Chapter 4
England had come to Ireland for a visit.
"Ari, this is Kate. Kate, this is my best friend, Ariana." Emily
introduced her to me. "Hi!" I smiled. I liked her immediately. She was
really pretty. But she was English, unlike Emmi's real mixture of
nationalities! She had long reddish, brown-blond hair which billowed around
her pale face in masses of curls, and blue eyes which reminded you of the
ocean in the early hours of the day. She wasn't very tall, quite petite,
but she was undeniably beautiful.
"Hello." She said, in a soft English accent. She seemed shy, but she was
pleasant to talk to and a good laugh. I had a feeling that we would end up
being pretty good friends.
But Kate's biggest surprise was when Westlife turned up. Bry came in
first, his smile spreading from on ear to the other. "Hello, Madam Long
Legs!" He said, giving me a big hug. I laughed. "Hello, Mr. McFadden. How
are you, today?" I asked. "I'm fine. Where's Miss. Emily? I've brought her
something." He said, producing a bunch of blood red roses.
But at this point, Kate was already gob-smacked. "Are you…. Bryan
McFadden?" She managed to ask. Bryan grinned. "Yes, I am, little lady! And
my word, are you little!" He said, laughing. It was funny, as Bry was more
than a foot taller than tiny, little Kate was.
Kate turned to me, her eyes shining. "You know Bryan McFadden? EMILY
knows Bryan McFadden?" She asked me, breathlessly. I giggled. "I didn't
know Emmi hadn't told you. Mark is my best friend." I told her. No sooner
had I spoken, Mark and Kian walked in.
Mark waved. We hadn't spoken since the other night, and I was glad to see
that he seemed to have forgotten about our little argument. I waved back.
He smiled at Kate, who smiled back. "Not ready to faint over Mark?" I
asked, impishly. Kate smiled. "No, it's Shane I'd faint over." She said.
She turned back to Bryan. "I'm sorry, but would you let me have your
autograph?" She asked.
Bry grinned. "You won't need my autograph, I'll give you my phone number.
We can stay in touch. How would you like that?" He asked. Kate's eyes
nearly popped out of her head. "I'd love that!" She managed to say. Dear,
sweet, adorable Bryan. He was always doing nice things for other people,
and always all on his own expense!
"Good. Now come on, I'll introduce you to the other lads." He said,
whisking her off. I smiled to myself as I watched him take her to Kian.
Emily appeared by my side.
"Did she like the surprise?" She whispered. "You should talk! She nearly
had a heart attack. That was very sweet of you, Emmi." I said. Emily
smiled. "Kate's lovely. I thought she deserved a bit of a laugh. You'd love
her, really." She said. "Oh, I already like her a lot. She's very sweet." I
told Emily. "She's a lot like you." I told her.
Emmi laughed. "Well, maybe we're like each other at heart, but not in
looks!" She said. I laughed, too. Emily's parents were from a lot of
countries! "How does Kate relate to you?" I asked. Em scrunched up her
brows. "Don't ask." She said, at last, in frustration.
A few friends of ours were also arriving at that point. I went to talk
to Bernice, a friend from school. "Bern?" I said, approaching her. She
turned. "Ari! Hi, I never knew the lads were going to be here as well." She
said, pointing to Bryan, who was taking Kate on a tour around the room. I
grinned. "But at least you knew that we know them! Em's cousin Kate didn't,
and she was so surprised that I thought she was going to have a heart
attack!" I said, smiling. Bernice smiled. "I like Kate. She's really sweet.
And God, that dress must have cost a fortune! It's just as nice as her!"
Bern exclaimed.
Just then Bry steered Kate over to us. "And last but not least, you
already met Ari, and this is Bernice." He said. Kate smiled at her. "Hi."
She said. "Hi, Kate. I have to tell you, I love your dress!" Bern told her.
Soon, they were chatting like old friends.
I turned to Bryan. "Where's Shane and Nicky?". I asked. "Shane's trying
to get Nicky to come. He's not done too well since Georgina broke up with
him." Bryan told me. I winced slightly. I had heard about the famous split.
