Monica was curled up in bed reading her new Stephen King novel when she heard the front door open. The security system came to life, beeping, before being shut off by the man who had just entered the house. She looked over at the clock; it was a little after 11. She laid the book on her lap and watched the door. A few seconds later a very tired and sweaty Lance emerged in the doorway. He said nothing as he began to make his way through the bedroom making a beeline for the bathroom, stripping off his clothes and tossing them in the floor in the process. As he entered the bathroom he dropped his boxers to the floor and then jumped straight into the shower. Monica had to laugh in spite of herself. Nsync had been practicing hard lately. Their tour was starting soon and ‘the slave driver’ as Lance referred to their choreographer, Wade, had been making them work extra hard to get everything perfect. The past couple of nights he had come home dead tired. He wouldn’t say a word, just get in the shower just as soon as he walked in the door. Monica was beginning to get used to it. She knew he would be almost back to normal after his shower. Monica gave serious thought to attacking Lance in the shower, but thought better of it. ‘I’ll let him recover for a few minutes before I attack him!’ she thought to herself and giggled. She then picked up her book and continued to read.
About 10 minutes later Lance emerged from the bathroom wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. As he walked by the bed, Monica lowered her book and whistled at him. He looked at her and gave her a silly grin, while shaking his head before going to the dresser to get out some clothes to sleep in. He was just about to crawl into bed when Monica broke the silence.
“Don’t forget you promised your Mom you would call her when you got home.”
“Damn,” he muttered barely audible. He stood back up to grab the phone but she handed it to him. He dialed the familiar number to his house before stretching out across the bed and laying his head in his wife’s lap. She reached down and began to play with his wet hair. “Hey Mom,” he said when her cheerful voice answered the phone.
“Hey baby! How are you doing? You sound tired,” Mrs. Bass drawled.
“I am tired. I just got home a few minutes ago. I swear I think he works us harder and harder everyday,” he sighed.
“He just wants to make sure you five know what you are doing so you don’t make fools of yourselves on stage.”
“Geez Mom, whose side are you on?” Lance groaned. Diane laughed at her son’s comment. Monica smacked Lance on the shoulder at the comment. He looked up at her to find out why he had been struck. “What was that for?”
“Be nice to your mother,” she scolded him. His mother heard her and laughed again.
“I knew that I liked her for a reason,” his mother told him.
“Good. I am glad you do. You can have her,” he laughed.
“AW!! That isn’t nice!” Monica said as she reached over and grabbed Lance’s pillow and smacked him in the face with it.
“OW!” Monica laughed at him as he laid in her lap and pouted. “You just wait ‘til I get off the phone,” he threatened his wife.
“Lance, are you two going to ever grow up?” his mother asked laughing at the couple’s antics.
“Probably not, but what fun is growing up?”
“True. So when are you two coming to see us? We barely got to see you at the wedding, and it has been ages since you have come to visit.”
“I know Mom and I’m sorry. I have just been so busy and we are stilling trying to get situated in the new house. But we are coming. We will be there the day after tomorrow.
“Are you driving all the way out here?”
“Um, no.”
“So you convinced Monica to fly?”
“Um, no.”
“What do you mean no?” his mother asked confused.
“I mean she doesn’t know that detail yet,” Lance answered. Monica was already giving him a strange look and he knew that she was about to try to find out.
“I don’t know what?” Monica asked curious.
“Nothing Honey. I will tell ya later,” he replied. She gave him a questioning look, knowing that he was keeping something from her.
“Lance I think you are fixing to be in a heck of a lot of trouble,” he mother told him.
“Yeah, I think so too,” he laughed.
“Well I am going to let you go. I am going to bed. You father went to bed about an hour ago, but I wanted to stay up and wait on your call. I can’t wait to see you two, but I will talk to you again before then.”
“Of course you will Mom. Goodnight. I love you, tell Dad I love him too.”
“I will. I love you too. Night.” She replied before hanging up the phone. When he was greeted with the dead line he clicked the off button before flipping over and leaning over Monica to lay the phone back in the cradle. He then sat up on the bed and looked at her with an evil grin on his face. She was still giving him a questioning look when he reached over and took her book away from her. He marked her place before closing it and laying it on the bedside table. He then placed his hands on either side of her legs.
“What are you hiding from me and why did you just take away my book?”
“Because someone hit with me with a pillow while I was on the phone, and that someone is going to pay for it.” He began to inch closer to her.
