About 5 years later,
July 25, 1993
6:33PM
Anastasia
I stare at myself in the mirror, my bright red lipstick applied perfectly to my lips.
"Mommy! Mommy!" DJ calls from the hotel room's spacious living area.
"What baby?" I ask.
"Look at what my dinosaur can do!" he says, and he proceeds to make the dinosaur eat the plethora of toy cars he owns.
"Wow! What a mean dinosaur!" I say to him as I try my best to get my teardrop earrings into my ear.
I look through the mirror at my son and smile, he's dressed in a suit just his size, and he looks adorable. I couldn't believe he was 5 years old now. It seems like just yesterday that I was holding him in my arms, kissing his little cheeks.
He was going to be a ring barer in Cheryl's wedding tomorrow.
That's right, Cheryl is getting married. She found a nice man named Peter who is a doctor at Good Samaritan hospital. They've known each other for quite awhile, and tomorrow they tie the knot. DJ and I were heading to the rehearsal dinner.
"Ready to go baby?" I ask. His little face looks up to meet mine, and his eyebrows raise.
"Wow mommy, you look pretty!" he says, and somehow, a 5 year old makes me blush.
I look down at my dress.
Cheryl insisted I be her maid of honor, and this is the dress she picked out for me. It was a very light pink and short, but it hugged my curves nicely.
"Thank you." I smile at him and he picks up his dinosaur.
"Can my dinos come?" he asks.
I chuckle. "Sure."
I grab my son's hand and nearly have to drag him out the door to our waiting taxi.
"Okay, so what are you going to do when they give you the ring?" I ask DJ.
"I'm going to walk down the aisle next to Lila and give Mr. Peter the ring." he says.
Lila was Cheryl's baby daughter. She was born a little less then a year ago, and Cheryl was ecstatic when she started to walk last month. She's the flower girl in the wedding.
"Good. Perfect." I smile.
It isn't long before we pull up to the Greystone Mansion, a luxurious place on lots of land. It was a beautiful place to have a wedding.
I help DJ unbuckle from his seat and grab him out of the car. He wasn't use to the hustle and bustle of the city, because Pismo Beach just wasn't like LA.
We walk inside and I stand at the table, where an older woman sits.
"Name?" She asks.
"Anastasia and Michael Andrew Ryker. They call him DJ" I tell her.
She scans the list in front of her, and she looks back up.
"I don't see that name on this list." she says.
"How about Fisher. That's my maiden name." I tell her.
She scans the list again. "Ah! Here it is. Table 2, Mrs. Ryker." she says, and the sound of my new name gave me butterflies.
A few months ago, I got married myself. His name is Dylan, and he's a lawyer. We met when I was waiting tables at work, and we took a liking to each other instantly. He's really good with DJ, too.
As soon as we got engaged, we moved in together. I insisted on staying in Pismo Beach, so he bought a huge 4 story mansion right on the water. I was blown away by the immensity of the place and the amazing view of the ocean.
After we married, Dylan insisted I stay home and take care of DJ. He says that he can't wait to have me pregnant and barefoot in the kitchen, but I'm not so sure about another baby just yet.
This weekend, Dylan was in Sacramento for business, so DJ and I had to come to the wedding alone. Luckily, I knew L.A pretty well and I could also take DJ to visit my Dad.
"Mommy, where's Aunt Cheri?" DJ asks, knocking me out of my reverie.
"We're going to see her. She's in the back getting her dress on." I tell him.
"Okay." he smiles.
We walk up the spiral staircase and down a long hallway that's beautifully decorated with artwork. I can hear the bustle of people coming from the third door on the right.
"You look amazing, Cheryl, really." I hear a familiar voice say-- Cheryl's Mom.
I push the door open and everyone turns to see me.
"Ana! Finally!" Cheryl beams, pulling me in for a tight hug.
"I'm so glad your here. Would you do me a huge favor?!" she asks.
"I need a cigarette, and Peter's mom can't get Lila to stop crying. I know you just got here, but will you take Lila to the convenience store with you and get me some cigarettes?" she smiles, and I know I can't say no.
It was her big day after all!
I roll my eyes as she looks at me expectantly. I just smile.
"Of course. Anything for my best friend."
_______________________________________________________________________________
Duff
I sit in my apartment on the front porch, trying to perfect the bass line for a song on my new album.
It's gonna be called 'Believe in Me' and this is the last song I have to finish for the album. It should come out in a few months, and I'm pretty fucking excited.
A few days ago, me and the guys got back from Argentina. We ended our tour there, and now we're taking some time off so I can finish my solo work and the rest of the guys can do their own thing.
I take the last gulp from my beer and my fingers return to the fret board, flying over the notes one by one.
It comes out sloppy and disorganized, and I realize I need to take a break before this will come together.
I grab a cigarette out of the box and light it up, heading over to the fridge to grab another beer.
Fuck.
All out.
I sigh.
