Chapter 22: E-Greetings
"Two weeks away, Kay. Two weeks!" Lacey squealed on the other end of the phone. Cairo winced and held her extension away from her ear to avoid losing her hearing.
"Calm down, Lacey. Just calm down. So you guys still have your hearts set on a beach wedding? Small and intimate, away from everyone you know and love. You guys are practically eloping!" Cairo said.
"Actually, I'm just doing it to please him. He's the one who wants the whole outdoors, beachy, sandy wedding. Just think about it. His parents, my parents, his brother's family and you. It's the smallest party I've ever gone to!" Lacey exclaimed.
"It'll intimate and romantic. You'll be married at sunset on the beach, which by the way is an extraordinary site which makes for perfect pictures, and you won't have far to go for your honeymoon," Cairo said.
"I'm so happy that you'll be there!"
"Be there? Honey, you're getting married in my backyard! Why wouldn't I be there?" Cairo exclaimed.
"Well, I was worried that if we had it at home, that you wouldn't come," Lacey said tentatively.
"Lacey, you're my sister!! My only sister, at that. I wouldn't miss your wedding come hell or high water," Cairo exclaimed.
"Kay, you have to talk to Trista. You can't let this go on the way it is. She's desperately alone right now. Carlos left her, and he has custody of the kids. Your parents won't talk to her, she doesn't have a friend in the world," Lacey said quietly.
"A year, Lacey. Not once and only once. She let it go on for a year. Once I could forgive. Maybe even twice. But a year? Didn't she ever think that what she's doing is wrong? Did she ever feel guilty? Or just horrible because everyone found out? I don't know her, Lacey, and I don't think I ever did. She's not my sister. You're the only one I have," Cairo said, closing her eyes, hoping to quell the oncoming flood of memories.
"Okay, I won't bug you anymore about it. Two weeks!" she said, her excitement taking over again.
"I'll be seeing you, a blushing bride, in a week and a half. See ya later, Lacey," Cairo said, hanging up the phone. She wandered back over to her desk and sat down in front of her laptop.
Staring at the screen for awhile, she gave up trying to write for the moment and decided to check her email.
"Two new messages. Aren't I the popular one?" she said, opening the first one.
Hey Carrie,
It's your favorite BSB writing to ya right now. Guess who? No, I'm not Howie so don't even go there!
Just kidding. It's Brian. Just kind of bored on the bus, that's all. I figured, hey, who do I know that will actually write me back? Then I thought of you, because you're a writer, so you must love to write. Anyway, I'm just kind of rambling on and on…boredom, as you know. Tour's over as of Saturday. We're all excited and happy and sad at the same time about that. We get to go home and see our family, but also it means that we're not performing for awhile. It's a win-loose situation, so you can decided to take it in stride.
Nick's hanging over my shoulder, reading what I'm typing…hold on a second while I get rid of the nosy pest…..Okay, now I'm back and free to type as I please (the two finger method, best way to go!), without his mocking me! Anyway, looks like we're going to be stopping soon, so I'll write you later!!
Brian
P.S. Write back!
Cairo smiled at the letter. It was obvious Brian was bored. She read the same sentence over a few times until it finally sunk in. He was coming home after Saturday!
It had been almost three long months since she'd seen him. He hadn't called in almost two. Cairo was terrified to call him, she didn't know why he had stopped and was so scared that she had done something to upset him.
You're like a little kid, scared to talk to the guy you have a crush on, she yelled at herself. Opening a new file, she began to type out a reply:
Brian!!
Greetings from Planet Cairo! Not much new here, even if there was, it would seem boring to your wild and crazy life. So the tour is almost over and you haven't even tried (not even once?) to kill one another? Wow, from what I hear, that's unusual. How can you not get sick of each other after five solid months??
So, you're keeping my neighbor out of trouble, are you? Make sure you do, I want him back in one piece (if only so that I, myself, can rip him apart on the basketball court). We haven't talked in awhile…Do me a favor and check to see if his cellular is still functional.
Anyway, enjoy the rest of your tour, and keep up the e-greetings!! I just saw you're new video the other day, pretty crafty. Tell AJ I appreciate the hat…it's unusual, perfect for him! Say hi to the rest of the guys for me, 'cept Nick, because he hasn't phone in awhile (as I said above), so I'm ignoring him until he phones!
Cairo
After sending that, she opened her second letter.
Kay-kay-bo-bay-banana-fanana-fo-fay-mi-my-mo-may-Ka-ay!
Greetings from the tour bus, my neighbor of neighbors. That's right, baby, it's none other than NICK emailing you. Betcha never thought that I'd give in, but alas, we all must tumble on day.
Actually, I've been holding out on you. I've been online for quite awhile, I just know how much you love those annoying chain letters and forwards, so I decided not to give you another addy to add to you mailing list. I'd have to kill you then.
I'll be home on Sunday. See ya then!!
Nick
P.S. If I find anything unusual in my house (remember the whole practical joke war?), anything at all, our truce is OVER!!
She breathed a sigh of relief as she read the message. He wasn't mad at her or anything, by the obvious tone in the letter. It was light and humorous and had Nick written all over it. She opened another email and started to reply.
* * * *
"You've got mail," the computer warned. Nick sat up and practically ran towards it.
"Relax man. It's just an email, and it's probably for B. He's the techy one," Kevin said. Nick ignored him and check the sender. It was Cairo.
"Nick, don't open that. It's mine!" Brian said, dashing over.
"How do you know?" Nick asked.
"My computer, my log on, my email. Trust me, it's mine!" Brian said. He opened the message and started to read.
"But it's from Cairo," Nick whined.
"If you'd call her, you could end this waiting game," Howie reasoned.
"Yeah, but she said that a phone call left a lot to be desired, so I figured email would be the best course of action. What'd she say?" Nick demanded.
"Just telling us to have a good time, and she says 'hi' to all of us except Nick," Brian said.
"What do you mean, except Nick?" Nick said, horrified.
"She's ignoring you because you haven't called. Oh, and AJ, she likes your hat in the new video," Brian said.
"But I just sent her an email!" Nick protested.
"She probably hasn't got it yet," Brian reasoned, just as another "You've got mail" interrupted. Brian checked out the sender and the subject line.
"Nick, this one's for you. I guess she got it after all," he said reluctantly as he was enjoying torturing Nick. Nick leaned over and read her email.
Hey Nick-AY!
Disregard any comments you have hear about from an ill-advised email that I sent you. (It was the one-armed man's fault, I swear!) It's about time you got around to grace me with your written words. Well, I hadn't notice (snotty, eh?)
So, you almost all toured out? That's good. No tricks? That's just cruel. You can't not talk to me for two months and expect no revenge.
Can't wait to see you, Nick. Stay out of trouble.
Cairo
He read her message, smiling. He could almost hear her voice in the words she had written. He had been so worried about calling her, she seemed to have been ignoring him or something. He was terrified that she had been mad at him or something, so he hadn't called her, unwilling to bring down her wrath on his head.
He thought about how happy he was that he would be seeing her in just a few days. Then another thought entered him mind and closed his eyes and groaned.
"What have I done?" he mumbled to himself.