Chapter 35
Toni slowly opened her eyes, being awakened by the ringing of the phone. She looked at the clock. “Who in the world would call at 4 in the morning?” she thought as she looked up at Mark who was sleeping upright on the sofa, his lips slightly parted and his head was propped up on a soft cushion. He looked like an angel. Toni smiled as she got up from Mark’s lap. They had fallen asleep on the couch two hours earlier from talking and watching television. She reached over to the coffee table quickly and grabbed the cordless phone. “Hello?” she said a bit sleepily. “Yes, hello. I have an international long distance call here for a Ms. Toni Lou de Lara. It’s from a Mr. Nicky Byrne.” the operator said in a clipped tone. “This is she.” Toni said as she reached for the remote control and turned the tv off. “Please hold while I connect the call.” “Okay.” Toni said, rolling her eyes. “Of course, who else would call me at 4 in the morning?” she thought. “Hello?” “Nicky! It’s so nice to hear from you again.” Toni whispered excitedly as she watched Mark sleeping. “How are you? We all miss you here.” “I’m fine. I miss you guys too.” “Yeah… how’s Mark? Oh, and would you mind speaking a bit louder please? I can’t quite hear you.” “I can’t because Mark is still asleep. He’s fine by the way.” Toni whispered as she stood up. Mark opened his eyes sleepily and made a soft groan. “Shh… go back to sleep sweetie. It’s too early for you to get up.” she told Mark as she rested Mark’s head on the sofa and placed his feet up so that he could sleep comfortably. She lifted Mark’s head gently and propped a throw pillow beneath it before putting his head down on it. Mark took her hand and held it close to his face. Toni sat beside him as he drifted off into sleep once more. “Sweetie?! Are you calling me sweetie?” Nicky joked and Toni laughed softly. “So, I take it you and Mark are back together huh?” “Yup.” Toni said. She suddenly heard whoops and cries of joy in the background. “Finally!” Nicky said, giving a hearty laugh. “Am I on the speaker phone?” Toni asked. “Yeah. The other three lads are here with me.” “Oh, hi guys!” Toni said as a chorus and hi’s and hello’s greeted her. “What time is it there?” someone asked. “Umm… who’s asking? Kian?” she asked softly as not to wake Mark up. “No! It’s Shane!” “Oh, sorry Shane. It’s around 4 am here.” “Oh gee… we’re sorry!” Nicky said. “Oh, it’s okay. I am getting used to this Nicky, after all, it’s the 4th consecutive day that you’ve done this to me already.” Toni said, smiling as she heard the others laugh at Nicky. She looked over at Mark who had turned over and lied flat on his back. He was still holding her hand but this time, Mark was holding it on top of his chest, close to his heart. Toni felt it beating as his chest rose and fell as he breathed. She smiled, contentment filling her own heart. She leaned as carefully as she could and kissed Mark’s forehead. He suddenly smiled but his eyes remained closed. “So how’s everyone?” she asked as the laughter died down. “I’m okay. Helen and I are gonna get married in a few months, that’s 10 months away to be exact so you better come here for that!” “Bryan! I’m so happy for you! Don’t worry, I won’t miss your wedding for the world!” “You better!” Bryan said as he laughed a bit. “Patricia and I are engaged!” Kian said dreamily. “What?” Toni shouted, suddenly covering her mouth and looking if she woke Mark up. She suddenly realized she wasn’t the only one who shouted the question. All at once she heard the other lads asking Kian questions. After the commotion dies down, Kian explained that he proposed to Patricia the night before so he was unable to tell the others earlier. “No wonder he’s been so strange all day!” Shane said and the others agreed. “He’s been in this daydreaming state.” Bryan quipped. “What about you Shane? How are ya?” Toni asked. “Well, I’m fine. Sandra and I are still very happy. We don’t have any plans of getting married yet but I am planning to propose to her soon. You guys shut up about that okay? Well, I did ask her if she wanted to move in with me, but she said she’ll think about it.” “That’s nice to hear. What about your Nicky?” “Oh well… not much has happened to little old me…” he trailed off and everyone started talking all at once. “Nicky and Alessia got back together a few days ago!” Bryan shouted. “You won’t believe how inseparable they are!” Kian said. “They practically can’t take their hands off each other.” Shane remarked. All of them continued talking simultaneously and Toni just had to laugh. She looked at Mark and saw him looking at her. “Good morning.” he said softly as he stretched himself on the sofa. Toni kissed him on the cheek. He looked absolutely irresistible. His soft brown hair was tousled up, and his blue eyes looked so sleepy and “Bambi” like. In other words, his eyes looked so delicate, soft and gentle. Mark smiled up at her and pulled her close to him, kissing her mouth. Toni still had the phone on her ear and the other line suddenly went quiet as she heard Nicky say, “Lads! Lads! Quiet already!” Mark continued kissing her, murmuring softly when their lips parted for a while. “Ooh… I hear kissing noises!” Kian shouted. “Mark and Toni sitting on a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!” Bryan started shouting in a singsong voice. Toni suddenly pulled away from Mark and laughed until she fell on the floor. The lads continued to make fun of her, especially Bryan with that silly song of his. Mark sat up, looking at her with a bewildered expression on his face. “Stop it! You… you guys are killing me! Stop it!” Toni gasped, clutching her sides, which were starting to ache. Her cheeks were already hurting from laughing so hard. She eventually calmed down but Shane, Kian, Nicky and Bryan were still making fun of her. “Hey! Enough already! I feel so tired here.” Toni said as she struggled to get up from the floor and back to the couch. The others laughed. “Oh! We better go. Anto is calling us already.” Nicky said. “Okay… bye guys. I miss you. Oh, do you want to speak to Mark or something?” “We don’t have the time. Just tell him to get back here soon because we’re running out of excuses to everyone on why he isn’t with us.” Shane said. “Okay. I’ll tell him that.” “Yeah… we miss you!” They chorused. “Miss you guys too! Okay, bye!” “Bye!” the lads shouted before Toni pushed the power button on the cordless phone. She looked at Mark. “Why in the world were you laughing like that?” Mark asked, still puzzled. He looked so clueless that Toni just had to laugh all over again.