"Ellie!! Oh my God…it's graduation day!" I leapt into Ellie Silverman's dorm room early that morning.
Ellie pulled her head from underneath her pillow. "Geez, Gab, can't you sit still for a minute?"
I laughed. "Are you kidding me?? This is the day I've been waiting for for months! I get to see Isaac today!"
Ellie sat up in bed. "Oh, you're right!" I nodded triumphantly. Ellie raised a hand to push her short shoulder-length brown hair from her eyes. On her hand I caught a glimpse of the diamond ring that was Ellie's latest accessory.
The last day we'd seen our boyfriends had been a year ago. Hanson had been on a short break in New York, where Ellie and I had been in college both as music majors. That night, Zac and Isaac had taken us to a fancy French restaurant. The night had been perfect. Zac had waited until the restaurant had been full. Then he'd leapt to his feet and shouted, "Ellie, please make me the happiest man alive. Please marry me!"
Ellie's eyes had grown to the size of watermelons as she stared at him. If I hadn't been sitting beside her, she would have passed out. But I pushed her to her feet and she'd screamed, "Yes, Zac! I will marry you!"
Zac's face brightened and the whole restaurant cheered as he'd slipped the ring on her finger. Then he kissed her for a long time.
I was happy for her but I was also terribly jealous. Zac and Ellie had been seriously dating for 8 years, never breaking up once. Isaac and I had been dating for seven years, but marriage had never come up.
"You okay?" Ellie asked me.
"Oh…yeah." I offered her a smile.
"Isaac will notice you've changed," Ellie said, running a comb through her hair.
"Really?"
"Well, yeah. I mean…your hair is really long and you've lost weight."
"I didn't mean to do that," I argued.
"Oh, yeah…like barely eating for three weeks is all right."
"Hey…you and I were so busy with the production!"
Ellie laughed. "Relax, Gabby. I was only playing with you."
I smiled. "I know you were…future Mrs. Zachary Walker."
Ellie blushed. "Lord, Gabby…I can't believe it."
"I knew it would happen," I said confidently. "That, or you'd marry that cute senior you liked all freshman year in high school."
"Hey…!"
I held my hands up, and with a laugh, went to dress for graduation.
When the Hansons finally picked me up at my hotel, I was nervous. I hadn't seen Ellie, or Gabby, for years. I had been taking my well-deserved break with my new baby girl, and then had recorded a new album. My girl was almost seven now. Ellie would be shocked.
"Did you tell Celine?" Taylor Hanson asked, turning around from the front seat.
I saw Zac smile secretively. "What's going on?" I asked.
"Well, Celine, I have some news for you." Zac paused dramatically. "There's gonna be a new Hanson soon."
At first, I didn't understand, thinking Diana was pregnant for the eighth time in her life, then my eyes widened. "Ellie?" I asked. Zac nodded. "I knew you two would get married, ever since we first met! Congratulations!"
"Aw, man, do you remember when we all first met?" Isaac asked from the driver's seat.
"How we stayed at Celine's when Zac and Ellie got captured…" Taylor chimed in.
"The Christmas tree…" Zac added.
"Gabby…" Isaac stopped. Taylor looked back at Zac.
"He hates thinking about what Gabby went through with Jeremy," Zac whispered to me.
"Ike, listen…it turned out fine," Taylor said. "You and Gabby finally got together."
"But how do you know that there aren't nights when Gabby needs me, when she's thinking about these things…and I can't be there?" Isaac asked.
The car ride was silent after that.
I squirmed a little in my seat. I was hot in my cap and gown and I just wanted my diploma so I could see Zac. I knew he was there. He was sitting with his brothers and my mom in the audience.
"Eleanor Natalya Silverman." My name was called, and I strode across the stage. Lights flashed when I received my applause and, smiling, I went back to my seat.
Finally, the ceremony was over. I ran to Gabby outside the auditorium and threw my arms around her. "We did it!" Gabby said.
"You sure did."
I turned around and was standing face-to-face with my husband-to-be. He was just how I'd pictured he'd be, but taller and his hair was much longer than I remember. He had it pulled back from his face, and his brown eyes were filled with happiness.
"Oh, Zac!" I exclaimed.
"Congratulations, Ellie," he whispered. All I could do was smile. He put his arm around my shoulders. "There's someone over here who wants to see you." Zac lead me away from the crowd. A familiar face leapt out at me.
"Celine!" I shouted and ran into the woman's outspread arms. We embraced each other. Celine pulled back and looked at me, shaking her head.
"I just can't believe it. Ellie graduated from college." For a moment, I saw Celine's eyes fill with tears, but she blinked them away. "Do you remember Karine?"
"Of course!" I exclaimed, turning to the small dark-haired girl beside Celine whom she had named after her niece. Karine had died of cystic fibrosis in Celine's arms many years before.
The girl leapt into my arms. "Mommy's told me all about you. I remember when you came over when I was little, too."
I laughed. "Yeah, I remember. We all sang to you."
Karine nodded. "I can play the piano, and Mommy and I sing together. I want to be a singer when I grow up!"
I smiled warmly at her and then up at Celine, thinking how outgoing Karine was…just like her mom. "Let's go get some food!" I motioned to the buffet tables set up. Zac slid his hand into mine and squeezed. I leaned over and kissed his neck.
"Love ya forever," he whispered.
Meanwhile, I noticed Gabby and Isaac's reunion a little ways from where we were. Taylor had greeted her first. Those two had always been very close, and sometimes I knew Taylor was jealous of Isaac. But Taylor and Gabby were the best of friends.
