Patricia turned to A.J. "I’m so glad we’re together again."
"Me too. Without you I don’t think I can live," he sang quietly.
"I’d rather die than live without you," she sang back. "I’ll give you all of me, honey that’s no lie."
"I think I’m gonna get another tattoo."
"Oh God, now what?"
"Don’t worry, you’ll like it. It’ll say ‘Patricia’ in a circle."
"A circle?"
"‘If you like someone put their name in a circle, not a heart, ‘cause hearts can be broken but circles last forever.’"
"Where’d you get that? A Hallmark card?"
"No, Brian."
"That’s sweet. Where would you put that tattoo?"
"Maybe my ass. It’ll give me a reason to moon people. So I can show them how much I love you."
"Gee, I’m touched."
Kevin, Nick, and Howie sat in boredom. "I miss my girlfriend," they all said at once.
"Now that we’re gonna be apart for a while, I’m gonna be so homesick," said Kevin.
"I stayed at my parents while we were in Orlando so I could spend as much time as I could with them," said Nick. "I’m having someone look after the pugs for me. They check to see if they peed on my carpet and they feed ‘em. I now wish I could’ve spent a little more time with Lindsay."
"Me too," said Howie. "We’re The Three Lonely Amigos. All for one…"
"And one for all!"
Brian and Andrea, too, sat in boredom. "Hey, I got something for you," he said. Out of his pocket, he pulled out a ring case.
The engagement rings! she thought as she looked at it in horror.
Brian opened the case. "It’s a friendship ring. I thought you’d like it." It was a Sterling Silver ring that had "Brian" engraved on the outside of it and "Eternity" engraved on the inside of it. There was a small diamond embedded in the ring on each side of his name. "If I ever go on tour without you, you’ll always have a part of me with you," he said as he kissed the ring and put it on her finger.
"Brian, it’s beautiful," she said, sounding neither happy nor sad. She looked down at the ring and became silent. A tear fell from her eye but she wiped it away so he wouldn’t see. Unfortunately, he did.
"Andrea, what’s wrong? You’ve been acting differently since we were at the gift shop."
"Nothing," she lied, holding back the rest of her tears, giving him a half smile.
"You’re not going to be like this the whole time, are you?"
"Like what?"
"Forget it. Howie?"
"Yeah, Brian?"
"Can I switch seats with you?"
"Why?"
"Can I?"
"Okay," he said, unsure of why he wanted to. Brian turned to Andrea. "Have Howie switch with me again when you decide to tell me the truth." He then sat in the middle section, next to Nick.
©1999 ~@mbula®~ Inc.
