HOW DO YOU KEEP THE MUSIC PLAYING?
©Mirandagk@aol.com
CHAPTER 36
The silence was broken by the ringing of the door bell. JC's mother stood up. "Wow! This is a…a big surprise to say the least. I need to get the door." She said as she went to leave.
Heather jumped up and said she would answer it. Laura pushed JC to go and talk to his mother.
"Congratulations, Laura." Sophia said as she leaned down to give her a hug.
"Thanks. It was very unexpected." She nervously laughed.
After the initial shock was over everyone went back to talking and asking questions about the two of them and how the whole marriage thing came about. Before they had gone to the barbecue, JC and Laura had decided to change the truth to appease everyone as opposed to telling them they got drunk and don't remember getting married, let alone saying vows.
"Mom…Will you please talk to me?" JC said as he followed her into the kitchen.
"What is there to say? My son is married. Congratulations." Karen continued to cut pieces of cake and place them on saucers.
"I know this isn't what you wanted for me. I know you would have rather it be someone else wearing that ring. I know of your dream for a big ceremony in the church and all of our family and friends in attendance, and I'm sorry, Mom. I still want that. I just followed my heart this past week."
JC's mother stopped in mid-slice. "I just wish you would have told me, JC! I didn't know about a relationship let alone a sudden marriage!" She whispered loudly, never turning around to look at him as she continued to slice the cake.
JC walked towards his mom and rested his chin on her shoulder. "I love you, Ma. And I am sorry that we kept this from you, but it was better for everyone around us if no one knew. And I promise that you will have the ceremony that you always wanted. I just wish you would have faith in me and realize that I would be the best judge of who I want to be with for the rest of my life."
JC's mother turned around quickly with her mouth wide open. "JC, I have tremendous faith in you." She placed her palm on the side of her son's face. "I guess I just feel like you didn't trust me enough to tell me what was going on in your heart. And to a mother…It hurts…And not being able to be there when you took this step hurts even more."
JC was about to speak, until his father interrupted them. "Everyone is getting a little antsy waiting on the cake, dear."
"I'll be right there. Can you send Laura in to help me please."
JC's father returned to the family room and told Laura she was wanted in the other room. She slowly stood up and walked towards the kitchen. Heather crossed her fingers and smiled at her as she pushed the doors open. "Mr. Chasez said you wanted to see me?"
"Yes Laura, please come here." Karen placed the plates on a tray, never turning around to look at her. Laura's heart was beating a mile a minute as she inched her way towards Mrs. Chasez. JC's mom finally turned around and leaned back on the counter. "Well? Let me see it." She said as she looked down towards Laura's hand.
Laura lifted up her hand to show her the rings. JC's mom pulled her hand closer to her so she could get a better look at the diamond on her finger. His mother's eyes widened at the sight of the sparkling jewel on her hand. "Well, my son has excellent taste." She said. Laura didn't know if she meant the ring or if his mother was personally referring to her, until she held out her arms to her. Tears began to fill Laura's eyes as she hugged her mother-in-law. Mrs. Chasez ran her hand over Laura's hair. "Let's not mess up that pretty face, before we go back out into the room, sweetie."
Laura lightly laughed through her tears as she wiped her face. JC kissed her forehead and wrapped his arm around her shoulder to make her feel better before they returned to the other room with the platter of cakes.
CHAPTER 37
"No, they actually took it pretty well. Justin seemed a bit distant afterwards, but I'm hoping it will pass. It's only been about a week since all this happened." Laura said as she talked to her friend on the phone.
"What the hell is that noise?" Hallie asked.
Laura continued to fill up the ice bucket and open bags of chips. "Oh, I'm just trying to get the guys something to munch on until the pizza and wings get here. They're all watching the game."
"So am I the first non-new relative that you have told so far?" she asked.
"Yeah...I honestly didn't want to tell you like this over the phone, but I am not going to be in California anytime soon and I wanted you to know before you found out from someone else, Hallie."
"It' OK. I completely understand. So what did Rachel say when she found out?"
