She whipped up a batch of chocolate chip cookies and put them in the oven. Today was her last day volunteering at the school. She was done for the summer and she wanted to take some treats in for the students.
While the cookies were in the oven, she went to Nick’s game room and tidied up the clothes. She looked again at the picture of Brian The Balloon Man and Princess Penelope. She loved that she and Nick saw these things exactly the same way. She wondered how that was possible.
She tiptoed quietly past the closed bedroom door. There was no reason for Nick to be up this early. If he wasn’t up by the time she left, she’d wake him up then. She put the sketchbook and the story on her desk in the study and returned to the kitchen with the armful of clothes. She added them to the load already in the washer and turned it on.
Then she sat down at the breakfast bar with a cup of tea and a pad of paper. Today was Wednesday. She was going to school in the morning and then picking up the programs from the printer. She would drop those off at the Symphony Hall and maybe kiss her husband, depending on what he was doing. She certainly wasn’t going to charge into the middle of a rehearsal for a hug!
She’d get her hugs later tonight when they got home. They were going out to dinner with Howie and AJ. Leighanne and Kristin were arriving late this afternoon and Kevin and Brian would be otherwise occupied. Abby told Nick that it was okay if he wanted to go out with AJ and Howie alone. He retorted that it might be okay with her, but it certainly wouldn’t be with them.
Tomorrow was Thursday. She was having lunch with her mother and Aunt P. to go over the final details for the party on Saturday. Then it was off to the hospital for some volunteer work and home to get ready for the cocktail party. The Boys had been very generous about that, she thought. They had been invited, but without the expectation that they would attend. They were doing enough, after all. But the Boys agreed that they’d spend a couple of hours giving the volunteers some up-close-and-personal.
Friday was the final rehearsal during the day with the concert at night. Saturday was the ‘party of the year’ according to Abby’s mother. And then Sunday morning the Boys would be getting on a plane to Vancouver.
And taking Nick away again.
Abby sighed and set down the pen. She refilled the kettle with water and plugged it in. Nick…oh, Nick…last night had been phenomenal. Abby didn’t have the slightest idea of what newlyweds did. Did they do it at every opportunity? Or was it just that Nick and Abby were apart so much that they made the most of their time together?
Abby took the cookies from the oven and set them on racks to cool. She went and had a shower in the main bathroom and returned to the kitchen in her robe to find her husband sitting at the counter munching on a cookie.
“Hey!” she said, “Those are for the kids.” She slapped the back of his hand playfully.
“I’m just taste-testing them,” he replied with a grin. “These are really good. Don’t ever make them for me.” He patted his stomach.
Abby laughed and flipped the switch on the coffee-maker. “Did I wake you?” she asked. “I tried to be quiet.”
“You didn’t need to be. It wasn’t like I got to bed late or anything. I thought you might wake me up…you know, so we…” He pulled her close and slipped his hands into her robe.
Abby enjoyed his ministrations for a moment and then reluctantly moved back. She cinched the robe tight. “There were cookies to be baked,” she said in a husky voice. “Coffee?”
“Yes, please,” said Nick. He looked down at the list on the counter. “You’re a busy girl.”
Abby nodded and grinned. “This week for sure! Haven’t you heard, NSYNC is coming to town.” She furrowed her brow. “No, that’s not right…”
Nick laughed. “Ha! Ha!” he said, sarcastically. “You’re so funny.”
Abby wrinkled her nose at him. She looked at the clock on the microwave. “Time to get dressed,” she said.
As she moved past Nick, he grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. “Seriously, Baby, how much time have you got?”
Abby leaned into him. She kissed his throat and ran her fingernails down his chest. Then she looked up at him. “Enough,” she said, and she tugged at the sash on her robe.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Abby smiled to herself as she drove to the school. Now that was a great way to start the day! She would have to remember that the scent of baking cookies woke Nick up early and eager!
She was so happy. She was so much in love. She didn’t even care if you called it that. She didn’t care how Nick defined his feelings for her. They were there. He cared for her. He was her husband and her lover and her friend. What could be more perfect than that?
“Good morning,” she sang out to a teacher as she got out of her car.
“Good morning, Abby. My, you’re bright and chipper this morning. It must be nice having your husband home.”
Abby nodded. It certainly was. It was better than nice. It was perfect.
Of course, she’d forgotten about Ronni.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Ronni hadn’t forgotten about her, though. Ronni couldn’t think of anything else. Her mind was so busy plotting and scheming that she nearly forgot she had a husband of her own. She was startled when she heard his voice.
“Hey, Darling. Are you ready? I thought you wanted to go out to dinner.”
“I do, Baby. I made reservations at Fuse, the new restaurant in Hotel 71.”
“That’s supposed to be a real hot spot,” said James.
It would be a hot spot tonight for sure, thought Ronni. It was going to have some very hot guys in it tonight…and one homely woman.
Ronni told James to make himself a drink and get her a glass of wine. She was almost ready. She gave herself a final look in the mirror. Yes, she looked fantastic. She’d put her hair up on her head. She knew James didn’t care for it that way very much, but Nick loved it that way. He said it showed off her beautiful neck.
Ronni applied her lipstick and then made kissing motions to the mirror. Everything was working out on schedule. She had decided that she wasn’t going to sleep with Nick after all; that might put her in jeopardy if James found out. And James was better in bed anyway. No, she was just going to drag Nick into doing and saying things that looked bad. And then she was going to make sure that Abby found out.
