Chapter 24
Lauren moaned and looked at the clock. 8 A.M. it read she shut her eyes and hit the alarm then rolled back over to go back to sleep. She laid there for a second thinking ‘Why did I set that thing so early? Finals are over and now I won’t be able to go back to sleep.’ Then she sat straight up in bed and looked at the clock. “OH YEAH!” she said getting out of bed. It was mid-December and there was a foot of snow outside of her frosted dorm room window. She quickly undressed put her robe on and grabbed a towel. Heading to the dorm bathroom she showered and with in a few minutes she was back in her room, a little more awake and a lot more excited. “I get to see my baby today!” she sang loudly as she flipped on the radio, “and they are all going to be here for a week…a whole week and that includes Christmas” she continued to sing. Lauren started to dry her hair and drifted into her memories. It had been a little over five months since the night of the fight. She had spent the rest of July and most of August with the guys and then went back to school.
Chris had convinced Carla to stay with them on tour. Carla had figured out away to finish her classes through correspondence classes and was almost done with school now. Anytime they were apart he just worried and wondered if she was okay. Chris couldn’t stand to be away from her. Every since the night of the fight he had grown up and realized he was in love with this girl and couldn’t lose her. At Thanksgiving Chris asked Carla to marry him. They were all gathered to celebrate and in the middle of dinner Chris got everyone’s attention and asked Carla to marry him. They set the date for the middle of the next summer and were happily planning a wedding.
JC had finally found a sweet and sincere girl. Shannon and JC had met while both were Christmas shopping. The guys were on tour in California and he accidentally bumped into her. Being the gentleman he was he apologized profusely and insisted on taking her to dinner. They hit it off from there and the rest was history. They talked often and were spending parts of Christmas together.
Justin and Chrissy were still together and closer then ever. They talked about marriage but had decided for the time being to just take it slow. He had bought a heart shaped promise ring and could not wait to give it to her on Christmas Day. He just wanted her to be happy. Chrissy had spent the last semester trying to finish her classes. She had even graduated early and was now going to move to Florida and go with the guys when she could. It was easy for her to work and be with them. Since she had graduated at the top journalist from college, she could work when they were on the bus. The guys had even bought her a laptop to encourage her to go with them. She had just finished her first novel and it was being published and was quickly soaring to the top of all the charts. They were happy.
Lance, Lauren’s mind finally drifted to him. She missed him so much. He had held her for the rest of the summer at night. They had a very emotional goodbye when she had to leave to go back to school. Lauren remembered holding him the last night she was with them. The rest of the group had all went out to let them have the hotel suite to themselves. They ordered room service and spent the night watching or atleast trying to watch movies. They spent more of the time kissing and holding each other then anything. Lauren’s bones had finally healed and it was the first time they had been alone in a while. They kissed all over each others body trying to memorize every inch knowing it would be atleast a month until they saw each other again. Lauren snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the phone ring.
“Hello!” she said cheerfully in the phone, still looking in the mirror.
“Hey babe!” the voice answered. Lauren watched as a huge smile crossed her face. She was grinning ear to ear and could not help but notice the glow in her own eyes.
“OH Lance!” she said.
“That’d be me! We are about 25 minutes away.”
“Okay, I’ll see you then. I miss you hurry up!” Lauren said and then they both said good bye and she went back to her memories as she finished dressing.
During the month after the fight the guys had all been really supportive of her. They had even flown in her best friend to spend sometime with her to cheer her up. Anytime she was down or sad or scared someone would be there to hold her hand and keep her company. Justin and Lance took turns sitting awake with her if she couldn’t sleep. It was almost like she had 7 parents with her. Chrissy and Carla would take her shopping or help her waste time when she was too sore to go to a concert or out with the guys when they had interviews. The media had found out about the fight and then that Lance and Lauren were dating. Surprising all of the group had grown in popularity especially with older adults. People seemed to respect them more for helping a friend. Lance and Lauren grew closer over those months and hated to let each other go. They didn’t like being apart but Lauren had to finish one more year of school before she could graduate. She remembered saying good bye to the guys at the hotel on her last day. And that Justin, Chrissy and Lance took her to the airport. The three girls had become close friends over the summer and could go to each other with their problems. They were always doing something together when the guys were busy. Justin and Chrissy said goodbye at the car and waited there so that Lauren and Lance could have privacy to say goodbye. It was hard to leave her friends but Lauren knew that she wouldn’t lose contact with any of them and that they would always be there for her. Once inside Lance and Lauren walked to her gate area hand in hand. They stood silently holding each other until her call was heard. They promised to call, write, and to see each other once a month no matter what. With a quick kiss Lauren boarded her plane, not looking back because she knew she would cry if she saw his face or if he saw hers. She loved him so much and did not want to leave him.
