“I know Mom,” Mackenzie said annoyed as she pushed her bag into the luggage compartment under the bus.
“I guess I’ll let you get on your way,” Linda said, half-smiling. “I’ll miss you baby.”
Mackenzie returned her mom’s hug. Just as she did, the two of them heard a somewhat loud crashing sound. Mackenzie looked down at the ground in the early morning haze. To her horror, there lay her portable chemotherapy treatment machine.
“What is this?” Mackenzie’s mom asked rather sternly as she picked up the luckily non-broken machine and handed it back to her daughter.
“Nothing mom.” Mackenzie lied. “It just this new device that Fatima wants us to carry around to monitor things like heart rate and stuff like that.” Mackenzie felt horrible. She had never completely lied in her life, especially about something so serious. But in her mind, it seemed that her mom would only worry about Mackenzie if she knew about the cancer and with four kids at home and one on the way; that wasn’t something that Mackenzie wanted her mom to jeopardize. “I’ll call you as soon as I get the chance,” Mackenzie smiled.
“You’d better Mackenzie. I love you.”
Mackenzie hugged her mom again as tears wet her eyes. “What if I never get to hear that again,” she was asking to herself. “What if I don’t make it to tell Mom that again?” “I love you too Mom,” Mackenzie said.
An hour later, nearly everyone had arrived and was ready to go. Nick and Mackenzie had taken their usual seats on the first bus and were sleeping in each other’s arms.
“Frack,” Brian whispered while attempting to shake Nick awake. “Frack, wake up.”
Nick’s eyes slowly opened. “What do you want,” he stuttered.
“Telephone,” Brian said, putting the cell phone into Nick’s hands. “It’s your mom.”
Nick yawned. “Hi Mom,” he said drowsily.
Mackenzie blinked her eyes open and found herself listening into Nick’s conversation with his mother.
“No Mom, I didn’t forget to pay the three-months rent…I know Mom, I told her…Yes Mom, I packed everything…” After a long pause, Nick continued. “We open tomorrow night in Seattle and then it’s 38 cities until we close in Orlando. I thought I told you. Well I’m sorry…okay Mom, I love you too. Bye.” Nick clicked the cell phone off and looked over at Mackenzie. “She thinks I’m two,” he said.
“So do I…what’s your point.” Mackenzie laughed.
Nick poked at Mackenzie’s sides causing her to squeak. “Carter,” she warned. “It’s 6:00 in the morning. Do you want to be responsible for the reason why everyone else wakes up?”
Nick pretended to think for a moment. “Eh, why not?” he said as he proceeded to tickle Mackenzie.
By 5:00 that night, the tour bus finally stopped in Seattle Washington. The hotel that awaited the group of 5 singers and 20 dancers looked so inviting that barely anyone decided to take a night on the town. Instead, many gathered together in rooms and played cards or watched a movie. In Nick’s room, it was a different story. He, AJ, Brian, Mackenzie, and two other dancers, were in teams playing Guestures. (AUTHOR’S NOTE: Guestures is a game like charades).
“How is that ‘oven,” Alicia, one of the dancers, protested loudly.
“An oven gets hot,” AJ defended. “That’s why I pointed to Eve, she’s hot.”
Eve blushed while Alicia continued with her point. “How was I supposed to know that?” she yelled.
“Okay,” Mackenzie interrupted. “Why don’t I just go? It not like I am gonna pick up any more points than you three.” Mackenzie painfully stood up from her place next to Nick.
“Thanks Mac,” AJ said, obviously grateful that Mackenzie had interrupted when she did.
Mackenzie picked up the four cards that we necessary to play with aversion. She was given: envelop, plant, love, and newborn. “Okay,” she started. “This is gonna be near to impossible.”
“That’s okay Mac, let’s kick some butt,” Brian coached from a nearby chair.
Mackenzie started. Somehow, Nick figured out that the figure that Mackenzie was drawing the air was an envelop and thanks to AJ, who blurted out the answer, both Brian and Nick got “plant.” “Love” was up next. Mackenzie quickly ran over to Nick and started passionately kissing him. With a little disgust, Brian guessed “love.” When the time ran out, Mackenzie was scrambling to find something that she could use to spell out “newborn.”
“Time’s out Mackenzie,” AJ said sourly. Mackenzie, Nick, and Brian were now beating AJ's group by 10 points. “I guess good job.”
“Ah, AJ, you’re so sweet,” she said sarcastically before the two of them started laughing. When Mackenzie finially got back to her seat, she looked over at Nick who was practically beaming. “You okay there Carter?” she asked waving a hand in front of his face.
“Damn!” he said loudly. “I love charades.”
Chapter Six
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