Two months passed before the four friends were reunited once again. All
had gone their own separate ways; Darren and Chance went on tour; Shiri stayed
on the set of “Roswell;” and Daniel produced his new band, Aneiki, in
Australia. They were all excited to meet at the club in LA where Chance and
Darren would play their final tour date. But there was one hitch to it all…
“Darren, you still owe me from last time! When am I gonna get some
payback?” Daniel almost yelled into his cell phone as Darren was asking
another favor from him.
“You got the money, what else am I supposed to do for you?” Darren
lightly replied.
“Well, you can start by doing something nice for me for once,” Daniel
answered as he paced through Shiri’s apartment.
“What do you want me to do for you?” Darren asked calmly.
“I don’t know, send me on a well-deserved honeymoon,” Daniel
blankly replied. He sat down on the couch and ran his fingers through his hair.
He was getting very frustrated with doing favors for Darren without getting
anything back in return.
“I’ll consider it. Now will you listen to me?”
“What is the favor?”
“Okay, I really want to make tonight special. Chance and I have been
getting really far apart lately and I was hoping to close that gap between us
with something sweet. I remember you told me Brutus died when I was in the
hospital. I was thinking why not get her a new dog? It’s the perfect gift, you
know?”
“Darren, have you lost your mind?” Daniel said.
“No, I’m dead serious.”
“Okay, what kind of dog?”
“A German Shepard, preferably a puppy.”
“Well, that’s not going to be that hard. Just get the puppy and drop
it off at the condo. That makes my job so much easier.”
“That’s not all,” Darren said. “There’s one more thing I need
you to do for me.”
“What?” Daniel whined.
“Could you decorate the condo with candles and rose petals? It’ll
give it the perfect backdrop.”
“DARREN! I’m not doing your dirty work!” Daniel shouted over the
phone.
“How would two weeks in the Keys sound to you?” Darren coolly
replied.
“Two weeks in the Keys?” Daniel calmed down. “Wait a minute!
You’re not going to sucker me into this.”
“Well, you said you wanted a well-deserved honeymoon. I know the
perfect island out there that’s secluded, quiet, and absolutely perfect for
honeymoons. I booked that place for my honeymoon,” Darren explained. “It’s
called Little Palm Island. The only way to get there is by boat. No planes, no
trains, no cars, and best of all, no screaming fans.”
Daniel paused for a few moments thinking over the proposition. “Okay,
I’ll do it. You’d just better hold up your end of the bargain,” he
answered.
“I promise, you’ll have the tickets in the next few weeks if you
want,” Darren hung up without saying goodbye.
Daniel put his phone away in his pocket and yelled, “Shiri, I need your
help.”
“What is it, honey?” she asked, walking out of the bathroom with a
towel wrapped around her hair.
“Darren is asking me for a really big favor, and I need your help
setting it up,” he answered.
“What does he want us to do?” Shiri questioned.
“First, he wants us to go out and buy a dog, then he wants us to
decorate the condo with rose petals and candles,” Daniel explained quickly.
“You’d better be getting something good back for this,” she said,
walking out of the room to change into some better clothes.
“Oh, he is,” Daniel said under his breath. “He is.”
~~~~~~~~~~
“Oh, he is just adorable!” Shiri cried as she held onto the German
Shepard puppy the sales clerk at the pet store handed her. The little brown and
black bundle squirmed in her arms as she held it up and cuddled it. “Oh,
Danny, I want one!”
“Maybe later. Right now, we have a lot of stuff going on. I promise
when I get us a new house, I’ll buy you whatever you want,” Daniel replied.
“Let’s get this little pup for Darren and head out. We still need to
decorate the apartment before he and Chance arrive at the club this
afternoon.”
They paid for the puppy and headed straight for the flower shop down the
road where they bought a large assortment of different colored roses and
candles. The condo was going to look great when they finished with it. That’s
when Shiri got the perfect idea.
“You’re gonna love this,” she said. “Why don’t we get one of
those really big boxes and wrap him up in it, then when Chance gets home,
she’ll unwrap the box and be so surprised.”