Laura stopped what she was doing and stood in silence.
"Judging by your silence, its safe to assume you haven't told her yet, huh?"
"Not yet. But I'm going to have to before the end of the week...I'm just...scared."
"Why? Losing her friendship is not something that you should be losing sleep over, Laura. After everything that she has done?!"
"Look Hallie. She has been my friend since I was a baby. And although she doesn't seem to have her priorities straight, she is still my friend."
"I'm sorry. I was just saying that she has put you through a lot. Probably more than you have told me. If she were the great friend she claims to be, she wouldn't have put you in a lot of situations that you have been through in the past."
"I know. And I am glad that you got my back, but no matter what anyone else says, she has been like a sister to me."
"Okay. I know Rachel is a sore subject so I will move on with the conversation. What does the ring look like?"
Laura laughed as she looked down at the large rock on her hand. "Its amazing!"
"How much did he spend on it."
"Hallie, please. I think it was half a mil. He only let me glance at the receipt before snatching it back out of my hand."
There was complete silence on the other end of the line. Laura went to ask her friend is she was still there, but was soon jolted by a loud scream coming from the receiver. She held the phone away from her ear. JC walked into the kitchen and saw her looking at the phone awkwardly. She smiled at him and mouthed that it was Hallie.
"Hey Hallie." JC yelled towards the phone.
"Tell him I said hi and congrats." Hallie said.
Laura continued to talk to Hallie as JC grabbed the ice and chips to take into the other room. When he returned to get the sodas, he could hear Laura whispering into the phone. "Oh, trust me, girl...He knows how to use it very well."
A grin appeared on his face. JC crept up behind her and placed his arms around her waist and he kissed the side of her neck. Hallie could hear giggles and a lot of activity on the other end of the line. "Should I let you go? You sound way too preoccupied over there if you ask me."
Laura laughed into the phone. "JC! Please..." she begged as she tried to break free from his grip. "No, I'm still here, Hallie. JC was just leaving to get back to his friends. So what was I saying before?"
He smiled as Laura threw the dish towel at him before pushing him out of the kitchen. "Oh, shit...Hold on Hallie. There's a call on the other line." she interrupted as she clicked over.
"Hello?"
"Umm, Laura?"
She immediately recognized the voice on the other end. "Oh...Hey Rach, what's up?"
"I was looking for JC. Is he around?"
Laura looked towards the living room and noticed JC and the others yelling at the television.
"Yeah he's here. He and the guys are watching the game."
"Oh. Well I better call back then. I know how he gets when he is wrapped up in a game."
"Is it important? I can go get him for you."
"No...well..not really."
"You sure?"
"Yeah...It can wait. How are you? I haven't talked to you in quite a bit."
"I'm splendid." Laura smiled as she looked down at her hand.
"Wow...Splendid? You must have finally found a man." Rachel joked.
Laura came back down to reality. "Hey, umm...Are you going to be in the area in the next couple days?"
"I might be. Why?"
"I actually wanted to see you and talk to you about something, Rach."
"Is it important? I can come now if you need me."
"No...It's not life threatening. I just wanted to tell you about something."
"Oh...Okay. Well I think I will be in your area tomorrow or Tuesday."
"Good. I have Hallie on the other line so I need to click back over, but I'll tell JC you called and have him call you back or whatnot."
"Okay...Thanks. Tell your friend I said hello."
"When will you two get along?" Laura asked coyly.
"Never." Rachel laughed. Laura smiled as she said goodbye and clicked back over to finish talking to Hallie. She knew that once Rachel found out, life wouldn't be filled with bliss much longer.
CHAPTER 38
Later on that evening after everyone had left, JC's mom stopped by to drop off some bridal magazines for Laura to look at. Laura wanted to please Mrs. Chasez and promised her mother-in-law the wedding that she'd always wanted.
"Nope. She is sleeping. She was up since early this morning trying to help me with my little party I had. She even cleaned up all this mess before she went to bed." JC said as he pointed to the three large trash bags that were sitting by the back door to be taken out.
