"Bye Howie, say hi to Grace for me!" Brian hugged his friend. Howie got into the cab.
"I can't believe I'm getting away with this," He commented. "Think you guys can manage without me for a few hours?"
"Gee, I don't know!" Nick replied sarcastically. "We might just fall apart without you!" Nick grinned at him. "Give Grace a hug for me."
"I will," Howie promised. "Bye guys!"
Brian and Nick watched as the cab pulled away.
"So, where are you headed?" Cora asked Melissa, as she noticed her new friend walking out of her hotel room.
Melissa smiled. "Beki, Nick, Brian, Aaron and I are heading to MGM Grand Adventures. Do you want to come along?"
"Do you think they'd mind?" Cora hesitated.
"The more the merrier!" Melissa assured her. "They were just so pleased to get this time off. You know how busy their schedule is. Nick just loves spending time with his little brother."
"Yes, I know," Cora nodded. "Where are the rest of them going?"
"Hmm," Melissa thought to herself. "I'm not quite sure. Las Vegas has plenty of things to do. I'm so glad we're staying for two days."
"Me too," Cora smiled. After their first meeting two days ago, Melissa and Cora had become friends. Melissa had told Cora all about her life back home in Europe and SHE's trip to near fame over there. Cora had filled Melissa in on all the details of the beginning of the tour. Including the tales of victorious basket-ball games (Cora never ever exaggerates!) and late night streaking. It was starting to look like they could be great friends.
Alison was grateful to get out of the sun and into the sweet air conditioning of Caesar's Palace. Even in her short shorts and light tank top, the Nevada heat was hard to bear.
"A bit hot, huh?" Alison commented to A.J.
"Yeah, just a little," He laughed. "Do you know where the Forum Shops are?" He asked, glancing around the stylish and low key casino. The dull beeps of slot machines and the sprinkle of coins were all around them. Large crystal chandeliers hung overhead along the gold, mirror plated ceiling.
"Yes," Alison responded. "This is my sixth time coming to Vegas. Usually my family and I stay down at the Luxor, the one that looks like a pyramid. But this place has got to have one of the largest malls in the states. It has everything! Including all the high class designer stores."
A.J.'s face lit up. "My kinda place! Shall we?" He offered her his arm.
"Certainly!" Alison nodded. The couple began strolling through the casino toward the Forum Shops.
"Don't the guys ever wonder where you are?" Victoria wondered. Kevin tightened his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. He nuzzled her ear.
"Why does that matter?" Kevin asked softly.
Victoria smiled as Kevin began kissing her neck. "I don't know . . . mmm . . ." She murmured. I just . . . don't you think . . . we should . . . uh . . . tell them?"
"About us?" Kevin asked.
Victoria turned around in his arms. "Yeah, I mean, Lara already knows."
Kevin thought for a moment. "They already know we're a couple. I'm not sure exactly how to tell my friends this - you know, ‘Hey guys! You know that girl Tori I just hooked up with? Well we're sleeping together!' - I just don't know . . ." He laughed and lightly touched his forehead to hers.
She smiled. "I know, how ‘bout we just don't make an effort to keep our relationship a secret anymore . . ."
Kevin kissed her softly. "I never really was . . ."
Lara, Elisa and Mariama yanked on Andrew's arms. "You'll love it if you just give it a try!" Lara assured him.
"No!" Andrew cried. "I will not!"
"C'mon and have a go!" Mariama encouraged. "It'll be a blast!"
"Why are you so afraid to do this?" Elisa asked. " Are you claustrophobic, or just chicken?"
"Chicken!" Andrew announced. "I am a chicken! I do not like dragons, wizards, castles, this hotel or motion rides. I am easily frightened and will prob -"
"Four for Street Luge," Lara requested of the womyn behind the counter.
The womyn handed Lara their tickets. "If you hurry you can catch the one boarding right now."
"C'mon now!" Elisa said, pulling Andrew's arm.
"Please, don't make me do this!" Andrew cried melodramatically. "I beg of you!"
"To Street Luge!" Lara yelled happily, as the group headed through a door and down a long corridor. "Another fantastic motion simulator!"
