SECTION FIVE
MEL
Thursday morning I went ahead and went over so I could see Tay off. Zac was nowhere in sight so I figured he was off with Drew somewhere.
Tay and I were in the tree house. "You got a busy weekend ahead of you," I said.
"Not as busy as it COULD be," said Tay. He tugged at my waist. "I wish you could come with me."
"So do I. But I'm needed here. Zoe's sick."
"I know. Poor thing's miserable. I told her I'd bring back something special for her and the others."
"Aw, that's so sweet. You're a good big brother."
Tay smiled shyly. "What do YOU want?" he asked.
"I just want you back in one piece."
"No, really. What do you want from New York?"
"I'm not gonna tell you, cause you don't have to get me anything."
"But I WANT to get you something. What do you want? You can have ANYTHING. You name it, you got it."
"Okay. This is what I want."
"Okay," he said.
"When you're on TRL tomorrow, I want you to use a special signal to say 'hi' to me. Something that no one else knows about but you and me."
"So, like, if I touch my nose or something, I'm saying 'hi' to you?"
"Yeah," I smiled, getting close to him. "That'll work. I like your nose." I kissed his nose. "I think it's cute."
Tay smiled. "You do?"
"Yeah. And you have gorgeous eyes. And your lips? Your lips are my favorite part." With that, I kissed him.
Tay pulled away and examined me. "There isn't a part of you that I don't like." His hands had just began to wander when his watch started to beep. He looked at it. "Crap. I gotta get going."
"I'm gonna miss you," I said.
"I'm gonna miss you, too. Here." He handed me his cell phone. "Take my cell phone. I'll call you every night till I get back. That way if it's really late, it won't wake the whole house and Mom won't ask any questions. Okay?"
"Okay."
"And don't go to sleep until I call. I want to be able to say goodnight."
I smiled. "You got it."
Tay leaned in and kissed me. "I'll see you Sunday.
We climbed out of the tree house and soon Tay was gone.
---------------------------------------------------------
Thursday evening was when we discovered that Zoe's cold turned out to be chicken pox.
Diana had been giving Zoe a bath and I was playing a game with Jessica, Avery, and Mackenzie when Diana called me from the bathroom. "Mel!"
I walked in the bathroom. "I need a second opinion," Diana said as I approached the bathtub. "What does that look like to you?" She pointed to a small, red dot on Zoe's arm.
"It itches, Mommy," Zoe said as she scratched it.
"I know, sweetie, don't scratch." She put Zoe's hand down.
I gave Diana a Look. We both knew what I was thinking. We examined Zoe over to find a red dot on her cheek, the inside of her thigh, her neck, her foot, and her behind. THAT one itched a lot, too, unfortunately. Poor baby. "That looks like chicken pox to me," I said.
"That's what I was afraid of. Have you had them?"
"Yeah, remember? Tay and I had them at the same time."
"That's right. Here, would you dry her off?" She handed me a towel. "I'm gonna go call Walker." She left the bathroom and came back, talking on the phone, while I was drying off Zoe. "Yeah," Diana said. "Mel and I think it's chicken pox. I'm gonna run her to the d-o-c-t-o-r just to be on the safe side." I wrapped the towel around Zoe and Diana said, "Okay, hold on. You wanna talk to Daddy?" she asked Zoe. Zoe nodded.
Zoe smiled. "Hi, Daddy!"
Diana smiled at me. "Poor thing has no clue what's going on."
"Yeah," said Zoe into the phone. "It itches real bad...I haffa blow my nose a lot, too...okay. I love you...can I talk to Ikie?" Suddenly her face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Hi, Ikie! I'm sick...come see me?" She stuck out her bottom lip in a pout. "Okay...okay!" She was suddenly happy again. "Hmm...I want a horsie!" Then her face fell. "Okay...okay! I want that!" Happy again. "Okay...I love you, Ikie! And I love Daddy and I love Tay-Tay and I love Zac...okay...bye bye." She handed the phone to Diana. "Here, Mommy!" The she turned to me and grinned from ear to ear. "I talked to Ikie!"
Diana laughed. "Lord, just give that child her 'Ikie' and she'll be happy."
"She love him, huh?" I smiled.
