| Chapter 75: The Journal One week later: Orlando Lauralee and the girls arrived at Veronica’s front door, stopped and overlooked the front entrance. “OK, let’s go,” Lauralee sighed. “Got to get this over with sometime,” Elizabeth sighed with her. Lauralee put the key in the door, turned it, and opened the door. “Whoa, it seems like she’s still here,” Bianca stammered. She rubbed her eyes. “Well, where do we start?” asked Laura. “Let’s start with the living room and make our way around,” suggested Lauralee. They had to clear out the house and go through Veronica’s personal effects. The will was read, and everyone knew what they going to get. She set up a trust for her family, and gave a considerable amount to several children’s charities. Carmela told the girls they could take whatever they wanted to the house, so they were making sure they went through everything for the house was going to be sold. The girls threw sheets over the furniture, for that was being moved to goodwill. They took down pictures and sorted them out, putting several into crates that they had decided to be shipped to New York and kept things for Howie. The girls went through them all, each having its own story to tell. They went through each room of the house, sorting through every last item in the house. They dreaded the next step, the one they had avoided the whole day. “The bedroom,” Lauralee said in a flat tone. They opened the door and sucked in their breaths. Veronica was a complete neat freak, so everything had its own place. The girls were afraid to walk inside, afraid to face the end, afraid to face the memories. Lauralee walked in first, and the girls took her lead. “OK, I guess we start with the clothes.” They didn’t even look through them; all were going to charity. Lauralee even held her breath a little, as she was afraid to breathe in her scent, causing her to erupt in tears. They emptied her shoeboxes, all going into that crate. They took out her papers, waiting to sort through them when they had finished. Lauralee went through her desk, keeping business papers, and throwing out all the leftovers. Bianca and Elizabeth were still going through the closet, and Laura had tackled the dresser. They were completely silent, all were afraid to speak, afraid to cry. About 2 hours later, most of it was finished. Lauralee wiped her brow. “Look girls, we seem to be finished. Why don’t you head out and I’ll finish up.” “You sure?” Laura asked. “Yeah, you go ahead.” “OK, but if you need us…” Elizabeth started. “I’ll call,” Lauralee gave them a hug. The girls left, Lauralee sighed, and went to the last piece, her night table. She sat down next to the bed and opened the drawer. She had her case for her contact lenses, a paperback book, hand cream, and some ponytail holders. She took each of those out, and found a book sitting under all of the items. She looked closely and picked up the book. It was a thick book, bound in black leather, with a ribbon as a bookmark. She opened the first page. “Journal,” she read aloud. “I didn’t know she kept one.” She was afraid to read it, afraid she was butting into her personal life, but a voice inside her told her to. She opened to the first page and began to read. July 14, 1997 Lau told me she met a guy. God, how she must be enjoying Florida right now. Beautiful sun, warm weather, living on her own, and now she has a man, a cute one in fact. She said he was part of this group called Backstreet Boys. I heard my little cousins talking about them the other day. What a coincidence huh? I went to the drug store and saw a magazine with their picture on it. I guess AJ is Alex then. Not bad, not bad at all. Has a little weirdness to his facial hair, but he seems OK. The Latin boy is a hottie, which must be Howie. Hmm, note to self, make sure that Lau introduces me to him when I get out there next month. I think I messed things up for her however. Today’s the 1-year anniversary of her dad’s death, and I was too stupid to remind her. She was doing fine until I fucked it up. How could I be that dumb? I hope she’s OK, it took her a while to get over it the first time. I hope she takes it easy, she deserves all the happiness in the world. Lauralee had tears in her eyes as she read the next entry: August 14, 1997 I was right! Howie is a hottie! Not to mention one of the nicest guys I have ever met. Here I am in Florida, where Lau’s condo is amazing. Alex seems like a real nice guy, despite his facial hair. He brought two of his friends: Howie and Kevin. Laura fell for Kevin right away, figured she would fall for the dark, brooding type. But Howie, damn, he is fine! He seemed to like me right away, as I did him. Hopefully he’ll be as nice once the sun comes up. Lauralee flipped around to some more pages, reading some other stuff, but another page grabbed her. February 27, 1999 We got it! We got it! We are now a group! A surprise beyond belief! Tommy came to Lau’s surprise birthday party and offered us a deal! A record deal, man let me tell you, it’s the most awesome feeling, I can’t even describe it. Riley has this idea that we should be secretive about it, coming out to the world with just the music. I say, whatever floats your boat man, as long as we have a record deal. Although I am a little nervous, I’m sure that everyone will understand once the album comes out. Wait and see because Elegance is coming to the world! And another… April 16, 1999 Oh boy, this secret thing sucks! Just got off the phone with Howie, after an hour of screaming, ranting and raving. He thinks I’m seeing someone else, not good. I told him he was nuts, that there’s no other guy for me, he thinks I’m lying. I know I am, but I can’t tell him. Oh God how I want to, want to scream to him what I’m really doing. But something tells me inside to wait. He’ll forgive me… hopefully. Lauralee now became engrossed in the book, putting her feet on the bed, leaning on the headboard, reading every page. It was surreal, like reading Veronica’s mind, heart and soul. She told of the first performance, the first tour, trip to Europe—she had chronicled everything. She got to the last page and gasped when she saw the date. “This was when she…” She leaned her elbow against her thigh and looked at the entry. May 1, 2000 Another album is almost complete, and I am happier than I have ever been in my whole life. I’m in a state that I love; have my own home, career, and a man that I am completely in love with. It’s times like this that I think about the future, what my life would be like. I see kids, and lots of them. If there’s one thing Howie and I agree on, it’s that we will have a large family. My smile, Howie’s dark eyes, and share our passion in music. I see us teaching our kids to sing, who knows, maybe they could be the next Jackson 5, excuse me, Dorough 5. I see a sprawling house, with a wraparound porch, the warm smell of flowers and the palm trees blowing in the breeze. The future is clear now and so much for me that if Howie asked me to marry him, I would elope in a second. He is my soul mate, my reason I was put on this earth. I won’t ever be without him. I also think about my friends—my sisters, my confidants. God, if only everyone had a friendship like we have. They’re the only ones who have shared these experiences with me—the stories and the life. Sure we have our squabbles, what family doesn’t? Each of them have their own personalities that are so different, but are yet so similar. Bianca, the woman who will never grow up, and I hope she never will. She’ll be the type of mom that will play video games with her kids and not let them win due to her competitive spirit. I hope she always keep that youthfulness inside her heart. Elizabeth, the sensitive soul that had to overcome so many obstacles of the heart to find love. She’ll always have that fight in her and would never doubt herself. She is a strong person because of her obstacles and has the determination to never back down again. Laura, well what can I say about her? She has taught me to enjoy life. I could never be mad at her for a split second, no matter what crazy thing she has led us into. She’s never afraid to grasp life with both hands and I’m glad I’m there for the ride. Last, but definitely not least, Lauralee. I can write a whole book about her and still never finish. The girl who hasn’t had things handed to her on a silver platter but should be proud of what she has accomplished. I could never have the will Lauralee has had, the fight to succeed no matter what life throws at her. She doesn’t know it, but I hold her as the role model in my life. Sometimes I look at her in awe, whether she’s recording or even goofing off when we’re out. When life gives her a lemon, she makes lemonade, hell; she builds a lemonade store. She’s the friendship that will I will hold on to for the rest of my life, and even if that’s cut short, she’ll be my angel watching over me, making me strive for the top, and it goes double for me. Lauralee hugged the journal close to her heart. “I know now V, I know now.” Chapter 76 Contents Chapter 74 |