Chapter 10
Not too long after the introductions were made, Jessi, JC, Christi, and Justin were filing out of the admissions building in search of their assigned cabins. About a minute after getting back in the truck, Christi was pulling into another parking space, not far from their previous location, and announced their arrival.
Christi's excitement pulled Justin from the trance he seemed to be in. He had been so busy studying the scenery of the wooded resort that he hadn't realized they had stopped nor did he take in the adjoining cabins in front of the car. The place had such a serene atmosphere to it.
"This is where we're staying?"
"Yep. Jessi and I always stay here whenever we use the timeshare. It doesn't look like much from the outside but it's presidential. I'll show you. Come on."
After getting out of the car, the girls showed the guys around one of the two identical cabins they were staying in. The cabins may have been smaller than some of the suites that they have stayed in but were close enough to give the five-star hotels competition. The entertainment center was stocked with a large TV/VCR/DVD combo hooked up to an even larger stereo system. The kitchen was heaven to any chef. The bathroom catered to a person's every need with its walk-in shower and bathtub connected to an extravagant hot tub. The living room furniture was so comfy and looked like it came straight out of an IKEA catalog. Last, but definitely not least, the bedroom furniture made anyone want to stay in bed all day. Each cabin had two bedrooms, and each of those bedrooms had doors that led to a balcony outside. The balcony overlooked Lake Conroe, which was the center of the resort.
Excited to begin the weekend, Jessi exclaimed, "Let's get unpacked, and we’ll show you two around the grounds."
With that, the four of them headed to unload the two cars.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After they decided what would go where in each cabin, Christi, Jessi, JC, and Justin all hopped in Christi's truck and spent the rest of the afternoon driving by many of SilverLeaf's attractions. Christi and Jessi pointed out the indoor pool area, outdoor pool, golf course, basketball courts, tennis court, and the stables. Justin and JC had both learned that Jessi wasn't too fond of horses unlike Christi who was. According to Jessi, they shit everywhere and just plain smell. Christi also filled them in on the real reason Jessi didn't like them. Apparently, Jessi had kicked a horse too hard, while she was learning to ride, and it took off galloping at a pace so fast that Jessi refuses to ride another horse. The group of friends headed back past the check-in building and drove the rocky path to their final destination.
"Finally, the lake," Christi sighed, somewhat exhausted. After rambling on and on about everything else, they finally made it to her favorite spot. "This is where we use the jet skis, canoes, paddle boats, and any other water devices. Just ask Brian for the toys you want, and he'll get it to you within a half hour. He's good at that. And now that you've seen everything, what do you want to do first?"
"I don't know. J, what do you think?"
Digesting everything that had been thrown at him, Justin nodded his head and answered like it was a no-brainer, "Basketball."
"Okay. Well, I got dinner to cook so I'll be back at the cabin."
Jessi started to take off on foot back up the rocky path, but then, Christi hollered, "Wait up, Jessi! I'm coming, too!" Christi tossed Justin her car keys and ran to catch up with Jessi.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Back at the cabin, Brian and Ana had come over to catch Christi and Jessi up to speed about what has been happening at the resort for the past two years. Brian and Ana sat on the living room floor, helping Christi sort through her box, while Jessi prepared to cook dinner.
Watching Jessi sigh in frustration, Ana offered, "Want some help over there, Jessi?"
"Please."
Once Ana got up, Brian leaned over in Christi's direction and pointed to her left ring finger, "Where's your ring?"
Christi lowered her head, "Oh that. Well, we're sort of in the process of getting a divorce."
Literally shocked, Brian shouted, "WHAT?"
His voice caught the attention of both Jessi and Ana. Ana went back to her spot next to Brian while Jessi lowered the heat on the stove then sat herself down next to Christi for support. She knew that this was a tough topic for Christi and that the wounds have not yet healed. After they all got situated, Christi repeated her last statement. Christi and Jessi waited for a response as Ana and Brian let her news sink in.
Ana spoke up first, "So, what happened?"