“Oh, I’m scared,” she answered making fun of him.
“As you should be,” he said in a very serious, very hushed tone before capturing her lips with his. All thoughts left Monica’s head just as soon as his lips met hers. His kisses were intoxicating. When he pulled away she just sat there with her lips part slightly. They stared in each other’s eyes before Monica spoke.
“You know…I was seriously thinking about attacking you in the shower when you first came home,” she told him licking her lips.
“What stopped ya?” he asked as he placed a kiss on each eyelid, then her nose and then he lowered his assault to her neck.
“Um…” she honestly couldn’t remember at the moment. She tried to think but she was having trouble collecting her thoughts. He realized she was taking awhile to answer and stopped what he was doing so she could think. She stared at him for a few seconds, and then the answer suddenly hit her. “Oh…um…I…was going to give you time to recover from practice. So I decided I was going to attack you when you got done. I don’t think I’ll have to now huh?” she giggled.
“Probably not,” he chuckled before bringing his lips back to hers and reaching over to turn off the light.
“Mon, it’s time to get off the plane,” Lance said as he gently tried to pry her hands from the armrests of the seat. Her knuckles had long since turned white. She still had a deer in the headlights sort of look in her eyes. He knew that she did not take well to flying but this was just ridiculous. “Mon, the plane has been empty for like 10 minutes!”
Finally she slowly turned her head toward her husband. She allowed him to remove her hands from her death grip and let him help her out of her seat. As they emerged through the gate they were greeted with hugs from Jim and Diane Bass.
“How was your flight?” Diane asked as she hugged her son.
“It was great!” he replied as he pulled back to look at his mom. He noticed that her hair was shorter than the last time he’d seen her. “Mom, you’re hair looks great!”
“Oh you like it?” she replied as she ran her hand through it.
“It really does look great!” Monica said as she embraced her mother-in-law.
When the group had finished their welcomes they made their way toward the parking garage. Lance and Monica were only going to be in town a couple of days so they were able to carry their luggage onto the plane.
As they were cruising down I-20 Diane turned around in her seat so she could face the couple sitting in back.
“Ford and Stacy are coming over tonight for dinner. Stacy can’t wait to see the honeymoon pictures!”
“Oh Lord!” Monica said while rolling her eyes. “Half of the shots have Lance’s thumb in the middle of them! They all laughed as Lance turned a shade of deep red.
“Photography never was his strong suit,” his father chuckled.
“Gee thanks dad!”
A few minutes later they finally pulled into the Bass’ driveway. Jim helped the two with their bags.
“Well I’ll leave you two to get settled. Stacy and Ford should be here in about a half hour,” he told them before walking into the hallway and closing the door behind him.
“Wow it feels good to be home,” Lance said as he sat down on the bed and looked around his old room. His parents had decided not to change so it was still decorated as it had been when he was in high school.
“Yeah, I’m glad you were able to get some time off. It’s nice to see your parents, I wish we could see them more often.”
“Me too, there just aren’t enough hours in the day,” he sighed as he stretched out on the bed.
“Believe me I know,” she replied. The two chatted for a little while and they both changed clothes and freshened up some. Monica had wanted to take a shower, but Lance wouldn’t hear of it. He was convinced she would never be done in time for dinner. She finally gave up arguing with him.
“Lance!” Mr. Bass called from downstairs. Lance stuck his head out in the hallway when he heard his name called.
“Yes sir?”
“You and Monica come on down here. Stacy and Ford are here,” his father informed him.
“Ok, be right down,” Lance replied before walking back into his bedroom. “Stacy and Ford are here.” Monica nodded and ran the brush through her hair one final time. Then reached down to smooth out her clothes.
“Do I look all right?” she asked him. He laughed at this question.
“You are just like a typical girl. You look fine.” He walked over and kissed her cheek and then took her hand and began to lead her out of the room before she thought of anything else she had to do. He was anxious to get to see his sister and spend some time with his family.
Once downstairs the family sat and talked, each trying to catch up on the others’ lives. It started getting close to suppertime and Diane excused herself to go start preparing the food. Monica offered the help and her offer was gladly accepted. Soon they were putting the food on the table. They had made beef stroganoff served over linguini noodles as the main course.
