Chapter 48
“It’s
mooooooorninggggggggg!!!!!!”
“Oh
sweet Jesus…what TIME is it?” Nick peeled away from Ciara’s
back bouncing along with the little body at the foot of the bed. Did he used to
wake up with this much energy? If so, where the hell did it all go?
Ciara opened her eyes and squinted at the
clock radio. “Um, it’s
“But
today’s the Aaron show! I’m gonna go play with him today!!!!!”
Nick
leaned in and whispered in Ciara’s ear, “Not if I
kill him first.”
“Yes,
today’s the day, but Nate…STOP!” She sat up and
grabbed hold of the boy pulling him into a hug. “Please. We don’t like to wake
up to bouncing.”
“Excuse
me, Aunt Cici. Sawwy.” Nathanael snuggled up between his charges for the weekend a
bit embarrassed at getting scolded so early in the day. He just couldn’t
contain his excitement. He’d met Aaron briefly last night when they went to his
hotel and got a couple of pictures and an autograph. Aaron had promised they’d
play a bit after sound check and Nathanael hadn’t
been able to talk about much else since. He didn’t even know what a sound check
was!
“It’s
okay…why don’t we get you in the bath and we’ll go get some of those yummy
muffins in the bakery for breakfast, huh?”
“I
dun wanna bath.”
“Aaron
dun wanna play with a stinky boy.
******~~~~~~******~~~~~~
Long
ass day. Fun day. Awesome concert. Exhausted little boy. Exhausted Aunt Cici and Unka Nick. They all had
said their goodbye’s to Aaron after the show, stopped by McDonald’s for a late
meal and crashed in the hotel room. Nick couldn’t figure out how watching his
brother’s show made him more wiped out than performing at his own. The presence
of a 5 yr. old? Still recuperating from being sick last week? No idea, but when
Nathanael had finally silenced and he could curl up
to Ciara’s warm body he didn’t care. He just wanted
to drift off into dream land feeling her body against his.
The
next morning came very similar to the first. Tomorrow they were going to lock
that damned door between the living room where Nathanael
slept and the bedroom. The kid was killing them. But for now, tickles, giggles
and groans started the day. After they’d settled the boy down with morning
cartoons, Nick and Ciara could do what they loved to
do best in the mornings…catch up on all the mornings they’d lost from years
past.
Not
sex…too risky with the boy, but just snuggles, soft talk, light touches and
kisses. The intimacy they’d been so afraid of for years was worth the wait. As
much as Ciara liked her own bed, she had finally
decided she liked any bed with him in it rather than hers without.
She
was laying on top of him of sorts…belly down, between his legs with her arms
folded on his chest, letting him run his fingers through her hair while she
swam in the blue of his eyes. “Mmmm…that feels good.”
“Good.”
He could lay here all day like this, but today, he had another dream in mind.
One he hoped he could actually pull off. “You know what I’d like to do today?”
“Nope…what?”
“I
want to be normal.”
“You?
He
bopped her on the nose with a knuckle and pulled her up next to him. “I’m
serious, smart ass. I want to go sightseeing. Go see ‘Shitago’.
That aquarium we saw online and go to the top of the
“You
think we can, Nick? I mean, Aaron’s bodyguards left with him last night. You’re
on your own.”
“Truthfully,
I think they bring attention to me sometimes. I’ve got a goofy disguise I can
keep handy, but yeah. I think I can. No one’s expecting me to be here.”
“Well,
can I tell you a secret?”
“Yep.”
“I
bought 4 tickets to the aquarium just in case. Figured Aaron would go with us
or we’d steal one of his bodyguards or something.”
“You
did?”
“Yeah…you
were so excited when we looked it up earlier. Let me check online and see if
anyone spotted you last night and we’ll go, huh?”
As
soon as she scooted off the bed, Nick started bouncing on all fours, much like Nathanael had made a habit of doing. “We’re going to the
aquarium! We’re going to the aquarium!!”
