As Howie predicted, the meeting was a short affair. Just before 10:00, Howie and AJ met Anna and Cait in the hotel restaurant for coffee.
"Hey sweetie. How was the meeting?" Anna asked, kissing AJ's cheek as he sat down.
"Pretty boring. As usual." He sighed. "What did you girls do while we were gone?" He asked, looking amused as he watched Howie and Cait, who were redefining the term PDA.
"Uh...Cait?" Anna interrupted, while trying not to laugh.
Howie and Cait pulled apart looking sheepish.
"Yeah?" Cait answered, her cheeks visibly pink.
"Are you guys gonna actually have something or just kiss the day away...literally?" Anna asked, obviously having a hard time keeping a straight face, her eyes shining with amusement and her dimple showing.
Cait just looked at her silently.
"Oh no! I've been given the look!" Anna burst into giggles. Moments later Cait, too, couldn't contain the laughter that bubbled out. Howie and AJ looked at each other questioningly, both obviously confused.
"Don't worry boys, you're not missing much." Anna managed to choke out through her laughter. "We're just very easily amused."
Both guys simply nodded, allowing the girls time to recover from their giggling attack.
"Sorry sweetie." Cait smiled at Howie. "It's an old joke between us...something you had to be there to understand."
"I see, I see." Howie looked amused. "So, what do you girls want to do today? You probably know Vancouver a lot better than we do."
"Cait used to live here, so she knows it pretty well." Anna put in.
"I didn't know you lived in Vancouver." Howie looked surprised.
"Well, not in Vancouver, I lived in North Van, across the inlet." Cait clarified. "We haven't talked about that kind of thing, have we?" She asked.
"No, we haven't. Funny." Howie remarked. "We should some time... I wanna know everything about you, sweetie."
"I do, too." Cait smiled gently.
Anna and AJ looked at each other with mock ill looks on their faces.
"You two! We're gonna be sick here pretty soon." AJ groaned.
Before Howie and Cait could respond, their waitress approached the table, ready to take their order.
Later that day Cait and Howie were sitting in the restaurant again, having lunch. Cait was looking at a copy of the North Shore News, which covers news in North Vancouver.
"Oh my gosh! I don't believe it!" Cait exclaimed.
"What is it?" Howie asked, concerned.
"Oh, nothing bad. Don't worry." She squeezed his hand. "It's just an ad in here."
"An ad for what?" Howie's curiousity was piqued.
"A concert."
"A concert?" Howie was slightly confused. "Who?"
"Streetnix." Cait replied, scanning the ad.
"Who?!" Howie looked even more confused. Cait looked up and giggled at the look on his face.
"I guess I never told you about them, did I?"
"I guess not."
"Streetnix is an a capella singing group from Saskatoon." Cait explained.
"A capella?" Howie echoed, interested.
"Yeah. They're friends of mine. I met them through a former friend."
"And they're from Saskatoon?" Howie queried. "That's in Saskatchewan, right?"
"Yep." Cait nodded. "They are really amazing. They are totally not your typical a capella."
"How so?"
"Well, they sound like they must have a drum track going in the background, but they don't." Cait grinned as the look of confusion came back over Howie's face.
"I am so confused now, Cait. You have to explain this." She laughed.
"Okay. Well, what sounds like a drum track is really one of their tenor singers, BJ Harris. I swear, he sounds like a full drum set. And he does it all with his mouth... and a 10,000 watt sound system."
"Really?" Howie looked impressed. "That's really cool."
"I know. Plus they also sound like they have a bass playing. But, again, they don't." She explained further. "It's the bass singer, Tony Hughes. He manages, somehow, to sound like a bass guitar. Do not ask me how, I have no earthly idea."
"That's awesome." Howie's eyes were wide as he took it all in. "And you know them?"
"Yeah. I talk to Tony and Beej a lot through e-mail... and their sound technician, Cuyler Biller." She smiled as she thought of her friends. "I'd talk to the baritone singer, Thom Speck, if he'd ever read his e-mail!" She grinned. "Thom is soooo bad for that. There's also another tenor singer in the group, Aaron Genest. I don't know him as well as I know the others. I haven't really talked to him a lot."
"And they're here?"
"Yeah, they have a show at the Centennial Theatre tomorrow night."
"Do you want to go?" Howie asked pointedly.
"If you don't mind, sweetie." Cait gave him puppy dog eyes. "They're BSB fans... Well, Tony, Thom and Beej are."
"I'd love to see them, and I want to know your friends." Howie smiled. "You don't have to give me that look."
"What look?" She asked innocently.
"You know the one... the little wounded puppy dog look." Howie grinned.
"Who me? I would never use that look." Cait continued looking innocent, then couldn't contain her laughter any more.
"You're so silly, girl. You didn't even have to ask if I wanted to go see your friends sing." He smiled lovingly at her. "I love you, Cait."
"I love you, too, Howie." She looked up at him and smiled as his lips met hers in a gentle kiss.
*Hey y'all... I just wanted to encourage you all to find out more about the band I've mentioned in this chapter, Streetnix. They are an excellent band and if you get the opportunity, please go see them... They are very talented. To visit the Official Streetnix page go here. To visit my Streetnix page go here. And for anyone whose curiousity has been aroused, go here to see what Streetnix look like. Thanks!*