For the next five months they managed to talk daily sometimes more then once, and see each other on the monthly anniversary of their relationship. Lauren looked at her clocked and saw 25 minutes had passed, she grabbed her coat, and purse, locked her door and closed it. Walking out of her building she saw a black stretch limo pull up to the curve and the door immediately swing open. Out bounced Lance who started to run once he saw her, followed closely by Justin, Chrissy, Chris, Carla, Joey, JC and a girl she assumed was Shannon.
“Hey BABY!” Lauren said, before her lips were embraced by Lance’s. She felt his tongue dart in and out of her mouth exploring ever crevice. She felt her breath slowly escape her as she moaned lightly. Finally the kiss became less of a lustful kiss and developed into a long passionate loving kiss. Lauren moaned again as she felt his hands run down her back and back up again. She felt his arms stretch around her waist and him pick her up and swing her around as they continued to kiss. Their kiss seemed to last an eternity until they heard some ‘ohs’ and ‘ahhs’ Slowly parting they looked around and saw that it was the rest of the group doing it. They both blushed and Lauren turned to the rest of the group. “I missed you Guys!”
“We missed you!” everyone said. Lauren walked around the group giving them all hugs and chatting about nothing in particular. She ended up at Justin.
“Hey Girlie!” he said.
“Hey blue boo!” Lauren hugged him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and then went back to stand near Lance. He opened his arms and pulled her into him for a hug. Lauren turned her head and kissed him again. She grinned and turned back to face the rest of the group. Lance slowly lowered his head until it rested on her shoulder and began to nibble on her neck. “So what is the plan for the next week?” Lauren asked after she put her hand on Lance’s head to keep him from nibbling. It drove her nuts to have her neck touched and he knew it. Kissing her one last time he turned his head and just looked at the side of her face.
“Well…a whole week here…with barely nothing to do…Hmm I think sleep and partying sounds good.” Lance said as he leaned up and kissed Lauren’s cheek.
“Well whatever you guys want to do let me know!” Lauren said.
“I am hungry. I want to eat.” Justin said.
“Well then let’s go get this growing boy some food. It’s just 6 days before Christmas and finals are over so no one is on campus right now.” Lauren said as she started to walk to the limo, which was hard, to do because Lance still had his arms wrapped around her waist and they were trying to take steps at the same time. But kept tripping. They all climbed into the limo and were off for food.
They spent the next five days shopping and goofing off. On Christmas Eve the guys had an afternoon performance and then they were all going to Lauren’s house to spend Christmas Eve and Day with her family.
Knowing that they missed their families, Lauren was trying to make this Christmas special. She invited them all to her church’s Christmas Eve service and they planed to go after the performance. Lauren knew that she would only have two more full days with her friends and she wanted to spend all her time with them, and especially with Lance. Whenever she looked at him she could feel her heart jump and her face blush slightly. It was during this week that she realized just how much she loved him. They had agreed to exchange their gifts after the service on Christmas Eve, so that they could be alone and have a little time to enjoy each other’s company.
When Lauren asked them to come to her church with her Lance called her pastor and asked if the group could do some kind of special music and told the pastor about a surprise that he had been planning for Lauren and asked him what he thought. The pastor agreed that he thought it would be good and helped Lance set the plan into motion. They hung up and said they would talk again on Christmas Eve.
After the performance the guys showered, changed, and dressed in three-piece black, grey, or blue suits. The girls were to meet them at the church after they dressed. Each girl was wearing a vibrant dress that they had picked out during the week together. The guys pulled up to the church and got out. The girls were waiting inside and met them with open arms and hugs. They all hugged and then Lauren introduced them to her pastor. Then they all went in and squeezed into the pew behind Lauren’s family. After introducing them all to her parents, sisters, brother-in-laws they chatted quietly until the pastor walked out. Sitting down the pew were from right to left, Chrissy, Justin, Lauren, Lance, Shannon, JC, Carla, Chris, Joey, and the nurse that had taken care of them at the hospital Pam.
Joey and Pam had exchanged numbers but neither really expected anything. But then he found out she was from Illinois and they got together during the week he was in Indiana. They had slowly grown close and she had joined the rest of the group for the Christmas service. Pam had thought that they were a close group when they were at the hospital but she realized how close the more time she spent. Joey and Pam were a cute couple and were starting to talk about what would happen after he went back on tour. But for right now they were happy to be together.
Lance took Lauren’s hand in his as her pastor began to talk. He smiled at her and realized that there was a glow in her face when she was here that he didn’t see anywhere else. ‘Lance you made the right choice’ he told himself and smiled at her. The pastor began the service as he did any other by asking if there were any first time visitors. Lauren’s eyes widened as she remembered that she forgot to tell the group about this. She stood up and motioned for the rest to follow her lead.