"Well just give her these to look at. I told Laura I would bring them by tomorrow and look at them with her, but I have to take your cousins to the airport."
"okay." he took the bundle of magazines and placed them on the kitchen counter.
"She's moved in already?"
"No...We haven't worked that detail out yet. She is just spending the night." He explained.
"I guess I should stop that...You're married now, JC. You don't need to explain anything to me anymore."
He looked down and smiled. "Yeah I know. I was just trying to be more open with you about my life."
Karen sat down at the table and motioned for JC to join her. "Well, can I take this moment to try and do the same with you?" she asked as she looked down the hallway to make sure that Laura was not close by.
"Sure." he replied as he sat down next to his mother. Karen put her hand over JC's. "Are you sure she is the one you want to spend the rest of your life with?"
"Of course I'm sure." he said as he pulled his hand away. "Why would you even ask me something like that?"
"Because I know you." she said as she motioned him to keep his voice down. "You sometimes you act without thinking.
"I thought you liked Laura."
"I love Laura...And that is why I am making sure that you two aren't making the biggest mistake of your lives."
"And what mistake might that be, mother?" he said as he folded his arms and sat back in the chair.
"The mistake of trying to hold onto something that was never there to begin with."
JC rolled his eyes as he looked away from her.
"She is Rachel's best friend, Joshua."
"Here we go with that again!" he said loudly.
"Let me finish!" she whispered, motioning for him to keep his voice down. "She is Rachel's best friend as well as yours. Can you honestly sit there and tell me that you aren't clinging to Laura because the two of you have Rachel in common? Isn't that the one thing your friendship was based on to begin with? The link you both share in Rachel? The two of them are so much alike it is scary at times."
JC stood up quickly and pushed his chair in. "They are nothing alike."
"If that is what helps you sleep at night, then keep saying it to yourself."
"You know nothing about how we are together mom. You can't just come in here and pass judgments, because I didn't end up with the one that you wanted me to be with." JC walked into the living room and began to shut off the television.
His mother stood in the doorway watching him as he fixed the pillows on the couch. He stood up and looked towards her. "You should see yourself sometimes, mom. The way you obsess over Rachel. You make Laura feel as if she isn't even in the room when you get on one of your 'Rachel is the best' rants. You compare her to Rachel when you shouldn't. She is nothing like her in the least. But I guess if her name isn't Rachel, she will never be good enough for me." he said as he threw the pillow down on the couch.
"Rachel has been around our family for a very long time. I grew very attached tothat girl and yes...I will admit that I tend to talk about her more than I should. But it only comes from missing her. She became part of our family...I still think of her in that manner...Even though the two of you are no longer together."
JC was growing angrier by the second. He walked over to the front door and opened it, waiting on his mother to take the clue that it was time to leave. She looked at him and nodded as she grabbed her purse. She slowly walked over to him as she stood in the middle of the doorway. "You are my son...and I would never do anything to hurt you or lead you astray. I know how your mind and heart work. I've observed how you were with Rachel...And I observed your friendship with Laura. And if you think I was naive about you and her...You are way off, hun. The only shock you gave me was the whole marriage in Vegas."
He looked away from his mother, but she took his face is her hand and made him look her in the eye. "I truly love you both. All I want is for you to be happy. I don't want you to settle in life. I want you to have everything you have ever dreamed of...Any mother would want that for her child. I also want Laura to be happy. I don't want her to one day realize that she was second best in your eyes. I do not want to see either of you hurt. I'm just trying to make sure that you are with Laura for Laura...and not for remnants of your lost love." She kissed his cheek and walked out the door and down the driveway.
JC slammed the door shut. He sat down on the steps and let his head fall into his hands.
Laura was awaken by the sound of fire engines that were racing down the street. She looked at the clock and noticed it was 1am. She slid her hand over to the other side of the bed to touch JC and realized that he was not there. She got up and searched the entire house with no luck. She looked outside and could see his car was still there and wondered to herself where he could be. She walked out into the backyard to see if he was in the pool. The water was still. Laura turned around to go back into the house when she noticed him sitting on the lawn chair staring at the water.