"Ike spoils this child rotten. I tell her she can't have ice cream till after supper and Ike sneaks her out to take her for ice cream anyway. They think I don't know. But I see the chocolate stains on her shirt when she sits down to supper." We both laughed. "He'd do anything for her at the drop of a hat." She paused. "That reminds me." She picked up Zoe and I followed her to Zoe's room. She changed her and then we headed for the kitchen. Diana sat Zoe down and got some money out of her purse. "Here. Order a couple of pizzas."
"I want some pizza!" said Zoe.
"Make one of them cheese. She won't eat anything else." She picked Zoe home again. "We have to go bye-bye, honey. You can have pizza when we get home, okay?"
Soon they left and Jessi, Avie, and Mackie trooped into the kitchen. "What's going on?" asked Avie.
"Zoe might have chicken pox, so your mom ran her to the doctor. She said to order pizzas. What'll it be?"
We went over pizza toppings and I was just about to pick up the phone to order when it rang. I picked it up. "Hello, Hanson residence."
"Hey, how's it going?" said Drew.
"Actually, I can't really talk right now. We have a slight crisis on our hands."
"What happened?"
"Well you know how Zoe's sick? Turns out, it's chicken pox."
"Oh, no. That's terrible. Is she gonna be okay?"
"Oh, yeah, sure. But Diana went ahead and took her to the doctor anyway. I have to order pizza for the kids now."
"Aw, poor Zoe," said Drew.
Suddenly, Mackie let out a long line of sneezes. "I think I'm getting what Zoe's got," he said.
"Oh, no," I said.
"What?" said Drew.
"Mackie had a sneezing fit." I turned to Mackie. "Hold on, I'll get you some cold medicine." Then I said to Drew, "This could get crazy. I better let you go."
"Okay, call me later."
We hung up and I got Mackie's cold medicine and I ordered the pizzas.
Zoe and Diana came home soon after the pizzas arrived. Zoe's face lit up. "Pizza!" Diana sat her down at the table, fixed her a plate, and Zoe dug in.
"Poor kid's starved," said Diana. "We had to wait forever. We finally got in, though, and they gave us some medicine for her cold and some cream for her chicken pox. Oh, goodness. Three-year-olds...how do you stop them from scratching?"
-----------------------------------------------
I called Drew later and we talked for a little bit. She missed Zac and, lord, I had to hear it! I didn't blame her, though. I missed Tay with a passion and how I WISHED he were with me. And I WANTED to tell Drew. I wanted to tell her EVERYTHING. But...I couldn't.
That was okay, though. I got the next best thing. I got to sleep in his bed.
We tucked the kids into bed and then Diana said, "You can sleep in Tay's room this weekend."
I gave her a Look. "Uh..."
"Oh, what'll it hurt? You two used to sleep in each other's beds all the time," said Diana.
So I took her word for it and went upstairs.
I put my stuff down and went to the bathroom to wash up and brush my teeth. I went back in Tay's room and put my pajamas on. I was going through my bag when I glanced up and eyed Tay's closet.
That gave me an idea.
I zipped my bag back up and opened Tay's closet. I searched through his clothes. I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I borrowed a t-shirt for the weekend...
I picked one out and put it on. It was big on me. I hugged myself, clutching the shirt. Then I heard Tay's cell phone ring. I grinned and jumped in the bed. I pulled the covers over me and got comfortable. "Hello?"
"Hey, babe," said Tay cheerfully. "What are you doing?"
"Actually, I just got in bed," I said.
"I didn't wake you, did I?"
"No, of course not. I told you I'd wait and I did."
"I'm glad. So where did she put you?"
I giggled. "You're never gonna believe it. I'm in your bed."
"Ah, man! The one time you're in my bed and I'm not there."
"No," I said teasingly. "And it's a shame, too. Cause I'm missing you like crazy. And you wouldn't believe what I'm wearing."
"Oooh, don't do this to me. If it's more than a pair of underwear, I don't want to hear about it," said Tay.
I laughed. "You wish, don't you?"
Tay laughed, too. "Uh, no, I don't."
"Actually, it's a pair of underwear and one of your shirts. I hope you don't mind."
"No, not at all. Just don't wash it before I get home."
I laughed. "Oh my god! You're worse than your fans!"
"What can I say?" Then he got serious. "So how's Zoe doing? Is she all right?"
