A month after returning from their trip, Daniel and Shiri went back to
being the busy people they always were. Work was hectic for both of them, almost
never ending and completely involving. Shiri stayed on the set of “
Unfortunately for Chance, her inexperience had made her a maniac. This
led Darren to call Shiri at one of the strangest hours in the morning looking
for help.
“Hello?” came her sleepy voice over the phone.
“Shiri?” Darren replied.
“Yeah, hey Daz. What’s going on?” she replied yawning.
“Well, I need your help, big time,” he said.
“With what?”
“Chance went ballistic a few days ago about the wedding. She has
nothing planned, and frankly, I think she’s going to have a nervous breakdown
if she doesn’t get help soon,” Darren explained.
“What do you want me to do?” Shiri asked.
“I want you, Majandra, and Kate to come out here and help her if you
can. And I’ll pay for the flight. Please, Chance really needs your help,” he
began to beg.
“Darren, this is such short notice. I have to call everyone and see
what their plans are for the next few weeks, and if all is in the clear, I’ll
give you a call, okay?”
“Okay. Call back soon.”
“I will.”
Shiri put the phone back onto the stand and went back to sleep, or at
least tried to. She tossed and turned for hours wishing she had said yes the
moment Darren had asked her to come to
Majandra was the first on the list. Shiri had her number on speed dial
and quickly pressed the button for it. “Hello?” came her tired voice over
the phone.
“Hey!” Shiri excitedly replied.
“What’s up with you?” Majandra asked. “You sound so happy.”
“Darren called. He wants us to go to
“Uh, I don’t know about that. I have so much stuff to do before the
wedding. I don’t think space boy over here has the capacity to pick out a tux
and a wedding gift.”
“Did I tell you Darren was paying for our tickets out there?”
“Hey, I could always use a vacation!”
“Great! I’ll call you back with the details as soon as I call
Kate.”
“Okay, bye hon.”
“Later.” Shiri hung up and began looking for Kate’s number through
the drawers in the kitchen. She finally fished it out of the back of one and
dialed.
“What?” Kate quickly answered.
“Hey! Guess who?” Shiri replied.
“Oh, hey Shiri. What’s up?” she asked.
“Nothing really. Darren called me a few hours ago. He wants us to go to
“Not really. But I don’t have the money to get out there.”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s on Darren.”
“Oh, how sweet! Then I’m coming!” Kate enthusiastically said.
“Okay, I’d better call him back now and tell him. I’ll talk to you
in a little and tell you the details. Bye,” Shiri replied.
“Bye.” They hung up and Shiri quickly dialed Darren’s cell number.
“Thank God it’s you!” he said the second he picked up.
“What happened now?” Shiri asked.
“Chance has locked herself in the bathroom and won’t come out. She
says she really doesn’t want to elope. You have to come tomorrow! I’m about
to lose control over here!” Darren pleaded with her.
“Don’t worry, we’re coming. Just make sure the tickets are waiting
at the counter,” she replied.
“Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!” he said as he hung up without
saying goodbye.
~~~~~~~~~~
The three girls arrived in
“I missed you so much!” Shiri nearly yelled.
“I missed you too,” Daniel replied, kissing her again.
“Okay, enough mushy love stuff. We’re here for other reasons besides
that,” Majandra butt in, tapping Daniel’s shoulder. He put Shiri down and
led them outside towards his car, the Navigator he had managed to keep after
Alexia’s death.
Shiri quickly pulled out her cell phone to tell Darren that they had
arrived. They had agreed the night before to keep this a secret from Chance and
let her be surprised when she saw them.
“Daz, we’re here,” she nearly whispered the moment he picked up the
phone.
“Okay, great!” Darren softly replied. “Dan knows where to drop you
off. And I’ve made sure that he doesn’t tell you because it’s a
surprise.”
“Ah! You suck!” Shiri sharply answered back before she heard a
devilish laugh, then the phone click off. He turned to the others and said,
“Darren is suck a little shit.”
“Why?” Majandra asked from the backseat.
“He said he’s got a surprise for us and that Dan knows what it is,”
Shiri said.
All three girls laid their eyes on Daniel as he drove down the road. He
hated being cornered by girls who wanted top-secret information. Just one touch
from Shiri and he’d spill. She slipped her hand on his leg and began to caress
it.
“Don’t do this to me,” Daniel pleaded with her.
“You know you wanna tall me,” she said in a seductive voice. “How
about you tell me, and after today is over, we head to your place and… you
know.”
