| JC had called Mandi shortly after Justin left. She was swamped with work and couldn�t talk long, but she promised that she would be home by seven. And she never broke her promises. So JC had set out to make a huge surprise dinner for her. He cooked and cooked for almost two hours so that everything would be ready by the time she walked in the door. Now he sat alone on the couch at 9:30 pm, starving and alone. She wasn�t home yet. Her office phone was busy, and her cell phone was turned off. Sitting there with his arms folded over his chest and his ice blue eyes staring at the blank TV screen stonily, he thought about what to say to her. He was really trying to calm himself down so that he didn�t blow up at her or say anything he would regret the next day. This is how he was when the front door creaked open loudly, and Mandi stepped inside, her blonde hair now loose around her face, her eyes tired, her shoulders falling. "Nice of you to join me." She closed her eyes and put a hand to her forehead. "I�m sorry. I don�t know what else to tell you. She wouldn�t let me leave." JC wanted so badly to just forget about it, go reheat dinner, and go to bed, but his pride mixed with that little bit of male arrogance wouldn�t let him. "Mandi, you promised you�d be here. I made a special dinner for us and you weren�t here. It�s 10 o�clock at night! Why would you have to work until 10 o�clock at night?" Mandi sighed, pulling her scrunchie from around her wrist to tie her hair up into a floppy bun. "I know. I know! I�m sorry! What do you want me to say? I would�ve gotten fired." JC stood up and walked over to her, his arms still folded defensively. "So? You don�t need that job anyways. I can support you and I want to support you. So why do you have to make everything harder by keeping a stupid fashion job?" He hated the words coming out of his mouth. Mandi�s eyes blazed with indignation and the intensity of her glare made him take a step back. "Stupid fashion job? JC, do you realize that for the first time in my life I�m doing something that I like, that makes me happy? That I�m actually good at? And don�t even start with me about my job making things harder. I don�t have a job that requires me to be everywhere but here all the time." She was getting more and more upset, and all JC wanted was to calm her down. He hated the words, and he hated the piece of him that wouldn�t let him apologize and forget everything. "At least my job is important." Mandi�s mouth dropped open and her eyes filled with hurt and shocked tears. "I can�t believe you. I can�t believe you said that." He hated seeing her eyes well up like that. "Yeah, well... I did." Her expression turned from shock to anger and she spat out her words as if they had a foul taste. "You think your job is any more important? You think traveling around the world with your friends and making 12-year-olds scream is important? Well I have news for you. It�s not!" He hated that he was letting the anger control him. "That�s not what my job is and you know it. And your job does make everything harder. If you would just quit, you could travel with us and we could be together all the time." Mandi couldn�t even process the fact that he was saying this to her. "Oh sure, I�ll do that. I�ll just pack up everything and follow you around the country. Just give up on my dreams and everything I�ve worked so hard for to please you. You know damn well that I�m not that kind of girl." JC stood silently for a minute, then turned around and sat back down on the couch. He patted the seat cushion next to him, and Mandi walked over slowly and sat down. He chewed on his lip nervously while desperately trying to think of something to say. "Look... sweetie..." Her eyes were intently focused on the interweaving of the yarn in the carpet, and he knew she was avoiding his own eyes. She didn�t want him to see how much he had hurt her with his words. He had seen this expression on her face before, but he had never been the cause of it. He was always the one to comfort her after someone else had caused that expression. Now he was responsible, and he was the comforter, too. He wasn�t so sure how to deal with that. "Mandi... I... I just..." She looked up then, and the pain in her eyes made him want to grab her and hold her until it went away. Her voice was soft but strong. "You just what, Josh?" He chewed his lip some more. She never called him Josh. "I�m just feeling a little upset at how little we get to spend time together lately. OK? I feel like I miss you even though you�re right here." Her eyes dropped to the floor again and she twisted her engagement ring around her finger absently as she spoke. "But there�s nothing I can do. I understand what you�re saying and I�m sorry that I came home late but... you�ve