Feb 21, 2008

Chapter Five

Samantha woke early on Christmas morning, despite the late night. Her curtains were open and the sun’s rays shone in weakly, slanted across her blankets. Tommy and Gina were curled up together at the foot of her bed, and Sam watched them, her mind drifting back to the night before.

She and Alex had been invited backstage to meet their favorite band. She and Alex had been invited to the after-party dinner. She and Alex had spent Christmas Eve with Bon Jovi. And she, Samantha, had in her possession the guitarist’s phone number.

Had it all really happened? It all seemed so surreal. And yet, as she looked over to her bedside table, she saw the small handwritten note, and she knew it wasn’t a dream.

She knew there had been something different in her interaction with Richie than that of a mere fan-to-star, that much she had established before they even met. But the fact that he felt it too - obviously, because he had made up that ridiculous lie about offering meet-and-greets in place of stage wristbands – gave her butterflies. And that alone meant something.

She lie in bed a while longer, analyzing every detail of the night, before the phone rang and jarred her to her senses.

“Merry Christmas sis! Get your butt out of bed!” James hardly let her answer before exclaiming excitedly into the phone.

Sam laughed, mentally shaking herself out of her funk. There was something about Christmas that always made the world seem magical, both for her and her twin, and she was looking forward to the day of laughter, games, and food with her family.

“How’d you know I was still in bed?”

“Please. I’m your brother.”

“Oh, good reason,” she smirked. “Merry Christmas! You getting ready to leave?”

“Merry Christmas to you too, and yes, Katie just got out of the shower.”

“So you have at least an hour.” Samantha teased.

“Yeah, something like that,” James laughed. “We’ll see you around 8:00, ok?”

“Sounds good! Oh my gosh, and James, I SO have to tell you about last night.”

“Oh yeah! How’d it go?”

“Oh I don’t have nearly enough time to tell you now – I’ll tell you at Mom’s, ok?”

James laughed. “I eagerly await what I’m sure will be a very long and detailed story.”

Samantha laughed. You have no idea, she thought.

­­­­­________________


“Oh my God, Mom, you didn’t!”

It was later that morning, and twenty people were gathered in Carol West’s Staten Island home, exchanging gifts. Samantha held up a pair of insanely fuzzy over-sized slippers, with small sound boxes in the heel that made a squishing sound whenever the wearer walked in them. She and her mom had been shopping earlier that year and found them in a department store; they had laughed over them for a long time.

The room exploded with laughter and shrieks, and everyone insisted Samantha try them on and walk around. She refused at first, laughing stubbornly, but in the end, the family got a good ten minutes of belly-laughter at “Squishy Sam”.

“They look good on you, Sam!” James teased, and she threw a slipper at him.

“You haven’t opened this box yet, James,” their mother smiled slyly, handing him a package, and James’ smile instantly vanished. Samantha turned her attention to her brother now, “Oh-ho! Yeah, Jamesy, open it up!”

James shot her a dirty look and unwrapped a pair of striped long underwear, much to the delight of everyone in the room, who burst into laughter and shrieked once more. James stared at them for a moment before joining in the laughter, and by his side, Katie, who was naturally quiet, sweet, and soft-spoken, was laughing so hard she had tears running down her cheeks.

“Oh, Ma, these are great!” James exclaimed above the roar in the room. “Damn sexy, if you ask me!” Carol winked at him, grinning broadly and giggling.

Sam and James had inherited their feistiness and prankster trait from their mother, who loved embarrassing the twins when they were kids. It was always in good fun, however, and now that they were older, it was an ongoing game to see who could top whom. Their father, while less devilish, had possessed a fine sense of humor, and always appreciated the jokes his wife and kids would play on each other. However, after his death five years ago, Carol fell into a depression for nearly three years, losing her usual sense of humor and wit. It had been a long time before she finally became herself again, and even now it was refreshing for Samantha to see her mother in high spirits.

After presents, the family divided up into teams for the annual Christmas Day games. They played board games and word games, including Trivial Pursuit and Catch-Phrase, and Samantha and James beat everyone at 80’s Scene-It!. Uncle Hank, Carol’s brother, won two rounds of Guess the Christmas Song, and, to everyone’s surprise, Samantha and James’ ninety-one-year-old grandmother blew everyone away at Monopoly.

As the afternoon wore on, it snowed steadily, but inside the house it was warm and comfortable; the smell of apple pie baking in the oven mixed with the spicy smell of pine tree and cinnamon candles created an inviting atmosphere. The fireplace crackled merrily as people talked, laughed, and played games, and Samantha enjoyed herself immensely.

Christmas dinner was delicious, as always, and nearly everyone had seconds of Carol’s homemade apple pie. Afterward, Samantha and James helped their mother wash the dishes, and James brought up the concert.

“So, Sam, how was the show last night? You never told me earlier.”

Samantha realized with surprise that she had indeed forgotten to tell her brother about the most exciting night of her life.

