“Next up on ‘Behind The Music,’ nineties pop icon’s ‘N Sync... travel through time as this dream becomes a reality, leading the five into being pop legends by the time of the disbanding in 2000.” I jumped up as another commercial began and grabbed the phone, dialing the well known Oregon phone number.
A part of me still hadn’t completely forgiven Jen for what she had done at Lance and my wedding, but over all, it was a thing of the past. After all, we were sisters. We were stuck with each other, so we might as well get along. Part of the reason I had done my best to forgive and forget was because it wasn’t totally her fault. I mean, it was, considering she had promised to keep the secret, but I was more mad at myself because I had let my parents down. And knowing that my parents were disappointed in me made me feel worse than any hard feelings toward Jen could.
“Hello?” JC had answered the phone.
“Hey big brother...” I said, trying to sound as dorky as possible. “You know JC, I always wanted an older brother...”
“And why is that Monica?”
“So I could bug the hell out of him.” I took a deep breath and just started talking. I wasn’t even sure what I was even talking about, so I knew that he had no clue as well.
The other side of the phone had grown quiet for a moment. “I think that would be my cue to give the phone to your sister,” he said with a laugh. “Hang on.” What I had just said to JC wasn’t a lie... I did love him to death... considering I was now stuck with him too because he and Jen had gotten past everything and actually gotten married the year before.
“Hey sis,” Jen answered as she got on the line.
“Hey... can you do me a favor? Tell your husband to stop bothering me. I mean, all I did was call to talk to you and he just can’t shut up... he just talks and talks and talks and talks...”
“Somehow, I get this feeling that he wasn’t the one talking,” Jen mused.
I racked my brain for a comeback. “Oh, it’s not like he’s not used to it. My God, he lives with you.”
Jen laughed at me. “Okay, okay... so, what’s going on?”
“Oh yeah... turn your TV on to VH1.” I giggled. “They are doing a ‘Behind The Music’ on ‘N Sync. It’s hilarious.”
“Oh man!” Jen suddenly burst out into laughter. “You know they are going to overdramatize the entire breakup. This should be interesting...”
“Yeah, I know, but I figured I’d watch it anyway. It could give us a different perspective on what we thought we already knew.”
We watched in silence for a moment as the narrator talked about how JC and Justin had eventually become in over their heads, obsessed with fame, and power hungry, which eventually lead to the break up of ‘N Sync. “Hey Monica?”
“Yeah?” I asked softly. For some reason, the news was hitting me hard. Although I had witnessed the disbanding first hand, emotionally, it was getting to me. And I had no idea why.
“Can you even imagine what it would have been like to just be a fan and suddenly hear that they broke up? I mean, out of nowhere? You see them on a talk show one day happy as ever and then, the next day, they can’t stand each other? Can you imagine how hard that would be for some of them?”
“But Jen, it’s not like any of the fans knew them personally.”
“True, but when you are a fan, it’s like, the music and the people still become so important to you. Don’t you remember how you used to feel about Alvin and the Chipmunks? Can’t you remember how you cried the day that Nick West told you that they weren’t real?”
I began to laugh. “That’s totally different!”
“No, actually, it’s not. It’s the same principle.”
I shook my head, although she couldn’t see me. “Anyway, how are my two favorite twins doing?”
“They better be your favorite twins,” Jen said with a laugh. Aaron and Clare were JC and Jen’s twins. They had just been born a few months before. “It’s kind of scary... they are looking more alike every day. If Aaron wasn’t a boy, I don’t think I’d be able to tell them apart.”
“Oh, it’s always good to know that they have at least one distinguishing characteristic...” I said with a hint of sarcasm. I heard JC yelling in the background. “What is he yelling about?”
“He wants to know when you and Lance are going to turn him into an uncle. He wants to play the part of the good uncle... you know... take them to the amusement parks, feed them lots of junk food, and then, as soon as they turn that interesting shade of green, send them home. He wants to buy them lots of expensive toys so that they’ll look at you and Lance and say, ‘but my Uncle JC will buy it for me!’”
I began to laugh at her. “Can’t you hear me yelling back at my kid for saying that? ‘Fine! Go live with him for all I care!’” I giggled at the thought again. “How is JC? Okay?”
“He’s fine... he loves being a dad. He’s great already, but he’s going to be just so awesome in a couple of years.”
I smiled. “And how is Aunt Jenny?”
“Aunt Jenny is...” She stopped talking for a moment. “Monica... you’ve never called me Aunt Jenny before. Does that have two meanings?”
“As a matter of fact, it does.” Jen squealed on the other end of the phone and began relaying the message back to JC. “I actually found out this morning. Isn’t it amazing? Lance and I are actually going to be parents... wow...” I sat back into the couch and let that news sink in. It was the first time I had actually said it outloud. “Come to think of it... I dunno if I want to do this now... Lance and I don’t know HOW to be parents...”
“Monica, think of it this way... no matter how great a job you do in raising your kids, they will most likely grow up to resent you anyway...”
“Oh, there’s the silver lining on my clouds. But you need to listen to yourself... you have two at once... Lance and I are only having one at once.”
Jen laughed at me. “What does Lance think about this?”
“Well, considering he’s been begging me for like, two years now about wanting to have a baby, I think he’ll love the idea. I haven’t told him yet.” The door shut across the room and my lips clamped shut, trying to control my smile. “Speaking of, he just got home, so I think I’m going to go share the news.”
“You do that... congratulations!”
“Thanks... bye...” I said as I hit the button to hang the phone up before standing and going into the kitchen where Lance had retreated as soon as he shut the door. “Hey babe...” I said as I hopped up onto the counter next to the refrigerator.
“Hey you...” He took a drink out of the glass of tea he had poured before turning to stand in front of me again. He set his hands on my waist. “How was your day?”
“It... was wonderful.” I smiled at him.
“How can that be? I wasn’t here...”
I reached up and ruffled his hair. “Oh stop... I can have a good day without you around.”
“And how is that? I’d really like to hear this...” He smiled at me before leaning up and kissing my cheek.
“It’s quite simple. You know that I had that doctor’s appointment this morning...”
“Oh yeah...” he made a face that turned out to be a cross between fright and disgust. “The gynecologist...”
I lifted my hand and smacked him lightly on the forehead. “You really need to grow up. Anyway...” I pulled him a little closer. “I found out about a little something that I think you’ll be very happy to know...”
“What’s that?”
“What do you think about the fact that you’re gonna be a daddy?”
His jaw dropped. “You’re kidding, aren’t you?”
“Hell no... why would I joke about something like this? I know how long you’ve been wanting this, Lance.”
“Oh my God!” He yelled, pulling me off the counter and spinning me around in a circle. “We’re gonna have a baby! We’re pregnant!” He yelled, hugging my body close to his.
I reached up, cupping his chin in my hands before leaning up for a kiss. A moment later, I pulled away from him and looked into his eyes, amazed at how long it took us to get to a point in our lives when we both were genuinely happy. I sighed. Life was strange... with it’s twists and turns, ups and downs. But in the end, every roadblock makes the journey worthwhile.
