when Claire turned from setting up the movie, he held his arms out to him. Claire was wondering where all this was leading, but not being one to look a gift horse in the mouth, she shrugged to her self and curled up nest to him with her head on his chest.
During dinner, Darren had told her he'd had a very long, busy day without much sleep the night before, so she wasn't too surprised when he fell asleep half-way through the movie. "He looks so cute when he sleeps," she thought. "Just like a little boy." After the movie was over, she managed to extract herself from Darren's arms and got up to turn off the TV and VCR. She walked over to her computer to check her e-mail. She was happy to see that there was one there from Ashlea.
"Hey Claire, hope everything's going well in IA. Italy is absolutely wonderful, and the men are beautiful. I wish you could be here with me and Heidi. Just to make you jealous, it's in the 50s or so here. I'm guessing IA is still freezing and snowing. I knew there was a reason I left IA. Anyway, I hope you're having fun. Write a good thesis!! I know you can."
Claire smiled at her friend's encouragement and decided to send her a copy of the first draft. After all, it couldn't hurt to get another opinion on it, and Ashlea was a great writer. Darren woke up just as she finished the e-mail. "What the�where am I?"
Claire laughed. "You don't wake up well, do you?"
Darren suddenly remembered everything, "No, I guess I don't. But I remember now. I take it the movie ended?"
"Yeah, I didn't have the heart to wake you. You were sleeping so peacefully, so I decided to check my e-mail instead."
"Anything interesting?"
"Yeah, I got one from Ashlea. She's having fun in Italy and quite enjoying the scenery."
"That's good."
"Yeah, I'm glad she's having a good time. Do you want to go back to sleep? You still look a bit tired."
"Gee, thanks. No, actually I think I'm gonna stay awake for a while. I wanna ask you something."
"Okay, shoot."
"Well, umm�I was just wondering what made you let me kiss you tonight."
"Oh gosh, hmm�not the question I was expecting. Not that I was expecting any particular question." Claire was nervous about answering him, not sure really what she would tell him, and she started fidgeting with the afghan she had wrapped around her shoulders. "Well, I already told you that I'm a huge Savage Garden fan. When I left you in the lobby, I was so distracted by my thesis that I didn't even realize who I'd been talking to. I realized it partway up the stairs and was kicking myself for it the rest of the way to Dr. Stewart's office. I was shocked to find you still sitting in the lobby when I came back down. Then you asked me about dinner, and I felt like I was living out a dream, or something. Then I just told myself to relax and enjoy it. And it was great. I'd always thought that you were probably a really nice person cuz that's what everyone on the BBS has said that's met you guys, but I never really thought much more about it. Then tonight at dinner, I realized that despite all the fame and money, you're really just a regular guy-one that I'd like to get to know better. I had a really good time with you tonight, and so I guess that's a really long answer to your question, but�yeah, there's your answer. And now I have a question for you. Why did you kiss me in the first place?"
"First, thank you for being so honest. It's been a while since I've felt like a normal man. My life is so strange sometimes-like a circus. And I love it. I love being onstage and singing and performing. But once in a while, I miss feeling like just an average guy. I'm still me despite the fame, but often people don't see that. Tonight when I was with you, I felt like a normal guy again-like a guy out with a pretty girl for dinner and there was nothing extraordinary about it, but there was. And that was you. You just seem like such a genuinely nice person, so I guess that's why I kissed you. You're so nice, and funny, and relaxing to be around. I got to just be me again. There weren't any expectations placed on me because of my job."
Claire stood up and walked over to him. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer to her. He wrapped his arms around her and held on tight. "I'm glad that you had a good time tonight, and that I could be part of it."
"Me too," he said. Just then the phone rang. Claire reached over and picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Hey Claire, it's Linda. How's it going?"
"Oh, hey Linda. I'm fine. How was work today?"
"It was great. When the guy from the repair shop called me at 10 til 5 to tell me that he would be there to pick me up in a few minutes, I couldn't believe that it was already that late. I was having so much fun working on a new design that I had completely lost track of time."
"But that's a good thing, right?"
"Oh, totally. Listen, I was wondering if I could get a ride from you. I need to go to Target and get some shampoo."
"I thought you were supposed to get your car back today. What happened?"
"They found something else wrong with it from the accident. They're ordering the part, but it's gonna take another couple of days."
"Oh, I see. Umm�hang on a sec." Claire turned to Darren. "A friend of mine needs a ride to the store for shampoo. Do you wanna come, or would you rather stay here?"
"Sure, I'll come with you guys."
"Okay." Claire put the phone back up to her mouth. "Okay sure, I can take you. Oh there's someone here who's going to be coming with us."
"Cool, who?" Linda asked.
"You don't know him, but I'll introduce you guys."
"Okay. Do you wanna just meet in Gage?"
"Sure, sounds good. We'll meet you down there in about 10 minutes."
"Okay, bye."
"Bye hon."
"Why didn't you tell her I was coming with you guys?" Darren asked giving Claire a funny look.
"Two reasons, number one cuz she'd never believe me, and number two because I want to see her reaction when we walk into the union together. I just love torturing my friends this way."
