Time Goes On
by Chelle

~ CHAPTER 31 ~

The days passed with the tour getting closer. We were all looking forward to it. Ike and Karen had finally settled everything and she'd moved back to her hometown in Louisiana. Ike and the rest of the family had stopped going to the cemetery so often and things had begun to get better.
The guys left for New York to promote the tour on the talk shows. During that time the family would watch the TV and gather around the radio. Zac had announced that he "has a girlfriend back home." The fans would get these disappointed looks on their faces and then perk up again when he'd make a joke about "She makes me behave myself" or "She keeps me in check." I always smiled at that because I'd be reminded of his wit and ability to make people laugh - two things I'd always admired.
Ike had made the announcement that he was officially "divorced and single." - that would make the fans scream with delight that they now had a chance and they seemed sincerely happy that he was doing alright. They also let their excitement be known when Taylor would talk about how happy he was with expecting a new addition. The guys were in bliss being out there again. They were so excited about the tour and were pleased that their fans had remained loyal and were just as anxious for a Hanson return as they were. They seemed so happy performing together and the people loved hearing the new music. The album had been released so the fans already knew the words to some songs and would sing along with the band. It had been decided that the guys would do more promotion in Los Angeles for another week - it was disappointing but it made the family happy to see them so happy.
Although it was obvious that a DJ/host would hit a sensitive spot for Isaac when asking about his divorce, he'd always handle it very well. Once or twice, Zac would get asked how he was doing with his "Recovery". That question was always handled well too. They would call every evening and Zac and I e-mailed a lot. Tori was planning to have her baby shower the next weekend so she and Taylor talked about that quite a bit. When they'd call, Taylor and Ike would assure all of us that Zac was doing good. To help him out when the other band members and road crew had been hanging around with beers in their hands, Ike would choose to drink water or soda with Zac and Taylor would only have one beer. They seemed to get a lot of joy out of it when that would earn them subtle smiles and thank you nods from their younger brother. Still, I wondered how long it would last... Zac never seemed to be able to face too much uneasiness.
That weekend, Walker took Mac with him to his brother's house and the girls got busy preparing for Tori's baby shower. She and Taylor were expecting a boy so by eleven Saturday morning, the living room was decorated all in blue and white. Blue balloons, mixed with a few white, were everywhere, blue streamers lined the walls and were draped down the banister, blue and white ribbons held two helium filled balloons, both announcing that a baby boy was on the way, to an end on the banister. A curtain made of blue and white streamers separated the kitchen and living room. Tori and Diana had gone to the store to buy the food and other stuff needed while Avery and I arranged the furniture and Zoe helped Jessica make a wreath for the front door.
"I wish our brothers were home." Zoe said as she held a piece of ribbon so Jess could cut it. "Even if they were in Tulsa, they couldn't be here. This is just for girls." Avery replied, smiling, as she carried three large coffee table books to the hall closet. Zoe gave one of her 'I'm bored' sighs and handed Jessica another piece of ribbon. "Now just another snip here..." Jessica said as she cut through a streamer, "and done!" I looked up as I sat the large lamp on the corner table I'd just moved and saw Jess proudly holding her latest work of art up to be admired. "So, what do you think?" I smiled. "Wow, that's great," Avery said. Jessica was very artistic and loved making crafts. She'd found an old brown wicker wreath, spray painted it white (The only color we had) and had made a huge blue bow in the middle with several pieces of left over ribbon. Long pieces of blue and white ribbon danged from the bottom at different lengths. She had used a dark blue glitter pen to write BABY ON THE WAY! on a piece of streamer that went across the bottom and had added some blue glitter to the wreath. "Oh Jessica, that's beautiful. You did a great job." She smiled and walked over to the front door. "You too Zoe!" I said when I saw the 'hey what about me.' expression on Zoe's face. "Hey you guys, we better hurry. Mom and Tori will be back in a minute and then things are gonna get crazy!" Avery said. "We still have to decorate the dinning room." Jessica replied. "Ok. Avery, let's get the cake started. Zoe, Jessica, you two get the dining room table cleared and dusted. Stack the chairs in the corner, and sprinkle some freshener on the carpet. Avery, where did you put the carpet freshener?" I asked as Avery started toward the kitchen. "It's over on the shelf," she replied. Jessica picked up the carpet freashener and a dusting rag out of the cleaning supply box and said "C'mon Zo." I reached down to get the furniture polish as Zoe walked past me to follow her sister. "Zoe, here." I said. She stopped and turned. I stretched out my hand, handing her the can. She took it and walked into the dining room behind Jessica. I sighed and took one last look around, before heading into the kitchen. Within an hour and a half, the cleaning and decorating done, Diana, Jessica and me were all in the kitchen preparing the rest of the food. Tori, Avery and Zoe were setting the dining room table for the buffet.
