“Abby, right?” asked AJ, when the initial hubbub died down.
“Of course,” said Nick. “I asked her on the weekend. Saturday. She said yes.”
“Well, I guess so,” said Kevin, “or you wouldn’t be planning a wedding.”
“I don’t know when it will be, I mean, we don’t want to wait forever, but…we never really got into talking about that.”
Congratulations were offered all around, along with a few sarcastic comments about Nick’s maturity level and Abby’s wisdom.
“Were you planning on doing that…asking her?” asked Brian. As far as he knew, Nick hadn’t said anything to anyone about it.
“Nah, it was kind of spur of the moment. It just came out of me.”
They nodded. Yeah, that was Nick’s style, all right.
“Now you got to get her a ring,” said AJ.
“No, I gave her one,” said Nick without thinking.
“You went out and bought one right then?” asked Howie. He knew Nick had flown back on Sunday morning.
“No, I had it with me.”
The others looked confused. “You mean, you weren’t planning on asking her but you just happened to have an engagement ring on you?”
Aw crap, thought Nick. How do I get out of this one? “Um…I…”
“I guess maybe your head wasn’t planning it, but your heart was,” said Kevin, rescuing him.
“Yeah, that’s it,” said Nick. “Yeah, like Kevin said. I guess I was just…you know…prepared for anything.”
“How did her parents take it?” asked Brian.
“They’re pleased, I think. Her dad welcomed me to the family.”
“And your folks?” AJ decided to bite the bullet.
Nick shrugged. “Dad was cool. Mom was…Mom. I made her swear not to say anything to anyone, but you know Mom.”
“Yeah, so what’s the story on that?” asked Kevin. “How are you planning on announcing it?”
“Well, I kinda wanted to talk to you guys about that? What do you all think?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hey, Abby!
How’s it going? Please thank your parents for having me for the weekend. I’m sending flowers to them. I never did get a gift for them. Stuff kinda got in the way, didn’t it? LOL!
I talked it over with the guys and we agreed that the announcement should come from your end. We want it treated like a personal matter, so an announcement or press release from me wouldn’t be a good idea. Is that okay?
I’ve cleared the week before Christmas on my calendar, so you can tell your mother that. I’m pretty busy otherwise, what with the album coming out and all. I’m attaching a schedule of TV appearances, in case you want to tune in.
Can you send me a copy of your first story, please. I was telling the guys about it and they want to read it.
Your fiancé
Nick
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Dear Nick,
My goodness, you are certainly going to be working hard over the next few weeks. And I thought the life of a rock star was all laid back and lazy. LOL! You won’t even need Luke!
My parents would be happy to make the announcement (read: delighted, elated, over the moon!). Attached are three pictures of us that my dad took. Which one do you think is best?
There seems to be some confusion about how you spell your name. Is it Nicholas or Nickolas?
As for a gift, I still have that little package in my bedside drawer. I could give that to my mother if you’d like. LOL!!
Take care,
Abby
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hey, Abby!
Those were all great pictures, but I liked the second one best, the one where we’re looking at each other instead of the camera. Which did you pick?
As for my name…most people spell it ‘Nicholas’ because that’s the normal way, but my mother, for some reason, spelled it ‘Nickolas’ on the hospital record. She says now that she was thinking of Christmas and St. Nick or some such bullshit, but I think she was just a lousy speller.
I guess your mother would stroke out at the thought of just putting ‘Nick’.
Don’t forget to send me the story.
Say hi to Frosty for me.
Nick
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Dear Nick,
I saw you on Leno last night. You guys sounded great. I love the song.
My parents placed the announcement in the paper today. We all liked the second picture too. I have scanned the announcement and attached it, so that you can see it. Show it to AJ in case he still thinks I don’t exist! LOL!
My mother has decided on the 21st for the party. Is that okay with you? Do you want to stay in the Fremont Fortress again or at a hotel? I am looking at apartments but don’t expect to have one before the New Year.
A terrible tragedy in the back yard. A warm front moved through and reduced Frosty to a mere puddle of his former self. And then a squirrel attacked him and ate one of his eyes. Quite hideous, really.
Take care,
Abby
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Mr. and Mrs. John Fremont of Oak Park are happy to announce the engagement of their daughter, Abigail Charlotte Fremont to Mr. Nicholas Gene Carter, son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Carter of Los Angeles. Miss Fremont is a graduate of Northwestern University. Mr. Carter is a musician.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hey Abby!
Sorry to hear about Frosty. (I nearly choked on my Cheerios when I read it! When am I going to learn not to eat and read your email at the same time?!)
We’ve got some radio interviews today and then the Paul Richards show tonight. Then we’re heading to Las Vegas. We’re doing a guest appearance with Celine Dion in her nightclub act. She’s taping a special for TV.
My mother wants to meet you. Run, Abby, run!!
Still waiting on the story.
Nick
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~“The Backstreet Boys, ladies and gentlemen.” Paul Richards stood at his desk applauding, as the Boys made their way from the stage to the chairs. Howie and Brian were in the back row this time. AJ, Kevin and Nick were down front. The audience was full of women and young girls, not quite believing in their luck at seeing the five men sing together again.
Richards made some nice comments about the song and showed the CD cover to the camera. Kevin thanked the fans for being patient and said that he hoped they would think it was worth the wait. The audience applauded and cheered.
“So,” said Richards, opening up a file folder on his desk. “I have here an item from today’s Chicago Tribune.”
Nick started to laugh. The others looked at him. He realized he hadn’t told them about the announcement yet.
“You know what this is, don’t you, Nick?” laughed Richards. Nick nodded and started to blush. “Do you mind if I read it out loud?” continued the host.
“No, go ahead,” said Nick. “It’s good news.”
“Mr. and Mrs. John Fremont…”
Nick felt Brian’s hand on his shoulder, giving him a reassuring squeeze. The audience had gasped at the news. Some of them were in tears.
“'…Mr. Carter is a musician.' This wouldn’t be you, would it, Nick?”
Nick nodded and grinned. There was no going back now. “Yeah, that’s me. I’m getting married.”
The cries of ‘noooooo’ from some of the audience members were drowned out by the enthusiastic applause of the rest of them.
Abby watched with her parents in Chicago. There was no going back now, she thought.
“He looks good,” said her father.
“I like that song,” said her mother.
“I gave him the name for it,” said Abby.
“I’m very happy,” said Nick.
“We’re all happy for him,” said Kevin.
“Just me and Howie left,” said AJ.
“OMMMMIIIIIIIIIGGGGGGODDDDDDDD!!!!!” said the Internet.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Dear Nick,
I am sending you my new email address. I started getting some interesting messages after the announcement. I guess it wasn’t too hard for them to figure out abby.fremont@chicom.net. I thought about doing something cutesy like nickschick or cartersgirl, but in the end, I decided that I’m just not cutesy. So write to me at inthefreezer@chicom.net.
You have a lot of fans, Nick, but I think some of them might not be quite right in the head. There are several of them who think that they are engaged to you. Are they crazy or are you some kind of Mormon or something?
My mom and dad watched the show with me. Mom liked the song. You may have a new fan. I’ll ease her in gently and I don’t think I’ll play ‘If you want it to be good, girl…” for her until after we’re married.
I’ve attached the story. It’s called Why Me? Please don’t tell me if they hate it.
Take care,
Abby
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hey, Abby!
They loved it. Send the next one.
Nick
