She reached for the door of the taxi cab just as someone else did the same. She looked over to see a guy smiling at her.
�You go ahead.� She shook her head,
�Oh no, that�s ok. I�m not in a rush to go anywhere�be my guest.� He looked at her more intently and she began to do the same,
�You look familiar?� She smiled and nodded,
�I was just thinking the same thing.� She couldn�t believe it. Out of all the places, in Washington DC is where she runs into someone from,
�Pensacola. We went to school together. Shayna MacAllister.� She laughed,
�Andrew Reardon. How are you?� They wrapped their arms around each other and hugged.
�Hey, you guys going somewhere?� They cabbie called out. They pulled back and he opened the door,
�Come on, get in.� She climbed into the backseat and watched him as he entered and settled in beside her.
�Where you headed?� Andrew looked at Shayna,
�I�m off to get something to eat. Why don�t you join me?� She was so excited to see a familiar face she didn�t hesitate,
�Sure.�
�18th Street; Adams-Morgan. You know Bardia�s?� The driver nodded,
�Yeah, the New Orleans Caf�. Yeah, I know it.� Andrew turned and looked at her,
�It�s a Cajun place. You�re going to love it.�
�What are you doing in DC?� She hadn�t seen anyone from her school days except for those rare occasions when she went back home. It always seemed awkward running into someone working behind the counter of a Sunoco or ringing up her groceries at the local market. Not because she thought the work was beneath them but she didn�t want them to be embarrassed. Honest work was honest work and there wasn�t a job in the world to be embarrassed about. Except maybe a stripper.
�I�m in school here. Second year of medical at Georgetown.� Her eyes widened,
�Wow, impressive.� He feigned bashfulness,
�Oh well, thanks.� He laughed, �My brother is going to be jealous when I tell him I ran into you.� His brother was Chris. Shayna and Chris were in the same grade and dated their junior and senior years. Andrew was two years behind them. When they graduated from high school Shayna headed to Tampa to attend USF and Chris was accepted to the Naval Academy in Maryland.
�How is Chris?� She still wondered about him sometimes. He was the nicest guy, so sweet.
�He�s actually back home. He�s stationed at the base. He�s a pilot.� She couldn�t believe it but really she could. Chris watched Top Gun at least once a week. He said it was to remind him of what he wanted and why he was working so hard.
�Wow, that�s great. I�m surprised you didn�t follow in the family tradition.� Chris and Andrew�s father, grandfather and their two uncles all served in the Navy.
�Oh yeah, I took up the family business. I followed Chris to Annapolis. After I�m finished with med school I�ll probably do residency over at Bethesda.� No one could accuse their family of being slackers. Their success was intimidating to Shayna, especially considering her own embarrassing single mother paycheck to paycheck pedigree.
�I�m more than impressed Andrew. But, I shouldn�t be surprised.� He laughed,
�Yeah, especially since we had no choice.� There father wasn�t a bad man but his kids knew from an early age what was expected of them.
�How�s your little sister?� She of course, was not pushed into the military. Mr. Reardon though the only role for women in the military was as a dutiful spouse taking care of the home waiting for her man to return.
�Kat is doing great. She�s in her first year at Emory.� She was surely at Emory to snag a husband or at the least have great connections so if she fell behind the curve and wasn�t engaged at graduation she could meet her future husband through networking.
�That�s great.�
�So, enough about us. What about you? You live up here?� She wished her life was as exciting as his,
�Oh no. A small vacation really. We leave first thing in the morning.�
�Where do you live?�
�In Tampa doing boring computer stuff.� At first she was thinking of hiding everything�or at least as much as she could but she decided against it, �I'm here with my boyfriend. He�s one of the Backstreet Boys. He has a concert tonight so I�m just hanging out.� Andrew looked at her and she pulled out her wallet,
�See, that�s him.� She showed him a picture of her and Nick, �That�s Nick�Carter.� He smiled,
�I�ll take your word for it. So, he�s not going to be upset with you hanging with me?�
�Like I said, concert tonight. I have to fend for myself.� He nodded,
�Great, that gives us time to catch up.� She smiled and hoped their conversation would lead back to the past.
He caf� was cozy and the sounds of jazz music gave a comforting feeling. They both ordered the blackened catfish,
�Still love your seafood huh?�
�As do you I see.� She cojld eat seafood six days out of the week. They were from Pensacola. It wasn�t possible, in her eyes, to live in a town on the water on not like the offerings of the sea.
�Yes, and thank goodness I live up here. Maryland has some of the best seafood in the country. There�s this great place in Silver Spring called Crisfield. Next time you�re in town I�ll take you and your celebrity boyfriend. Maybe I�ll have a girlfriend by then. It�s a little more expensive but I�m sure he can handle it.� She laughed at him. He obviously knew nothing about Nick.
�His bank account could handle the expensive tab but he couldn�t appreciate the expensive taste.� He nodded.
�So, how did you get involved with a celebrity?�
�I was shopping one night at the mall. We were in the same store and made eye contact a few times. He came over, we started talking, I gave him my phone number and we eventually started dating. I moved in with him while I was still in college and we�ve been together every since.�
�And you live in Tampa?� She could see the look on his face,
�Yeah, its not exactly LA, New York or even Miami.�
�That�s what I was thinking. Is it safe or do you even get privacy.�
�Actually, its not that bad. Its so small that the real problem, the paparazzi, isn�t an issue. Besides, Nick doesn�t like that big city I�m a celebrity privileged life. He's just a normal guy.� Andrew listened as he sipped on his water.
�You�re in love.� She instantly smiled,
�Guilty as charged.�
�Has he popped the question?� Away went her smile,
�No.� He could see the disappointment on her face. She couldn�t hide it,
�But you're hoping he does.� Of course she was hoping. Hell, she was praying. She wanted more than anything to be a wife and homemaker.
�Guilty again.�
�Have you ever talked about it?�
Chapter 29 cont'd