done the same thing a countless number of times." He blinked in surprise. "What?" Mandi looked at the ceiling as if the answers were written on it. "C�mon Jace. I�m not holding it against you but think about it. All the times you said you�d be here and you weren�t, the times when you have to just pack up and leave for months out of nowhere... I think I was entitled to one broken promise, don�t you?" He thought about what she was saying, and felt the worst guilt pangs he had ever experienced. Here he was, yelling at her for working late one night, when he was the one who had made her wait hundreds, maybe thousands of times before. "Baby... I don�t even know what to say. I�m sorry. I�m so sorry." It wasn�t much of an apology, but they were both too tired to care. Fights of any shape or size were rare between them, so they always left the both of them in shock, and somehow managed to bring them closer together. "Can we just forget about this? I hate fights." JC smiled and pulled her into his arms. "Because I always win, right?" She grinned, pulled away, and bopped him on the head with a pillow, taking off up the stairs before he could catch her, laughing the entire time. * * * Mandi was awakened by the smell of bacon cooking in the kitchen the next morning. She slid out of bed and shuffled down the stairs to find JC standing over the stove, his back to her, with a chef�s hat and a "Kiss the Cook" apron on. He was swinging his hips and singing openly. She leaned against the doorway, and watched him with an amused smile on her face. "You rocked my world you know you did, and everything I own I�d give." Mandi cleared her throat loudly. "I thought you went for the older Jackson stuff. Nice outfit, by the way. What would the teenies think?" He spun around, grinned at her, and started breaking out some Michael Jackson moves, complete with moon walking and crotch grabbing. Mandi was laughing so hard that her slippered feet on the smooth kitchen floor flew out from under her and she landed hard on her behind. "Ow! Dammit!" She looked up at JC who was holding his stomach and laughing harder than he had in a very long time. Thinking about how ridiculous she must look, her pajamas and slippers on, hair in disarray, sprawled on the kitchen floor, she began to laugh with him. JC collapsed on the floor next to her, tears running down his face. It had been far too long since they�d laughed like this. Mandi sat up after a few minutes, and attempted to control herself. "Oh God. Shut up, it�s not funny!" She yelled at JC, holding back another fit of laughter herself. He lay down on his back next to her, still grinning. "Oh yeah, it�s not funny at all. What was I thinking? What kind of fiance am I?" His voice was laced with sarcasm. "A bad one," she said jokingly, then looked up at the stove and stopped. "JC?" He looked up at her with a content smile on his face. "Mm?" "You burnt the bacon, spaz!" He jumped up. "Crap! Dammit! I just ruined everything!" Mandi was laughing again and JC was trying to figure out a way to un-burn the bacon, when the shrill sound of the telephone filled the kitchen. She stood up slowly and walked carefully to prevent another slip on her way to the phone. "Hello?" "Ms. Kavanore?" The voice was sharp and professional sounding. "That�s me," Mandi replied as she sat down on one of the wood chairs by the kitchen table. "Good morning, Ms. Kavanore. My name is Elaine Brobrowski and I�m with Luciano�s. I believe you have a wedding rehearsal dinner scheduled with us on April 20, correct?" Mandi nodded, then realized that the women couldn�t see her. "Yes, that�s right." "We have a slight problem with your dinner, Ms. Kavanore. You see, there was a discrepancy on the scheduling sheet, and as it turns out, we scheduled your dinner for the same night as another couple�s. We are in the process of finding another open spot for your party to be held, but we�re almost booked the entire month of April. What we want to know is if you would like us to keep looking, or if you plan on exploring other options." Mandi could not believe that this was happening. This was her wedding that they screwed up! Well, not her actual wedding, but still! She sighed loudly. "Um, you know what?" She looked over at JC, who was busy taking new bacon out of the fridge. "We�re gonna have to get back to you on that, OK?" And she hung up. JC was singing again as he laid the bacon on the frying pan. Mandi shuffled over to him with a pout on her face. "We have a problem. A very un-fun problem. Worse than burnt bacon." JC looked down at her and smiled. "Nothing is worse than burnt bacon." Mandi would have smiled if her wedding weren�t in shambles. "The hall for our rehearsal dinner can�t have us there anymore because they�re stupid and they screwed everything