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Chapter 6
August in Tulsa could be extremely hot and this year was no exception. The month passed with lots of swimming in the pool their parents had installed while they were on tour. September came and with it the return of school work for Taylor and Zac. Isaac was looking into a few courses but not very seriously. It wasn't like he needed to prepare himself for a job. So, he just took it easy. September turned to October and cooler weather, thankfully. The younger kids in the household were eagerly anticipating the arrival of Halloween. Jessica felt she was too old to dress up this year but Mackie had decided to be Darth Maul from Star Wars and Avery would be Queen Amidala.
Isaac, Taylor and Zac knew that in November they would begin more work for them to promote the latest CD for holiday sales. It had been out for almost six months now and sales had been respectable, if not earth- shattering. As usual, most critics had been generous with their praise of the new material and the boys' talents as songwriters and performers. The record company had feared fans and disc jockeys reactions to the loss of Taylor's unique sound that was so much a part of Middle of Nowhere. His voice had changed greatly in the three years since those first recording sessions but the majority of listeners preferred the deeper, fuller sound of the voice he now possessed. Gone were the Jackson 5 comparisons but taking their place was a growing appreciation of all three boys as singers and musicians.
November would find them in New York City again for MTV, talk shows, and the making of a new video but on this October day they could be found enjoying their last couple of weeks at home. Isaac was in his room writing a song. His guitar could be heard in spurts as the creative juices flowed. Zac had been asked by Mack and Avie to help them with their costumes as he was a Star Wars junkie and an artist to boot. However, he was having trouble getting the make-up just right for the transformation of Mackenzie into a Sith Lord. He couldn't find good enough pictures in the few books they had so he decided to try the internet. Lord knows there was no shortage of Star Wars sites out there these days but when he went into his room Taylor was already using the computer typing up an essay for his mother on the effects the civil war had on the south. "Tay, I need a picture of Darth Maul and one of Queen Amidala so I can do these guys' make-up. When you get done, yell."
"That's alright, I'm falling asleep here, I need a break." He signed onto the internet and began to surf for Star Wars sites. "Hmmm, we'll start with the official site..." Soon glorious Star Wars pictures and sounds were right at his fingertips. "Darth Maul, Darth Maul... There's one, nope, can't see for the hood..." Taylor was having an ongoing conversation between himself and the computer screen. His family had always found it humorous the way he talked to himself while concentrating and could often be heard scolding the computer for all it's shortcomings. Today was no different. "Jeez, c'mon... Oh, yeah, perfect."
There in front of him in vivid red and black was a perfect, clear picture of Darth Maul, yellow eyes glaring back at him in a most disconcerting way. He went up and clicked first on "file", then on "print" and finally "OK". "Now for Amidala..." His eyes scanned back and forth quickly looking at picture after picture. "Padme, that's not right, next, next... Okay, hmmmm, too far away..." His concentration was suddenly broken by the computer telling him he had new mail. He minimized the Star Wars page and went to his mail box. "Sarah?!! A little late, aren't you?!" he snapped at the screen.
Just as he had put that episode
of his life behind him and decided she wasn't worth fretting over,
there she was again. He hesitated. "Should I even open this?"
He thought. "What would she want after four months? Maybe she
needs an autograph or something so all her friends believe her when she
tells them she did it with a rock star." The more he thought about
it the angrier he got. By the time he opened the note, it wouldn't
have mattered if she had told him he'd won a million dollars, he wanted
nothing to do with her. He'd been grounded by his parents, made fun
of by his brothers and embarrassed in front of his friends. In fact,
it was her fault he'd had to get stitches in his lip. "Well, may
as well see what she has to say" and he began to read:
Dear Taylor,I know you are busy but I hope you will take the time to read this. It is very important that I see you. I heard on the radio today that you will be in New York City in a few days. Please, please, please write me back so that we can arrange to meet somewhere. I still care about you and once you hear what I have to say, I hope you will be happy. I'll be waiting for your reply.
Sarah
For just a moment he remembered
her brown eyes looking up at him. He had actually believed
she loved him even though common sense had told him it wasn't possible
to love someone you'd never met. But after four months and not a
word from her, he had realized she had just used him. He had clung
to the notion that maybe Zac had gotten the wrong room when he'd taken
her the note containing his e-mail address. Or perhaps she'd already
checked out of the hotel, but obviously she'd had it since the morning
after their one night together that had clearly meant a lot more to him
than it had to her. The tears that suddenly sprung to his eyes reminded
him of just how foolish and betrayed by her he'd felt. "If you think
I'm gonna waste one minute of my time on you, you've got another think
coming!" He said to the screen. He went up and clicked "reply".
He had decided to just be cold to her but soon the immature part of him
came through and he just wanted to hurt her as much as she had hurt him.
Dear Sarah,His finger hovered over the key that would send the cruel note through cyberspace and back to the quiet, shy girl who claimed to have loved him. "Hey!" Zac's voice shattered the silence and nearly made Taylor jump out of his skin.I was surprised to hear from you after four months. I hope you are well. I hate to tell you this, but unless you are wanting to arrange a threesome between myself and a couple of very attractive friends of yours—there is nothing you could possibly tell me that would make me happy.