"JC?" she asked with a puzzled look on her face and she walked towards him. He didn't take his gaze away from the water. "Baby? What are you doing out here?"
"Couldn't sleep." he said as he lifted his eyes to meet hers. He stared at her as he remembered what his mother had said to him earlier. Laura walked over and sat in the chair next to him.
"Is something bothering you? You usually have no trouble sleeping." she joked.
JC slightly smiled at her and then turned his gaze back to the water. "I'm just thinking about my life and wondering how I ended up where I am today."
Laura was confused. "What do you mean?"
JC didn't want to scare her. "Oh, nothing, babe. I'll be in, in a second."
"Okay." she said as she stood up to leave. Laura started to walk away, but JC grabbed her hand and lightly pulled her down towards him. He leaned up and kissed her softly on the lips. Laura smiled. "I love you, JC." she said as she kissed his forehead.
JC ran his hand down her cheek and smiled. She stood up and reluctantly let go of his hand as she walked back into the house. He looked back towards the pool and quickly realized he was now the one who was afraid to utter those three words.
CHAPTER 39
"Did Rachel call here by any chance?" Laura asked as she popped her head in the door.
"No...Why?" JC pulled up his laptop's audio program and plugged in the keyboard.
"I was hoping to see her today or tomorrow." Laura walked over and kissed JC on his cheek while he shuffled through sheet music.
Laura looked at her watch and noticed it was 5pm. She quickly looked through the drawers. "Laticia stocked up the fridge for the week. She told me to tell you that she will see you tomorrow. Which reminds me...Do have to do anything tomorrow?"
"Hmmm...Let's see." JC said as he began to play a little tune and started to sing his schedule to her, "I have to go into the studioooo...To work on a few tunes...Then I have to go to Johnny...Cause ya know he's a loooonnn."
"Okay...That was corny." she laughed.
"Yeah...I know, but I knew it would turn you on."
Laura plucked him on the arm as she leafed through more papers.
"No, but seriously. Me and the guys have to go into the studio for a bit, then over to Johnny's for a meeting. Then my mom wants me to come and pick up some more magazines and phone numbers to bring to you...And then I have to help my dad around the house with a few things. Why do you ask?"
"Well, I had hoped that we could sit down with Rachel and tell her what is going on...with us..."
"Are you sure you are ready to do that?"
Laura stopped moving the papers around and turned to look at JC. "If you are not ready than we can wait. I just don't want to wait too long. I want her to hear it from us as opposed to hearing it from a reporter on TMZ."
"I was just checking, Laura. There's no reason to get an attitude about it."
She wanted to argue, but knew it would be pointless. "I didn't have an attitude. Whenever you are ready to tell her, let me know." she said as she went to leave the room.
"Hey!" he called after her. Laura looked towards him. "...I'm ready. Just let me know when, so I can make the time to be here with you."
"Fine." she huffed. JC could hear her stomping across the hardwood floors and out the door. He spun around in his chair and tossed his pencil across the room. "Women!" he said loudly to himself.
~~~
JC looked up from the piano and noticed that it was almost 9. He shut everything down and came across some of Laura's sheet music sitting at the top of a stack of papers she had been looking through earlier. He shook his head and smiled as he grabbed it and went upstairs into the main part of the house. He grabbed the cordless on his way to the kitchen and dialed her number. The phone rang 5 times before he gave up and started to dial her cell phone. He was puzzled when it went straight to voicemail, but figured she was somewhere with bad a signal.
"Hey baby, it's me. I think I found what you were looking for when you were here earlier. Your sheet music for that song we had been working on a while ago. How do you keep the music playing? Well that's the first line of what you have here. I just wanted to let you know...See you later."
JC finished making himself a sandwich and put the phone back on the cradle. He accidentally hit the answering machine button.
"You have 3 messages." the mechanical voice uttered. The first message was something short from Justin about their studio session the next morning. The second message wasn't very clear and it sounded as if the person was cut off as they began to speak. The third message was from Laura. She sounded hysterical as she cried into the phone.
