Nick even shocked me! He flew in my mom, sisters and Gram just for last night just to make Pookie smile. Gram loves that Pook is happy, she told me that she believes Nick is Pook's one true love and is praying that they are together for the long haul. Gram has always been a bit strange, but it's normal for Pook and I, Nick seems comfortable with it. Wonder if any of his older relatives are strange like Gram? Hell, Nick has a surprise for me after we get to New Jersey and I'm impatient to find out what it is. I don't wanna wait!
We pull into our NJ hotel and unload, Nick and Pookie coming into my room and hand me a blindfold to put on. Her eyes say I have no choice about putting it on if I want to find out what my surprise is. I put it on and they check if I can see at all. "How many fingers?" Pook questions.
I reach out and grab her hand, feeling 3 fingers up. "Nine," I joke.
"Funny," she giggles, grabbing my wrist and I can tell we're taking the elevator by the ding I hear.
She's dragging me all over the place, but seems to know where we're going and I swear she's trying to confuse me. I reach up with the other hand to mess with the blindfold and she scolds me in Spanish. "What's my surprise?" I ask.
"Not ruining it."
"Chris, chill, man. You'll like it, promise," Nick comforts me.
I sigh and continue to allow her to yank me around by the wrist until she forces me to sit, demanding I stay put until she says so. I hear her dial a number and tell that person that we're at the meeting spot, agreeing to see this person in just a few minutes. I hear about 20 or 30 people walk by and the last set I notice stop beside me, Pookie and Nick's feet shuffle away. A kiss is pressed to my lips as the other person takes off the bandana off my eyes and I see Dani, her smile informing me that Nick is just full of good surprises. "How?"
"Cass called me and told me that I have an all paid for non-stop plane ticket that I have no choice but to take here to New Jersey for a special surprise for someone, somebody I'd been missing since he left the 17th."
"She and Nick planned it?" I ask, confused as to why she'd do this for me with Nick's help and then I realize she's watching from across the dining room with Nick waving at me goofily. I chuckle softly and wave back, thankful for the two of them having a heart and doing this just to make me happy.
"Of course and she wanted to see you happy, not lovesick puppy with sad eyes because I'm not with him."
She still sees the good in what people do and projects only the positives in life and love to those around her to mirror happiness without a thought just to bring it to life. It amazing what she can do to make people smile and feel loved and wanted when she loves them for who they are, when she lets them in her life and allows them to know who she is. She has her media face and her real side, the real her is always guarded to protect her heart and it's to keep fake people from getting too close to her or too far into her life. She's smart about that sort of thing, but it's her heart that makes her who she is and it's why she and my sisters will forever mean the world to me and my mom and Gram mean the universe. I know for sure that mom, Gram and I have raised her the right way if this is how she acts even after all the exposure to celebrity lifestyle and having gone to Julliard, being at everyone's sides when she's needed and all it's ever taken was a phone call or letter or text for her to show up. Raised to have a heart of gold and care and love everyone she lets inside the walls of her heart after everything that's happened, but guards herself and her heart from the rest of the world as she tries to cover her face. Pookie loves, only to love harder with each day that passes and protects the people she loves with her all.
