| The World |
| This was written specifically for Mandy's website. But the more I read it, the more I realize it can go anywhere. Based on the quote at the end. |
| Lacey smoothed back the hair on her mother�s forehead before replacing her hand with her lips. �Sleep sweet, mamma,� she whispered softly. She got up slowly so as not to disturb the sleeping woman and exited the room. Walking across the hall, she opened another door and quietly peeked in. Satisfied that her younger sister was sleeping, Lacey shut the door and headed down the hallway and out the building. The walk to work was short, but long enough to remind Lacey how important the money she was working for was. The car accident that had killed her father and seriously injured her mother had also totaled the family car. But even with the money from the insurance company, Lacey just couldn�t seem to work a car back into the budget, not when she was now the sole breadwinner for the family. She shook her head and hurried the last few yards in the dark to the back door of the 24 hour restaurant where she was a waitress. �Mullins? Is that you? It�s about time you got here, girl! Get a move on.� Lacey sighed and looked at the clock. She was ten minutes early, and yet already, her boss was starting in on her. �Coming, Rick, coming.� As she shed her jacket, donned an apron, and punched her time card, Lacey mustered up a smile and prepared for a long evening. �Mullins, I don�t have enough people for you to go on break tonight.� Lacey looked around her in surprise. �It�s supposed to be lunch, Rick. And you have plenty of people.� Rick looked at her sharply. �You questioning me, little girl? You know I don�t have to let you work here. You�re free to walk out that door at any time. But once you do, don�t come crawling back to me.� Swallowing back the tears that threatened to come, Lacey picked up a menu and greeted the man standing near the door. �Just one this evening?� He nodded. �Would you like a seat at the counter?� He nodded again and followed her mutely. Once he was seated, she handed him the menu. �My name is Lacey. I�ll be right back for your order.� He smiled and thanked her, then she left. Lacey�s evening only got worse. She was doing her best, but Rick was in a bad mood and she couldn�t do anything to suit him. Every time she was away from a table, he found a reason to yell at her. And each time, she scrambled to right whatever wrong he had come up with. It wasn�t until almost twenty minutes later that Lacey realized she had completely forgotten the man at the counter. Scrambling back to him and hoping that Rick hadn�t noticed her lapse, Lacey apologized profusely. �I am so sorry. Please, order what you like. I�ll take care of it.� The man shook his head. �It�s not a problem. Don�t worry about it.� When she looked down at him worriedly, he smiled warmly back. �And no, I�m not gonna mention it to your boss. All I really wanted was a cup of coffee.� �I can do coffee,� Lacey replied. The light in his blue eyes comforted her, and when she smiled back at him, it was genuine. Her shift wore on, and she was surprised to see the man at the counter still there at 4 am. He had finished at least two pots of coffee in the time. Rick had approached him at one point, thinking the man was simply loitering, but though Lacey couldn�t hear the words said, the man remained, and Rick did not speak to him again. She had noticed that he was writing. It definitely peaked her curiosity, but she was too busy and too shy to ask him about it. When he finally asked for his check, Lacey found she was actually disappointed. She rang up his �caffeine fix� as he had called it, and wrote a thanks followed by a small smiley face on the back of the bill. Handing it to him, she smiled. �You probably won�t be able to sleep after all that coffee.� �It�s okay. It wasn�t sleep I was looking for.� That statement completely baffled her, but Lacey shrugged it off. �Well, thanks for coming. And if you ever need another caffeine fix, we�re always open.� He smiled. �I�ll be sure to remember that.� When she finally finished her day, it was five in the morning. Lacey sighed and headed to the back room, but stopped when someone called her name. �Lacey! Wait up a sec.� Lacey turned to find another waitress following her. �Oh hey, Debra.� �I have something for you,� Debra said, holding out a folded stack of paper. Lacey looked puzzled. �It�s from your coffee guy. I think it�s your tip. He asked me to make sure you got it and no one else.� Lacey took the papers and headed out. It wasn�t until she got home that she actually took the time to look at them. Indeed, when she sat down at the small kitchen table, she was glad she had waited. What she found there brought forth all the tears that she had been holding in all evening. He had left her a generous tip. But there was also something else. It was a simple poem, words she thought she recognized. Your love is like a river, peaceful and deep Your soul is like a secret that I never could keep When I look into your eyes, I know that it�s true: God must have spent a little more time on you. And under it was a little note that said, �Lacey, Keep smiling. And don�t let anyone bully you into believing that you deserve anything less than the best. Love, Josh� Lacey read and reread the note. While she did, she remembered his blue eyes and his smile, so warm and comforting to her. The thought made her smile. �What�s wrong, Lace?� Lacey turned to see her sister rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Josh�s words burned themselves into her memory: �Don�t let anyone bully you into believing that you deserve anything less than the best.� �Nothing�s wrong, sugar.� If possible, Lacey�s smile grew even larger. �Everything�s right. Finally, everything�s right.� ***** Ten Years Later ***** �One final question, Mr. Chasez.� JC nodded. �But you don�t have to call me Mister. It makes me feel old.