"Someone called me earlier about my mother. She's in the hospital. My phone kept cutting out and I don't know what is wrong so I am leaving on the first flight out to see about her. Please call me as soon as you get this. It's about 7:30 right now. "
JC put down his sandwich and rushed to the phone to call her again. Just as he was reaching out, it rang. He jumped at the sound and quickly picked it up. "Hello?"
"JC? Did you get my message?" Laura asked. He could hear her sniffling in the background.
"I just heard it a second ago. I was about to call you again. Are you okay?"
"Yeah..." she answered lowly.
"Where are you?"
"Philadelphia International Airport. I just got off the plane a few minutes ago."
"Any word about your mother?"
"None. I am going to check out the hospital near her house. I think the woman that called me said she was a nurse...I just..."
JC sat down on the edge of the couch and could hear Laura struggling to speak past her tears. He hated the fact that he wasn't there to comfort her.
"...I just...I don't know what do to...I need to go and get this rental car, though."
"Laura."
"Yeah?" she said as she got up off the chair and wiped her eyes.
"I am going to call and get the first flight out tonight to be with you and then I'm going to call Justin and have him let everyone else know I won't be in the studio tomorrow."
"No, JC...You don't have to do that."
"Yes...I do." he demanded.
Laura was silent. She didn't know what to say.
"I will take your silence as your admitted defeat in the argument that we were about to have."
Laura chuckled through her tears as she wiped her eyes. He smiled as he closed his eyes and tried to picture her in his head.
"Could you pack me some clothes? I was in such a rush that I didn't bring anything with me except my purse."
"Yeah. Of course."
"Also, in my night stand by my bed there is a small purple book. It's my journal. I usually write lyrics in it...Could you bring that too?"
"Purple notebook...Got it."
"And JC?" she called out.
"Yes?"
There was a long pause. "Thank you."
"There's no need for that...You better hurry and get the car. I need to hurry along here myself. Leave your phone on. I'm going to need directions when I get into town."
They both said their goodbye's and JC rushed to pack a bag. He called Laticia and told her he was going to be out of town for a few days and that there was no need to come to work. He called Justin and left him a message about what had happened. JC jogged through his backyard and over to Laura's and packed her bag, grabbed her notebook, and made sure both houses were secure before finally jumping into a cab. On the way to the airport, he smacked himself in the head and dialed another number.
"Mom? Sorry to wake you so late."
"JC? What's wrong?"
"I need you to go over to my house tomorrow and get Buddy and take him home with you for a few days."
"Why, are you going away?"
"Yeah. Something happened to Laura's mother. I am taking the next flight out to go up there and be with her."
His mother sat upright in her bed with the phone up to her ear, "What happened?"
"She doesn't know yet."
"Whoa, whoa whoa...Wait. She doesn't know yet?" she asked as she turned on the light. Mr. Chasez turned over to see what was wrong.
"No. There was a bad connection when the person called."
"Well, it could be something minor like a twisted her ankle. You're dropping important dates and meetings to rush up there for something that could just end up to be nothing at all?"
"What is your problem, Mother?!" he yelled.
CHAPTER 40
"I am just saying that you should find out what is wrong with her mother before you go dashing across the states to see about a woman you don't even know."
"I'm 'dashing across the states', to be with my wife when she needs me."
"Laura, actually asked you to drop appointments to come up there!?"
"No...She is very upset and I want to be there for her. And even though I have never met Mrs. Charles, she is in fact my mother-in-law!"
JC's dad started to grab the phone from her hand to tell his son to watch his tone but Mrs. Chasez stopped him and turned away to talk to her son. "Okay, JC. Let's just calm down for a second and think about this."
JC took a deep breath before speaking. "Mom. I love you dearly. But if this thing between you and I...Or you and Laura isn't settled soon, I am going to have to keep my distance."
