| "How do I look?” Megan asked, twirling around. Giggling like a schoolgirl, she couldn't stop smiling as she waiting for their response.. They sat spellbound; all five of them captivated by Megan's beauty. She looked glorious in their eyes; her thick brown hair floated around her shoulders in clusters of curls, a tiara sitting atop. The ocean-like color of her eyes glistened with tears of joy. She looked regal in her wedding gown; she looked heavenly. Heavenly indeed. She was an angel. JC told her so. “You’re an angel. The most beautiful angel.” “Yeah,” Joey managed to whisper through the emotions clogging his throat. He grabbed the kleenex in his jacket pocket and loudly blew his nose. “I agree with them. You, my dear, look stunning,” Chris exclaimed in a horrible British accent. “Why thank you,” Megan laughed, curtsying. “Dylan is a lucky man. Make sure you remind him of that everyday. He’s taking away our angel,” Lance decreed through hot tears. Megan blushed profusely. “Will you stop all the angel talk? It’s embarrassing.” “But it’s true. As your proud fathers we are allowed to call you our angel,” Justin said softly, turning his head away in hopes of hiding his tears. Joey was about to comment on Justin’s tears when a soft knock sounded at the door. “It’s time,’ he silently announced. It was time to answer the question they had all been avoiding for 24 years. Which one of them was Megan’s biological father? 24 years ago, a tour groupie had found five drunk and depressed Nsync members in a hotel bar feeling sorry for themselves and not thinking straight. Capitalizing on her discovery, she took one disoriented member up to her room and returned him back to the bar where she proceeded to take another member upstairs until she had worked her way through the group. It was a horrible way to get their angel, but they would not change that night for the world. The groupie had returned a few months after that night, pregnant. She had no money, and nowhere to go. Even though the she didn’t know who the father was, all five members agreed to take care of her and the baby until a paternity test could be done to answer their question. They all waited on her hand and foot; all of them secretly hoping that their baby was growing inside of her. Unfortunately, the mother died after delivering the beautiful baby girl. As much as they wanted to know who could claim the little girl the named Megan after her mother, they were afraid. The plan had been for the mother to help raise the baby. Out of fear of having to raise a baby all on their own, the members of Nsync decided to postpone any paternity test for 2 years and raise Megan together. Together they witnessed her first word, her first step, and her first temper tantrum. Finally, the two years was up, and a paternity test was taken. As they stood gazing down at an envelope containing the results, each man prayed that the baby they had come to love more than anything was theirs. “I can’t do this! I can't handle it if she's not my daughter. I don’t want to know,” Joey shouted as he slammed his fist into a table. “I agree. It would be to hard,” Lance announced holding back tears. “Why don’t we never find out? I mean, why don’t we just continue as we have been? We can all be Megan’s fathers,” Chris suggested. After some coaxing all five agreed to never learn the results until the day Megan wanted to know. That day had finally come. “Sorry to interrupt. Here,” a young woman said as she handed an envelope to Megan. When the woman left, Megan turned to her fathers. “I’m sorry about this. I just had to know before I got married.” Justin nodded his head. “We understand. In fact, I think it’s good that we’ll finally know.” “Justin’s right. It’s time we knew,” JC chimed in. “After all this time, we’re finally going to find out which one of us is your real father,” Joey whispered staring down at his hands. Megan let out a ragged sigh. “You’re all my fathers! Whatever is in this envelope does not change anything. This is only biological. A father raises, loves, and provides for his children, and for me, that’s all of you.” Joey nodded his agreement. “We know, honey. Come on, you’re killing us here. Open the envelope!” “Here we go,” Megan sighed as she carefully opened the envelope. <A few minutes later> The wedding march began, and all the guests stood on their feet. Two great doors opened, revealing the bride and Lance. Megan took Lance’s arm as they began their descent down the aisle. Lance was a great father. He’d given her a practical head on her shoulders, and taught her all she knew about business. She remembered her first riding lesson on Toby II. Trying to suppress her giggles, Megan recalled the day Lance had shyly given her the puberty talk. She wondered if he could blush like that again. 1/5 of the way down the long aisle, Lance stopped and handed Megan to Joey. “Even though I’m not your biological father, I’ll never stop loving you. You’re my angel,” Lance whispered in her ear. “I love you,” Megan whispered back. Lance took a seat as Joey began to lead Megan down the aisle. Once again, Megan thought of how great a father Joey was. Always there to cheer her up, and make sure she knew everything about Superman. Megan remembered the intricate way Joey had explained the birds and bees to her after Lance had given up. She’d never look at hand puppets the same again. “My little angel, I love you. In my heart, I’ll always be your father,” Joey whispered as he put her small hand in Chris’s. “I always love you,” Megan softly announced wiping a tear from her cheek. Chris held her hand tight as he continued her journey down the aisle. Like before, Megan thought of her wonderful father, Chris. She had enough jokes to last her the rest of her life because of Chris. Her childhood had been carefree and full of fun because of Chris. Megan couldn’t even remember half of the practical joke her and Chris played on everyone. She’d have to get him to make a list for her, so she could keep her marriage interesting. “I guess this is the end of the ride. Getting nervous yet? Have I told you how wonderful you are? I'm going to miss you, Angel,” Chris choked out. “I love you so much.” Chris kissed her forehead and handed his daughter to Justin. “Let’s go, angel. Your groom awaits,” Justin said as he led her down the aisle. Justin was the cool hip dad, of course. He always wanted to play b-ball, or some other sport. She remembered him coaching her softball team. Megan wondered if the other girls still had nightmares about Coach Hitler, as they had called him. He was the youngest, yet he was probably the most serious. When he wanted to be. She had a couple of deep "Justin thoughts" to share with her children. “I guess this is it. I love you,” Megan whispered to Justin when she saw JC extend his hand. “Love you too, angel.” Megan looked deep into JC’s deep blue eyes that mirrored her own. ‘My father,’ she silently smiled. The one who always made sure she went to bed on time, the one who went to parent-teacher conferences, the one who taught her piano. This was her father. No wonder she tended to ramble on and on for hours, it must be a family trait. “My little girl, my little girl, my angel,” JC said more to himself than to Megan, “I love you. You’re my little girl.” “Don’t ever stop calling me that. I love you,…daddy,” Megan cried, elaborating the word ‘daddy’. JC smiled. “Don’t ever stop calling me that,” he said as he gave her hand to her soon-to-be-husband. “Who gives this woman?” the priest asked in a great big booming voice. JC turned to look at his four weeping friends. Through his tears, JC responded, “Lance, Joey, Chris, Justin, and I do. Her fathers.” |
| Angel |