Later that evening the family gathered back in the living room and Monica brought out the pictures from their honeymoon. Just as she had told her mother-in-law Lance’s thumb was in the way of a good portion of them. They did have some good ones though. They had one that was taken at a restaurant by their waiter. Both of them were beaming in the picture. It showed clearly on their faces how happy they were to be together. There was also a few pictures that showed the beauty of the beach. She and Lance took turns telling stories about different things that had happened, like the little boy that was convinced he saw a shark and then the entire section of the ocean had to be cleared out. This made the other two couples think of funny things that had happened during their honeymoons. They stayed up and talked for hours until Stacy realized how late it was. She and Ford decided that they needed to be getting home. It finally hit Lance and Monica how tired they were after their trip. So the four remaining in the house said their goodnights and headed to upstairs to go to bed.
Lance and Monica were lying in bed later. Lance was talking about how good it was to get to spend some time with his family. Monica understood. She didn’t get to see her parents very often either. She had moved to Florida to go to college and her parents were still in South Carolina.
“Boy would you hold still?”
“I am trying to get comfortable. I am used to sleeping in our big king sized bed at home.”
“You know it was a good thing you had full-sized bed when you lived here. Otherwise you would be sleeping on the floor right now. As much as you move around in your sleep, there is no way we could sleep together in a twin bed,” she laughed as she tickled him.
“Yeah, you continue to live in your little fantasy world,” he squirmed as he tried to get away from her attack. She finally gave up and he pulled her in his arms, kissed her forehead before closing his eyes. He fell asleep within minutes. It felt good to be home.
The morning sun shone in the window of Lance’s bedroom, falling across his eyes. He raised his head to look at the clock and discovered it was a little after eight. Lance wondered to himself if either of his parents were up yet. He wanted to spend as much time with them as possible during their short stay. He quietly slipped out of the bed, trying not to wake his wife. He pulled on his robe before making his way down the stairs. At first he thought that everyone was still asleep until he noticed that his mom was sitting in the kitchen reading the newspaper. He walked in, but she didn’t notice him at first. He cleared his throat, wanting to make his presence known without scaring her. She looked up at the noise and was greeted with the image of her son standing the doorway.
“Good morning Mom!”
“Morning Lance. Grab some coffee and we can go sit out on the back porch. It is such a nice morning.”
Lance walked into the kitchen and opened the cupboard. He pulled out his favorite mug; he’d made it for his mom in pottery when he was in junior high. It wasn’t quite symmetrical but it brought a smile to his face whenever he used it. He set it on the counter and grabbed the pot of freshly brewed coffee. He took his cup over to the table and sat down across from his mom. He took a long slow sip before he looked up and smiled brightly at his mom.
“Man, Starbucks has got nothing on you mom!”
His mom laughed at him, “I’m glad you like it! So how is everything going hon?”
“Really well. Things are crazy though. We are so busy getting things ready for the tour. I’m really glad we got to take a break and come visit though, I really needed to take a breather.”
“Don’t work so hard you make yourself sick,” Diane said with concern.
“Mom, you worry too much, we’re fine,” he told her.
“So how’s the house coming along?” She asked, changing the subject.
“You’d think that after two months we’d be completely unpacked, but no. There are still boxes everywhere! Monica is going to get a lot of the decorating and stuff done while we’re on tour. Justin and his girlfriend Keeley live across the street, so I have a feeling Keeley will be helping out a lot too.”
“That’s good, I’m glad that they’ll be able to keep each other company while you’re gone.”
“Yeah, and they’ll both be visiting on tour as well.”
The two sat there and sipped their coffee. Lance really enjoyed getting to spend some down time with his mom. He missed this.
“Do you remember Ashleigh Reynolds from down the street?” his mom asked.
“How could I forget Ashleigh mom? She was like my best friend when I was little and she was my dance partner all the time for Attaché. Do you remember the time she woke me up in the middle of the night to go swimming in the lake? Wow, I haven’t seen her in ages. How’s she doing? What’s she up to these days?”
“Well she’s in town right now. She’s been staying at her parent’s house for about a month now,” his mom told him.
“Why’s she staying with her parents? Is she just between jobs?”
“Well, she was diagnosed with breast cancer about six months ago,” his mother said slowly. “It was pretty hard on her so her parents wanted her to move home so they could help her out.”
Lance sat there for a moment. He stared at the coffee mug clasped between his hands. He watched the steam rise in little curls as he absorbed what his mom had just told him. He never in his wildest dreams would’ve guessed his mom would say what she just told him. ‘Isn’t cancer something that old people get?’ he thought to himself. Scenes of all the things the two had done together raced through his mind.
