Joey threw his cell phone down into his bag angrily. “Where the hell is she?!”
“Where the hell is who?” Justin asked, walking out of the small bathroom, drying his curly hair with a towel.
Joey grimaced. “Stacy. She told me she had to go back home because of an emergency or something and I called to find out what was wrong. She promised she’d be back today.”
Justin rolled his eyes. “I swear Joey, you call that girl more than your own family.”
Joey grunted. “Do not. Besides, she is my family.”
Justin nodded. “Yeah, okay.” He replied sarcastically.
“Well, I’ve been trying her cell all day and I even tried her mom’s house and no one is home.” Joey answered, totally ignoring Justin’s comment.
Justin sighed. “I’m sure she’s fine Joe, now come on, we have a show to do in half an hour and you aren’t even in costume.”
Joey nodded, heading into the small dressing room, followed by Justin.
«««
Stacy’s face grew hotter with anger as she neared the familiar exit on the Chicago freeway. She had thought everything was okay, but it had all changed in a split second two days ago…
Stacy yawned and poured herself a cup of coffee. The phone rang mid sip. Startled, she picked it up, half expecting Joey to answer.
“Stace, it’s Phillip.” Her heart sank.“Hey Bro. How’s Japan?”
There was no response.
“You’re still there aren’t you?” Her heart beat faster as she heard sniffing on the other end.
“Stace. Mom tried to kill herself again, this time right in front of Annie. They’re going to take her…”
“No!” Stacy screamed, dropping her cup of coffee onto the floor. She cursed as the hot liquid sprayed onto her feet. “But I thought she was alright. She was dating and everything and…”
“We thought so too, but she’s not. They have to put her in a home.”
Stacy could feel the tears staining her cheek. “But, what about Annie? You know Dad can’t and won’t take her. He’s still in prison. Besides, having her live with Dad is suicide in itself so…”
Silence.
“Phil? Come on. What’s going to happen to her? They can’t take her away too? Can they?”
“Stacy. I can’t leave Japan. Annie’s with Uncle Frank, but he can’t take care of her, you know that. I will only be here for another year, if you could….”
Stacy slammed on the breaks and turned off onto the onramp leading to her uncle’s house. She knew she had to do it, but it meant putting her dreams on hold, something she wasn’t quite ready to do. But, she had no choice.
Thoughts of frustration and anger turned into happiness and relief as she pulled into the driveway and spied her younger sister on the front steps of the large townhouse just outside of the city. She quickly parked the car and unbuckled her seatbelt, struggling with it, as if she couldn’t get it off fast enough. She threw the door open and raced up the driveway, Annie meeting her half way and jumping into her arms.
“Stacyyyyyyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” She squealed as Stacy wrapped her in her arms and held on for dear life. She fell to her knees on the hard pavement and hugged her closer.
“Hey baby!” Stacy whispered into her sister’s ear as she dug her face into her long, auburn hair. “How’s my little princess?” She could feel the tears pricking her eyes as she hugged her sister tighter.Annie’s small hands squirmed around Stacy’s neck. “Mommy left me.” She cried.
Stacy sniffed, stroking Annie’s hair. “I know sweetie, she’s sick. But she’ll get better, I promise.”
After a few silent moments Annie pulled away and wiped the tears away from her eyes with her tiny fingers. Her right thumb then went immediately into her mouth and her other hand attached itself to Stacy’s hair, twirling it around her index finger.
“You pwomise?”
Annie’s look was so sincere and honest it made Stacy want to cry harder, but she held it in, not wanting to worry her sister more.Stacy nodded. “I promise.” She stood up, still holding her sister in her arms and heading towards the house. “Now come, on. We got a lot of stuff to do. You’re gonna come stay with me for awhile, what do you think about that?”
Annie’s face lit up and she squealed in childish glee.
Stacy couldn’t help but laugh. “I guess you’re just excited as I am.”
«««
(Three months later-The Fatone residence)
Stacy grabbed a dish from the water and soap filled sink and washed it vigorously with a rag. She handed it to Joey’s brother, Steve as he gently dried it and placed it into a dish drainer. Annie sat in the living room on Joey’s mother, Phyllis’ lap as she was read a story.
“So, have you heard from Joey lately?” Stacy inquired. She ached to see her best friend again. She didn’t even care if it was for half a second.