The thoughts of feeling her beside him that night raced through
Daniel’s mind. “Okay!” he yelled. “Darren bought a new mansion and he
didn’t want anyone to know just yet. I was told in advance because I was
picking you guys up and needed directions to get to it. If you guys hadn’t
come, I probably wouldn’t have known until the day of the wedding.”
“Thank you,” Shiri replied as she leaned over and kissed his cheek.
Daniel smiled as he pulled down drove a tree-lined road past a few large houses.
He was headed for the one at the end of the street with the tall security fence
and beautifully crafted front gate. The house itself was small, but took up a
wide area. There were six bedrooms, five baths, a large kitchen, an enormous
living room with fireplace, a game room, a pool, a guesthouse, and a studio,
which was one of the only reasons Darren even bothered to look at it.
“Oh, my God! This place is beautiful,” Majandra commented as she
stared at the mansion through her tinted window.
“How did he get the money to pay for this?” Kate asked. They looked
at her with strange expressions on their faces. “Am I really that clueless?”
“Figure out this, we’ve sold over 22 million albums around the world,
and have put on two wonderful tours. Our net worth alone is enough to feed a
small country for a decade,” Daniel answered. Kate’s mouth hung open at his
explanation.
Kate’s mouth hung open. “Shiri, no offence, but you SUCK!” she
nearly yelled. “Why didn’t I meet him first?”
“Well, maybe because you are going out with Jason,” Shiri replied.
They pulled up to the front door and quickly got out. Daniel left them
there until Darren arrived since he had stuff to finish at the studio. The three
of them waited for less than five minutes before they heard Darren pull up with
Chance. They stood behind the door and waited to surprise them.
“Welcome to our new place,” Darren said as he pulled out his key and
opened the door.
The moment they stepped inside, three voices yelled, “Surprise!”
Chance jumped back bumping into Darren as he closed the door.
“Oh, my God! You guys!” Chance said when she saw Shiri, Majandra, and
Kate. They ran up for a group hug. “So, what are you guys doing here?”
“Well, we saw that you were having trouble getting the wedding
together, so we came out here to help,” Majandra answered.
“Actually, Darren called us and told us about your little freak out
session at the radio station and practically bent over backwards to get us
here,” Shiri added.
“Thank you all,” Chance said, still reeling from the day’s events.
“So, where do we start first?”
Shiri, Kate, and Majandra exchanged anxious glances and in unison
answered, “Dresses!” Seconds later, they dragged Chance off into their
rental car and drove into
“What exactly are you looking for?” Kate asked as she glanced back at
Chance from the driver’s seat.
“I haven’t really thought about that yet,” Chance replied.
“Okay, what’s the wedding going to be like?” Kate kept
interrogating.
“Well, it’s going to be a very big wedding. I think we invited about
500 people, and most of them are showing up. Oh, and we can’t forget that this
is going to be broadcast live all over
“Live across
“I completely forgot to tell you guys. Out here, Darren is close to
being a prince. Whatever happens to him is big news. That means the wedding is
going to be broadcast live, and I’m the princess. Isn’t that so cool?”
Chance almost squealed.
“You are so marrying into the right family,” Shiri commented. “Too
bad Dan and I didn’t announce it like you did. We’d probably get the same
treatment. The more I think about it, the more I think you suck!”
“Oh, come on, Sis,” Chance said as she hugged Shiri. “You’re
still going to be in the wedding. And you married the right guy. He’s so
perfect for you.”
“You guys are making me cry!” Majandra sarcastically whined from the
front seat. She pretended to wipe her eyes with her hands as Kate pulled into a
parking space near the first bridal shop.
“Okay, we’re here,” she announced, getting out of the car. The four
of them made their way into the large store and began to look around.
“Since you’re going to be in the spotlight, I suggest going with the
biggest dress you can find,” Majandra said as she and Chance walked down the
endless aisles of dresses. “Something that no one else can possibly afford.
Maybe some diamonds, silk, even handmade embroidery. That’ll all work.”
“If you find me that dress, then maybe I’ll buy it,” Chance
replied. “But only if it’s exactly the way you say it should look.”
“Guys! I think Kate and I found some really nice bridesmaid’s
dresses,” Shiri yelled from across the store. Majandra and Chance followed
their voices down a few more aisles until they reached a rack of beautiful soft
pink dresses.
“Those are so cute!” Majandra sarcastically said as she looked at one
that Kate was holding. “Does it come with a barf bag?”
“Majandra!” Shiri retorted.