"NO!" He cried. "No!"
Howie pushed the door of Grace's room open. She was laying in bed watching TV and didn't notice him. Howie studied her face for a moment. It was covered with scratches and bruises. One of her arms was in a sling, the other had an IV coming out of it. She didn't look very well.
Howie swallowed and tried to find the strength to speak. He opened his mouth: "Hey!"
Grace looked away from the television. Her face lit up with a smile. "Hey!"
Howie smiled in relief. He entered the room slightly apprehensively and sat down in one of the plastic hospital chairs. Howie placed the flowers he had brought on the bedside table. "How ya doin'?" He asked, trying to sound upbeat.
Grace turned and propped herself up on a pillow to face him. She glanced at the bouquet of pink roses. "Best as could be expected. They say I could get out in another week. Thank you for the flowers. They're beautiful."
"I'm glad you like them," Howie said softly. " That a pretty quick recovery time," He added. "Do you think you'll be ready?"
"Yeah, for sure," She nodded swiftly. "But it will be months before I fully recover." She paused. "I haven't decided if I'm going to come back on the tour or not . . ."
Howie's eyes went wide. "No!" He said suddenly. Grace met his gaze. "I mean, I would - we would really like you to come back . . ."
Grace sighed. "I want to come back, I'm just a little scared . . . How have you been dealing with it?"
"With what?" Howie's eyebrows creased.
"Oh, I assumed one of the nurses would have talked to you," She replied. "It's called PTIS, post -traumatic-incident-stress. After something like we've been through, usually it's necessary to have some counseling. We will probably be having nightmares . . ." Her voice trailed off. She lay back down on her bed.
Howie moved to sit on the edge of the bed. "Have you been having nightmares?" He asked softly, taking her hand.
Grace looked away. She swallowed and nodded.
Howie bit his lip. "Me too." Slowly they looked into each other's eyes.
Grace took a shaky breath. "We are going to get through this . . . we couldn't prevent what happened . . ."
"I just can't get the images out of my mind," Howie murmured. "That little girl . . . She was just so tiny and there was so much . . ." He shook his head to clear his mind.
Grace squeezed his hand. "Let's not talk about this," She suggested. "Tell me about LA and Las Vegas."
Howie smiled in relief. He began recounting the events of the past few days.
"C'mon!" Beki encouraged Nick. "It'll be a blast!"
Nick looked at the ride apprehensively. It was one of the latest bungee cord thrill rides, where you were taken up on a platform and then released to swing forward at incredible speeds. Cora and Beki had already signed the release forms and were about to be strapped in.
"I've heard things have gone wrong on this ride . . ." Nick started.
"Oh pish posh! Just have a go!" Melissa told him
"I don't see you rushing to get in line!" Nick retorted.
"That's cos' there is no line-up," Melissa countered.
Cora tugged on his arm. "C'mon Nick! You'll love it! I promise! Just come and sign the release and you can go up with Beki and I!"
Nick took one last look at the ride. It gave him a menacing glare. ‘C'mon! You know you want to! They call me the tower of death! But I wouldn't know why! The only people I've ever killed have been blond, eighteen-year-old, choir boys! And who misses them?! Now really?!'
Nick hesitated again.
"C'mon," Cora whispered seductively. "Do it! Do it for me, lover!"
Nick gave her a wry smile. "X-Files, right?" She grinned at him. "Okay, fine . . . This is Las Vegas after all." He grabbed the pen from her hand and quickly scrawled his signature.
Since no one else in the theme park was daring (stupid) enough to try the latest MGM Grand Adventures thrill ride, there was no wait at all. After being strapped in and repeatedly checked over, Beki, Cora and Nick boarded the platform. The girls shrieked in excitement as the platform began to rise, all the way to the top. Finally, the platform stopped. Nick waited for a moment, then wondering if something was wrong, let his guard down. The platform dropped.
Nick screamed.
"There is no way I would ever wear that!" Alison pointed towards the dress A.J. was holding up. It was a short, electric blue, sparkly slip dress with a slit up the side and shoes string straps.