"Well, she's only JUST getting them, so she's not feeling too bad. But you know how chicken pox work, so..."
"Yeah," Tay said. "You know I hate it that she feels so terrible and we're so many miles away and can't be with her."
"Things aren't getting much better. I think Mackie's coming down with some sort of cold, too."
Tay sighed. "Oh god. Sounds like another case of the Hanson Plague. What fun," he said sarcastically.
"What?"
Tay laughed a little. "The Hanson Plague. If one of us gets sick, we ALL get sick. It's pretty rough. Look, I'm gonna let you go, all right? It's late."
"I miss you," I said.
"I miss you, too. I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"
"Don't forget TRL."
"I wouldn't dream of it. Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Tay. Sweet dreams."
We hung up and I turned out the light. I nestled down in his bed and pulled the covers over me. His bed was comfortable. I could smell his scent all over the bed and I breathed it in from his pillow as I fell asleep.
I couldn't remember the last time I'd slept so well.
___________________________________________________________
DREW
Well with Zac gone for the weekend and Mel helping Diana with the kids for the weekend, I was bored out of my mind. But Mel and I had arranged for me to come over and watch TRL together. And I was looking forward to seeing Zac again. Soon. I called Mel that morning to find out what time would be best for me to come over. TRL started at 3:30 so we decided on 2:00.
As fate would have it, I was running late once again. I didn't get to the Hansons' until about 2:30. At that point Mel was helping Diana get the kids ready for the show. She was popping popcorn and Mel was getting drinks and Skittles together. "Is there anything I can do to help?" I asked Diana as I walked into the kitchen.
"If you could get Zoe up from her nap and bring her in here for some medicine that would be great," she said with a smile.
Of course I said "okay" and headed upstairs to get Zoe. By the time we got all the kids in the living room and gave Zoe her medicine, TRL was about to start. Thank god. I was so ready to see Zac again, I was about to die.
"And up next are the guys from Hanson," Carson Daly said as the show went to commercial and shots of screaming girls.
"And we are back, live from New York City," Carson began, looking out of the large window of the set. The camera man showed a shot of the fans down on the street. Screams fled through the air.
"Well as you all know, the guys from Hanson are here. And so let's bring them out! All the way from Tulsa, Oklahoma--" the screams reached an unbearable level. "--HANSON!"
Isaac walked on the set, followed by Taylor and, finally, Zac. "Hi, guys," Carson said with a smile. "Wow, it must be something to be on tour for so long and right when you think you're going to get a break, here you are back on the road."
"Well," said Taylor. "We're always glad to come back to New York!"
"Well why don't we go to the number five video. It's from Britney Spears," Carson said, looking into the camera. After the video, Carson asked the guys some questions. "Okay, I know you guys get this from everyone, but there's one thing I have to ask. Do you guys have girlfriends?"
Isaac was the first one to answer. "I've dated a few girls, but nothing serious."
Taylor spoke next. "We don't really have time for girlfriends right now," he said, brushing his thumb across his nose.
But what Zac had to say was what really threw me for a loop. "Actually, there is a girl," he said with a smile. I could have died. He was finally making it official!
"Yeah, right," said Carson with a laugh.
"No, man, he's serious," said Taylor.
"Yeah," Zac said with a toothy smile that made me want to melt. "She's an older woman!" he laughed and the girls inside were so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.
Carson was laughing the whole time. "So what's the lucky girl's name?" he asked, at which point I looked over at Mel, who was looking over at Diana with an 'oh my god I can't believe he's saying that' look.
"Her name is Drew," said Zac.
"Oh my god," I heard Mel say quietly.
From that point on, the show flew by. I couldn't believe what had just happened. And from the looks of it, neither could Mel.
After TRL, the weekend flew by, thank god. And Sunday had rolled around faster than I thought it would have. After Zac's announcement on TV, Diana had kept a close eye on me, considering my mom was out of town. Almost as if she knew something bad could happen at any time. I went over to their house to wait on the guys to come home.
"We're home!" I heard Zac's voice say from the living room and then I heard the door shut. Without a word, I ran out of the kitchen and jumped into Zac's arms. "Hey, you," Zac said with a kiss. I couldn't wait to get him alone.