We had managed to all get showers and get dressed. Tori's hair was still in a towel and Diana had simply pulled all of hers up so that it was one less thing she had to worry with. I had just dried mine and had settled on a swept up kinda style since I didn't feel like dealing with the flat iron and gel. "Melissa, help." Tori said walking into the kitchen and taking the towel out of her tangled hair. I smiled and got a couple of sodas out of the fridge. "Come on." I said, ushering Tori upstairs. "Me too, fix mine too!" Zoe said loudly. "Alright," I smiled "I'll fix your's too." The three of us headed upstairs and had settled in Tori and Taylor's bathroom. After about thirty minutes of drying, combing, twisting, spraying and a few yelps, Tori's hair was done, some of it pulled back with a layered look to her bangs. It took less time for Zoe. Her hair had been dried and brushed already and I'd gotten her to settle on on jeweled clip to pin a little hair and her long bangs. When we heard the door bell, Tori said "Well, let's go." I applied some lip gloss and sprayed Zoe's hair once on top, then we walked out of the bathroom and down the stairs.
Soon, the living room was filled with 17 guest and Tori sat in the middle of the couch with the gifts surrounding her feet. I sat on her right side and Diana on her left. The other attendants gathered around where there was a free seat. The gifts were mostly baby clothes and baby toys. She also got a couple of photo albums, a knitted blanket with blue and yellow yarn, a few very cute picture frames and a baby book from Diana and Walker. Everyone had a great time and the visiting continued past the 4pm end date. Once everyone had left, we'd started cleaning and Tori sat down to e-mail some of the pictures to Taylor. She then went upstairs to take a nap while Avery and Zoe went to watch a movie in the den. Jessica decided to check her e-mail and Diana and I sat on the couch taking a much needed rest. The phone suddenly rang, causing us both to jump a little bit. "Hello?" Diana answered with a yawn. "Oh hi honey. Did you get them?" She continued to chat about the day and it became obvious that she was talking to Taylor. They chatted for a few minutes as I stretched out on the huge couch. I dozed for a bit but when I heard "Yeah put him on she's right here." I opened my eyes. After a greeting and a minute of talking, she handed the phone to me and said "Zac wants to talk to you." I took the phone as Diana went upstairs to take a bath. "Hey." I said. "Hey there." was his reply. We talked for a little while about the baby shower and the guys coming home that Tuesday. I could tell from his voice that he was tired... but there was also something else. Just as we were about to hang up, he said my name in a way that made my stomach tighten. The way he used to say my name just before he'd hit me. He hadn't talked that way in so long but I remembered the tone so well. That very serious tone that told me I had displeased him in some way and that he wanted to speak with me about it. "What?" had been my answer. "I saw the pictures of all of you at the baby shower." Frantically, I tried to remember what all had gone on. I wasn't sure what pictures Tori had sent. What could he be upset about? "Yes, did you not like them?" I asked. "Oh, we all liked them. They were good pictures of all of you, they turned out great," he said. Then he was quiet for a moment before he he finally spoke again.
I hated those pauses.
"Melissa," he spoke quietly close to the phone now. That let me know that other people were in the room, most likely his brothers. They would recognize his tone and become concerned. His voice was strained and his teeth were clenched. "I don't ever want to see another picture of you dressed like that. Do you understand?" I couldn't speak.I tried to imagine what could possibly be wrong with what I was wearing. "Melissa, you are not a whore and I won't have people thinking that. You will not dress like that again. Is that understood?" I simply said "Yes" still not knowing what the problem was. With a quick "I love you" he hung up. I didn't tell anyone what had been said. The rest of the evening went on without much happening. We were all tired and didn't feel much like doing a lot. We had dinner and then all went to bed.
As I was undressing, I thought again, about what Zac had said. I felt an uneasy feeling in my whole body. He talked just like he had so many times before he'd gone to the treatment center. He seemed like the old Zac. As I lay in bed, I looked at my clothes on the chair. I'd worn a jean skirt with a jeweled belt, a white, lacy top with flared sleeves and flat dress shoes. I hadn't worn any pantyhose and the only jewelery I'd had on was a silver necklace that had a M on it and a silver ring Zac had given me that he'd bought at a discount store when we were out just before they'd left for New York. I Still couldn't understand why he'd been so upset about what I'd worn. Maybe he thought the shirt was too tight? Maybe too low cut? Maybe he thought the skirt was too short? I finally drifted off with the hope that things would not return to the way they had been and a mental note not to wear that shirt or skirt again.

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