“Unka Nick! We’re not allowed to bounce on the beds!” What
did Nick expect? For the kid to watch “Powerpuff Girls” or see Unka Nick bouncing around like a buffoon?
“I’m
gonna go alone with Nate if you don’t behave, little
boy. No bouncing.” Ciara laughed at the scene and
signed on, quickly flying through the message boards she’d become familiar with
over the years. No one had seen hide nor hair of Nick in the last few days. One
obstacle hurdled anyway.
“Hey,
I never did ask…what was the reaction after the cruise? Must not have been too
bad.” Hopping off the bed, he bent down to look over her shoulder as she
maneuvered through message boards and mailing lists looking for any indication
they should stay hidden today.
“Nope.
Nothing awful. I don’t waste my time at most places. Overall it was the ‘I’m
glad he’s happy’ kind of thing. Commented on me being short and someone saw me
taking my shot. A diabetic spoke up and cleared it up right away.”
“That
diabetic didn’t happen to be you, did it?”
“I
know nuttin’.” She winked and blew him a kiss,
getting up to get dressed for their day on the town. Chi-town!
******~~~~~~******~~~~~~~
“Okay,
where in the HELL are we supposed to park?”
“Well,
didn’t it say it was to the right back there?”
“Yes…but
the aquarium is to the left. That makes no sense.”
They’d
had a car delivered after seeing the complicated mess it’d be taking in the L
and wanting to give Nick his complete wish for being ‘normal.’ No vans, no
limos, no special treatment. Just a nice rental car delivered to the hotel,
thank you very much. Now, the trick was getting around town. Seemed easy enough
thanks again to the internet and maps they found there…until the signs for
parking just disappeared.
“Well,
let’s go up here and turn it back around. Maybe we missed one.”
Ciara looked behind her and snuck into the
line of traffic to get herself turned around. “It’s not a road trip ‘til you
drive in circles and get lost.”
“I
must have missed that memo.”
“You
wanted to be normal, Carter? THIS is normal.”
“Are
we lost!?” Panic had settled into Nathanael’s little
head and try as he might, he wasn’t hiding it well.
“Not
really, baby. We’ll be okay.”
“We’ll
NEVER find it now! I wanna go hoooooooooome!!!!!!!!”
“Honey…we’ve
found the aquarium. See? It’s right over there…we just have to find…god dammit! It’s telling me to go right again!”
“Then
go right.”
“That
makes NO sense, Nick.”
“I
wanna go hhooooooommmmmmmmmeeeeeeeeee!”
“Nate, we’re not goin’ home. We just have to figure out
where to stick this damned car.” She chose ‘straight’ and ended up needing to
go around the block again. For the umpteenth time to be sure.
“No
swearin’ Aunt Cici. Mommy’ll get mad.”
She
looked at Nick waiting for some smart come back and all he could do was laugh.
Useless male. “Sorry, Nate…no swearin’.
Which way do you want Aunt Cici to go? I obviously
have no idea what I’m doin’.”
“Go
left.”
What
the hell? Left it was. And if by some miraculous change of events, they were
suddenly in line with the parking. Signs were everywhere. Field museum here. Shedd’s Aquarium there. Where the hell had they been all
along?
“Next
time, Ci…ask the kid.”
“NEXT
time you’re driving, laughing boy.”
“You
kidding? We’d be in
“Probably.
Okay, here we go…my God. That took too much work. EIGHT DOLLARS!?”
Why
hadn’t Nick spent more time with this woman in all these years? This was a
riot. Unfortunately, outside of days fishing with his family, an occasional
party with the guys and secret retreats at one or the other’s home or hotel
room, they’d never really played together. Not like friends should. Hell, who
HAD he really played with? Sadly…no one. What a depressing revolution.
******~~~~~~******~~~~~~
“Well,
looky here, Nick! Sea grass!”