“Oh! Well, it was amazing. Alex and I had so much fun…and, um, you’re not going to believe what we did afterward.”

James and Carol both looked up at her expectantly, and Sam felt a rising giddiness inside.

“Well, Alex and I, sorta, kinda…met Bon Jovi,” she could barely suppress a grin.

Carol’s jaw dropped and James’ eyes widened. “You WHAT?” they exclaimed simultaneously.

Samantha plunged into the story, starting with the “look”, and ending with Richie’s note. By the end, Carol and James were practically rubbing their jaws from dropping them so much.

“He left you his number??” James stared at her. “Holy shit, Sam!”

Samantha smiled. “I know! Pretty cool, isn’t it?”

“Uh, cool? Try frickin’ amazing! Unbelievable…” he shook his head.

“You’re going to call him, right?” Carol was looking at Samantha with wide, bright eyes.

“I don’t know yet, Mom. I’m still trying to digest this whole thing. I mean, why me?”

Carol stared at her like she had been beaten with a stupid stick. “Because you’re beautiful, and you’re funny, and you’re smart, and you saw something more in him than just a sex god. And he noticed that, even if he is a rock star.”

Samantha snorted. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means, that rock stars are used to seeing gorgeous women fawning all over each other to get to them. But you were different, and he saw that, and he liked it. ”

“The only reason he even invited Alex and me backstage and to dinner was because we locked eyes. That’s it! How could he be that interested in someone he’s never seen before in his entire life?”

“Your eye contact was enough to make him interested, and he invited you backstage to learn more about you. Granted, it’s a bit of an unorthodox situation…I’d even go as far as crazy…but how else was he supposed to do it? If you two had been in a bar and made eye contact, he would have come over and offered to buy you a drink – but he’s a rock star and couldn’t exactly hop off stage and waltz up to you in the crowd.”

Samantha looked at her skeptically.

“Come on, Samantha, don’t make me make you do this! He gave you his number – call him! This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance, and I’m not going to see you screw it up.”

Samantha still had reservations, but she knew that determined look on her mother’s face, and she eventually gave in with a sigh.

“All right, all right, I’ll call him! But after the holidays.”

Carol smiled, a smug look coming over her features. “That’s my girl,” she said, turning back to the dishes.

___________________

The holidays came and went, bringing heavy snow in the days following Christmas, although New Year’s Eve was clear. Sam, James, and Katie celebrated the night in their traditional way – packed in among millions of people in Times Square, then partying at a friend’s penthouse party until dawn.

A week after New Year’s, Sam found herself back at her desk at Dream’s headquarters, sorting through new articles and material for the January/February issue, which was due out in three weeks. The office building was busy again - everyone was full of energy and motivation from a good long vacation, and they worked diligently so as not to fall behind on schedule.

Samantha set aside the cover designs she was working on and decided to take a break. She opened the instant messaging program on her computer and saw that Alex was online.

Hey! she typed.

Alex replied quickly.

Hey yourself! I haven’t heard from you since Christmas. Back at work?

Yeah. Sorry about that, I was busy. Wish I were back at the Bon Jovi concert, though. LOL

I second that. What a night. When are you going to call Mr. Sambora?”

Samantha knew that would come up, eventually. She typed back an answer, being totally honest.

I dunno. I’m nervous.

Yeah, well, get over it. You have to call him.

I know.

If you don’t, I’ll do it for you!

Samantha laughed aloud.

You don’t have the number!

I’ll come to your apartment while you’re sleeping and get it!

I’ve hidden it. You’ll never find it.

Alex didn’t reply for a minute.

Alex?

Hey, sorry about that – bossman’s back. I gotta go. Call him!

She signed off, leaving Samantha staring at the messenger window.

After a minute, Sam leaned down and opened the bottom desk drawer to get out her purse. She rummaged around in it before finding and pulling out the folded note. She set it on her desk and stared at it.

She could easily just throw away the note and end it now, because he didn’t have her number. And besides, he would most likely forget about her when she didn’t call, she thought. She could pretend they had never interacted, that they had never shared something special in that hot, crowded, loud arena. She could dismiss all the feelings she felt that night as just getting caught up in the moment, taking them with a grain of salt. She could just treat that Christmas Eve as a special, memorable event, a night any fan would die for, and nothing more.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance, and I’m not going to see you screw it up.

Her mother’s words echoed back to her, and she suddenly knew that if she didn’t do it now, she’d regret it for the rest of her life.

She tapped her pen against the desk, staring at the note.

Finally, she snatched it up and grabbed the phone.

Taking a deep breath, she dialed the number. The familiar rich voice answered on the third ring, and she swallowed before speaking.

“Richie?”

“Yes?”

“Hi…it’s Samantha.”

1 comment:

Alina said...

I'm so glad she finally called him! I'm sure she would have regretted it if she hadn't called him...

Sam have got a great family - a great brother and a great mother. This reallly is something special.

Love your style of writing your story!

Hope you check on my story too ;)