___________________________________________________
MEL
Thursday morning I went ahead and went over so I could see Tay off. Zac was nowhere in sight so I figured he was off with Drew somewhere.
Tay and I were in the tree house. "You got a busy weekend ahead of you," I said.
"Not as busy as it COULD be," said Tay. He tugged at my waist. "I wish you could come with me."
"So do I. But I'm needed here. Zoe's sick."
"I know. Poor thing's miserable. I told her I'd bring back something special for her and the others."
"Aw, that's so sweet. You're a good big brother."
Tay smiled shyly. "What do YOU want?" he asked.
"I just want you back in one piece."
"No, really. What do you want from New York?"
"I'm not gonna tell you, cause you don't have to get me anything."
"But I WANT to get you something. What do you want? You can have ANYTHING. You name it, you got it."
"Okay. This is what I want."
"Okay," he said.
"When you're on TRL tomorrow, I want you to use a special signal to say 'hi' to me. Something that no one else knows about but you and me."
"So, like, if I touch my nose or something, I'm saying 'hi' to you?"
"Yeah," I smiled, getting close to him. "That'll work. I like your nose." I kissed his nose. "I think it's cute."
Tay smiled. "You do?"
"Yeah. And you have gorgeous eyes. And your lips? Your lips are my favorite part." With that, I kissed him.
Tay pulled away and examined me. "There isn't a part of you that I don't like." His hands had just began to wander when his watch started to beep. He looked at it. "Crap. I gotta get going."
"I'm gonna miss you," I said.
"I'm gonna miss you, too. Here." He handed me his cell phone. "Take my cell phone. I'll call you every night till I get back. That way if it's really late, it won't wake the whole house and Mom won't ask any questions. Okay?"
"Okay."
"And don't go to sleep until I call. I want to be able to say goodnight."
I smiled. "You got it."
Tay leaned in and kissed me. "I'll see you Sunday.
We climbed out of the tree house and soon Tay was gone.
---------------------------------------------------------
Thursday evening was when we discovered that Zoe's cold turned out to be chicken pox.
Diana had been giving Zoe a bath and I was playing a game with Jessica, Avery, and Mackenzie when Diana called me from the bathroom. "Mel!"
I walked in the bathroom. "I need a second opinion," Diana said as I approached the bathtub. "What does that look like to you?" She pointed to a small, red dot on Zoe's arm.
"It itches, Mommy," Zoe said as she scratched it.
"I know, sweetie, don't scratch." She put Zoe's hand down.
I gave Diana a Look. We both knew what I was thinking. We examined Zoe over to find a red dot on her cheek, the inside of her thigh, her neck, her foot, and her behind. THAT one itched a lot, too, unfortunately. Poor baby. "That looks like chicken pox to me," I said.
"That's what I was afraid of. Have you had them?"
"Yeah, remember? Tay and I had them at the same time."
"That's right. Here, would you dry her off?" She handed me a towel. "I'm gonna go call Walker." She left the bathroom and came back, talking on the phone, while I was drying off Zoe. "Yeah," Diana said. "Mel and I think it's chicken pox. I'm gonna run her to the d-o-c-t-o-r just to be on the safe side." I wrapped the towel around Zoe and Diana said, "Okay, hold on. You wanna talk to Daddy?" she asked Zoe. Zoe nodded.
Zoe smiled. "Hi, Daddy!"
Diana smiled at me. "Poor thing has no clue what's going on."
"Yeah," said Zoe into the phone. "It itches real bad...I haffa blow my nose a lot, too...okay. I love you...can I talk to Ikie?" Suddenly her face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Hi, Ikie! I'm sick...come see me?" She stuck out her bottom lip in a pout. "Okay...okay!" She was suddenly happy again. "Hmm...I want a horsie!" Then her face fell. "Okay...okay! I want that!" Happy again. "Okay...I love you, Ikie! And I love Daddy and I love Tay-Tay and I love Zac...okay...bye bye." She handed the phone to Diana. "Here, Mommy!" The she turned to me and grinned from ear to ear. "I talked to Ikie!"
Diana laughed. "Lord, just give that child her 'Ikie' and she'll be happy."
"She love him, huh?" I smiled.
