Lifting up the mat, Justin looked for a spare key. Nada. “Come on...where do
you keep a spare key, Gabby?” he asked aloud. He picked up the pot of wilted
flowers at the door and, by dumb luck, found the key. Jamming it in the lock,
Justin let out a relieved sigh as the door glided open. Tinkerbell pounced off of
the sofa once she saw Justin. Scooping the kitten up, he called, “Gabby?
Where are you, girl?”
Justin came to a halt when he saw her tiny form on the bed, sound
asleep. Her chest heaved up and down as she slept. In his eyes, she looked
like an angel. Her golden hair fanned the pillow, a teddy bear tightly in her arms.
Gabrielle at that moment, almost resembled a child.
Walking as silently as possible, Justin stood in front of Gabrielle’s
refrigerator. Upon peering inside, he spotted a half loaf of bread, one rotten
tomato, half a piece of processed cheese, and a gallon of water.
He left the apartment as quietly as he had come in, a specific destination
in mind.
“That will be $207.09, sir. Cask, check, or charge?” a haggard looking
woman asked.
With a grin, Justin answered, “That will be charge, ma’am.”
His sheer perkiness brought a smile to the tired eyes of the cashier, and
she assisted him in scanning his card.
Scooping up the bag, Justin said, “Have a great day!”
“You too, sir!” the woman smiled.
Smelling something in the air, Gabrielle’s nose wrinkled, and she said
aloud to herself, “What on earth is that?” Finally rejuvenated from her evening
up, she hung up the phone, confused as to where it came from, and hopped out
of bed.
Gabby felt like she had jumped ten feet when she saw Justin, cooking in
her kitchen. “Hey morning girl.” Justin greeted her.
Bewildered, she scratched her head, “How did you get in here Justin?”
“Well, told ya on the phone I was comin’ over girl. And you do have a
spare key under the dying plants...” he answered.
Gabby padded over to the cupboard barefoot, and when she reached for
a glass, stepped back. Things had appeared in the cabinet that weren’t there
before. Trying to brush it off, Gabby opened the refrigerator door, and much to
her chagrin, it was also filled with milk, bread, orange juice, fruits, vegetables,
bacon, and lunch meat. With an exasperated look on her face, Gabby turned
towards Justin.
“You didn’t have to...” Gabby began.
Justin cut her off, “No problem. Subject over with. Now go take a shower.
It’ll be 15 minutes before this is done.”
“You can cook?
Pretending to be shocked, Justin said, “Ya! I make a mean pop tart, and
an even meaner omelet!”
“Wow. This omelet is delicious, Justin! And he pop tart... a finer
delicacy.”
Justin, however, did not respond. He was too busy reading her songs.
Ten minutes later, after she was finished, he commented, “This stuff
is...outstanding! These songs are just...tight. Can I hear them now?”
Finally over her shyness with him, she reached her hand out for the lyrics.
Once she began sinning, she didn’t falter in the least. The songs were
fabulous, and in Justin’s sincere opinion, she was fabulous.
The past few weeks had amounted to quite a lot. Gabby had been signed
to an exclusive deal with JIVE records. All of her songs had been approved by
the record company. The president of JIVE informed her that she had an
immense talent, and wished to begin recording as soon as possible. Thus,
Gabby entered the wonderful world of music.
“Yea. We’re flying to New York right now, Gabby. Sorry I can’t be there
for the first day of recording.” Justin said apologetically.
Bobbing her head, she patted his arm sympathetically, “It’s gonna be okay
Justin. Trust me. You’re a star. I know that. I don’t expect you to hold my hand
the entire time. Now go pack for the Big Apple.”
Still not accepting what she was saying, Justin persisted, “You’re gonna
be okay? For real?”
A hand dramatically smacking to her head, she answered jokingly, “No.
No Justin! You can’t leave me. I need you to hold my hand, or my heart will
bleed to death.”
A hurt expression crossed his attractive features, and he said softly, “I’m
really going to miss you, Gabrielle.” In the past weeks they had known each
other, the two had not spent a single day without seeing each other. The bond
they held grew and matured each day, as did their feelings for the other.
“That was great Gabby! One day, two songs!” Johnny announced, pleased to
see her dedication. Throughout the whole day, they had only taken a total of
thirty minutes off. She had touched up the song that she did for her demo tape,
“(You Make It) So Hard To Walk Away,” and recorded an entire song, “Hurts to
Love You.” Of course, by then, it was 2:00 in the morning.
Gabby’s cell phone (that she was given by Johnny) rang as she walked in
the door of her apartment, Tinkerbell greeting her happily. Fumbling around with
the buttons, Gabby tried to turn it on. Once she did, she greeted the caller,
“Hello?”
A familiar voice spoke to her, “And how was your first day of recording, Lil
Miss Gabby?”
Grinning, she replied, “Terrific. We got two songs done. Two down, ten
to go, Justin. So, how’s New York going?”
“Well, TRL was...crazy. And Regis and KathieLee tomorrow. So, if you’re
at home, watch it.”
Stifling her laughter, Gabby answered, “Jus, it’s 2:00 in the morning.
Then tomorrow, I have to get back into the studio. I don’t think that I can watch
it. Besides, what are you doing up at 2:00?”
An infantile tone came over his voice and he answered, “We were
clubbin’. Joey had us hit four clubs tonight.”
“Well, hope you had fun. Good luck tomorrow. I am going to bed.” Gabby
announced firmly.
“G’night Gabby. Sweet dreams, girl.”
Nodding, she answered softly, “Yea. You too, Just...”
Justin stayed on the phone line until the operator spoke, “If you’d like to
make a call, please hang up and try again. If you need assistance, dial your
operator.”
The door to the small recording area burst open as Gabby was in the
middle of her fourth song. She looked up, and grinned when she saw Justin.
Hanging the headphones on the hook above her head, she said, “Justin! You’re
back early!”
Hugging her tightly he announced, “I’ve been sitting out there listenin’ to
you for the past hour. It sounds great, Gab.”
Squirming to get out of his grasp, she answered, “Thanks, Justin. So,
how’d you get back?”
“Well, we have a day off before we were going to come back here
anyway, and I’d rather spend it here then there.”
Puzzled, he questioned, “What? What aren’t you telling me, Gabby.”
No further thinking involved, she blurted out, “I’m going home.”