A.J. glanced at it. "It's nice. Why not?"
"Talk about walking sex object," Alison rolled her eyes.
"So, you won't wear a dress because you're afraid people will think of you as a sex object?" A.J. asked. "That practically goes against feminism!"
"How?" Alison asked incredulously.
"Feminism is about doing it for yourself," A.J. pointed out. "As the Spice Girls say ‘You can be a feminist and wear a short dress!"
Alison shrugged. "I suppose . . . Not that I think the Spice Girls are prime role models of feminism. It is kind of attractive . . ." She paused. "I do like it, but I wouldn't have anywhere to wear it - ever!"
A.J. thought for a moment. A smile lit up his face. "Why don't you at least try it on?"
Alison took the dress and checked the size. "I guess it wouldn't hurt just to try it," She grinned at him and headed for the dressing room.
"Isn't it gorgeous?" Victoria asked Kevin as he lay down in the lounge next to her. After spending some time together in Kevin's hotel room, they had decided to spend some time by the pool. The MGM had incredible garden areas surrounding the many different pools. There was even a long, lazy river running through the area. Palm trees, tropical flowers, shrubbery and light misters made the desert heat more bearable. The clear, blue waters of the pool looked cool and refreshing.
"It is," Kevin agreed. "You never get a bad day in Las Vegas!"
"Ah, now isn't this the life?" She joked. "Are you looking forward to ‘playing Vegas'?"
Kevin nodded. "Yeah, we've done shows here before, but this is the first time we've stayed for two days."
"I see," Victoria murmured. She had started focusing more of her attention toward the warmth of the sun beating down on her body.
"I hope you're wearing sun screen . . ." Kevin's voice trailed off. Victoria opened one eye to look at him.
"Yes father, a little," She replied. "What difference does it make?"
"I don't know, all the stuff about skin cancer and everything . . ."
Victoria sat up and gave him a smile. "I believe in living every day to the fullest, but I do want to have a lot of days left. I know about the research you're talking about, and it needs to evolve more. Wearing sun screen doesn't give you much protection against UV rays - staying out of the sun does." She paused and looked into his eyes. "But it's nice to know that you care . . ."
Kevin gave her a half smile and kissed her softly on the cheek. Then he lay back and settled in to his lounge.
A thought ran across Victoria's mind. "You know, I don't have any on my back. Would you like to do the honors?"
Kevin sat up so fast he almost fell off his chair. "Sure!"
Victoria laughed and handed him the lotion.
"Wow!" Andrew cried as they walked out of the ride. "That was fantastic! That was amazing! It just felt so real!"
"Quiet!" Mariama muttered. "I'm feeling quite a bit ill now - thank you very much!"
"Mariama!" Elisa said in surprise. "I can't believe you've never been on one of those!"
Mariama gave her friend a look. "And hopefully I'll never be on one again!"
Lara shrugged. "I though it rocked! Wanna play some games?" She motioned to the large arcade of video, computer and fair/circus type games.
"All the noise in this hotel is not making me feel any better," Mariama commented.
"Don't worry! The feeling wears off after about ten minutes," Lara assured her. "Either that or you'll puke. The first time I went on a motion ride I puked my guts all over the place. I had just eaten like six Belgium waffles with strawberries, three hamburgers and two liters of thick chocolate milk. When it all came up it looked like I'd been munching on raw sewage, baby diapers and used Maxis. And the smell -"
Lara was cut off by the sound of a dry heave. Mariama made a dash for the ‘sorceress's' (ladies) bathroom.
"Lara, that wasn't very nice," Elisa chided, although she had a big smile on her face.
Lara shrugged. "I guess she's just the motion sick type! I had nothing to do with it!"
"I still can't get over that ride!" Andrew said shaking his head. "It really was incredible! I can't believe I was so apprehensive about trying it."
Elisa's left eyebrow shot up. "Apprehensive - yeah, that's the word I'd use to describe it."
Lara giggled. "More like raw fear!"
Andrew shrugged. "Potato, pa-tat-o." He pointed to a game with plastic horses that moved when you threw a rubber ball in the right hole. "Let's try this one."