"Ike spoils this child rotten. I tell her she can't have ice cream till after supper and Ike sneaks her out to take her for ice cream anyway. They think I don't know. But I see the chocolate stains on her shirt when she sits down to supper." We both laughed. "He'd do anything for her at the drop of a hat." She paused. "That reminds me." She picked up Zoe and I followed her to Zoe's room. She changed her and then we headed for the kitchen. Diana sat Zoe down and got some money out of her purse. "Here. Order a couple of pizzas."
"I want some pizza!" said Zoe.
"Make one of them cheese. She won't eat anything else." She picked Zoe home again. "We have to go bye-bye, honey. You can have pizza when we get home, okay?"
Soon they left and Jessi, Avie, and Mackie trooped into the kitchen. "What's going on?" asked Avie.
"Zoe might have chicken pox, so your mom ran her to the doctor. She said to order pizzas. What'll it be?"
We went over pizza toppings and I was just about to pick up the phone to order when it rang. I picked it up. "Hello, Hanson residence."
"Hey, how's it going?" said Drew.
"Actually, I can't really talk right now. We have a slight crisis on our hands."
"What happened?"
"Well you know how Zoe's sick? Turns out, it's chicken pox."
"Oh, no. That's terrible. Is she gonna be okay?"
"Oh, yeah, sure. But Diana went ahead and took her to the doctor anyway. I have to order pizza for the kids now."
"Aw, poor Zoe," said Drew.
Suddenly, Mackie let out a long line of sneezes. "I think I'm getting what Zoe's got," he said.
"Oh, no," I said.
"What?" said Drew.
"Mackie had a sneezing fit." I turned to Mackie. "Hold on, I'll get you some cold medicine." Then I said to Drew, "This could get crazy. I better let you go."
"Okay, call me later."
We hung up and I got Mackie's cold medicine and I ordered the pizzas.
Zoe and Diana came home soon after the pizzas arrived. Zoe's face lit up. "Pizza!" Diana sat her down at the table, fixed her a plate, and Zoe dug in.
"Poor kid's starved," said Diana. "We had to wait forever. We finally got in, though, and they gave us some medicine for her cold and some cream for her chicken pox. Oh, goodness. Three-year-olds...how do you stop them from scratching?"
-----------------------------------------------
I called Drew later and we talked for a little bit. She missed Zac and, lord, I had to hear it! I didn't blame her, though. I missed Tay with a passion and how I WISHED he were with me. And I WANTED to tell Drew. I wanted to tell her EVERYTHING. But...I couldn't.
That was okay, though. I got the next best thing. I got to sleep in his bed.
We tucked the kids into bed and then Diana said, "You can sleep in Tay's room this weekend."
I gave her a Look. "Uh..."
"Oh, what'll it hurt? You two used to sleep in each other's beds all the time," said Diana.
So I took her word for it and went upstairs.
I put my stuff down and went to the bathroom to wash up and brush my teeth. I went back in Tay's room and put my pajamas on. I was going through my bag when I glanced up and eyed Tay's closet.
That gave me an idea.
I zipped my bag back up and opened Tay's closet. I searched through his clothes. I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I borrowed a t-shirt for the weekend...
I picked one out and put it on. It was big on me. I hugged myself, clutching the shirt. Then I heard Tay's cell phone ring. I grinned and jumped in the bed. I pulled the covers over me and got comfortable. "Hello?"
"Hey, babe," said Tay cheerfully. "What are you doing?"
"Actually, I just got in bed," I said.
"I didn't wake you, did I?"
"No, of course not. I told you I'd wait and I did."
"I'm glad. So where did she put you?"
I giggled. "You're never gonna believe it. I'm in your bed."
"Ah, man! The one time you're in my bed and I'm not there."
"No," I said teasingly. "And it's a shame, too. Cause I'm missing you like crazy. And you wouldn't believe what I'm wearing."
"Oooh, don't do this to me. If it's more than a pair of underwear, I don't want to hear about it," said Tay.
I laughed. "You wish, don't you?"
Tay laughed, too. "Uh, no, I don't."
"Actually, it's a pair of underwear and one of your shirts. I hope you don't mind."
"No, not at all. Just don't wash it before I get home."
I laughed. "Oh my god! You're worse than your fans!"
"What can I say?" Then he got serious. "So how's Zoe doing? Is she all right?"