"A couple of things. He came to pick me up at Araceli's because he didn't want me driving while I was so close to being nine months. I overheard him talking to Courtney on his cellphone. To me it seemed that he was flirting, so I called him on it when I finished closing-up the restaurant. He got so defensive about how I was accusing him of liking Courtney that he decided to leave me there. As he was leaving, I started having pains from the baby. He left me there anyways. So, I called Jess and had her come and get me. It turned out that the stress from the argument had induced me into early labor. After I had given birth to Kaci, Jordan showed up at the hospital and practically demanded to see the baby. I told him no and that I wanted a divorce. He went ballistic and tried to hit me. So, I moved Kaci and myself in with Jessi and haven't spoken to him since. Oh, and I found out that Courtney and Jordan have been fooling around behind my back for awhile now."
Christi finally took a breath for the first time since she started talking. Jessi squeezed her hand to let Christi know that she was there for her. Brian and Ana's heads were spinning from Christi's story.
Ana was the first to speak up, "Okay. Let me get this straight. Jordan's a bastard. I already knew that. But, you have a baby? I didn't even know you were pregnant."
The thought of Kaci brought a smile to Christi's face. She reached up on the couch behind her for her purse, retrieved her wallet, pulled out the most recent picture she had taken of Kaci at the studio, and handed it to Brian for Ana and him to look at. In the bottom right corner of the picture was a gold scripture that read "Kaci Marcela Fuentes."
"You named her after Jessi's mom?"
"Yeah. I figured that I at least owe her that."
Jessi jumped in, "Would you stop blaming yourself? The tides were high. You couldn't save your mom, my mom, and yourself. You aren't some kind of superwoman. End of story."
"But, still…"
Sensing the tension, Ana changed the topic, "I find it odd how she looks nothing like you or Jordan."
"Me, too."
Ana laughed once she realized the last name on the picture, "What did Jordan have to say about little Miss Fuentes?"
"He was hysterical, ranting about her being his child. And that's when he tried to hit me."
"How about we watch a movie because the more we talk about him, the more I want to bash his head in."
Christi, Jessi, and Ana all looked at each other, shocked by Brian's outburst but not by his feelings toward Jordan. He had been quiet since Christi had finished her story. Deciding to let it go, they nodded their heads in unison and Jessi and Ana went back to cooking while Christi pulled out a movie from her box.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After a grueling game of basketball, Justin threw his body down on the court while JC bent over with his hands on his knees, panting. Since the girls weren't around, JC felt the time was as good as any to clear his head.
"Hey, J?"
"Yeah?"
"Does Christi's new look remind you of anyone?"
At that question, Justin bolted upright, "You noticed, too?”
"How could I not? I dated the bitch."
"So do you think I should I tell Christi?"
"Do you think she already knows? Because that's one hell of a coincidence if she doesn’t."
"I don't think so. I know that she knew who we are and liked our music, but I don't think she followed stuff about whom we dated or didn’t date. So, I don't think she even knows of her."
"Well, has Christi had any fan encounters or exposure to the media while with you since you've known her? A fan or the media might mistake her for Lana. They would have a field day with this. So, you should probably give her a heads up. That's just my opinion."
"She's pretty good about not attracting any fans. I like that we can be normal around her and Jessi. Christi swears that you and I are paranoid. I mean you were there last night. We were in the middle of Wal-Mart like normal people."
JC laughed at that, "Hate to break it to you, J. But, we are normal."
"Ha ha. You know what I mean. How often have we've been recognized since NSYNC has blown up?"
"A lot. That's why we've got bodyguards."
"Exactly. But when I'm with Christi, I never get recognized. She goes out of her way to make it so we never get mobbed and are able to do normal stuff, such as shopping at Wal-Mart. Plus, she doesn't even care about our celebrity status."
"That's sounds like her."
"She's nothing like Lana."
"I know."
