Ring, ring.
Ring, ring.
Chris Jones coiled the phone cable around her fingers as she waited patiently for Daniel to pick up the phone. Three...four...five...
"Morning, honey!" Her husband's loud, cheerful interrupted her counting. "Breakfast?"
Chris turned and blew him a kiss as she motioned to him to wait. She silently mouthed that she was ringing their son. "And taking his time too!" she whispered, this time rather impatiently. Ten...eleven...twelve...
John Jones sat down on the dining table and waited for his wife. Looking around appreciatively at the lavish room and comfortable furniture, he still could not quite believe he was living in such luxury. This spacious mansion, with it's six large bedrooms and three bathrooms, a marvellous swimming pool outside at the back and air-conditioners in every part of the house, was a surprise present from his youngest son Daniel, one half a the highly successful pop duo Savage Garden. He was such a good boy, he always cared for his parents... John smiled proudly at the thought of his beloved Daniel.
Chris waited another five minutes before finally hanging up the phone. Frowning, she walked back into the dining room where John was, grabbing the bowl of fruit from the kitchen on the way.
"How's our Dan?" John greeted her as she sat down opposite him. Chris took a bite out of her apple, a worried expression slowly spreading on her face.
"He's not home. Or isn't picking up the phone," she replied distractedly. "He's said he'll be here at 8.30 on the dot, you know, to help us prepare the little party. It's a little over that time now and I tried to call him, but he's not answering."
John got up. "Ah well, you know how Dan is. Probably was out all night and staying over a mate's. Don't worry about him, he's a big boy now! By the way, coffee?"
Chris nodded, but still wasn't convinced. She sighed and scratched her head. "Yes, I know he's a grown man now. But I can never stop worrying about him, he's still my little baby..."
She heard laughter from the kitchen in the next room. "There you go again, Christine, reminiscing about good old days. You do remember that Daniel was quite a handful at an early age, don't you?"
Smiling at the thought of young Daniel running around the house with not a stitch of clothing on and screaming his head off that the bogey man was after him, she had another thought. "Hey, maybe he's at Michelle's. Geez, it's nearly nine now. An hour to go before everyone starts coming."
She got up and went to the phone.
On the third ring, a familiar voice answered.
"Hello?"
"Hi Michelle, it's Chris."
"Oh, hi Chris. How are you?"
"Not to bad. Yourself?"
"Hmmmm, alright. What's up?"
"Well, is Daniel over at your place? I need to talk to him."
"Uh, no, he's not here. Why?"
"I tried to ring him earlier on, but he's not home. Any idea where he might be?"
"At a friend's, perhaps? Try calling them, they probably have some idea where he might be. Why do you need him so urgently?"
"He's suppose to come here half an hour ago, to help with the food and decorations. And it's just not him to come late without calling first."
Michelle laughed. "Well, you got that right. He's compulsive about always being on time. Always checking his watch every five minutes to make sure he's at least an hour early!"
Chris had to laugh back. "Yeah, well, that's why I'm getting worried. I'll give his mates a buzz. By the way, don't forget. Ten sharp, okay?"
"I'll be there. See you Chris."
"Bye, Michelle."
She pressed the reset button and then spent the next fifteen minutes or so ringing up everyone she could think of that might know of Daniel's curious whereabouts. After the last call, she sighed loudly in disappointment and concern. "Where on earth could he be?" she pondered as John walked into the room. "John, he's not at Michelle's, not at Oliver's, not at Jonathan's or any of his friends. No-one knows where he is! I'm starting to really worry now. He's just disappeared!"
Suddenly, John perked up. "How about Darren? Tried checking with him? Might have a clue to where Daniel is at this moment."
"No....in fact, I haven't actually. But....you know how they're not exactly the closest of buddies at this moment now." She picked up the phone again. "But I'll give it a try."
On the fourth ring, a groggy voice, still thick with sleep, answered the phone.
"Hello?"
"Darren! It's Chris here. Did I just wake you up?"
The voice on the other line quickly cleared it's throat and gave out an embarrassed laugh.
"Well, it's a good thing you did anyway! My alarm clock went off and I didn't hear it! So, what's up Chris?"
"Well, I was just wondering: do you have any idea where Daniel is? I've tried his house, Michelle's and everyone else but he's nowhere to be seen or heard!"
There was a short pause, then Darren answered: "He's actually here right now, at my place. He's in the bathroom. Want to speak to him?"
"He's at your place?!" Chris couldn't hide the astonishment in her voice. Why, Daniel hadn't been to Darren's house for a long, long time. Did they make up already?
"Yeah, he's here." Another pause. "I'll tell him you want to talk to him."
"No, no, it's alright. It's-it's nothing important. By the way, you have to be here in the next half hour okay? Don't forget!"
"Huh? What ar-oh, that's right! Shit, I overslept..." Darren couldn't believe how he could forget about the party so easily. "Oh God...sorry Chris! I just had a long night, and I'm just so tired and-"
"Darren, Darren, it's okay. I'll let you go now, so you can get ready. Don't sweat."
"Yeah, well, thanks for calling. And for reminding me! Bye!"