They
made their way into the Seahorse Symphony after peeking into the dolphin show
already underway. Sure enough, decorating the entire room from ceiling to floor
were larger than life-sized strips of green fabric made to look like sea grass
and kelp.
Looking
up at a collection of the strips, he reached out and touched it. “Shaddup. I’ll never live that down, will I?”
“Don’t
touch, Unka Nick.” What was this kid, the military
police? Damn.
“No,
nor should you, moron. How drunk were you, anyway?”
“Can
we…not in front of the kid, please?”
“Mmmm…I
dun think I wanna know.” She popped him in the behind and made her way further
into the display, not having much interest in the ordinary run-of-the-mill
seahorse. “Oooh…check this one out! It looks like a big ole twig! Nate, come ‘ere!”
She
turned to find her companions in a strange position. Nathanael
was squatting down to Nick’s left calf and Nick was bent over, holding up his
pant leg for the boy to look. “Aunt Cici! Unka Nick has one of these on his leg!”
“Yep,
he does…”
“I
want one.”
“Uh,
not ‘til you’re a grown-up, buddy. Your mom would kill me.”
“Hmph.”
“Forget
the tattoos boys…come look at this silly thing.” Just what she needed. The
nephew goin’ home dreaming of tattoos. Oh yeah, Sis would kill her alright.
Seahorses,
penguins, the dolphin show from an underwater viewing area, Beluga Whales…and
Pizza Hut. Total relaxation, a lot of fun and Nathanael
had been nearly perfect. They couldn’t have ordered a nicer afternoon. Nick was
gawked at now and again, but he just ignored it and no one approached. Whispers
would follow but it seemed everyone respected that he was just trying to have a
day with some friends.
After
standing for a long time listening to one of the Beluga’s sing to visitors, Ciara was reminded that even the most perfect of
afternoon’s were still clouded with her own little reality. Ugh.
“Nick,
I need to go sit down somewhere. My hips and feet are killing me.”
“Oh,
okay, the show’s gonna start. You just wanna go sit for that?”
“Yeah…come
on, Nate, let’s get a good seat for the dolphin
show.” She took his hand and walked as comfortably as she could to a low seat,
trying to avoid climbing too many stairs. Nathanael
was not to sit still though. Too much energy in that little body to wait
another 15 minutes. Ciara had run out of sit-still
games she’d use with patients and her hip was sending lasers of pain through
her body. Patience was at a minimum.
“Nate, let’s go see the tide pool and sea otters, huh Bud? I
think Aunt Cici needs a break from the boys.”
“Mmmkay.” Ciara got a kiss on each
cheek from each boy and they were off. Damn, she hated this. She was leaning
back on her elbows trying to will the pain out of her body when suddenly, she
felt someone tapping her shoulder.
“’Cuse
me, Miss?”
“Mmm?
Yeah?” Teenagers. Young ones. Damn.
“I
hate to bother you, but uh…is that Nick Carter you’re with?”
Shit.
“Come sit with me…” Talk to ‘em for a few, see if they’re excitable.
They
willingly did, looking back to their parents for approval. Granted.
“What
are your names?”
“I’m
Jessie and this is my cousin Tara.”
Ciara reached out a hand to the girls,
still leaning back on one elbow. “Hi Jessie and Tara.”
“So,
is it him?”
“You
big fans, huh?” Ciara sat up, trying to hide the
discomfort taking over her lower half. Stone seating sucked.
“Yeah,
we went to Aaron’s show last night and hoped he’d be there.”
“Ahhh,
so you like Aaron too?”
“Oh
yeah, he’s cute, but…we really love Nick.”
“He’s
awful cute, no doubt…” She looked out across the show tank and the huge window
that opened up into
“So,
is it him? I mean, it looks just like him and all.”
“Will
you promise me something? And I mean, truly promise?”
“Yeah!”
They knew it. It was him.
