Chapter Eleven
A few minutes later everyone was gathered
around the table, chattering loudly, still laughing over the situation. Claudia
cleared her throat as everyone began quieting down.
“Would anyone mind if I said a little
prayer?”
“I say a little prayer for you!” Justin
sang jokingly.
Chris continued with the song loudly.
“Forever, and ever, you’ll be in my heart---”
Heather clamped her hand over his mouth
to quiet him. “It may be the holidays, but this isn’t a movie, so lets not
break into song here, okay?”
When the giggles ceased, and the room
quieted, everyone held hands and bowed their heads.
“Lord,” Claudia began. “I’d like to
thank you for blessing us on this holiday. Thank you for the food on our
table---”
“Even if it is a little burnt,” Lance
added with a smile.
Claudia tried to keep a straight face.
“Ahem, yes even if it is burnt. I ask that you please watch over those who
are less fortunate, and may not have a dinner on their table tonight. Thank
you for bringing us all together, family and friends. We are all very lucky
to have each other…” She looked over to Josh. “…And I’m glad that none of
us had to spend the holiday alone.”
“May I say something?” Josh asked.
“By all means, go ahead!” Claudia insisted.
“Dear Lord, I’m feeling very blessed
on this holiday. I am surrounded by some very wonderful people tonight, people
whom I love more than life itself. I never thought I would be fortunate enough
to have all of these beautiful people with me on Christmas. My parents aren’t
able to be here tonight, but I know they are with you, and I ask you tell
them how much my brother, sister and I love them. Merry Christmas.”
“Amen!”
Claudia was very touched by what Josh
had said. She looked up at him to find that tears had welled up in his eyes.
Reaching across the table she grabbed his hand and gently rubbed her thumb
across the back of it. Neither of them said a thing, but their eyes said
a million words.
“What are you talking about? That looks
nothing like an eagle!” Lance cried at Chris who stood at the drawing board.
“Yes it does! Look,” he explained,
pointing with his marker. “This is the head, and these are the wings---”
“Those are wings? They look like…blobs!”
Joe shouted, and everyone laughed because it was true.
“The whole thing looks like a blob!”
Heather added.
After they had eaten dinner, everyone
had begun playing a rousing game of Pictionary. Although it sounded stupid,
it always ended up being a blast.
“Whose ready for dessert?” Claudia
asked.
“Dessert? We’re still stuffed from
dinner!” Tyler cried.
“Yeah, once you picked around the black
crust, the ham was delicious!” Chris added.
"I don’t know what you guys are talking
about, I could go for some cheesecake!” Joe said, standing up and following
Claudia to the kitchen.
“There he goes foaming at the mouth
again,” Lance teased.
Claudia pulled eight small plates from
the cupboard as Joe retrieved the cheesecake from the fridge.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve talked
to JC, until now, that is,” Joe told her, taking off the cake’s plastic cover.
“Yeah, that’s what he told me. He really
missed you guys. I knew it without him even saying it, but when he finally
said the words…I knew something had to be done.”
“You’re a damn good friend Claudia,
you know that? This has meant a lot for all of us.”
“Well in that case, it means a lot
to me to,” she smiled.
Joe stopped cutting the cake and turned
to her with a serious expression. “Can you promise me something?”
“Sure, what is it?” she asked, surprised
by his sudden request.
“Will you take care of him for us?”
he continued before she could answer. “He doesn’t really have any one in
New York and he hasn’t quite been the same since his parents died…”
“Enough said. I’ll do everything in
my power to take care of him.” She promised sincerely.
When the pair returned to the living
room, they found Justin and a few of the others sifting through her CD collection.
“I’ve heard enough Christmas music
to last a lifetime,” someone was saying.
“This cheese cake is delicious!”
“Hey, what do ya know, Claudia was
an NSYNC fan,” Justin announced, holding up the NSYNC CDs he had discovered.
Claudia blushed. “So? What’s your point?”
He didn’t answer as he opened up the
jewel case for “No Strings Attached” and began flipping through the booklet
inside. The room was silent except for the crackling of the fire as everyone
ate their dessert, watching Justin stand in front of the CD rack.
“It’s been such a long time since I’ve
heard our music,” he said to himself a few moments later.
A slight awkwardness filled the room
at the mention of their past.
“I want to put in the CD but…I’m almost
afraid to.”
Once again, the silence.
Josh set down his empty plate before
he spoke. “Why listen to music when you can make it?”
All eyes landed on him and no one knew
what to say.
“You know, I bet I could recall every
note of every song in a heartbeat,” Joe admitted in a soft voice.
The other guys nodded and muttered
in agreement. “What do ya say we go old school?” Justin asked and everyone
looked at him in confusion. And then he began singing. “You’re all I ever
wanted.”
Everyone looked at each other in surprise.
“You’re all I ever needed, yeah. So tell me what to do now ‘cause I…”
And the rest of the guys joined in,
each on the right pitch.
“I…”
“I…”
“I…”
“I…”
“I…”
“I want you back.”
They smiled at each other and the room
filled with giggles. It was silly, but at the same time, it was fun. It was
amazing that the guys really had recalled every note in less than a heartbeat.