“Chance, do I have to wear pink?” Majandra complained.
“If you find a nicer color than pink, then maybe,” Chance replied as
she began to walk down the rack.
“What about blue, or green? Please, anything but pink!” Majandra
begged.
“Okay! Quit bothering me! I need to find a dress, too! You know?”
Chance snapped back as she walked away from the others.
The three girls began to discuss the color of the dresses. They finally
agreed on a soft green and headed out to find Chance for a second opinion. She
stood in front of the fitting room with an angry expression on her face.
“There you are!” Shiri said as she came up behind Chance.
“I found the dress, but it took me a while to convince the bitchy sales
lady that I was actually the Chance Malone. She had the nerve to laugh in my
face, but now I’m gonna get the last laugh when I talk to the manager,”
Chance said as she waited.
“Someone’s gonna get fired!” Majandra sang.
“Shut up,” Kate said when she saw two women approaching them.
“Ms. Malone, I’m very sorry for the treatment you received from one
of our personnel. I’ll take care of the matter as soon as possible. As for
right now, is there anything you would like?” the manager said in a soft, warm
voice.
“Yes, I’d like to try this dress on,” Chance replied as she pointed
to the illuminated dress. It was perched on a mannequin in the back of the store
illuminated by a single light. The dress was made of pure silk and had stunning
embroiled designs. Each little design had a little diamond set in between the
stitches. The train extended to the floor and probably past the door if it
wasn’t neatly curled up into a ball behind the dress.
Kate, Shiri, and Majandra gasped. Kate’s mouth hung open as Majandra
said, “Oh, my God!”
“Wow,” Shiri added, unable to take her eyes off the stunning piece.
The manager took the dress off the mannequin then handed it to Chance.
She tried it on in the fitting room and showed it to the girls.
“You look so beautiful,” Kate whispered.
“You are so going down in history,” Majandra replied.
“I can’t believe my little sister is getting married!” Shiri
bawled. “Chance, you look so wonderful. I wish you the best of luck even
though it’s a little early.”
“Oh, you guys! Stop it! You’re making me want to cry!” Chance said
as she pulled them in for a group hug.
~~~~~~~~~~
A few weeks later, all was ready for the wedding. Shiri, Majandra, and
Kate crashed at Darren’s new place until the day arrived and everyone else had
flown in. He and Chance had snuck out of the house earlier and still weren’t
back. The other three girls sat on the couch in front of the big screen TV and
watched an entertainment news program from
“I got it,” she mumbled to the other two. Shiri walked into the foyer
and slowly opened the door to find a police officer standing in front of it.
“May I help you?” she nervously asked.
“I have a special delivery for a Ms. Chance Malone,” he replied.
“She’s somewhere on the property, but we can’t seem to find her.
Could I give her the message?”
“Yes, and please, this is urgent.” The cop handed her a plain white
envelope and walked away towards his motorcycle. Shiri closed the door and
looked at the little package in her hands. Just as her curiosity got to, her
heard Majandra running towards her.
“They’re nominated for 12 Grammies!” she screamed into Shiri’s
face.
“Who?” Shiri asked, confused.
“Chance and Darren! I just saw it on TV!” Majandra panted.
“Oh, my God!” Shiri nearly screamed. They began to hop around as if
they were little again. Stopping, Shiri looked down at the somewhat crumpled
envelope still in her hand. She cautiously tore it open to find a letter from
the
“Find them!” Majandra told her. Shiri ran out the door and out into
the back yard. She found them on top of one of the hills overlooking the house,
kissing.
“Guys! Guys! You’re not gonna believe this!” Shiri’s yells soon
reached their ears, stopping them from going any further. They lay on the ground
and waited for her to arrive with the news. “This… is gonna make… your
day,” she panted after running up the steep incline.
“What is it already?” Chance impatiently asked. Shiri handed her a
letter she pulled out of her back pocket.
Chance cautiously opened it. Her hands began to shake as she read through
it. “Oh, my God!” she nearly cried, handing the paper to Darren.
“We’ve been nominated for twelve Grammy’s! Holy shit!” he yelled,
them wrapped his arms around Chance’s neck.
“Congratulations, you guys,” Shiri said. “You’d better get
inside. The show is in two day, so you gotta start packing.”
“Two days!” Chance and Darren exclaimed at the same time.