“You
have to keep it to yourself until…tomorrow. Nick just wants to be left alone
today, okay? Just wants to be normal. Can you be really cool fans and let him
do that?”
Their
faces sank and lit up at the same time. But how could they deny that simple
request? The prettier of the two spoke first.
“So
is he. It’s been a nice day. I don’t want it ruined. Tomorrow you can tell
everyone you saw him and we’ll be gone. Today…just let him be, okay?”
“Deal.
Who’s the kid, by the way?”
Our
love child. “That’s my nephew, Nathanael.”
“He’s
sweet with him.”
“Yes…he’s
comin’ back…you need to take your seat, girls.” Big smile. Now go away.
“Oh,
yeah…okay. Thanks, Ciara!”
Jesus,
they knew her name. Why that shocked her, she wasn’t sure. She’d been in the
BSB camp since the beginning, but somehow had generally been hidden. Once that
cruise ship hit land again, her name was out. Oh well. Small price to pay.
Nick
and Nathanael came back just in time for the show to
start. And what a neat show it was, especially since they had seen the
dolphins’ activity from underneath only moments before. About half way through
the show, the trainers took two young girls to a small island in the tank to
have some interaction with the animals. Sure enough, it was Tara and Jessie.
Too sweet. While they were doing their tricks, Ciara
filled Nick in with their visit. He said nothing, just smiling, watching the
girls and the dolphins, and twirling his finger in Nathanael’s
hair. He was plotting.
The
show ended and they decided to stay put and let the crowd disperse a bit just
in case Ciara needed to move slowly. “You doin’
okay?”
“Yeah,
a bit better. I need to get something to drink so I can take some more meds
though.”
“K…let
me do one thing first…” He got up and eyed his target, making his way to the
two girls.
“Excuse
me…do you have a pen I can borrow?”
“How
‘bout a program?”
“Yep,
here.” She shoved it in his hand wondering if her breathing would ever return
to normal.
Signing
the program, he handed it back and smiled. “There you go. You did good out
there.”
“Thanks…”
He
leaned over and kissed each of them on the cheek and started to walk away. “Oh
yeah…”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t
forget your promise now, huh?”
“Nope.
Our lips are sealed. Thanks sooo much!”
A
wink, a smile and he was gone in the crowd. Okay, so being Nick Carter in
public wasn’t SUCH a bad lot in life. He could think of worse things that’s for
sure.
******~~~~~~******~~~~~~
The
The
restaurant they had picked was nothing short of a riot. 50’s style diner, all
the wait staff and help were actually cast members. Wild, loud table service
and decorations, real milkshakes and delicious food. Nathanael
loved it. Hell, all three of them loved it. The best part was when the wait
staff got up on the bar right in front of them. Figuring that’d be a safe place
to eat, backs turned to the main restaurant and all, they quickly found it was
the center of attention. Right in front of Nick, danced a waitress. Joe Average
in looks, decked out in her 50’s garb, boogying to “YMCA” smack dab in front of
Nick. He was trying to be discreet and kept his gaze at Ciara
and Nathanael, not the woman’s shins.
She
wouldn’t have it.
“You
will watch me dance!!!!!!!” Next thing Nick knows she’s shimmying her booty
right in his face. Ciara was, as usual, no help. She
and Nathanael were too busy laughing at the waitress’
shenanigans. Finally, Nick played along and casually sat with a dollar bill
hanging from his fingers.
The
waitress did not expect the customer to play along THAT well, snatched it up
laughing and shoved it in her bra. The crowd roared. Somehow, they never knew
who the playful blonde was. It was a hysterical ending to a perfect day.
Back
to the hotel, a quick swim and before they knew it, morning came and everyone
was buckled into their seats on an airplane again. It had been a great trip.
But now, it was time to go home. Time to regroup and face the demons that
awaited. The traveling had been nice, but it was time to settle down, breathe a
little and face the future.
***