Then Isaac stepped beside her. The look that passed between them was something Zac and I would never have. If there was anyone who would be together forever, it was Gabby and Isaac.
"Gabby!" Zac called out, leading me over to Gabby.
"Hey, Zac!" Gabby said, putting her arm around Isaac's waist. "Long time no see."
"Tell me about it."
Zac and I sat together on the couch at my house, watching the video Zac had taken at graduation on the Ike Cam.
"Look, there you are!" Zac pointed at the screen. I nodded and watched myself receive the diploma. As I reached the end of the aisle, I had paused for a moment and blew a kiss at Zac. Suddenly the camera turned away from me so that Zac was awkwardly filming himself. He blew a kiss at the camcorder and mouthed, "I love you, Ellie."
"Zac," I giggled when I saw it.
"Sorry, I couldn't resist," Zac said, smiling in my direction.
"You haven't changed a bit," I teased him.
"You have." Zac grew serious. "You've turned out to be the most beautiful and special woman in the world."
"I love you," I said.
"I know." Zac winked. "Here. I've got something to show you." He hit the eject button on the VCR and slipped another tape in.
"What's this?" I asked.
"You'll see," Zac said mysteriously. The tape came on and I saw three boys standing on a school gym stage.
"No!" I exclaimed. "That's not…"
"Yup!" Zac smirked. "That's us at a dance recital. I was just seven." We grew silent and watched as Hanson started a dance. Within a few seconds, I couldn't hold in my laughter any longer. Zac joined me. "We're horrible, aren't we?" he gasped. I nodded, unable to speak. "Haircuts were a bit of a mistake too!" he added. When the tape ended, we snuggled on the couch as our laughter subsided.
I glanced at the clock and saw it was after midnight, but I knew there was no way I could sleep. "Let's start planning the wedding," I suggested.
"Great idea," Zac agreed, gazing at the ring on my finger.
"I hadn't told you yet, but Celine offered her house as a base for the wedding. We could get married by that pond that we used to always go to. It was emotional significance and all. Then the reception could be on the patio and inside downstairs."
Zac grinned. "That sounds perfect!"
"The wedding's in August, so the weather will just be cooling off," I added.
Zac got a glazed over look in his eyes. "Why don't you fix a bowl of popcorn," he suggested. I gave him a puzzled look, but popcorn sounded good, so I headed off to the kitchen. When I returned about 10 minutes later, Zac had his water colors out and was putting the finishing touches on a small piece of paper.
I looked over his shoulder and immediately realized it was me. I wore a simple, but flowing and lightweight white wedding dress, and my head was encircled with a halo of wildflowers.
"How's that?" he asked.
"It's wonderful!" I exclaimed. "We can have the dress patterned after the picture, and I could pick the flowers and make the wreath for my hair," I continued, growing excited.
"This could also be the wedding invitations," Zac said. He picked up his brush again and made a doorway of vines and flowers around me with a rippling pond behind in the background.
"Definitely perfect," I said.
Zac grinned and started singing "Incredible", a song from when he was about six. "And it's incredible the way you make me smile. And it's incredible the way you make me want to walk down that aisle."
"This will be just like old times," I exclaimed as Ellie and I plopped our bags down at Celine's house.
"Yup!" Ellie smiled. "But this time the circumstances are a lot better."
I definitely agreed. How could I forget the feelings that had engulfed my body when we lived at Celine's house years before? Now our whole clan was staying here again as we prepared for Zac and Ellie's wedding.
We left our bags and hurried downstairs to meet the Hansons as their van pulled up the driveway. Zoë and Mackie charged out first, followed by Jessica and Avery. I couldn't believe how much they'd changed. Jessica and Avery were older than Ellie and I had been when we first met Hanson. Next the boys emerged. Zac and Ellie strode off hand-in-hand, leaving me and Isaac looking in each other's eyes. Although we'd been together just two days before at graduation, it was like I was seeing him all anew. He stepped forward and drew me into an embrace, caressing my long curls. We turned and gazed toward Celine's house.
"Are you feeling what I'm feeling?" I asked.
He nodded. "This is where we came together. This is where you changed my life forever."
Isaac and I strolled around the grounds together. There was the patio where he'd sung "For the Good Times" and I'd left with his coat after kissing him for the first time…the edge of the garden where the boys had performed…suddenly my eyes rested on a balcony high above. Isaac followed my gaze and gently touched my chin, forcing me to look at him.
"No need to relive that part of the past," he comforted. I nodded, and we continued through the gardens. Then at the back door, we paused and shared a mutual unspoken thought. This was where the mistletoe had hung that Christmas so long ago. There we very passionately relived that moment.
It felt great to be back at Celine's house again. Although the time we'd spent here before had been one of the more stressful and difficult times in my life, it also represented a time that had brought my brothers and me together and formed a bond between everyone involved.
"Taylor…" a mischievous voice called out my name. I turned and saw Celine peeking out of the kitchen at me. "So how's my favorite bachelor?"
"Celine," I groaned. "You don't need to remind me." She laughed and gave me a hug.
"Believe me, Taylor, you'll find someone. There's a girl out there who's going to catch one in a million."
"Thanks," I blushed. "So, am I sharing the same room with Ike?"
"You betcha." Celine gave me a nod. "It'll be just like old times."
"I hope not exactly," I commented dryly.
"You've got a point there," she agreed. Just then, Karine came racing in with Zoë.
"Come see my room!" Karine dragged Zoë away. Zoë smiled shyly and followed.
"They'll get along great," I said. "It's hard to believe that Zoë doesn't even remember being here before."
"Well, she'll leave with a whole stash of new memories," Celine assured me.