Steve smiled and nodded. “Yup, today actually. He was so excited. You should hear him Stace. I guess that some guy from RCA out here was at one of their shows and talked to Johnny about them and they are in negotiations to be signed a label here in Florida called Trans-Continental. I’m surprised he hasn’t called you….” His voice trailed off. “Of course, it probably could be because you are rarely home.”
Stacy shot an angry glare at Steve. “Steve. You know why…”she motioned to the living room. “I…things have just changed so much and…”
“Have you told him yet?” Steve interrupted, grabbing another dish from Stacy.
Stacy shook her head quickly. “And how would I bring that up in the conversation? Yeah, by the way, I quit college, work full time and am practically a mother to my little sister….”
Steve chuckled. “Something like that would work.”
Stacy sighed. “Steve, he’s living out his dream. This is only the beginning, how can I ruin all this for him? Why bring him down? He’s having the time of his life, he doesn’t need the weight of my problems on his shoulders, trust me.”
Steve had had it. He threw the small towel onto the counter and turned to face Stacy, his face full of worry and sincerity. “Stacy, he’s your best friend. How would you be ruining anything? Annie is an amazing little girl. And she has you to thank for that. So you’ve changed, so your life has changed, so it might not be the same when he does come back….you’re best friends, nothing will change that.” His brown eyes drilled into Stacy’s and she gulped nervously. She cleared her throat as her eyes roamed the small kitchen, trying to look everywhere but at Steve. She ran her hands through her hair nervously.
When she didn’t reply Steve added; “Besides, I still think you’re an amazing person. In fact, I was going to ask you out again…although I can bet ten bucks that your answer is….”
“No.” Stacy laughed, throwing her arms around Steve. She buried her face in his shoulder. “Thank you anyway though.”
Steve wrapped his arms around her waist and swayed her back and forth.
“Don’t worry Steve, I’ll work everything out, I just need time.” She said reassuringly, more trying to convince herself than him.
“Stop fondling her Steven.” The loud, husky voice of Joe Fatone echoed into the kitchen from the family room down the hallway.
Steve pulled away from Stacy and stared at her in shock. “How did he….?” He glanced around the kitchen and out into the hallway that led into the family room where his father sat with Annie and his mother.
“I know my sons, and I know about that certain Fatone charm.” Joe yelled back, answering him.
Phyllis giggled. “Don’t fall for it Stacy.” Joe laughed heartily.
Steve gawked. “Dad, don’t worry she turned me down again.”
“And what does that make it?” Joe questioned.
Steve rolled his eyes. “Number 21. The 21st time she’s turned me down.”
Annie covered her mouth, trying not to laugh.
Joe laughed again, this time Phyllis and even Annie joining in, even though Annie didn’t quite know what she was laughing at. “Son, move on. There are other fish in the sea.”
Steve laughed, taking Stacy’s arm and leading her down the hall into the family room.
Joe and Phyllis watched her walk in and hold her arms out to Annie. Annie yawned tiredly and allowed Stacy to pick her up from where she sat comfortably on Phyllis’ lap.Joe’s eyes narrowed. “Although…”
Stacy turned to face him, holding Annie in her arms, resting her comfortably on her left hip.
“I’ll be damned if I won’t see her fall for a Fatone. You just wait.” He winked jokingly at Stacy.
Stacy rolled her eyes, bending down and kissing him gently on his forehead. “Yeah right…that’ll be the day.”
Phyllis stood up and wrapped her arms lovingly around Stacy.
“Well, Annie is ready for bed, so I’ll be leaving now, and no Steve you can’t walk me home, I’ll be fine. Thank you so much again for dinner.” Stacy let go of Ms. Fatone and winked at Joe.Stacy gave a quick wave as she started down the hallway. Steve walked her to the door and smiled at her as she opened it. She started to walk out, but turned around quickly, kissing him softly on the cheek. “Thanks Steve.”
He nodded as Annie waved at him, resting her head on Stacy’s shoulder.
He winked at her and blew her a kiss. She raised up her arm and pretended to catch it as Stacy started walking down the block.
Annie was already sound asleep when the door closed behind Stacy and she made her way down the hall to Annie’s bedroom. She gently laid Annie down in the queen-sized bed and tucked her in, kissing her cheek gently. She opened the door quietly, turning around and glancing around the room. She sighed, leaning on the doorframe. The walls that once held Joey’s Superman memorabilia now held pictures of Barbie and of Sailor Moon. The closet that was once home to Joey’s jean jackets and pants was now home to frilly dresses and tiny pink, fur jackets. And the bed that Joey slept in when he needed time away from his family or when Stacy needed someone to stay with her, now belonged to Annie. A tear trickled down Stacy’s cheek as she quietly left the room, closing the door behind her. She shook her head. How was she going to explain to Joey?