Taylor
"Oh God! You scared the crap out of me!" He turned to see his brother standing in the doorway. Zac chuckled, he loved nothing better than creeping up on Taylor and startling him out of one of his reveries. It was almost too easy as Taylor seemed not to see or hear anything around him when it happened. He turned back to the computer. He knew he only had a second before his nosy brother came in and asked him what he was doing and Zac was the last person he wanted to talk to about her. The scar he bore from the last time wasn't so big as to be seen by the camera but was definitely big enough for Zac to have bragging rights from the scuffle that had ensued. Before he took the time to talk himself out of it, he hit the send key.
"Well, what'd you find?"
And with that Taylor closed the mail, opened Star Wars and put her behind him for good. Though he knew he should feel good about putting her in her place, he couldn't help feeling like an asshole as he resumed his search for the beautiful, aloof, brown eyed Queen Amidala.
~~~~
Between Zac and Taylor's work on their make-up and Diana sewing their costumes, Mackenzie and Avery were transformed into the hideous Darth Maul and the stately Queen Amidala. At the last moment it was decided that a pair of pointy ears and a little green would make Zoe a perfect Yoda. The night had been clear and not too cold for the end of October. Isaac and Walker had taken them trick-or-treating in the neighborhood with Isaac carrying the baby. Jessica came along just for old times sake and to get some of the good stuff before it was all scarfed up by her three older brothers. Reeces cups never made it past Isaac, and Taylor could be quite difficult when a cherry sucker was at stake. How he kept those beautiful teeth was beyond her understanding. With Zac, you just had to stand out of the way and wait your turn as negotiating was out of the question.
And so it was that Diana, Zac and Taylor found themselves manning the door for the trick or treaters. They no longer gave away the tiny little bite size candies as millions of records sold allowed them to go with full size candy bars causing them to be the most popular house on the trick or treat circuit. Taylor who usually relished seeing all the costumes and the children who could be found underneath was to Diana's eyes, unusually subdued this Halloween night. He had given out treats to the first few who'd arrived on their doorstep but had retired to the couch quickly where he had set himself up with a Dr. Pepper and a large red lifesaver sucker he had traded two Nestle's Crunch bars for. The girl had been more than happy to oblige as she knew red was his favorite color.
Finally, there was a moment with no wild things in sight and Diana made her way to the couch leaving Zac to dole out the goods alone. Taylor knew it was coming even before he felt his mother's cool hand on his forehead. "Mom, I don't have a fever. I'm just tired." He said with a grin. "Besides, Halloween 2 is on and you know how much I love that piano thing in the background."
She looked over at the tv just in time to see Michael Meyers raise his knife for another stab at a scantily clad female. "Ugh! Taylor, why do you watch this crud?"
"I don't know, why do you watch Oprah?" He questioned her back.
"Because it's real people talking about real issues."
"You mean this isn't real?!" He asked with his mouth agape and his eyes wide.
"What's not real?" Zac asked as he came in and plopped down on the couch between them. He looked over at Taylor. "Oooooh, where'd you get the sucker?"
"Well, remember the girl dressed like Rose from Titanic?"
"Yeah. The one with the big..."
"Yeah," Taylor stopped him. "She liked me."
"You make me sick." Taylor laughed and looked back at the television. Zac shook his head and looked at his mother. They both knew that Taylor's admirers were many and they seldom kept their feelings a secret, it had become a family joke. "How old was she Tay?" He asked while keeping his eyes on his mom's.
"I don't know, maybe twelve or so."
"What'd it cost you?"
"Two Nestle's Crunch bars."
"Egads! She saw you coming! Remind me not to take you with me when I buy a car."
"Don't worry Zac, there is no way I am getting in a car with you driving anyway." Diana sat there until she could take their banter no longer. The trick-or-treaters had apparently called it a night and so she closed the front door and turned off the light. Within minutes, Walker, Isaac, Jessica and three very tired children came in the front door. As Taylor and Zac dove from the couch to the candy sacks, Jessica smiled as she made her way up to her room with a pocket full of the crème de la crème of the Halloween take for that evening. Isaac watched his brothers bicker over a tiny bag of M&M's and was starting to be concerned that maybe he was about to witness a rematch of the brawl that had taken place during the summer, but Taylor ended up giving in without much of a struggle. He sat back on the couch with a sigh having only salvaged two red Charms Blow Pops and a Kit Kat bar for his trouble. Isaac looked over at his brother thinking it was rather unlike him to let Zac win so easily. Taylor was actually a very easy going person but Zac knew exactly what to say and do to get his goat and he did it frequently. "What's up Tay?" he asked knowing Taylor would never tell on the first try.
"Nothin', just tired."
"Were there a lot of trick-or-treaters?"
"Yeah."
"Any special ones?" Taylor had to grin.
"Well, one Kate Winslet look-alike..."
"Ah, red and black dress? We saw her. Did you get any?" Taylor pulled the sucker from his mouth and held it up raising his eyebrows at his brother in the most lewd way he could muster. "Mmmmm, lifesaver, how fitting."
Taylor giggled and got up off the couch. "Night guys, I'm going to bed."
"What?! it's only like 9:00 and there's tons of scary movies on tv tonight!"
"I know, I just don't feel
too good. G'night." And Isaac watched his brother's back
as he headed upstairs to his room.
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