Darren laughed. "Okay, then. Let's go." The two put on their shoes and coats and headed out the door.
The pair walked into Gage Union laughing at a story Claire was telling about Ashlea. Linda was standing on the other side of the room by the couches talking to someone with her back toward Darren and Claire. Claire led the way over to her. �Hey, Linda.�
Linda glanced in Claire�s direction. �Hi Claire, is it okay if�� Linda�s voice trailed off as she realized who Claire had brought with her. �Umm�hi.�
�Hi, you must be Linda. I�m Darren Hayes.�
�Yeah, I know. And yes, I am Linda. It�s nice to meet you,� Linda said, shaking the had that Darren held out to her. She gave Claire the �you and I are going to talk later� look.
�Linda what were you going to say earlier?� Claire asked, her eyes twinkling with the mirth she was trying so desperately to hide.
�I was going to ask if you mind going out to the SuperTarget. I want to get some more lunch meat and bread and stuff for my lunch.�
�No problem hon. Let�s go.� The three of them headed out to the parking lot and climbed into Claire�s car. Claire flipped on the radio once they were on their way. The station was commercialing, so she flipped over to 104.5 and Truly Madly Deeply was just beginning to play. She and Claire cracked up laughing.
From the backseat, Darren asked them, �What�s so funny about the fact that the radio station is playing our song?�
�Well, Darren. The fact that the station is playing TMD is nothing unusual, especially right now, cuz it�s Delilah�s show, and she plays nothing but soft love songs. But the thing is that I have this knack for finding Savage Garden on the radio, and it�s almost always this song. Once in a while it will be I Knew I Loved You, but almost always it�s Truly Madly Deeply. Before Ashlea left for Europe, she declared that I was being stalked by you guys. It�s been a running joke ever since, whenever I turn on the radio and one of your songs comes on.�
�So how do you know that Ashlea didn�t just know something that you didn�t. I mean, I am here now, aren�t I?� Darren said in a teasing voice.
�Hmm�very true. I may need to think about this a little more. What do you think Linda?�
�Well you know Ashlea, Claire. She can�t keep a secret from you to save her life. Anyone else, yes, but not you.�
�This is true. Hmm�my life just keeps getting better and better. A girl could get used to this,� she said and they all laughed.
�In any case,� Darren said, �maybe we should just have you listen to the radio more often so that our songs get more air play. That�s it!! I�ll have to call Leonie later and tell her that I�ve found a way for her plan of having Savage Garden take over the world to be come a reality.�
The girls laughed at his craziness. �Well better you than our soon to be leader,� Linda said. �But we probably shouldn�t get into politics, cuz if we do, Claire and I will never shut up.�
�Do you two have opposing views or something?�
�No, we just both really hate George W. Bush, and we can go on about what we hate about his politics for hours. And we have.�
�Okay, then let�s not get the two of you started. So Linda what�s your goal after college?�
�Well, I�m an art major with an emphasis in graphic design. Right now I�m interning with a graphic design firm here in Cedar Rapids, but after graduation I�m planning to move to Minneapolis and get a job with a firm there.�
�Any particular reason you want to move to Minneapolis?�
�Well, home is Mankato, Minnesota, and if I could, I would move back there, but there� aren�t any graphic design firms there. So I�m going to move to the cities, and then after my fiance and I get married, we�ll get an apartment there together. That way we can both be close to home. He lives in Mankato right now.�
�Wow, that sounds great. Congratulations on the engagement, too by the way.�
�Thanks,� Linda said as they pulled into a parking spot in front of the store. Linda quickly found what she needed and the three of them left the store.
Back in her dorm room, Claire grabbed her bathrobe, pajamas, towel, and shower caddy. �Darren I�m going to go take a quick shower.� He nodded and she left the room. Claire made her way down the hall to the bathroom. She still felt rather dazed about everything that had happened to her that day. She knew that Savage Garden was going to be doing a concert in Cedar Rapids, but she hadn�t been able to get tickets for it. It had sold out very quickly, and because of the payroll problems they were having where she worked, she hadn�t been paid in time to be able to get tickets. But this day had been even better than any concert she could imagine. �After all,� she thought, �what could be better than actually being able to spend a day with Darren Hayes. And not the pop star, but the person.� It had been incredible.
Darren was doing his best to control his curiosity about the woman he was staying with. He absolutely was not going to start looking through her things. �But there was nothing wrong with looking at the stuff that was out throughout the room, right?� he thought to himself. Darren flipped through the book of CDs in front of the stereo. He saw that Claire and Ashlea had very diverse music tastes�everything from Broadway to Kenny Loggins to Savage Garden. It still felt weird to him to see that people owned their CDs. He looked at some of the papers that were strewn on the desks, and saw that they were mostly notes from classes that he guessed Claire had taken the previous semester. He climbed on a chair to see her bed. It was unmade, but then he figured it couldn�t be easy to make a bed that was over a foot higher than one�s head. There were several stuffed animals on the bed, some old some that seemed newer. Darren studied the books that Claire had out on the shelf�romance novels, bestsellers, and several texts on Judaism and world religions. He smiled. There seemed to be a lot more to Claire than what she originally presented him with. He was fascinated and couldn�t wait to find out more.