“Well I have 9 first time visitors with me. I would like to introduce my dearest friends..” Lauren said and then went down the line saying each of their names. Her pastor smiled at her.
“Well lets welcome them in Christian love.” He said as he began to clap and everyone said amen. The service proceeded as it normally did. After singing their traditional Christmas songs, and hearing a few groups perform special music, the pastor, Pastor Jerry as everyone called him, told them how important it is to not forget why they are celebrating Christmas. He reminded the congregation how it is only on this day that they do communion at the altar for those that want it. Lauren stood as her family went to the altar followed closely by Lance. They took their communion and then went back to their seats. The pastor explained the meaning of the Advent wreath and how every Sunday for a month a candle had been lit leading up to this night. He also explained how it was always hard to pick the family or group to light the wreath on the final night, but that year the choice was a little easier. He called Lauren’s family up, and told the church how this family was always close and that after the last year they had only grown closer. As her family lit the candles together Lauren smiled and realized how happy she was. Pastor Jerry took his candle he was holding and lit it. Motioning for the lights to be lowered he explained how by spreading God’s word that the darkness of the world could be over come by light. Just as he did every year, he encouraged his church members to spread God’s word to the world as he passed his light to the other candles that the church congregation held.
The congregation bowed their heads as the Pastor began to pray. About half way through the prayer Lauren could feel Justin stand up and step out of the pew. She felt Lance let go of her hand and follow Justin. Slightly concerned, Lauren refocused her attention to the prayer being said. As Pastor Jerry finished his prayer she looked up and saw the five guys standing at the front of the church with microphones in hand. She heard JC hum a couple notes and then heard the opening “Ooh” of “O Holy Night” She immediately started to cry, it was her favorite song to hear them sing. She listened as the words floated out of their mouths and filled her church.
“Oh Holy night,
The Stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of our dear savior’s birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pinning,
Till he appears and the soul felt his word.
The thrill of joy, the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Oh, fall on your knees.
Oh, hear the angels’ voices.
Oh night divine, oh night when Christ was born.
Oh night divine. Oh holy night.
Oh night divine.
The thrill of hope,
The weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees.
Oh hear the angels’ voices.
Oh night divine.
Oh night when Christ was born.
Oh night divine.
Oh night divine, holy night, oh night divine.
Night when Christ was born.”
Lauren listened as Chris and Justin’s voice meshed together for the last duet then slowly blended in perfectly with the rest of the group. She missed hearing them sing live. At times hearing their voices was just what she needed to remind her what she was living for. Looking around her congregation Lauren saw women wiping tears away and men sitting in awe. She wiped her own tears and stood with the rest of the congregation as they clapped. She smiled at her boys and felt the tears start again. This had to be the happiest day she had ever had.
Pastor Jerry walked up to the boys and thanked them for the performance, then signaled for the people to sit as the music started again. Lauren immediately recognized this song too. “I Guess It’s Christmas Time” she sat in awe as they sang again. Lauren knew the words to this song like she did all the rest of them and silently sang to herself. She paused as the music began to slow and the guys’ voices seemed to fade out to nothing. She looked from face to face and tried to figure out what was going on. But none of them revealed anything. Everyone took their microphones away from their faces except for Lance. “Before we finish this beautiful song, I would like for Lauren to join us.”
Lauren’s eyes grew wide and gave them all a suspicious look and then stood up and slowly exited her pew. Justin met her at the end of the row and escorted her over to Lance. He took her hand and turned her so that they could face each other but also see the congregation who were all sitting with confused looks on their faces. Lauren noticed that the music continued to play softly.
“I know everyone is wondering why we stopped singing and why I asked Lauren to come up here. We’ll as you all know Lauren and I have been dating for more then 6 months. I love her with all my heart and can’t imagine life with out her. It hasn’t been an easy time for us always. But whenever something happened someone would get ahold of us and let us know that we were being supported. Through this woman and all of you I have refound the faith I had lost as I grew. So when I started to think about doing this and where and when I should do it, I couldn’t think of a better place then in her church, in front of all her family, and a better time then on the Eve of our Lord’s birthday. The lord has defiantly been with us over these months. If not then…well I don’t want to think about it. But to make this a little shorter and cut to the point…” Lance paused as he took Lauren’s hand in his and got down on a knee and pulled a small black velvet box out of his pocket. You could the congregation gasp and “ahh” as Lance began to talk again. “Lauren, I love you with all my heart. When we are apart it feels like I am not alive. I can’t function. But when we are together I am whole. I feel complete. Babe, we’ve dealt with a lot together, and you know I love you, I tell you every chance I get. You know I will always be there. So lets make a promise today infront of all these people that we will always be together. I want you to promise me that in 25 years when I roll over that I will bump into you and that you will always be there. I want you to be my wife. Lauren will you marry me and fill my heart with your love?”