Slowly he raised his eyes to his mother. “I think I should go see her.”
“I am sure she would really appreciate that Lance,” he mother said. He sat downstairs with his mom a little longer; very little talking was done. Lance was in too much shock. “I…um…think I am going to go upstairs and get dressed.” His mother nodded her head; he kissed the top of her head before retreating back into the house. She hated to have to be the bearer of bad news, especially on one of his few trips home.
Lance slowly trudged up the stairs that lead to his bedroom in disbelief. He quietly opened the door, hoping not to wake his sleeping wife, and then shut it gently behind him. He turned around and was greeted by her smiling face. Her smile soon faded when she saw the gloomy look on his.
“Sweetie, what’s wrong?” She asked with a look of concern.
He didn’t say anything as he walked over to the bed and laid down beside her. She took him in her arms and began to play with his hair. “What is going on Lance?” she asked confused. Last night when he had gone to bed he was in such good spirits. The sudden mood change had her worried.
“Do you remember my friend Ashleigh I told you about?” Monica thought about it for a minute.
“Yeah I think I remember you pointing her out in some pictures that you showed me.”
“She and I were really close before I joined Nsync. She was one of my closest friends. I just found out from Mom that she is in town.”
“Really? Wow that is nice. So why are you so down?”
“Ashleigh has cancer,” he blurted out.
“What?”
“Ashleigh has breast cancer. She moved home to be with her parents,” he answered. His voice was shaky.
“Oh Lance, I am so sorry.”
“I think I should go see her.”
“I think you should too. Look Stacy, your mom, and I are going shopping this afternoon. Why don’t you go then? I am sure you would like to spend some time alone with her.” He nodded slightly and then just laid in his wife’s arms thinking. He didn’t understand how something like this could happen to someone so young. She was only 21; she would be turning 22 soon. She was only a few months younger than he was. She had lived down the street from him all of his life. They had gone to the same school and shared the same interests, including a love for music. That is how they had ended up Attaché together. They had tried to keep in touch after Lance had joined Nsync but it was hard. Neither of them was very good at writing letters, and both were so busy the phone calls became fewer and farther between.
“Why did it have to happen to her? She is so young. I should’ve kept in touch with her better,” he said as guilt washed over him.
“Why doesn’t it have to happen to anyone? There isn’t anything you could have done about it. All you can do is just be with her now and support her. God works in mysterious ways you know. Just pray for her.” He pulled his wife into a tight hug.
“I love you, you know that right?”
“I know. I love you too.”
They laid together for a little longer before Monica informed her husband she needed to start getting ready because Stacy would be there soon. She got up, gathered some clothes and her shower accessories and made her way out of the room to the bathroom across the hall. After she left Lance stood up and walked over to his dresser. It was littered with picture frames. These pictures were mostly of family. Right above the dresser was a bulletin board. This is where he kept pictures of his friends. The first photo that captured his attention was a picture of Ashleigh and him dancing during one of their first Attaché performance. He was twirling her around. Her long, thick curly brown hair was flying around her head. There were a couple of pictures of him and his bandmates from when the group first formed. There was a picture of them right before they had taken the stage at a talent contest they had entered at Lance’s high school. Right next to that was a picture of him and Ashleigh standing together. He remembered how she had forced her way backstage after they had performed to tell him what a great job they had done.
“Lance that was awesome! Why didn’t you tell me you five were so good,” Ashleigh said as she threw her arms around his neck. Lance just laughed at her before picking her up and spinning her around.
“My own personal cheerleader!”
“That’s what best friends are for! Just promise me that you will never forget me when you are all big and famous!” she said when he put her down.
“I could never forget you Ash,” he replied hugging her. About that time his parents walked up.
“Let’s get a picture of the two of you,” his dad said. They posed for the picture right before the rest of the group came up and tackled him, more excited than they had ever been in their lives.
Lance was still staring at the photos when Monica walked back into the room. She walked up behind him and slipped her arms around his waist. She laid her head against his shoulder and whispered, “Hey babe, the bathroom’s free.”
He shook his head to bring himself back to reality. “Wha…oh um, thanks I’ll be right back.” He turned and gave her a kiss before he headed into the bathroom and closed the door.
