Dear Angel,
What's up? I'm doing alright down here. We just finished our last show in Las Vegas and A.J. has promised to take me out to some kind of club or something. After that, we're all meeting up down town to see the light show over Fremont street. I'm really looking forward to it. I hear it's a great show.
As I've told you before, I've been having some troubles dealing with what's happened to Grace. She is just such a nice person. She and Howie made a really cute couple too. I wonder what's going to happen to their relationship now. Howie came back from L.A. yesterday looking a little better, but I can tell he's still at odds with himself. I hope he finds someone to talk to. I can't imagine what it's like to see something like that. I don't think I want to imagine.
Tori and I have just starting working on a new song and I think it's coming together pretty well. It's a pretty love song called If You Fall. The melody is a bit choppy, but I know we'll get all the kinks out sooner or later. Everything takes time . . .
I should go get ready now. A.J. dared me to buy this sexy, little, blue dress for tonight. I can't believe I'm doing this! It's totally not my style! Lara's eyes are probably going to fall out of her head. Maybe I'll let her do my makeup . . . That would make her happy, although I'm not so sure about me! Here I go! Wish me luck!
Love and Lollipops! Alison
Alison tucked her journal away in her duffel bag and took her new dress out of the closet. It smiled at her, ‘Oh! You sexy thing you! Think of how all those guys are going to be staring at you in me! Me! Me! Me! It's all about me! Do try to look decent tonight dear, I'd hate to make a bad showing . . .'
Alison winced at the dress, then looked at it again. It really was gorgeous . . . and she did look great in it. ‘Who are you doing this for?' Alison asked herself. ‘Me, of course!' Was her only answer. Smiling to herself, Alison left to find Lara.
"How was it?" Kevin asked Howie, sitting down on his friend's bed. "You've barely spoken to anyone since you came back yesterday."
Howie lay down and sighed. "It was alright. She didn't look very well though . . ."
"Howie! She was in a car accident! How did you expect her to look?" Kevin asked incredulously.
Howie sat up. "No, I mean, she looked at me differently. I could tell she was trying to be strong for me . . .. she knows how much this . . ." His voice trailed off.
"She knows how much this hurt you?" Kevin asked.
Howie looked the other way. "Yeah," he mumbled.
Kevin waited for his friend to continued. Howie turned back to Kevin. "She wants me to talk to someone."
"You don't want to do that?" Kevin asked softly.
"I didn't at first, but now I'm starting to wonder . . ." Howie replied.
"Maybe she's right," Kevin suggested quietly. "Maybe you need someone to help you deal with this." His friend was still silent. "Are you coming with us to the light show tonight?" Kevin asked.
"No," Howie shook his head. "I think I'll just stay here."
"I think you should come," Kevin told him, standing up. "You should be with your friends right now."
Howie thought for a moment. "I'll think about it . . ."
"You do that. We're meeting outside the Golden Nugget on Fremont Street at nine if you change your mind." Kevin nodded. "I'll see you around, okay?"
Howie nodded and lay back on his bed. He closed his eyes.
"Wow! This is a great place!" Alison commented as A.J. pulled out her chair for her.
He smiled and nodded. "I especially like that chick out front with the bronze breasts." Alison rolled her eyes. "Did I mention how fantastic you look tonight?" He asked.
Alison looked at him with a big smile. "Thanks!" She had worn the dress, of course, and had actually asked Lara to do her makeup. She could still remember her friend's face.
"You want me to do what!?!" Lara asked incredulously.
"My makeup," Alison repeated. "And nails and hair while you're at it . . ."
Lara's eyes were about ready to pop out of her head. "What are you wearing?" She finally spit out.
"This!" Alison had answered, pulling out the short, sparkly, electric blue slip dress with the slit up the leg (up her thigh to be precise) and the shoes string straps.
Lara's face had lit up with joy. "I'm so proud of you!" She cried as she threw her arms around Alison's neck.
Alison smiled at the memory. Just then the band came off their quick break and were back on their instruments.
"Yo! I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want!" The female lead singer yelled. She was dressed head to toe like Cleopatra including small, black braids that swung around her head as she moved.
The large, bald, black man on drums answered her in a slightly high pitched voice. "So tell me what you want, what you really, really want!"
Alison's eyes went wide. "Wow!" She turned to A.J. "They're really good!"
"You wanna dance?" He asked.
Alison's eyebrows creased. "Dance?" She hesitated. "To Wannabe?"
A.J. shrugged and reached for her hand. "Sure! Why not? Everyone else is."