Oh well. Just a good reason to get out of the house.
I grab my leather jacket and throw it on, opening the front door to the apartment.
I walk down the sidewalk and onto the Strip, where the girls are working the corners as usual.
"Hey baby, need a ride tonight?" one of them asks me, and I just shake her off.
"No I'm good."
I've had my fair share of crabs on the road, and I wasn't looking for anymore tonight.
A few paparazzi spot me, and they don't miss the opportunity to snap pictures and ask mundane questions about the band. The funny thing was, I knew just as much about the future of the band as they did--nothing.
I walk into the liquor store on the corner and go to the usual aisle. I find the vodka I like and scan the shelves for a good beer.
When I go to the next aisle, a little kid is standing at the end, looking at the rack of hustler and playboy magazines.
Just the thing kids his age don't need to be looking at.
As I get closer to him, I find myself staring. He's wearing a suit, and that's weird.
I stop for a second and look, because there's something about him that draws me to him.
Something about him is so fucking familiar.
Suddenly, he notices I'm staring at him and his eyes flick up to meet mine.
Blue.
His eyes were baby fucking blue.
Her. They reminded me of her.
I shake her memory out of my head and watch the little boy as he grabs a magazine from the stand. It has a bikini-clad model on the front, and I know that if he opens the inside, he'll be very surprised to see them naked. I was sure no mother would their kid to be looking at magazines like this.
"Hey buddy. Where's your mommy or daddy?" I ask just as he's about to turn the page.
"My dad is in Sacramento, and my mom is here somewhere." he mutters. I grab the magazine from his hand and place it back on the shelf.
"I don't think your mom would like it if you were reading things like that." I tell him.
"She's busy taking care of Lila." he says.
I chuckle. "Oh yeah?"
"Yeah. We're getting cigarettes for my aunt. It's her wedding today."
Before I can answer him, a voice shouts from the other side of the store.
"Michael Andrew Rhyker! Get your butt over here!" the voice calls, and my heart stops.
I can't count the times I've heard that exact voice utter the same exact first name, but it was when she was talking to me.
"Anastasia." I mutter under my breath.
"Over here, Mom!" the boy calls back.
Mom?
Oh my god.
I hear high heels on the tile first, and I hold my breath.
Was I dreaming?
It couldn't really be her, could it?
My questions are answered when, from around the corner of the aisle, the most beautiful woman I have ever had the pleasure of laying my eyes on appears--today, tomorrow, and 5 years ago.
She's wearing a light pink dress, and she's got her hair and make up done perfectly. Her blonde hair lays perfectly over her right shoulder, and her dark red lips seem to entice me.
My eyes go immediately to the area between her left breast and clavicle, where I see my name displayed in dark black ink.
She hasn't changed even a little bit, and, to my surprise, she has a baby on her hip-- a little girl with dark brown hair.
She doesn't notice me immediately, but instead looks to the little boy.
"DJ, what did I tell you--" she starts, but then her eyes flick up to mine.
It's like time has stopped, and everything moves is slow motion.
The bottle of wine she's holding crashes to ground, and the baby she's holding on her hip starts to cry.
"Duff?" she says, staring at me incredulously, and to my surprise, the little boy answers.
"What mommy?" he says, but she just ignores him.
She immediately pulls me in for a hug, and I feel her bury her face in my chest. I bend down to kiss her head, and I realize how much I missed everything about her.
I spent many, many nights dreaming of this. Her smell. The feeling of her in my arms again.
"God, it really is you." she says.
"Yeah, baby. It's me." I mutter.
She pulls out of the hug abruptly, and I'm confused as to what exactly was going on here. I look down at the little boy and the little girl on her hip
She must have read my face, because she speaks again.
"We need to talk." she says.
"Come back to my place." I tell her, and her body language changes.
It may have been 5 years, but nothing has changed. The sexual tension was already there, and I could still read her like a book. She wanted to, but something was holding her back.
"I have Cheryl's rehearsal dinner. She's getting married." she says. "And the kids--"
"Fuck the wedding." I tell her. "Bring the kids over."
"Duff! The language! Seriously?" she complains.
"Lila is Cheryl's daughter-she's the flower girl and DJ is the ring barer. We can't miss this rehearsal." she tells me.
"DJ?" I question her. That wasn't the kids real name, surely. It was Michael Andrew, and that was my name, too.
She sighs. "I'll explain later."
"When can I meet you?" I ask.
"My dad is coming to get DJ after the rehearsal dinner." she says. "I'll take a cab over."
"I'll pick you up." I say quickly.
"No, no. I'll take a cab. Where do you live?" she questions.
"Our apartment." I say quickly, but then I realize what I've said. "I mean, the apartment we used to live in--together."
"Okay." she says.
She seems flustered.
"I'll see you tonight then." I smile, and she smiles back at me.
God I missed her smile.
She leans in to hug me one more time. "See you tonight."