~~~~~~~~~~
Two days later, everyone gathered around the spacious living room of
Darren’s place and huddled near the big screen. Shiri, Daniel, Majandra, and
Brendan were crammed onto the couch while Jason, Kate, Nick, and the rest of the
Savage Garden family sat on the floor or on chairs carried in from the dining
room. All were excited to see their friends and family winning awards left and
right during the ceremony. Chance had been the first one to win Best New Artist.
“Wow, I wasn’t even expecting this,” she almost laughed. “I’d
first and foremost want to thank God for this honor. Without Him, I wouldn’t
be here, and I wouldn’t have the inspiration to write my music. He’s thrown
many obstacles my way, but I’ve been able to overcome them pretty well, I
think. The second person I’d like to thank is none other than my fiancé, my
best friend, my mentor, my producer, my idol, and my soul mate, Darren Hayes. If
it weren’t for you discovering me like you did, I wouldn’t have such a
wonderful existence.” By now Chance was on the verge of tears. She looked out
at the sea of people and smiled. “I’d like to thank my family, Shiri, Danny,
Grandma, and Grandpa. I’d like to thank MTV, and everyone over at Columbia and
Rough Cut. And I have to thank all the fans. You guys have been great. You’ve
supported me through thick and thin, you went out and bought the album. This is
your award, you deserve it. Thank you, everyone that I forgot.”
“Aw!” Shiri said as she beamed with happiness that Chance had
mentioned her name in front of a crowd of millions. Daniel wrapped his arms
around her and held her closer. The next awards they won were Best Album Notes,
Best English Album (non classical), Best Short Form Music Video, Best Pop
Collaboration, Best Pop Vocal Album, Song of the Year, and Album of the Year.
The second to the last category was Producer of the year, Darren’s
shining moment. The second his name was called, he jumped up, gave Chance a
kiss, and headed for the stage. His speech was short and simple, but didn’t
leave a dry eye in the house.
“This is the eighth award I’ve received tonight, and I’ve thanked
almost everyone there possibly was to thank. Almost. I missed someone who was
very near and dear to me. Someone who I couldn’t have possibly done this album
without. She’s sitting right there in the forth row wearing the absolute most
beautiful outfit I’ve ever seen,” Darren said as he pointed in Chance’s
direction. She stared at him with a wayward smile. “If it wasn’t for her, my
life would have no meaning, and neither would my music. She put me back on
track. She inspired me to write and record some of the best music I’ve ever
come up with. And I just wanted to let her know that I’m eternally grateful
for everything she provided me with, and that I love her very much. Thank you,
Chance.”
After a commercial break, the final category, the coveted Record of the
Year, was finally announced. Everyone was on the edge of their seats and waiting
with hope in their eyes that their friends would win the award. Finally, the
envelope was opened.
“’Chance and Darren, Another Dream!’” Madonna said after reading
the name on the slip of paper. Chance shot up like a rocket, almost doing a
cartwheel down the aisle before reaching the stage. This was the award she had
been waiting to win all night, and she had finally done it. Darren had appeared
onstage as if by magic and was waiting to kiss her when she got to the podium.
As their lips locked, the crowd went wild. A whole minute passed before they let
go of each other.
“This has got to be the best night of my life,” Chance said into the
mic as she took Darren’s hand and led him over to make their final speech.
“Ten awards between the both of us. This is so crazy! Um… Who else can I
thank? Oh, yeah, the people who I wrote this song for, my mom, my dad, and
Scott, who are all looking down on us right now. This one is for them. I would
like to thank them even though it’s been a very traumatic experience for me to
lose all three in very tragic accidents. I want to dedicate this award to their
memory. Thank you, guys. I love you so much.” She tried hard not to burst into
tears.
Darren pulled her in close as he spoke. “I don’t think I can come up
with anything that compares to what she said, so I’m gonna thank my parents
and everyone who made this record possible. I especially want to thank Leonie
for doing all that she has done for me. Um… Dan and Shiri for their support,
and everyone else that I seem to keep forgetting. Thank you all so much.” He
pulled Chance in for another kiss as a way to perfectly end the show.
Twenty minutes after the show was over, Shiri immediately called Chance
to see how she was doing.
“AH!” they both screamed into their phones.
“Can you believe it?” Chance squeaked.
“No!” Shiri yelled back. “It’s incredible! You tied Santana for
the most Grammies ever awarded. You guys kicked ass out there! And the speeches,
oh, my God! They were so beautiful!”
“Thank you!” Chance cheerily replied. “I gotta go. We’ve got
after parties to attend and interviews to conduct. I’ll give you all the
details when we get home, okay?”
“Okay!” Shiri said. “Bye!”
“Bye!”