Laughing, Alison took his hand and the couple began to groove to Wannabe.
"This sucks," Lara complained, sitting down. "I wanted to go to Ra!"
Brian shrugged. "This is a pretty cool place."
"Yeah," Nick agreed. "This place rocks!" He glanced around. After being told that he, Lara and Elisa were too young to go to Ra, the Luxor's fab night club, the group had headed to the Mo- Town Cafe.
"I quite like it here," Mariama said. "It has wonderful atmosphere."
"Cheer up Lar," Cora told her friend. "It could be worse. You could have been me, yesterday, with Nick screaming in my ear!"
Lara giggled. She looked at Nick. "Ahhh!" She squealed.
"Or you could have been Mariama yesterday, when you kept making her puke," Elisa added.
This brightened Lara immediately. "All true!" She said with a smile.
Mariama gave her a glare. "And we could have left you, Nick and Elisa standing outside that club while we all went and had a smashing time!"
"Hey," Melissa warned. "Be nice everyone!"
"Quite!" Andrew laughed at her cute, little accent.
"That goes for you too!" Melissa retorted.
Just then the lights dimmed and everyone quieted as the announcer gave as short history of The Supremes. Then a cute oldie came on and three female singers walked out from behind a stage area.
"Come see about me!" The Diana Ross impersonator sang. "See about me baby!"
"Quiet all of you," Beki told her friends. "They're really good!" The group continued to chatter as they watched the performers.
"How did I let you talk me into this?" Kevin asked Victoria. "He's sampled every single soda Coke makes, in the world! Plus ten regular Coca-Colas! That's forty-two glasses of sugary, caffeine loaded pop! Do you have any idea how hyper this kid is going to be?" He continued, motioning to Aaron, who was still chugging back cola after cola.
"The-honey-lemon-one-is-really-good.-Howie-would-like-it," Aaron spoke a hundred words a minute. "But-the-one-from-Germany-is-disgusting!-It-tastes-like-something-you-would-like!" He told Kevin.
Kevin sighed. "Maybe I should try it . . ."
Aaron nodded swiftly and grabbed Kevin's hand. He dragged him over to a curved wall of crowded soda fountains. "This-is-the-one!-This-is-the-one!-Try-it!-Try-it!" He garbled pushing a cup into Kevin's hand.
Kevin accepted the cup and got himself a glass of the soda from Germany. He took one sip of it and spit it back in the cup. "Arglre!" Kevin cried. His face was one of surprised disgust. His mouth curved down and he stuck his tongue out, attempting to rid himself of the taste. Unable to find another glass, Kevin stuck his head under a soda nozzle and sucked back some cherry Coke.
Victoria pulled his head back. "Kevin! People are staring! Kevin stop that's so gross!"
Kevin withdrew and spat some cherry Coke into his glass and threw it in the garbage. He looked around for Aaron. "That was disgusting Aaron!"
Aaron nodded vigorously. "I-thought-so-too!"
"How could you think I would like something so gross?" Kevin demanded.
"You-like-a-lot-of-gross-things," Aaron pointed out. "Except-Tori!-Tori's-real-nice!-I'm-off-to- get-more-Coke!-Coke-Coke-Coke!-Bye-bye-BYE!"
Kevin turned back to Victoria shaking his head. She was giving him a distasteful look. "That was so icky Kev," Victoria told him.
"Ugh - You would have done the same thing!" He snapped. "I can't believe Aaron-"
"Oh!" Victoria smiled. "Lighten up!" She said taking his arm. "He's a kid and he's having a good time."
Kevin gave her a smile as they continued to tour around Coke World Las Vegas.
Alison rested her head on A.J.'s shoulder as the music slowed and the excitement toned down. The band was playing an unknown ballad about two lovers that find each other. A.J. pulled her closer.
Just then, there was a small beeping noise. A.J. glanced at his watch. "We should go soon," He told her. "I told the guys we'd meet them outside the Golden Nugget on Fremont Street at nine, for the light show."
Alison smiled. "Sounds good." She paused. "I've had a great time with you tonight."
"Me too," A.J. smiled. After their last dance that night, the couple went back to their table, payed for their drinks and headed out of Cleopatra's Barge in Caesar's Palace.
Melissa looked at her watch. "Okay everybody, it's time to head to Fremont street."
Lara was caught up in the show. "Awe. Do we have to?"
"Yeah," Cora nodded. "We're going to see the light show, remember?"
Lara snapped out of it. "Oh yeah!" She cried, delighted.
Brian smiled at her easy going happiness. He tightened his arm around her. She gave him a sweet smile.