Lauren looked into Lance’s eyes and saw all the love he had. She squeaked “yes” as the tears began to fall down her face. Lance slipped the ring onto her finger and then stood up and took her in his arms in a hug. They hugged as the congregation stood and clapped being led by the pastor, who was smiling widely. Lauren looked out at the people and saw all her friends smiling or crying with her. Some of them had been there through the hardest times in her life, and were now glad to see her so happy. The congregation continued to stand as the rest of the group finished the last chorus of their song. Lance just kept telling Lauren he was so happy and that he loved her. Pastor Jerry walked to a microphone and asked everyone to bow their heads in prayer. The group in front of the church grasped each other’s hands as he started to pray.
“Dear Lord, Thank you for bringing us together to celebrate your sons birthday. I ask that all people here today have a safe and happy Holiday and remember what they are celebrating. Lord, will you please watch over all those in the world that will be traveling, guide them and protect them. Lord, I also thank you for allowing us to be touched by this special group of young men. Their voices are inspiration for us to remember why we are all here. Thank you for letting us witness the love this young couple has for each other. This was a special thing for us to be able to witness. Dear Lord, guide and protect us as we depart today and travel own ways. In your name, as always, AMEN!”
With that the service was over. All of the kids that Lauren had went through high school with, rushed to her as well as her ‘moms’ in the church. They all surrounded her and hugged her congratulating them over and over. Lauren was relieved when they started to leave and she was finally able to breathe. She hugged the last of her friends as they said goodbye.
Lauren smiled as she saw her family walking to her. They had held back until everyone had left. She saw tears in the eyes of her mother and sisters, and a look of complete happiness in her father’s eyes. She quickly hugged her daddy, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Then hugging her mother she said, “Mom please don’t cry!”
“But you’re my baby!” her mom said between sobs. Lauren shook her head and laughed; that was what her mom always said when something happened that involved Lauren. Her dad put an arm around her mom and held her close so that Lauren could move on to her sisters. She looked next to her middle sister, and her husband and new born daughter. Taking the baby in her arms she told Pamela not to cry. Her sister explained that she was happy for her. And that the tears were happy tears and not sad. Lauren shook her head and handed the baby back. She promised Pamela that she would always be there to pick on her about something and that getting married was not going to change that. Pamela smiled and they hugged, then finally hearing the congratulations Lauren moved onto her oldest sister. Tammy was one month short of being exactly 10 years older then Lauren. Pamela was a little under 8 years older, and the three of them had always been close. They were each other’s best friends.
When she reached Tammy she took her nephews close and hugged them both. The oldest asked why mommy was crying and Lauren explained that his mommy was just goofy and she cries at weird times and to just ignore her. Lauren planted a kiss on the cheek of both boys as she felt someone smack the top of her head. Lauren stood up and hugged her brother-in-law and then turned to her sister. All it took was to see the tears in her eyes and Lauren could feel them start to build in her own. “Tammy, if you don’t quit crying I am going to start.” Lauren said hugging her sister.
“But…the baby is engaged and she’s almost 21. Dang no longer a teenager.” He sister joked between tears. That was a joke that her sister had been using since she turned 19 and then 20. Lauren shook her head at her sister and rolled her eyes. “Sis, I am proud of you. I think you finally found someone that everyone in the family approves of. Hopefully, its work out for you the first time.”
‘Tammy, I promised all of you two things…number one I said that I wouldn’t rush into anything, that I would love the person and be in love with them before I got married. And the second was that I would not marry anyone that the family disapproved of. I learned a lot from you and Pamela. Thank you for ALWAYS being there to keep my head on straight and remind me of what’s important. I don’t know where I would be with out you.” This made them both start to cry and the grabbed each other in a hug.
“Sis, I am so proud of you. You always remember that!”
“I will! So I am taking this as a yes that Lance passes whatever test it was that he had to pass!” Lauren joked trying to get them both to stop crying.
Tammy just laughed and hugged her and then Lance, and then led her family out of the sanctuary promising to see them all the next day. An hour after the service had ended Lauren was finally putting her coat on. She said goodbye to her pastor and thanked him for helping Lance plan this. Lauren promised to visit before she went back to school.
Walking out into the cold December air Lauren shivered on the outside, but felt warm from Lance’s love on the inside. She held his arm tight and they climbed into the limo. Sitting beside her they kissed.
“This seals the deal!” He said as he kissed her again. “I love you!”
“I love you too!” She said then laid her head on his shoulder and held onto his hand. She fell asleep after the exciting day on the way back to her house, with an angelic smile on her face.
Chapter 25