Monica looked up at the pictures that Lance had been staring so intensely at just moments before. She smiled as her eyes skipped from one to another. She remembered that the first time Lance had brought her to his parents’ house his mom had brought out the family photo albums. Lance had been mortified at the time. After they had finished looking at all the pictures Lance had brought her up to his room to show her his personal collection. They had sat up there for hours while he showed her each picture and told her the stories and memories each held.
Finally her eyes fell on the last picture, the one of Lance and Ashleigh at the lake. Both were soaking wet and had huge smiles on their faces. ‘I hope his friend will be all right,’ she thought to herself. She turned around and walked over to her suitcase and pulled out her outfit for the day and began to get ready.
“We’re off to the mall. We’ll be home by dinner time,” Diane told Lance while she was quickly walking through the kitchen. She grabbed her purse and car keys before turning to face her son. “Tell Ashleigh and her mother that I said hello.”
“Ok mom, no problem. Have fun you guys,” he said as he walked over to give his mother, sister and wife a hug.
“See ya later,” Monica called as the trio rushed out the door.
“Don’t buy everything,” he hollered after her just as the door was closing. He smiled and shook his head. He knew what shopping was like with those three and he was very glad that he wasn’t being dragged along. He was almost certain that they would be gone for hours and would undoubtedly return with their arms filled with packages. There was just something about Mississippi that prevented Monica from putting the credit cards away. He had a feeling that that something was Stacy and his mom.
He walked into the kitchen and grabbed a glass and plate out of the cupboards. He opened the fridge and pulled out some roast beef, mayonnaise, lettuce, cheese and a tomato. He made himself a sandwich and poured himself a glass of milk. He took his lunch over to the table and sat down. A few minutes later he had finished and was putting the dishes into the dishwasher.
‘Well, it’s now or never,’ he thought. He grabbed his house keys and walked to the front door. He grabbed his shoes out of the hall closet and sat at the foot of the steps while he pulled them on. When he had finished he silently opened the front door and made his way down the long driveway.
As he walked down the street towards Ashleigh’s house memories came flooding back to him. He thought about when he’d gotten his first bike without training wheels.
“Come on Lance, don’t be a chicken,” Ashleigh called as she flipped the kickstand of her bike up and took off down the street. She stopped a few houses away and turned back to her friend. Lance stared back at her uncertainly. He looked down at the back wheels of his bike.
‘No more training wheels. Nothing to keep me from falling,’ he thought to himself.
Ashleigh noticed that Lance was looking really worried so she pedaled back up the street toward him.
“What’s wrong?”
“I can’t do it. What if I fall?”
She stepped of her bike and pushed the kickstand in place so the bike could stand on its own. She walked over to Lance and gripped the back of the seat.
“You’re not going to fall. I won’t let you fall,” she said to her friend reassuringly. Lance looked into her sparkling green eyes.
Reassured, he nodded his head and began to slowly pedal down the street while Ashleigh kept a firm grip on the bike.
“Ashleigh, I’m doing it! I’m riding the bike!”
“I told you I wouldn’t let you fall!”
As Lance began to pick up speed she yelled, “I can’t hold on anymore Lance, I’ve got to let go.”
“Ok!” He yelled back.
Ashleigh released the back of the bike and Lance soared down the street. She ran back to her own bike and rode down the street after him, her curly brown hair flying behind her. When the reached the end of the street Lance squeezed the hand brakes and brought his bike slowly to a stop. A moment later Ashleigh pulled to a stop next to him.
Lance jumped off the bike and ran over to his friend. He threw his arms around her neck.
“I did it! You didn’t let me fall!”
“No problem Lance, but can you do me a favor?”
“Sure, anything.”
“Can you let go of my neck, you’re going to pull me off my bike!”
“Oh sorry,” Lance replied when he realized that he was still hugging his friend tightly to him. He let go and stepped back. He friend was grinning back at him.
“Race ya back up the street,” she said as he eyes gleamed.
“You’re on! Eat my dust!” Lance yelled over his shoulder as he ran back to his bike.
The two had ridden their bikes for hours that day. Ashleigh had stayed true to her word. He didn’t fall once.
Before he knew it Lance was staring up at Ashleigh’s large gray house. Its large yard was nicely manicured. He took a deep breath and walked up the front steps. He raised his fist uncertainly before bringing it to the door and knocking on it.
He stood there for a minute without a reply. He didn’t hear any movement within the house. He decided to try again. He raised his fist once more and knocked a little louder this time. He waited for another moment and he thought he heard movement inside. A second later the door opened and there she stood.