Just then Mariama emerged from the sorceress's room, still looking a bit green.
Lara turned back to her. "Did I mention the smell? It was like the stench of rotting remains mixed with sulfur a.k.a. egg-fart-water and pig manure. Have you ever noticed how the smell of vomit causes other people to vomit? Well a few other people coming out of the ride saw me puke and started throwing up too. Just imagine an area of close proximity horkers - You could say I started a trend!"
Lara had said the last few words for effect only, because Mariama was long gone with only a bathroom door swinging behind her.
Elisa gave her a look. "You are so bad!"
Lara shrugged innocently. "Just making small talk!"
"So, that really happened to you?" Andrew asked.
"No!" Lara grinned. Her friends' eyes popped out. She giggled sweetly. "And they say Alison's the writer!"
"Wow," Grace murmured. "Sounds like you've been busy . . ."
"Yeah," Howie nodded. "The tours are always like this. Everything scheduled for you - you know how it is."
"Yeah, but doesn't it get a bit tiresome after a while?" Grace asked.
Howie's eyebrows creased. "How do you mean?"
Grace sat up a bit more. "You know. The same shows, the same questions - rush, rush, rush . . . Don't you ever get tired of that?"
Howie laughed softly. "By the time it's almost over you're very sick of it, but you know, it's what you do."
"But it's not who you are," Grace reminded him.
"It's not?" Howie asked.
"No," Grace said softly. "Howie - do you realize that you've been talking about yourself in the second person?"
Howie's eyes widened slightly. "I was?"
Grace nodded. "Do you know why?"
Howie shook his head. "Why?"
Grace swallowed. "I think that maybe you're trying to distance yourself from everything. Maybe you should take Donna's suggestion. You are a strong person, but there's nothing wrong with having some help to get yourself back together."
"I don't think - I don't want to -" Howie stuttered. "No - I don't want to talk to anyone. I just want to put this behind me."
"You can't do that Howie," Grace told him. "This is not something you can sweep away and deny. You can't distance yourself from this. It happened and hurt both of us."
Howie thought for a moment. "I promise you I'll think about it."
Grace nodded.
Aaron watched as the platform rose higher and higher. Finally it stopped. There was a pause before it released, then the air was shattered by the sound of a high pitched girly scream. Nick, Beki and Cora swung forward tethered by the bungee cord. At first, Aaron thought he heard wrong. It couldn't be, but never the less, his brother's mouth was wide open and a horrid glass shattering noise was coming from it.
"Oh my God," Brian muttered to himself. "He sounds just like Howie."
"Is that Nick?" Melissa wondered out loud. "He's quite the screamer, isn't he?"
"Geez! If Nick sounds like that, I wonder what Howie would sound like on this ride," Aaron commented.
Eventually Nick, Beki and Lara were lowered down to the ground and unstrapped from their harnesses. The three wobbled over to join their friends.
"So?" Melissa asked. "Was it any fun?"
Cora glared at Nick. "He was screaming in my ear the entire time!"
Beki nodded. "He took much enjoyment out of the ride. He screams like girl - only louder."
Cora rubbed her ears gently. "He sounded just like my cat when it got its tail stuck in the car door. We'd only been driving for half an hour when we realized it wasn't the breaks that were squealing."
Melissa gave her a distasteful look. "I didn't need to hear about that!"
Nick stood in front of them looking disheveled, dazed and confused. He opened his mouth to speak, but all that came out was a tiny squeak. He clamped his mouth shut, then tried again: the same high pitched squeak.
Brian sighed. "Well Nick, your little problem better be cleared up by tonight or we'll be in trouble."
Nick nodded very slowly.
"Let's go!" Aaron cried. "We still haven't been on the log ride!"
As they headed towards the ride, the group continued to tease Nick.
"I would never wear it," Alison murmured as she looked herself over in the mirror in awe.
"I think it looks great," A.J. told her. "Don't you like it?"
Alison hesitated. "Yeah, but - I wouldn't wear it. There's no point in -"
"How bout this," A.J. cut her off. "I dare you to buy that dress, and if you do, I promise to take you somewhere you can wear it . . ."