And they still sounded beautiful together.
“It’s hard to say I’m sorry,” Justin
sang. “It’s hard to make the things I did undone. A lesson I’ve learned too
well for sure…”
And the guys joined in with their harmonies:
“Hahh, ahhh ah…”
A smile crept across Claudia’s face
as she began clapping along to the rhythm. Heather giggled, but joined her.
“So don’t hang up the phone now. I’m
trying to figure out just what to do. I’m going crazy without you…”
As the guys began singing the chorus,
a smile spread across Justin’s face as he began acting out the dance moves.
Chris jumped to his feet and joined in. Everyone laughed.
They sang through the entire song,
trying to recall the dance moves as well, but that didn’t always work out.
It was difficult to maneuver in Claudia’s living room, but for most of the
song they managed.
When they finished, Claudia, Heather
and Tyler burst into applause and cheers. The guys blushed slightly, but
it was clear they had enjoyed themselves thoroughly.
“Wow, I must be getting old,” Chris
sighed, throwing himself back onto the couch. “That was quite a work out.”
“That because you are old,” Lance teased.
“Come on guys, keep singing,” Claudia
urged. “How about one of your ballads?”
“Sing ‘This I Promise You’. I’ve always
loved that song,” Heather said.
“Oh me too! Please, please!”
The guys smiled and even blushed slightly
at the request. They were obviously flattered but didn’t quite want to admit
how much fun they were having.
“I even know the piano part!” Claudia
remembered, jumping up from the couch to sit at her piano bench. “Come on
guys, gather ‘round!” she insisted, waving them over.
“Kind of like the live version we performed
with Richard Marx,” Josh thought out loud.
“How else do you think I would have
figured out how to play it?” Claudia laughed. “Hey Tyler, grab my camcorder
in the cabinet under the entertainment center there. We need to put some
film on this. I just might have to send it in to VH1 or MTV or something,”
she winked.
“The NSYNC reunion,” Chris kidded.
Claudia pressed her fingers lightly
over the keys, and hummed to herself, remembering the song she hadn’t played
in months… or maybe over a year.
“All right, are you guys ready?” Claudia
asked. They all nodded in response. “You got that camera ready Tyler?”
“Yeah, just nod at me when you’re ready
and I’ll hit the red button.”
“And then press record,” Chris reminded
him.
Everyone glanced at Chris and laughed,
Joe reached over and hit him on the back of the head.
“Ow! What was that for?”
“You should have gotten that on film
too!” Josh laughed.
A moment later, Claudia nodded at Tyler
and she began the piano introduction when she saw the red light turn on.
Although they were embarrassed, Justin
wasn’t reluctant to begin singing, and once he started, the rest of the guys
couldn’t resist. It drew them in and made them want to sing too, embarrassed
or not.
“When the visions around you, bring
tears to your eyes. And all that surrounds you, are secrets and lies…”
The sound of Justin’s voice alone was
enough to make the hair stand up on the back of everyone’s neck in the room.
It had been so long since he had sung this ballad, but the notes were just
as beautiful, just as perfect as they had been years ago.
Claudia’s playing was flawless, and
she surprised herself, considering the length of time that had passed since
she had last played it. She couldn’t believe how beautiful it sounded with
the guys singing along.
The harmonies between the five men
sent goosebumps across Claudia’s skin. She had seen the guys in concert a
few times, but that was nothing compared to having them stand only feet away
from her, no crowd, no screaming fans, no bright lights, not even microphones…just
their beautiful voices and the piano accompaniment.
Claudia kept her eyes on Josh as he
sang the second verse. His voice was just as she remembered it: perfect.
He kept his eyes closed the whole time he sang, as he often had during many
of the performances of his career. He was so lost in the music, and it showed
in his voice. His angelic voice that Claudia just couldn’t get enough of.
Claudia loved the way Lance’s deep
voice stood out on occasion, unlike on their records where editing and mixing
caused his harmony to blend into the background.
When the song was over, this time there was no applause, but rather a silent
approval of everyone in the room.
“Let’s do ‘I Thought She Knew’. It’s
one of the first songs we did together,” Lance said breaking the silence.
Tyler kept filming as they recalled
their pitches. He zoomed in, and zoomed out again, then crouched down then
moved to the side, getting different angles.
The night continued in much the same
way…the guys singing, along with the piano or a cappella. Time slipped away
from them as the guys sang their hearts out, and recalled old memories.
The candles on the dinner table had
burned to short stubs and the fire died down to nearly nothing.
“Oh my gosh, what time is it?” Justin
finally asked.
“It’s after one in the morning!” Claudia
exclaimed when she saw the clock in the kitchen.
“Time really flies when you’re having
fun,” Josh said.
Heather yawned and stretched as she
stood from the love seat. “We should get going, Tyler. We’ve got to check
out of our hotel early tomorrow morning.”
That being said, Tyler stood and stretched
too. Josh hugged them both tightly and spoke to them softly before letting
them out.
“The rest of us probably shouldn’t
stay much longer either,” Justin said. “It’s getting pretty late.”
“Are you guys leaving tomorrow too?”