"Well, she's only JUST getting them, so she's not feeling too bad. But you know how chicken pox work, so..."
"Yeah," Tay said. "You know I hate it that she feels so terrible and we're so many miles away and can't be with her."
"Things aren't getting much better. I think Mackie's coming down with some sort of cold, too."
Tay sighed. "Oh god. Sounds like another case of the Hanson Plague. What fun," he said sarcastically.
"What?"
Tay laughed a little. "The Hanson Plague. If one of us gets sick, we ALL get sick. It's pretty rough. Look, I'm gonna let you go, all right? It's late."
"I miss you," I said.
"I miss you, too. I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"
"Don't forget TRL."
"I wouldn't dream of it. Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Tay. Sweet dreams."
We hung up and I turned out the light. I nestled down in his bed and pulled the covers over me. His bed was comfortable. I could smell his scent all over the bed and I breathed it in from his pillow as I fell asleep.
I couldn't remember the last time I'd slept so well.
___________________________________________________________
DREW
Well with Zac gone for the weekend and Mel helping Diana with the kids for the weekend, I was bored out of my mind. But Mel and I had arranged for me to come over and watch TRL together. And I was looking forward to seeing Zac again. Soon. I called Mel that morning to find out what time would be best for me to come over. TRL started at 3:30 so we decided on 2:00.
As fate would have it, I was running late once again. I didn't get to the Hansons' until about 2:30. At that point Mel was helping Diana get the kids ready for the show. She was popping popcorn and Mel was getting drinks and Skittles together. "Is there anything I can do to help?" I asked Diana as I walked into the kitchen.
"If you could get Zoe up from her nap and bring her in here for some medicine that would be great," she said with a smile.
Of course I said "okay" and headed upstairs to get Zoe. By the time we got all the kids in the living room and gave Zoe her medicine, TRL was about to start. Thank god. I was so ready to see Zac again, I was about to die.
"And up next are the guys from Hanson," Carson Daly said as the show went to commercial and shots of screaming girls.
"And we are back, live from New York City," Carson began, looking out of the large window of the set. The camera man showed a shot of the fans down on the street. Screams fled through the air.
"Well as you all know, the guys from Hanson are here. And so let's bring them out! All the way from Tulsa, Oklahoma--" the screams reached an unbearable level. "--HANSON!"
Isaac walked on the set, followed by Taylor and, finally, Zac. "Hi, guys," Carson said with a smile. "Wow, it must be something to be on tour for so long and right when you think you're going to get a break, here you are back on the road."
"Well," said Taylor. "We're always glad to come back to New York!"
"Well why don't we go to the number five video. It's from Britney Spears," Carson said, looking into the camera. After the video, Carson asked the guys some questions. "Okay, I know you guys get this from everyone, but there's one thing I have to ask. Do you guys have girlfriends?"
Isaac was the first one to answer. "I've dated a few girls, but nothing serious."
Taylor spoke next. "We don't really have time for girlfriends right now," he said, brushing his thumb across his nose.
But what Zac had to say was what really threw me for a loop. "Actually, there is a girl," he said with a smile. I could have died. He was finally making it official!
"Yeah, right," said Carson with a laugh.
"No, man, he's serious," said Taylor.
"Yeah," Zac said with a toothy smile that made me want to melt. "She's an older woman!" he laughed and the girls inside were so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.
Carson was laughing the whole time. "So what's the lucky girl's name?" he asked, at which point I looked over at Mel, who was looking over at Diana with an 'oh my god I can't believe he's saying that' look.
"Her name is Drew," said Zac.
"Oh my god," I heard Mel say quietly.
From that point on, the show flew by. I couldn't believe what had just happened. And from the looks of it, neither could Mel.
After TRL, the weekend flew by, thank god. And Sunday had rolled around faster than I thought it would have. After Zac's announcement on TV, Diana had kept a close eye on me, considering my mom was out of town. Almost as if she knew something bad could happen at any time. I went over to their house to wait on the guys to come home.
"We're home!" I heard Zac's voice say from the living room and then I heard the door shut. Without a word, I ran out of the kitchen and jumped into Zac's arms. "Hey, you," Zac said with a kiss. I couldn't wait to get him alone.
___________________________________________________