A loud ringing interrupted her thoughts. She ran into the living room and grabbed the phone off of its holder, hoping the noise wouldn’t awake Annie.“Hello?” She whispered into the phone.
“Why are we whispering?”
Stacy sighed, falling back onto the couch at the sound of Joey’s voice.“I have no idea.” She talked louder this time, adding a giggle. “Joey, it is so good to talk to you, you don’t even know.”
“Trust me, I know. I’ve missed you so much. And it’s frightening. Everything is happening so fast. I’ve barely had time to talk to my family, and I’ve tried to call you, but you’re never home. Did you get my messages? I left you like five. You must be really busy.”
Stacy nodded. “I know. I’ve just…I have to…” Stacy looked around her living room, noticing a few dolls lying out on the floor. She shook her head, closing her eyes. “A lot has happened.”
Joey’s brows furrowed. Something wasn’t right. He could feel it. “Stace, are you okay? How’s school? Is it going okay?”
Stacy closed her eyes guiltily. “School is fine.” It’s not a total lie. The school is doing fine.
“Then what?”
There was a long pause and Stacy considered actually telling him everything. But she went against her better judgment. “It’s just kinda lonely around here without you.”
Joey chuckled, trying to ease the tension that was apparent to both parties. “Of course it is! You miss my wit and my charm and my ruggedly handsome face.”
Stacy broke into laughter. That was the best friend she remembered and needed. Her laughter was contagious and she could soon hear Joey laughing on the other end of the phone. After a few minutes, she calmed herself down and wiped the joyful tears that her laughing produced. She took a deep breath and spoke softly into the receiver.
“Thank you Joey, I needed that.”
“No problem. I heard you haven’t been having the best of times lately.”
Stacy tensed. “What? Who did you hear that from?”
“My Dad.”
Stacy threw her right fist into the arm of the couch. They swore they would let me break the news.
“What did you hear?” She said threw gritted teeth.
“Not much. Just that you switched jobs, but I had to beg to get even that out of them. Why didn’t you just tell me you work at an office now? I mean, isn’t this a better job? It beats working at the mall right?”
Stacy took a deep breath. I’ll have to thank them later. “Yeah, it’s great, I love it! I’m a secretary. It’s the perfect job for me.” Yeah, perfect job for the college dropout.
“Good. Listen, I have to go, but I wanted to ask you a favor.”
Stacy rolled her eyes. “You mean you didn’t just call to make sure I was alive?” She giggled.
“I did, but since I got you on the horn, might as well…hope you don’t mind.”
Stacy shook her head. “No, no, I don’t mind.” Maybe it will help me feel semi-normal again.
“This guy, Lou Pearlman out at Transcontinental-Records in Florida wants to sign us to the label! I am so excited and it happened so fast! He is sending our families the contracts while we finish our tour over here, and I wanted to know if you wouldn’t mind looking over it before our lawyer does.”
Stacy opened her mouth to object, but stopped. She heard the excitement in his voice and couldn’t let him down. “Sure. I’ll stop by and get it.”
“Thank you so much. It will be there in a week or so. I owe you one.”
Stacy smirked. “That you do.”
“Love ya Stace.”
“You too, big man.”
The phone clicked off and she set it down sadly as tears formed at her eyelids. She wiped them away quickly. How could she ever handle this by herself? She had always had Joey.
***Flashback-July 1986. Chicago Theatre Day Camp for Kids***
Stacy heaved her backup back up onto her shoulder and stepped off the bus. She waved goodbye to the driver as the bus drove away. She looked around and sighed, taking in her surroundings. This was already the most amazing camp she had ever been to. The large, white theatre building in front of her with marble columns proved that from the brochure she received five months ago.
She had saved up all year from babysitting and cleaning yards to go to this summer camp, so she had to take in everything. Her parents had wanted to send her to her usual summer camp-Camp Pixy, so they could “get a break” as they called it, when in reality all they did was pull themselves more into debt with their drinking parties and drug fiascos.
Why her? Phillip had already gone off and moved out on his own. At age 17, he already held a job and lived as far away from their parents as possible. Stacy couldn’t be that lucky. Her only chance to escape was the summer and she was not going to ruin another one by going to the trashy camp she usually went to. No, instead, she packed her things, ran out of the house the night before her departure to Camp Pixy, and caught the bus to the amazing place she now stood in awe at. She knew she would get a beating when she returned home in August, but she didn’t care. This was her time and she’d be damned if anyone was going to spoil it for her.