Josh asked, disappointment in his voice.
All of the guys looked at each other.
Their eyes clearly said that none of them wanted to leave, especially not
with all the fun they had had tonight.
“I wouldn’t mind staying one more night,”
Joe spoke up.
It didn’t take much for the rest of
the guys to give in as well. The fun had only just begun, it was too soon
for it to all be over.
Cabs were called, and while they waited,
they made plans for the next day. Not long later the guys were retreating
to their hotel for the night.
Josh sat down on the couch after he
said his good-byes, Claudia sitting on the love seat. For a long moment they
sat staring into what was left of the fire.
“I think this was the best Christmas
ever,” Josh said.
“It’s awesome that the guys are staying
another night.”
“Oh no! I have to go in to work tomorrow,
I totally wasn’t thinking!” Josh cried.
“Don’t worry about it,” Claudia said
quickly. “I’ll talk to Jack and…just take the day off. It won’t be a problem,”
she assured him.
“Are you sure?”
“How often will you get the chance
to visit these guys, huh? It’s no big deal. If someone’s got a problem with
it, they’ll have to deal with me first.”
He looked at her and scoffed. “Oh,
now there’s a threat!” he teased.
She turned her head quickly to look
at him. “I can be tough when I want to be,” she defended.
“I bet.”
She sighed. “All right, so I’m not
the best at confrontation but I can sweet talk my way into anything at that
company.”
“Anything?”
“Okay maybe not anything, but I can
get you the day off okay? Jeez, get off my case!”
He couldn’t help but laugh. They both
turned suddenly when someone came through the door.
“Nicole! My goodness, you’re home late.”
Nicole stumbled into the room. “Oh
yeah? How late is it?” she asked, her words slurring.
Claudia raised an eyebrow at her before
looking at the clock. “It’s one thirty a.m.”
“A.M., huh? Well that’s pretty early,”
she slurred, as she attempted to hang her coat on the coat rack only for
it to fall on the floor.
“Actually it’s pretty late. Are you
drunk, Nicole?”
“Drunk? No, of course not. I only had…
four glasses of eggnog,” she said holding up three fingers. “…And some wine
and some champagne…” She stopped when she saw Josh sitting on the loveseat.
“Who’s that?”
“Never mind who that is,” Claudia said
in a stern voice. “You didn’t drive home, did you?”
“Don’t be silly. My cousin Mike dropped
me off…or was it Dave? Oh yeah, I remember you,” Nicole said stumbling her
way over to where Josh sat. She half leaned, half fell against the armrest
and moved her face only inches away from Josh’s. “You’re pretty cute,” she
told him in a low voice.
Josh winced and pulled away as the
smell of alcohol on her breath filled his nostrils.
Claudia stood quickly. “Okay Nikki,
I think it’s time for bed!”
A drunken smile slid across Nicole’s
face. “Hey Joshy, you wanna come with me? You could uh…tuck me in if you
know what I mean,” she suggested with a wink.
Claudia put her arm around her friend
and led her to the stairs. “You do know what I mean don’t you?” Nicole asked
Josh. “I meant that we could---”
“Yes! I know what you meant,” Josh
interrupted quickly. He searched his mind for an excuse. “…But uh…I wouldn’t
want to um…keep Claudia up all night…with… our…noise,” he stuttered.
“Oh baby, I like the sound of that!
Why don’t you come over sometime when Claudia isn’t home? Or she could stick
around too if you’re into that sort of thing. Are you into that sort of thing
because if you are I’m sure we could convince Claudia to---”
“That’s enough Nicole!” Claudia’s cheeks
burned at her friend's comment, but she knew it was only said because she
was drunk. At the same time, she tried not to laugh.
“Hey, Claudia?” Nicole said as they
reached the top of the stairs. “I feel kinda sick…I think I’m gonna…”
“Hurry up! Into the bathroom you go!”
After helping Nicole clean up in the
bathroom, she brought her into her room, changed her into her pajamas and
tucked her in. Before leaving her, she got a few aspirin and a glass of water
from the bathroom, knowing her friend would need it in the morning.
“Goodnight, Nikki. Do you need anything
else?”
“Yeah…get me that cute guy that’s on
the couch. What was his name again?”
“Goodnight, Nikki.”
Claudia made her way down the stairs,
almost too embarrassed to face Josh.
“So Claudia, are you into that sort
of thing?” he teased with a grin.
“No! Sorry to burst your bubble.”
“No offense, but you’re not bursting
anything.”
“Why should I be embarrassed? You’re
the one who made the noise comment!”
Remembering his words, his cheeks turned
red. “I only said that to…make an excuse without hurting her feelings. I
can’t even believe I said that.”
“Neither can I. But Nicole and I will
get a few laughs about it in the morning.”
“Or in the afternoon…whenever she comes
to.”
“She’s going to be humiliated when
I tell her what she said!”
“Too bad we didn’t film that, too!”
That made Claudia laugh out loud. How
humiliating would it be to have Nicole’s drunken acts on videotape and be
able to show it to her in the morning?
“I think I might have a little fun
with her head when I get home tomorrow. I’ll teach her a little lesson for
coming home drunk again.”