Karen went to interrupt him, but he continued to speak. "The simple fact that you would try downplay this situation is unbelievable to me! And this decision really doesn't have anything to do with Laura's mother. It has to do with Laura. And if I have to say 'screw it' to a few hours of studio time and some meetings then so be it."
"You really this love this girl huh?" she asked.
"When you love someone, you'll do anything. You'll do all the crazy things that you can't explain. So if you call me being irrational for once in my life and skipping out on important meetings crazy...Then I guess you can say I do, mom. We're almost at the airport so I need to go. I love you mom. Bye."
She slowly put the receiver back down onto the base and layed down. She starred up at the ceiling and watched the moonlight stream through the room and she thought quietly to herself.
When JC was seated on the plane he tried his best to relax and get some sleep on the two hour flight. The stewardess came over and offered him a pillow and a drink. She then pointed out the headphones that were located in the seat. "Well it basically plays elevator music. I guess they figured it would be helpful in putting passengers to sleep." she joked.
He smiled and thanked her for her help and autographed a napkin for her daughter before putting on the headphones and leaning back into his chair. A familiar Spanish melody began to play and JC recognized Bryan Adams' song "Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman." He listened to the lyrics and thought of Laura.
JC could feel the cabin rocking and looked out the window and could see it was raining. He smiled to himself as thoughts of Laura raced around in his mind as he continued to listen to the music. He looked inside his bag to get a magazine and came across Laura's purple notebook.
He took it out and started to leaf through the book. In the bag were pages and pages of lyrics and musical notes. His eyes widened as he started to read through some of her songs. He was amazed at how many she had written and how incredible some of them were. He was also taken aback at how revealing her lyrics were. For someone who seemed so private and reserved, she let everything flow out through her music. There were no secrets there. They all seemed to tell a story about her life or things that she had seen or experienced. He soon noticed that the book was split into two parts. The front half of the book was her personal journal and the back part of the book were songs and music. He looked up and around the as if he were a kid trying not to get caught doing something he wasn't supposed to.
He found himself immediately turned on as he read different fantasies that she had of him in dreams. A deep grin appeared across his face as he read how much she had cared for him even before they got involved with one another.
"That must be an extremely good book." a voice rang out.
JC was startled and quickly shut the book before accidentally dropping it onto the ground. "Yes, I guess you could say that." he answered as he reached for the book. Two sets of hands were on the book. JC looked up and saw the stewardess smiling down at him. "Here you go." she said.
"I must have looked like the Joker."
"Ehh...You were almost there." she laughed. "I just wanted to see if you wanted to a snack."
"Oh...No. Thanks though." He laughed to himself at how childish he was acting when the woman came over and noticed him reading a purple notebook with flowers all over the front of it. "Now she probably thinks I'm gay."
JC wanted to go back and finish reading Laura's journal, but knew he had violated her privacy by even opening it in the first place. He set it down in the empty chair next to him and closed his eyes and he tried to fall back to sleep. He slightly opened one eye and looked down at the book. He crossed his arms over his chest and began to tap his finger on his arm trying to play out his little dilemma. 'Well I have already read some. If I am going to be a snoop, I might as well do it right...But these are her private thoughts...I don't want her to not be able to trust me.' he thought to himself.
He put the notebook back into his bag and stuffed it under the chair in front of him and started to read his magazine. After a few moments of glancing down at the bag numerous times he threw down the magazine and grabbed the bag again and started to read the journal once more. His smiles continued to grow until they suddenly stopped on a certain date. JC read the entry a couple more times and leafed backwards and forwards through the book for more information. When it turned out hopeless, he read the entry one last time and slowly closed the notebook. He stared down at the journal and found himself lost in his own thoughts until he heard the pilot over the loudspeaker. He placed the book back into his bag and pushed it underneath the seat and buckled his seat belt. He closed his eyes and all he could see were Laura's words burned deep into his memory.
~~~~~~
JC's mom had been lying awake in bed for two hours thinking of her son and the argument they had earlier. She pulled the covers up over her shoulder and spoke softly to herself. "God I hope you are in love with her, JC. For both your sakes.