up." JC�s smile faded and he sighed. "OK, so that is a worse problem. What did they say? Can�t they reschedule?" Mandi shrugged halfheartedly and walked over into the living room, plopping down on the couch. "They�re all booked. This is a nightmare." She covered her face with her hands. JC smiled. She was too cute. He walked over and kneeled in front of her, pulling her hands away from her face. "It�s not a nightmare. These are just insignificant details. They don�t change the fact that I want to marry you." Mandi tried to smile, but she felt like something was stopping her. "I know... I just have this weird feeling that this isn�t the last of our problems." * * * One week later. Lafayette Recording Studios, Orlando, Florida. "What�s up party people!" Mandi looked up from the small couch she was sitting on to find Chris standing in the doorway with his arms raised over his head and a huge grin on his face, and rolled her eyes playfully. Joey Fatone looked over at him from his place in front of the soundboard and spoke, his voice thick with sarcasm. "Well, it wasn�t a party until you got here, Chris." Chris walked over to Joey and hit him on the head with a magazine. "Watch your mouth, Fat One." "Guys? Can we concentrate here? And be on time tomorrow Chris," came JC�s annoyed voice from over the intercom. "Yes, Dictator Chasez." Chris saluted him. Mandi looked to her right and gave an amused smile to Lance Bass�s girlfriend, Whitney, who smiled back at her. "Some things never change, huh?" Mandi grinned and nodded. "Exactly." Lance walked over to the girls from across the room. "Are you making fun of my friends? Because that�s just not right." Whitney smiled up at him. "We wouldn�t dare." Lance opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by JC�s voice over the speaker. "Lance! Let�s go! You need to do your part! And where the hell is Jus-" At that moment, the door burst open again and Justin walked in, followed by none other than Britney Spears. "We�re here!" He announced. "We just got... sidetracked." Britney giggled and swatted Justin�s arm. "Justy!" She looked over to the girls who were still on the couch, and smiled big. "Hi Mandi!" Mandi gave a halfhearted smile, and Whitney coughed loudly. It wasn�t that they didn�t like Britney, it was just... actually, yes, they just didn�t like Britney. JC�s eyes flicked to his watch and he sighed loudly. "Guys! Can we please focus here? Justin, I don�t care what or who you were doing, just be on time! And Lance, you need to do this now." Justin crossed his eyes and stuck out his tongue at JC before sitting down on a recliner with Britney in his lap. Mandi looked around at her friends and had to laugh. Lance was busy trying to braid Whitney�s hair, Chris and Joey were sitting in front of the mixing board, pushing random buttons to see what sounds they could make, and JC was standing alone in the recording booth, his arms crossed, watching everything with an upset and annoyed expression. Her ringing cell phone interrupted her thoughts, and she crossed the room to dig it out of her coat pocket. "Hello? Hi Debbie... I am doing something actually... can�t someone else do it? Debbie, I�ve worked over time everyday the past week... of course I want to keep my job... alright. Fine. I�ll be there as soon as I can." She clicked the phone off with a sigh. �He�s gonna be so pissed," she mumbled under her breath as she tapped on the glass to get JC�s attention and motioned for him to come out. JC walked out of the booth slowly and walked over to her smiling. "What�s up baby?" She looked at the ground, then back up at him. "Don�t be mad. But I have to go in to work. Not for long." JC sighed and fought to control his anger. He didn�t want or need another argument right now. "OK." Mandi looked up in surprise. "OK? You�re not mad?" "No, I am, but I don�t feel like arguing right now. I�ll see you at home." He kissed her quickly and walked back into the booth. Mandi sighed, turned around, and walked out without saying goodbye to anyone. * * * It was five hours later when Mandi opened the door to find JC sitting on the couch with his arms crossed over his chest, staring at the TV. She swallowed hard, and attempted to lighten the mood. "This looks familiar." JC stood up and walked over to her, taking her hands in his. His expression scared her. "Jace? Are you ok?" He walked into the kitchen, pulling her with him, and stopped in front of the telephone. "When I got home from the studio about an hour ago, there was a message on the answering machine. And I think you should listen to it." Mandi looked up at him with confused eyes as he pressed the play button on the machine. The voice that filled the room made her eyes widen and her mouth drop open. "Uh, hi Mandi. It�s your father..." |