“You’re a genius,” Daniel commented as he turned into one of the
storage companies and went inside to purchase the box. After stopping off at a
card shop, they headed for the condo. Within an hour and a half, they had the
place ready and the puppy was in the box. Now all they needed to do was go to
the club, act natural, and have fun at the concert, which was four hours away.
Maybe one stop over there then leave for lunch. They walked into the club
unnoticed until Darren looked out and stopped whatever conversation he was
having with Chance. She swiveled around in her chair to see what he was staring
at.
“AH!” Chance screamed, putting her guitar down and flying into
Daniel’s arms. “I missed you so much!”
“Me…too,” he replied, trying to unblock his airway by trying to pry
Chance off him.
She let go and headed for Shiri. They politely hugged each other and
said, “I missed you.”
“So, what’s it been like on tour?” Shiri asked.
“It’s been great, but I’m happier to be going home today,” Chance
answered. “Are you guys gonna be at the show tonight?”
“Of course! Why would we miss it?” Daniel said.
“Are you staying until then?” Darren joined the conversation.
“No, we have a few things to do today. We just wanted to drop by and
see you guys before the show,” Shiri answered as she took Daniel’s hand and
led him out of the club.
“See you later,” Chance called as they left. Even after they were out
the door, they could still hear her yell, “We’re home!”
“And that pretty much proves it,” Darren added.
~~~~~~~~~~
“It’s finally over!” Chance yelled into the empty club as the road
crew finished putting away the equipment. She, Darren, Daniel, and Shiri were
crowded around the bar celebrating the end of the tour.
Darren laughed at her enthusiasm. “Calm down. You’re gonna tire
yourself out before we get home,” he said.
“I don’t give a shit. This is the first night I’ll be back in my
comfy bed and getting a full night’s sleep instead of waking at five in the
morning in a cramped little bunk. I swear, I don’t know how you’ve been able
to stand this,” she replied, taking a sip of her daiquiri.
“I just got used to it after the first tour. I don’t know,” Darren
tried to explain.
“Ah, shut up and kiss me,” Chance said as her lips landed squarely
onto his. “Now I get to spend some real time with you.” They kissed again as
Daniel and Shiri snickered behind them.
“Shut up,” Darren turned towards them and retorted.
“Come on, let’s go home. I’ve had a little too much to drink,”
Chance said as she stood up and began to walk out of the club. “Daz, you
coming?” she turned back and asked.
“Bye guys,” Darren told Daniel and Shiri.
“Bye,” they replied in unison. They sat at the bar smiling at each
other and waiting for Daniel’s cell to ring. It had been a great concert.
Chance was definitely a natural born musician. Her place was up on stage singing
to a crowd of hundreds, even thousands. Daniel couldn’t believe how much she
had grown over the past year. She turned from a budding, inexperienced little
girl, to a beautiful, experienced musician. The phone rang knocking Daniel out
of his trance.
“Perfect timing,” he answered.
“Yeah, is everything ready?” Darren asked, trying to keep his voice
as low as possible.
“Everything is ready. Shiri and I finished it just before we came to
the club for the concert.”
“You got the right one, didn’t you?”
“Yes, the little brown and black one, just like you asked.” Daniel
was beginning to get irritated. Darren could sense it in his voice.
“What’s up with you?” he asked.
“You know you still owe me from last time. This adds to it,” Daniel
replied.
“I’ll make it up to you, I promise,” Darren answered. “I gotta
go. I’ll tell you tomorrow how it went.”
“Bye,” Daniel hung up before Darren could reply. He put away his
phone and turned to Shiri. “Time to go,” he told her.
“So?” she asked, hopeful.
“He’ll tell us tomorrow. Don’t worry about it,” he replied.
~~~~~~~~~~
The night came and went; yet no word from Darren or Chance about how the
surprise turned out. Shiri quit wondering and began to make lunch when her phone
rang. Hoping it was Chance wanting to dish out what happened last night, she
answered, “Hello?”
“Hi, honey,” came the reply.
“Oh, hi Mom,” Shiri said as she threw some spaghetti into the pot of
boiling water on the stove in front of her.
“You don’t sound so happy to talk to me. What’s wrong?” her
mother asked.