“Hey, you lost or somethin’?”
Stacy jumped at a loud voice from behind her. She turned around, facing a boy about her age. His piercing brown eyes twinkled in the sunlight and his dark brown hair blew slightly as the wind whipped past it ever so gently. His small frame shivered at the cool breeze as he zipped up his jacket.
Stacy stared at him in shock.
“I said, you lost or somethin’?” He repeated his question, curious at the beautiful young girl in front of him.
Stacy nodded. “Yes.”
“You goin’ to this theatre camp too?” Was his response.
Stacy nodded again.
“Well, that makes two of us. I am so excited.” His body showed his excitement as he jumped up and down in front of her.She couldn’t help but laugh.
He stopped bouncing and frowned. “Whattya laughin’ at?”
Stacy shook her head. “Nothing.”
“So, I guess you’re staying with the girls in their bunkroom. Boy, I would love to be a fly on that wall.”
Stacy’s eyes grew wide in shock as the boy held out his hand and motioned for her to follow his lead. He took her hand and led her to a large building with the words: “Sleeping Quarters” written on a large wood door. They stopped in front of the door and the boy motioned to his right.
“The girl’s bunkroom is down there. This is the guy’s room.” He paused, reaching out his hand. “I almost forgot. My name’s Joseph, but everyone calls me Joey.”
Stacy nodded, taking his hand and letting it go immediately. She quickly walked past him to where he had pointed minutes before.
“And you’re supposed to tell me your name now…”he called after her.
“Stacy.” She called before walking inside the door to her new home for the summer.
“I’ll be seein’ you around Stacy. Count on it!” Joey shouted before the door closed.
Stacy sighed. He had almost always been there. He always made sure he was in her life, even if she didn’t want him there and she had done the same for him. How could she hide this from him? He would find out, and then he would find a way to make it all better, no matter what the cost to himself. No, she couldn’t bare the thought. She had to postpone him finding out for as long as she could. She would rather die than crush his dream.
She threw her arm over the couch, bending her elbow and placing her head on it as a pillow. Her breaths deepened as she quickly fell into a restless sleep.«««
“How’s our little Medusa doing?” Chris turned the television in the hotel he, Joey and Lance shared and pounced onto the couch.
Joey’s blank stare gave away his feelings about Stacy.
“She’s keeping something important from me, I know it.”
Chris shrugged, not taking his eyes off of the television screen.
“Joe, I’ve known you for a few years and I’ve known Stacy almost as long. Granted, I know I don’t hang with her much, but I’ve seen the way she is with you. She’ll tell you when she feels it’s time.”
Joey stared at his friend, dumbfounded. “Wow, that was deep man.”
Joey snapped out of his trance as a couch pillow whizzed by his head. “Hey, watch it, brace boy!” Joey chuckled, taking a seat next to Chris on the couch. His eyes widened as Chris scanned through the stations.
“WAIT!” Joey yelled. “Turn it back there.”
“Where?”
“That last channel.”
Chris turned the channel back and rolled his eyes when he noticed what was on.
“Baywatch?” He said, disgusted. “You need to go out and find yourself a lady Joey.” He laughed.
Joey nodded and grumbled a ‘shut-up’ before gluing his eyes to the television once more.
A few minutes later a yawning Lance walked into the living room, observing the two seated on the couch their stares blank.
“Watching ‘Baywatch’ again?” He chuckled in amusement. “What an exciting day to spend your free evening.” He walked into the hotel kitchen and poured himself a glass of water.
Joey turned his head and watched Lance. “Ya know, you’re right. Let’s go do something.” He smiled, nudging Chris in the ribs. Chris whined.
“We have to get up early.”
Joey groaned. “That never stopped you before, Mr. Coffee.”
Chris shrugged. “Whatever.”
Lance looked with interest at his friend. “What do you want to do? I can’t go clubbing, so that’s out the question.”
Joey stood up, laughing. “You’re kidding right?”
Lance shook his head, confused. “I’m under-age Joey, even for Germany.”
Joey let another chuckle out from under his breath. “Lance, do you realize how big we are getting out here? They’ll let you in the club. Now come on.”
Lance shrugged, grabbing his wallet and followed Joey out the door.
Joey had to get out and do something or else his mind would wander back to his friend and he would only worry, bringing him down. No, what he needed was a night to relax and he knew just how to do it.