"Let's go!" Nick said, getting up. "I'm meeting Aaron there. I hope he and Kevin had fun."
"And Victoria," Lara added.
"He certainly does spend a lot of time with her," Brian mused.
"Nah," Lara swallowed, meagerly trying to protect her friend. "We should hurry. It's almost a quarter to nine.
"Finally," Kevin muttered as they walked out of Coke World.
"I love this place," Victoria motioned to all the lights. "It's so bright. It truly is the city that never sleeps. Even the MacDonald's sign is lit up."
Aaron looked up at the tall, three story high, clear, glass coke bottle elevator. He gave it a quick salute as Kevin hailed a cab. The group piled in to the taxi. "Fremont street," Kevin requested.
Aaron looked back at the giant coke bottle as the cab pulled away. After it was out of sight, Aaron turned back around. "I have to go to the bathroom."
Howie opened his eyes and looked at the clock. It read: 8:50. He thought for a few minutes and then sat up and grabbed his cell phone and his room key. After checking his hair, Howie walked out the door.
The group of friends stood in the center of Fremont Street waiting for the light show to start. Fremont Street, the heart of downtown Las Vegas, had been closed to traffic for the last few years and covered with a long dome like screen with tiny light bulbs running in lines along it. Playful banter was exchanged between the friends. Aaron just continued to run around them in circles, constantly spinning into cartwheels.
"What were you thinking?" Nick demanded of Kevin. "You know how he gets! He's not going sleep for days!"
"Stop exaggerating," Kevin muttered. "He'll wear it off."
"Ugh!" Nick spat helplessly. Cora came up behind him and wrapped an arm around his waste.
"Calm yourself dear," She said softly. "Aaron will settle down soon."
Nick looked at her and kissed her softly. "You're probably right," He replied.
"Hey! It's Howie!" Kevin told them. His friend was walking up. There were two large men behind him.
"Hey D.! Good to see you!" A.J. called.
Howie smiled. "Forget something?" He asked motioning to their guards.
"Howie," Brian started. "We've barely been recognized all day."
He shrugged. "We weren't all together then, we are now. It's safer." Howie dismissed his friends by pulling out his cell phone and pushing a speed dial button.
He heard Grace's groggy voice answer. "Hello?"
"Hey," Howie said warmly.
Grace sat up in her hospital bed surprised. "Howie?" She asked softly.
"I'm sorry, did I wake you up?"
"Yeah, but that's okay. I wanted to wake up . . ."
"Oh, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine now . . . Where are you?"
Howie glanced around. "I'm on Fremont Street right outside the Golden Nugget. Near Binions and near that big neon cowboy."
"That's cool," Grace murmured. "Tell me more."
Just then the light show started.
"Wow," Cora whispered to Nick. "It's amazing."
The happy old music keyed in as an announcer named the light show they were seeing.
Lara and Brian held hands as they craned their necks to watch the pretty lights. Kevin wrapped his arms around Victoria's waste. She rested her head on his chest. A.J. had his arm around Alison. The lights made her sparkly dress come to life in shimmers.
Howie watched his friends for a moment, before returning to his conversation. "The light show just started," He told her. "It's really beautiful - in a funky kind of way."
"Tell me about it . . ." She murmured into the phone.
"All of Fremont Street is covered by this long dome," Howie began softly. "And there are tiny light bulbs, kind of like Christmas lights only closer together, in small rows and they are lighting up with pictures. Can you hear the music?"
"Yeah," Grace said softly. ‘It's an oldie. A love song . . . Howie . . . I love you."
Howie was surprised into silence. "I love you too," He whispered finally.
"Keep telling me about the show," Grace requested quietly.
"Well," Howie continued. "There are pictures of old famous people flying across a red background. Now there's big cowboy boots and pictures of cowboys floating around. There's a song about spurs jingling. The red background has turned into a beating heart. It's really incredible. The heart is huge and it makes these little beating motions. Now the screen has expanded into darkness and there are pictures of the different hotels on the strip. There's the Luxor, the MGM, the Excalibur, the Mirage, Caesar's Palace, Circus*Circus, the Flamingo Hilton, the Stratosphere . . ." Howie's voice trailed off. "Grace?" The only response he got was the sound of Grace's even breathing. "Sweet dreams, sweet heart," Howie whispered. He pushed end.
Grace slept soundly. A few minutes after Howie hung up, Nurse Owens walked in. She picked up the phone and hit power. She patted Grace's head and left the room.
It was the first night in six days that Grace had peaceful dreams.
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