Alison looked at him over her shoulder. Although he had a big smile on his face, she could tell he was serious. Alison turned back and grinned at herself in the mirror. ‘Not exactly my style . . .' She thought to herself. ‘But I'd hate to turn down a dare . . . And I do look pretty great . . .' She turned back to him.
"Okay!" Alison smiled. A.J.'s eyes popped out. "Didn't think I'd go for it, did ya?" She laughed as she stepped back into the dressing room.
Kevin and Victoria floated side by side along the lazy river on the inner tubes they had grabbed. Victoria relaxed in her tube, putting her head back to rest. Suddenly she was out of her tube and under the water. Victoria was lifted out of the water before she could even stand up.
"Hey," Kevin smiled.
Victoria sputtered. "I suppose it really would have been impossible for you to give me a warning?"
"Now where's the fun in that?" Kevin replied. Still carrying her in his arms, Kevin lowered them into the water. Victoria's blue eyes followed his. "Don't you like surprises?"
Victoria began to relax in his hold. She let her head rest against his chest. "Only pleasant ones . . ." He lowered his head to look into her eyes. "Like these . . ." Victoria murmured as she kissed his lips softly.
"C'mon! C'mon!" Lara yelled. "You're almost there Andrew! You're almost there!"
Andrew continued to roll the rubber ball under the plastic cover and into the coloured holes. Whenever he succeeded in getting the ball in the hole, his plastic race horse, number 3, would trot along the board towards the finish line.
"Go! Go!" Elisa urged. "Pass number eight! You can do it! Go! Go! Go!"
"Will you just be quiet?" Mariama snapped. "My headache is bad enough without you screaming in my ear!"
Elisa barely glanced at her. "You've almost got it! GO!"
Andrew's face was red. His eyes were wide with panic as he glanced up at his horse and gave the ball another roll. A loud buzzer sounded.
"I got it!" Andrew screamed. "I got it!" He and Elisa embraced.
"And the winner is, number three," The caller told them. She handed Andrew a average sized, fluffy, green dragon with big blue eyes and spiky yellow hair.
Andrew cradled it in his arms. He looked over at Elisa. "This is the happiest moment of my life." He whispered melodramatically. She smiled at him and put her arms around his neck, leaning over to look at the dragon. "What's his name?"
"Her name," Andrew corrected. "Is Gracie, after my good friend Grace."
Elisa nodded, quite satisfied with this decision.
Mariama rolled her eyes. "Let's go back to the MGM now! I need to get off my feet."
"Nova has a dance practice so I have to get back," Lara told them.
"Well, let's go then," Andrew said, head held high. "Gracie should probably get some rest too."
Lara flipped her eyes back in her head. "This way," She motioned.
"I brought you a present," Howie told Grace matter-of-factly.
"That was sweet of you," Grace murmured. She lay back in her bed.
Howie fished around the plastic bag he'd brought. Finally he whipped out a video cassette. "Super Stars of The Superbowl." He nodded.
Grace's eyes glazed over. "I knew there was a reason to live."
Howie gave her a dashing smile. "I also brought you a cell phone," He said taking a black flip phone out and laying it on the bedside table. "My number is the first one on the speed dial. Call anytime."
Grace swallowed. "Thanks. Are you sure I'm allowed to have a cell phone in here?"
"I asked the nurse," Howie paused. "You do know that . . . that what happened made the nightly news . . .?"
Grace sat up again. "It did?"
Howie nodded slowly. "I wasn't sure if I should tell you. The nurse didn't think it was a good idea, but there have been reporters waiting to interview you. I'm sure this whole thing will blow over very quickly though."
Grace thought for a moment. "It's nice to know that. Thank you Howie . . . For everything."
Howie reached out and squeezed her hand. "I have to go now," He whispered. Howie got up and kissed her forehead softly. "I'll see you again soon, hopefully."
"I'll call," Grace promised.
Howie released her hand. "Good bye - have sweet dreams." Grace watched him walk to the door.
"You too," She told him. "Good bye."
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