� He smiled. �Call me JC.� The young interviewer smiled in return. �Only if you call me Megan.� �All right, Megan. What�s your question?� Megan chewed on the end of her pen thoughtfully before replying. �Is there one event, one memory that sticks out in your mind as making it all worthwhile? NSYNC went on for longer than anyone thought it would. It must have gotten tiring after a while. But there had to have been one thing that seriously motivated you to keep on going.� JC nodded. �Lots of little things added to the motivation factor. But I can tell you the one thing that I think of as the reason I kept on. �I was home in Orlando one night, and I stopped for coffee in one of those 24 hour places. There was this waitress, she couldn�t have been more than 18, but she was working so hard, and her boss was just giving her all sorts of flack. I felt pretty bad for her. I could just kind of tell that she was in a bad spot. The only thing I could think of to do for her, though, was to leave her a little note with the chorus of �God Must Have Spent� on it.� JC laughed as he remembered. �That was pretty corny, but I had drunk two pots of coffee, it was four in the morning, and I couldn�t think of anything else to do. �Well, a few months passed, and I decided to go back there, you know, just to kind of check up on her. She wasn�t there, but this other waitress pulled me aside and handed me this envelope. �She figured you�d come back sooner or later,� she told me, �so she left this for you.� When I got home, I opened it up, and there was a letter from her.� He dug into his wallet and handed something to Megan. �Here, I carry it with me, still.� When Megan read the letter, her eyes filled with tears. �Dear Josh, It seems you and I were just passing through each others' lives, but I wanted to let you know what an impact you had on mine. That little note encouraged me beyond belief. I have no idea where that poem came from, but it was beautiful. And I thank you for your words of advice. Do you know that I went back the next night and quit that job? I was in such need for money that I didn�t realize that I didn�t have to take abuse in order to make a living. You were right. It may sound stupid, but I carry your note with me everywhere. And I take it out and read it everyday. It reminds me that I can always smile, no matter what the situation. And it keeps me from letting others take advantage of me. I don�t know who you are, what you do, where you came from, or if I�ll ever see you again, but you�ve changed my life forever, Josh. And for that, I thank you. I only hope that I�ll someday find someone I can touch in the way you have touched me. Love forever, Lacey Mullins� Megan looked through her tears to JC. �Why does this mean so much to you?� she asked. JC looked surprised. �I couldn�t believe that I had touched someone that much. And she didn�t even know who I was. I get the feeling she didn�t even know who NSYNC was.� �She didn�t,� Megan shook her head. �She didn�t have time for that.� �What?� Megan smiled. �Lacey Mullins, JC. She�s my sister.� JC sat back heavily in his chair. �You want to run that by me again?� �Lacey had to take over as head of the family the day of her 18th birthday. That was the day that our father was killed and our mother was seriously injured. It was a car accident, drunk driver, you know the story. Mom never recovered enough to even get out of bed, and she died about a year after. Lace suddenly had to take care of me, our mom, and herself. �I never heard her complain about the job at the restaurant. It was the first thing she found after the accident, and I think she was so scared of the money running out that she didn�t feel like she had any option but to stay. I think I knew it was bad for her, but I guess at 12, you don�t really realize how bad things can be. But that night...� Megan trailed off, remembering. �When I woke up for school, she was sitting at the table, a piece of paper in her hands. I could tell she had been crying, but she had the biggest smile on her face that I had ever seen. I asked her what was wrong, and she told me that nothing was wrong but everything was right. I hadn�t seen her that happy in a long time. And she marched right into that restaurant and quit her job the same evening. I was so proud of her. �I asked her once what was in that letter that made such a big difference in her, but she wouldn�t tell me. She kept it to herself and never showed it to anyone else.� Megan eyed JC. �Maybe it�s a good thing she did.� The wheels in her head were turning, and a sly grin spread across her face. JC had closed his eyes during the story, trying to imagine Lacey, picturing her the way he had seen her. As Megan finished talking, he realized she was waiting for him to say something. But at the moment, words escaped him. This was just too impossible. �Lace, I�m home.� �I�m in the kitchen, baby,� Lacey called back to her sister. She waited until Megan appeared before asking, �So how was your day?� �Very interesting.� Lacey�s eyebrows raised. �Oh? Care to share?� Megan held up a hand. �First, I have a question.� �Okay.� �Do you believe in fate?� �What are you talking about, Megs?� Lacey shook her head in confusion. �Just answer the question, Lace.� �Okay, fine. Yes, I suppose I believe in fate. Why?� �Just wait,� Megan answered as she left the room. Lacey turned back to the stove until she heard footsteps. �This had better be good, Megan, or else-� she stopped as she turned around. It wasn�t Megan who now stood in her kitchen. �Josh.� JC smiled and reached for her. Pulling her into a warm hug, JC whispered, �I finally got you where you belong, Lacey Mullins - out of my mind and into my arms.� Lacey looked up into his eyes. They were the same blue color that she saw in her dreams every night. �And there�s no place I�d rather be.� To the world, you may be one person. But to one person, you may be the world. Misfits ~Home~ ~Plot Mistress~ |