...What Might Have Been...
Kerri Jo Pettrey
and
Jordan Michael Scott
request the honour of your presence
at their marriage
on Saturday the seventeenth of June
two thousand
at five o'clock in the afternoon
Glennwood Baptist Church
581 Garrett Avenue
Morgantown, West Virginia
The words ran together as his eyes filled with tears. The embossed stationary slipped from his hand and fluttered to the carpet.
Lance walked to his hall closet and retrieved a cardboard box from the top shelf. He carried it to the couch, sat down and slowly removed the lid. Three years of his life found it's home in the confines of the paper prison before him. This was where his heart was placed the day she walked out of his life. Eleven months before...
As he pawed through his treasured momentos, a flood of memories engulfed him. From the bottom of the box, he pulled a blue photo album. Settling back against the soft cushions, Lance opened the book and drifted back in time. His eyes fell on a photograph of a beautiful brunette that he held in his arms...summer of 97...Lance smiled at the memory.
Lance had met her through a mutual friend and from that day forward, they had been inseperable. She had been there to support him when his band started...ALWAYS been there for him. Good times and bad...through failure and success...
...SUCCESS...
Lance had known that it would have a price, but he was unaware that it would be so incredibly high.� He had fame, fortune...but no one to share his life with. Surrounded by people, he was completely alone. He was a man who sang of love, yet in life, it always seemed out of his grasp. He'd made his choice and she'd moved on.
As the journey came to and end, Lance replaced the album and returned the box to it's home. Lance thumbed through the phone book and dialed the listed number. "I need to make a reservation. Morgantown, WV....As soon as possible...Lance Bass....."
****************************
As the banging persisted, Kerri rolled over to look at her digital alarm clock. "Who the HELL would be here at 7 am on a Saturday morning?" Kerri pulled on her robe and made her way to the door, as her visitor continued to knock persistently. "I'M COMING!! DAMN!!"
Kerri opened the door, her heart skipping a beat as she saw the man which awaited her on the other side. "Lance?"
With his head turned downward, his eyes raised to lock with hers. Lance extended his hand and offered a single pink rose, tied with a white ribbon. "Good Morning...Can I come in?"
Kerri nodded and stepped back, allowing him to enter. Lance brushed past her into the entrance hall. As he stepped inside, he turned full circle to survey his surroundings.
"This is really nice..."
Kerri raised her eyebrows in question. "Thanks...you hadn't been here before?"
Lance shook his head. "No.� You moved here after...."
Their eyes locked briefly before Kerri broke the connection.
"Look, why don't you let me take you out to breakfast? Catch up on old times?"
"Right now? Um, ok...Give me a minute to dress...Make yourself at home and I'll be right back."
"Take your time."
Kerri left the room, leaving Lance to explore. He wandered toward the fireplace and removed a 5x7 photograph� of Kerri and her fiancee' from the mantle. He noticed, immediately, the resemblance between himself and the man to whom Kerri clung so tightly.
Same green eyes...same blond hair...similar build...
"Ready?"
Lance jumped at the unexpected sound of her voice. "Yeah...let's go."
Once inside the car, Lance slid his sunglasses over his eyes and turned to her. "Do you have plans for today?"
Kerri smiled, shaking her head. "Nothing that can't be changed if I have a good enough reason."
Lance's heart soared from the warmth of her smile. "Good. There's something I want to see before breakfast."
**************************
"I can't believe it's still here."
Lance climbed from the car. Kerri followed him to the water's edge, a look of confusion clouding her face. "It's a lake, Lance. Where would it go?"
As he gazed at the sunlight reflecting off the calm water, he shrugged. "I don't know. Everything else is different. I thought this would be too. Remember the first time you brought me here?"
Kerri laughed. "Yeah, I do. We had a lot of fun."
Lance continued to stare across the water's surface. "What happened to us, Kerri?"
Kerri stole a glance at his profile. "I couldn't take being last anymore. You know?"
Lance shook his head. "You were always first, Kerri. I thought you knew that.....I always had it in the back of my mind that one day you'd come back."
Kerri waited in silence, unsure how to respond.
"Lance, I loved you. But the schedule was too much for me."
"It was all about the touring, then?"
Kerri gazed down at her hands, searching for an answer. "It is difficult to explain, Lance. I didn't think you loved me anymore."
"That's crazy! You were my life Kerri! You still are...." Lance turned to face her. "I don't want to be without you. I can't. You can't marry him, Scarlett. He's not the one for you."
Kerri was set aback. "Are you serious?"
Lance nodded, never losing her eyes. "Completely. I want you to come home with me."
Kerri looked away. "You can't expect me to answer you right now. I need time to think. This affects a lot of people, Lance. It's bigger than you or I. Can you take me home?"
"Promise me you'll think it over, Scarlett...."
"I promise."
******************************
Three days later
Kerri opened her front door. "Yes?"
"I have a certified letter for Kerri Pettrey."
"That's me...."
"Sign here...."� Kerri signed his clipboard, accepted the letter, and went inside to read the letter. Inside she found an airline ticket and a note.
���������������������� Kerri,
������������������������ Meet me in Orlando..Lots to say.
������������������������ Lance
Determined to either close the door on the past, or open the one to their future, Kerri packed her bags and left............
.................Kerri sat in the audience, still in awe of the talent and ability her friends possessed. Suddenly the lights dimmed. Lance stepped out of the wings, illuminated by a single spotlight. The sight nearly took her breath away.
"How is everyone feeling tonight?"
The crowd screamed in response and Lance smiled.
"This is a very special concert, for me anyway. There's someone in the audience who is a very important person in my life. I'd like to dedicate this next song to her. Men can be dumb sometimes....We don't always express ourselves very well. We expect you ladies to know what's on our minds and in our hearts, and we don't always make that easy....But Kerri, I love you more than anything and I hope this proves it to you."
Lance extended his arms to the side, opening himself to her.
"It's all up to you now, Scarlett. I hope you open your heart and hear the words . I hope you can open yourself to me again. I know I should have told you a million times how much I loved you and needed you. I'm sorry, baby. I thought you knew........."
Lance walked into his dressing room to find Kerri seated on the sofa. "Hi...."
Lance smiled. "Hi."
Kerri stood and closed the space between them. She looked up into Lance's emerald eyes, her hand brushing his hair from his eyes. "Did you embarass yourself out there tonight?"
Lance shrugged. "It depends on your answer.� If you turn me away...maybe."
Slowly she took him into her arms. "I've missed you so much, sweetheart."
Lance lifted her chin for a kiss. He closed his eyes as he brushed his lips against hers, savoring the moment.
Kerri leaned back in his arms to gaze into his eyes, her voice bringing him back to reality. "How did you know I'd come back?"
"I didn't. JC read me a poem by Walt Whitman a few days ago. The last line said...Of all sad words of song or pen, the saddest are these, It Might Have Been.. I realized that one way or the other, I had to know."
Kerri stared up into his face, her hand caressing his cheek lovingly. "I've though about you everyday, Lance. Part of me left with the hopes you'd come and bring me back home."
"I'll never let you go again. I promise you."
Lance pulled her close. As she melted in his arms, Lance made a promise to himself and to her. Everyday he would do something to let her know how much he loved her and what a gift God had blessed him with.
He'd seen a glimpse of heaven when he looked into her brown eyes, filled with her love for him.
And he was never letting go again.