She started on Monday, showing up at the Hall with juice and bottled water. She fussed around the dressing rooms and hung out backstage. She was not the only volunteer who had suddenly found a reason to be there. When the Boys arrived, there was a lot of silent admiration, but no one had the nerve to step forward. Except Ronni. “Nick…Howie…” she had said, reaching out her hands to them. “How lovely to see you again.” She had then turned and started introducing the other women present. The Boys all shook hands and said, ‘pleased to meet you’. The women shook hands with the five men and mumbled something that they’d never ever be able to remember accurately later, no matter how hard they tried. Ronni hung close to Nick, putting her hand on his arm as she introduced everyone.
The Boys got down to business and the women disappeared. Except Ronni. She glided in and out of the rehearsal hall, never interfering or even saying anything, just drifting through carrying a clipboard or a stack of papers. She was a beautiful woman and every man noticed her. Every one.
Ronni did the same sort of thing Tuesday. She was smart enough to show up while the Boys were still doing the Oprah taping. This wasn’t about the Boys, after all, this was her sincere and earnest effort to be of assistance to the Symphony. She wandered in and out, looking busy and purposeful. She had made sure that she knew every detail of what was to happen and she was adept at finding a reason to be where she wanted to be at any given moment.
She knew that the Boys were having their fittings for their outfits Tuesday afternoon. She brought along her perfume atomizer and when Nick was being fitted, she snuck into the dressing room and sprayed some of her perfume on his shirt. She didn’t have to worry about Nick noticing. He told her once that he couldn’t tell one scent from another, couldn’t differentiate between colognes or aftershave.
But Abby could. Ronni knew that for sure. Abby had admired Ronni’s cologne one day and asked what it was. Ronni had told her and later asked her if she’d bought some. Abby had said ‘no’ that it didn’t smell as good on her as it did on Ronni.
Ronni got it out of Howie that he and AJ were going out to dinner with Nick and Abby at Fuse tonight and she hastily made reservations. The person on the phone insisted that there was no table available, until Ronni informed them that if, in fact, that were the case, they would be dealing with the head of the Chicago Symphony, the president of Jive Records, the mayor and Sharon Fremont. She didn’t know which name did the trick, but a table for two suddenly opened up. Ronni guessed they’d be seated back by the kitchen, but she didn’t care. They would ‘drop by the table’. Ronni just wanted people to see Ronni dressed up next to Abby dressed up.
Abby hadn’t put in an appearance at the rehearsals until this afternoon when she came to deliver the programs. But from Ronni’s perspective, it couldn’t have been better timed. She’d flirted with Nick as much as she could without being blatant. It was hard to get him alone. He seemed to be wary of her, for some reason. And that bloody AJ just wouldn’t mind his own damn business. Every time she’d get close to having a private conversation with Nick, the little, tattooed weirdo would show up and start spouting nonsense.
But she’d finally cornered Nick when he was coming out of the bathroom. She’d started the conversation by talking about music. There was nothing more innocent than that. She told him that it was a shame that he hadn’t been doing anything musical during the time they were together, that it was a whole new dimension to him that she didn’t know. Nick stuttered and stammered and accepted the compliments.
Ronni threw in some more personal anecdotes remembering times they’d had together. It was all done with lighthearted laughter and Nick found himself relaxing. The references got a little more personal and finally, Ronni said, “Remember these…” and opened her palm.
Nick blushed to the roots of his hair. Yes, indeed, he remembered…
“Hey, Abby! Nice to see y’all again.” Kevin’s voice came up the corridor.
“See ya later, Ronni,” said Nick and he walked quickly away, his face beet red. Ronni reached up and ran her fingers through her hair giving it a mussed-up look. Then she followed Nick slowly up the hall. She hesitated in the doorway and watched Abby hug her husband and then look past him to where Ronni stood leaning on the doorframe with a very satisfied look on her face.
That was enough for the day, she decided. She didn’t want to overplay her hand. But she did slip something into Nick’s jacket pocket when she brushed past him. Something that might blow this marriage apart.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The little tattooed weirdo was not happy at all. Something was going on here. It had been going on the whole time they’d been here and it got worse at dinner tonight. AJ really wanted to talk to someone about it but he didn’t want another episode like last August when he accused Nick of making Abby up.
And what would they think if he told them that he thought Nick was either cheating on Abby or getting ready to do it? They’d have him committed, that’s what they’d do…right after they beat the crap out of him.
But something was up, AJ knew it. He’d caught glimpses of this and that, but tonight at dinner, he’d caught Nick in an outright lie. And he didn’t know what to do about it.
AJ paced the floor of his hotel room and smoked one cigarette after another. It was that damn blonde bitch, Ronni. She couldn’t keep her fucking hands off Nick. And Nick didn’t seem to want her to. AJ spent most of the rehearsals following Nick around trying to interrupt their conversations. He thought he’d managed pretty well for the most part.
And then she’d showed up at the freakin’ restaurant! She had her husband with her and all, and she hadn’t hung around the table, just introduced James and made small talk for a minute, mostly with Howie, but she’d stood with her hand casually on Nick’s shoulder while she was doing it. And he looked like he wanted the earth to open up and swallow him.
Abby and AJ were on the other side of the table. After Ronni wandered off, and Howie and Nick were talking, AJ whispered to Abby. “Good friend of yours?”
“I can’t stand the sight of her,” said Abby, honestly. “We’ve been…on opposite ends of the universe since high school.”
“Oh, so you knew her before…” AJ stopped. This was dangerous ground.
Abby raised her napkin and dabbed at her lips. From behind the napkin, she said to AJ, “Before Nick did?”
AJ nodded.
“Oh yeah,” said Abby, “she’s been my worst nightmare for years.”
AJ nodded and took a sip of water. So then it wasn’t Abby who arranged for Ronni to go to the concert in May, like Nick said. You didn’t give a backstage pass to your worst nightmare, especially one that was a significant part of your husband’s past.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~AJ paced and smoked and thought. To hell with this bullshit, he concluded. Tomorrow, I’m going to have it out with Nick. Just the two of us.