"Which is why I can't let them break her the way they used to try and antagonize Marci at first. I don't want them comparing her to or even thinking she is Lana." Justin said, thinking aloud more than actually talking to JC.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After about fifteen minutes of just thinking in silence, JC and Justin decided to head back to the cabins. Justin pulled into an empty parking space, and as they were getting out of the car, they could hear singing coming from the cabin. The masculine and feminine voices were harmonizing what sounded like Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony's "No Me Amos." Justin unlocked the door and let JC and himself in. Their eyes were met with Brian cooking in the kitchen and the girls watching some kind of home video.
"What's going on in here?"
At the sound of Justin's voice, Christi looked his way and smiled, "Us girls are watching a tape of a karaoke night from '99 while Brian finishes up dinner . . ." Christi paused to narrow her eyes at Jessi before turning back to JC and continuing, "Jessi managed to sweet talk Brian into it which WASN’T part of the bet."
"Hey! I didn't sweet-talk anyone. He offered to help. Plus, I cooked most of it," Jessi defended.
JC plopped down behind Jessi, who was now sitting on the couch, and placed his chin in the crook of her neck as he wrapped his arms around her, "Baby, he's over there all by himself. He's not just helping. He's doing it."
Meanwhile, Justin focused on the tape in the VCR. The voices they heard from outside belong to Christi and Brian. Justin could tell they were close friends, which bothered him more than he cared to let on. Other than for the fact that Justin didn't like Brian and Christi's closeness, he thought the performance was really good.
Brian finished dinner about five minutes later, and the group of friends ate as they watched the rest of the tape. A Jessi from five years ago showed up on the screen and blew Justin and JC away with her performance of Xscape's "Secret." When the song ended, Justin and JC had given her praises. Afterwards, some other people that they didn't know did some performances. The guys were still reeling from Jessi's performance when she showed up back on the stage. The high notes she was nailing from Deborah Cox’s "Nobody’s Suppose To Be Here" shot goose bumps all throughout JC's body.
The last performance on the tape was of Brian alone. However, he wasn't the only one shown in the shot. Brian appeared to be singing in the direction of a beaming Christi, who was in the audience with Jordan. Jordan's arms were possessively wrapped around Christi's stomach from his spot behind her and he also appeared to be glaring at Brian, who happened to be singing Usher's "My Way."
As the tape ended and popped out of the VCR, Brian glanced around at the plates on the coffee table and started picking up all the dirty dishes.
JC spoke up, "Need help with that, man?"
"Nah. I got it. Plus, I have to clean up the broken plates off the floor anyways."
JC and Justin looked confused. They hadn't seen any broken plates.
Brian pointed to the kitchen floor, "These," and he shook his head as he bent to collect the shattered pieces off the floor, "They got a little carried away."
Both Justin and JC looked back at the girls with raised eyebrows.
Jessi explained, "We were watching the movie Tortilla Soup. The scene where the three sisters break plates, sing, and dance came on. It looked like fun so Ana, Christi, and I decided to try it."
Justin burst out laughing at the picture Ana, Jessi, and Christi must have made. "Poor Brian," he thought.
Ana added, "That's actually why we were kicked out of the kitchen. Brian took over cooking and forced us to watch something else." She looked around and found the looks of disbelief the guys were sporting and continued, "At least, they didn't cut the circuit breakers this visit."
Jessi defended Christi and herself, "Can't prove it."
"Oh, really? Then, why is it that yours are never cut while everyone else's are whenever you two always arrive?"
Christi smile and shrugged her shoulders innocently as Jessi retorted, "Where's the tangible proof. We're innocent until proven guilty."
Justin and JC just shook their heads. Both thinking about how none of what they were just told should have surprised them. This was Jessi and Christi they were dealing with. After cleaning up the mess, Brian left with Ana. Justin and Christi started to prepare for bed. Jessi gathered her stuff and JC snuck the karaoke tape out of the VCR without anyone knowing. The couple made their way to their adjoining cabin, and all was quiet in Justin and Christi's cabin.
Number of reviews: 101
Print:
Chapter or Story