“I was expecting another call. Sorry for sounding so strange. So,
what’s going on?” Shiri asked.
“Nothing really. I was making dinner tonight and I wanted you to come.
I also wanted you to bring Chance along.” She paused. “I’m hoping she’ll
want to see me. I hope she’s not angry about what’s happened. I want her to
know I’m really sorry.”
“Mom, don’t worry. I think she’s okay. Yeah, she skipped town for a
little while because of it, but I’m pretty sure she’ll come tonight. I’ll
give her a call as soon as I’m finished with you,” Shiri said, stirring the
pot.
“Okay, then, I’d better let you talk to her. I’ll go now, but you
have to answer me this question when you come tonight: when did you get
married?” her mother questioned.
Shiri stood stunned in the kitchen. She blinked several times trying not
to freak out. ‘Shit!’ Shiri’s mind screamed when she heard the phone click
on the other end. Calming down, she quickly dialed Chance’s number.
After about five rings, there was finally an answer. “Hey, Shiri. What
do you want so early in the morning?” Chance immediately answered.
“Morning? Chance, take a look at your watch. It’s almost one in the
afternoon,” Shiri said in near disgust.
“Is it really? Damn. So, why did you call?”
“Well, Mom is making dinner tonight and she wanted to know if you could
come,” Shiri answered nonchalantly.
Chance paused for a few moments. Shiri knew she was trying to take it all
in. “Wha… What time?” she finally asked.
“Dinner’s at seven, but you should be there around 6:30. If you
don’t wanna go, you don’t have to. I can see why you wouldn’t want to.”
“No, I’m coming. I have to do this some time in my life, why not
now?” Chance answered.
“Okay, great. I’ll call her and tell her to make extra. Oh, is Darren
coming with you?” she replied.
“Of course! You actually think I’d go alone. I know Dan’s coming
with you. Have you even told you mom about your marriage?”
“Duh, she saw TRL. I’ve been in the doghouse since then. This is her
way of making me explain things and sort things out with her. That’s why I
really want you to come. Please, put in some good words for me. I don’t want
Mom getting even more pissed off at me,” Shiri pleaded with Chance.
“Fine,” she reluctantly said. “I’m hanging up.”
“Okay, bye.”
“Bye.”
Shiri put the phone back on the stand and started working on lunch again.
This was definitely shaping up to be a strange day. ‘How am I going to explain
all of this to Mom and Dad?’ she thought. ‘Wasn’t there another reason I
was calling Chance? Oh, crap! I completely forgot about last night!’ Shiri
picked the phone up again and pressed the redial button.
“Now what?” Chance angrily asked.
“I wanted to ask you about last night,” Shiri said.
“Oh, it was great! Darren bought me a puppy! His name is Maximus, and
he’s so cute!” Chance’s anger turned into happiness.
“Yeah? Guess who did all the dirty work?”
“Who?”
“Dan and I. We were out all day looking for everything and setting up
the apartment just as Darren wanted it. Oh, and I picked out the puppy. Isn’t
he just adorable? I couldn’t put him down!”
“Oh, I know! I love him! Thank you so much! And tell Dan thank you.
You’re so wonderful.”
“Hey, one more think before I go,” Shiri said.
“Yeah?” Chance replied.
“Do you know what Darren’s doing for Dan for all this?”
“Nope. I’m clueless. I didn’t even know you guys did this. Thanks
again. I’ll see you tonight at dinner. Just call me around six and give me
some directions. I’m not about to go through the phone book,” Chance said as
she began to hang up the phone.
“Okay, bye,” Shiri replied.
“Bye.”
Just as Shiri hung up the phone, Daniel walked into the room holding a
bottle of Champaign and a box of chocolates. She stared at him wondering what
the occasion was.
“Happy four month anniversary!” Daniel said as he put the stuff down
and wrapped his arms around Shiri then kissed her.
“It’s been four months already?” she asked.
“Yeah, and your parents still have no clue,” he replied.
“Well, they do now,” Shiri said, turning back to her cooking. “Mom
called. She wants us over for dinner tonight with Chance and Darren, which is
really weird. I talked to Chance and she’s coming. It’s so strange how
things fall on the worst days.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Daniel answered.