It definitely must have been hard on him. I remembered Emily's tears of not
so long ago.
"Speak of the devils themselves." Bryan said. I turned to see Nicky walk
in, his pale blue eyes looking tired and forlorn, his usual smile vanished
from his face. Shane followed, with a tall and beautiful girl on his arm.
"Who is she?" I whispered to Bryan. "That's Anya. She's Shane's new
girlfriend. Takes your breath away, doesn't she?" He asked, as we both
stared at her, transfixed. She really did take my breath away. Standing
taller even than Shane, she had a perfect figure and smooth olive skin. Her
hair was long and blond, her eyes startling blue. She was wearing a white
silk dress, and it hugged her body graciously. Kate's eyes widened,
unhappily. "Shane has a girlfriend?" She choked out.
I looked at her. I felt really bad for her, as she seemed like one of
those dedicated, and true fans who really loved the lads for themselves and
for the music they made. Bryan glanced at me with a pained expression on
his face. Sensing the trouble, Bern popped up with a change of subject and
dragged Kate to the table to get some punch.
Bryan shook his head. "I don't know, we all tried to talk to him about
this sudden appearance with a girl. This is going to leak somehow, you
know. By tomorrow, everyone would know about Shane Filan's new girlfriend.
We asked him to keep it quiet for a little, but, oh well, it's his life."
He said, shaking his head.
"She is an awfully nice person, though." Bryan added. "A big sweetheart.
Come on, I'll introduce you." He said, and dragged me to Shane and the girl.
"Shane, Anya, hi." He said. Anya turned, her lips forming into a
delighted smile. "Bryan! Hey, you made it. You have no idea how much
trouble we had to go through to get Nicky to come. He was such a baby about
it." She said, her smile weakening slightly. "I feel really bad about
making him come, though. He's obviously not up to it." She added, glancing
at Nicky who was sitting alone in a corner. She was genuinely concerned. I
warmed to her immediately. Anyone who loved Nicky that much was fine with
me! Nicky was a great pal of mine.
"Hey mate." Shane said, slapping Bry on the back. "Madam Long Legs! How
are you doing?" Shane asked, finally noticing me behind Bryan's frame of 6
ft 2 inches. "I'm fine." I said, with a smile. "Anya, I'd like you to meet
Mark's best friend, Ariana." Shane said. Anya smiled. "Hi." She said. "Hi.
Call me Ari." I said, returning her smile. After a few moments of chatter,
I excused myself to go and find Mark… And hopefully, Rowen.
I bumped into Bernice and Kate, talking in a corner. "Hey, have you guys
seen Mark?" I asked. Bern nodded. "He's in the back, helping Emily. By the
way, Rowen turned up looking for you. He's with Mark." She told me.
"Thanks. Kate, have you met Mark yet?" I asked her. Kate shook her head.
"Come on, then, let me introduce you." I said. She excused herself and
followed me to the kitchen.
I spotted Mark helping Emmi and Mrs. Subrata open several bottles of
drink. "Hey." I said, stepping into the warmly lit area. Mrs. Subrata
looked up at me and smiled. "Hello, Ari. Kate, can you get me that dish
towel?" She asked. Kate handed it to her aunt.
"Did you meet Mark yet?" Emily asked as she poured the drinks into
several glasses. "No, that's why we came back here. Mark, this is Em's
cousin Kate. Kate, you know Mark." I said. "Pleased to meet you." Mark
said, extending his hand. Kate shook it uncertainly, but with one of her
gracious smiles. She did know how to charm, that girl!
"Have you seen Rowen?" I asked them. Mrs. Subrata looked up again from
her work. "Rowen came here looking for you. He might have gone out to the
garden; some of the boys from Summerhill are still out there. Maybe you'll
find him there." She told me. "Thanks, Mrs. S. You're a star." I said, as I
hurried outside. I could imagine the smiles on Mark's and Emmi's faces as
they watched me practically run off to find Ro.
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