was in his arms. To this day, anytime I hear the song 'In Your Eyes' by Peter Gabriel, I stop whatever I'm doing and am immediately transported back to that glorious moment in time."
"Wow." Syd says simply. He has clearly been swept into my story.
"Yeah, wow," I agree before sharing the rest of the story. "He returned to his abandoned date immediately after our life-altering-for-me dance, and the rest is history. He graduated and moved to Las Vegas to pursue his dream of becoming a famous showman. My mom occasionally runs into his mom at the grocery, so I get regular updates on his accomplishments. I try to be in all the right places the rare times he comes home to visit, but I never seem to be lucky enough to run into him."
"Well, he's here now," Syd reminds me with an excited look on his face.
"Yeah, about that," I start. "Do you think it might be too big of a coincidence that he is conveniently here while the show is filming?"
"Paranoid much?" Syd teases me.
"There's one thing I haven't told you yet," I admit. At his raised eyebrows, I add, "I have a school picture of him that I like to look at pretty much every night. I'm not still obsessed or anything," I quickly add wanting to squash any concerns he may have about my mental stability. "It's just that I like to remind myself that it's possible to feel so wonderful with another human being, and I don't want to ever settle for anything less than that kind of all-consuming passion."
"I guess that makes sense," Syd admits.
"It's really more of a reminder of how love can feel than of Andrew himself." I'm still trying to justify keeping the picture and allowing it to be such an important keepsake so many years later. At Syd's understanding nod, I go on. "The picture is in my suitcase, and someone unpacked all of my things for me. They didn't move the picture, but do you suppose they saw it and told one of the producers?"
Syd's bright blue eyes widen in surprise at me. "So, you think someone found that tiny picture tucked away in your luggage and took it to the producers who then researched who it could be before returning it to your bag, had someone track down the person from the picture and bring him aboard the ship to do a show in the hopes that you might stumble into each other on a cruise with thousands of passengers and rekindle your high school almost-romance?"
"Well, it sounds a little far-fetched when you put it like that." I grin at him until we both start laughing at my paranoia.
Chapter 21
It isn't long until people start filing out of the theatre. Syd and I remain in our spot on the floor watching them go. Logically, I know that I should get up and return to my room, but the chance of getting to see Andrew again––even if he just quickly passes by us––is too tempting to miss.
Seeming to understand my desire, Syd sits quietly by my side. A few of the people emerging from the theatre give us strange looks for sitting on the floor, but most pass by without giving us a second glance. Eventually, the crowd diminishes to just a trickle, but there is still no sign of Andrew.
The door hasn't opened for several minutes, and I am beginning to feeling like someone standing by the microwave waiting for that last kernel of popcorn to pop as I stare at it. Just when I am beginning to wonder if he has exited the theatre via some backstage employee-only area, the door bursts open, startling Syd and me.
"Oh good, you're still here." Andrew beams a smile at me before sending a questioning gaze in Syd's direction.
I nudge Syd gently with my elbow and he quickly gets the hint. "I bet you two have some catching up to do, and I'm beat." He stretches out his arm and gives an overly dramatic fake yawn to prove his point. After getting up, he says, "Great show," to Andrew before turning to me to add, "See you in the morning." He starts walking away before turning back to look directly at me to say, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do...but that doesn't limit you very
"Wow." Syd says simply. He has clearly been swept into my story.
"Yeah, wow," I agree before sharing the rest of the story. "He returned to his abandoned date immediately after our life-altering-for-me dance, and the rest is history. He graduated and moved to Las Vegas to pursue his dream of becoming a famous showman. My mom occasionally runs into his mom at the grocery, so I get regular updates on his accomplishments. I try to be in all the right places the rare times he comes home to visit, but I never seem to be lucky enough to run into him."
"Well, he's here now," Syd reminds me with an excited look on his face.
"Yeah, about that," I start. "Do you think it might be too big of a coincidence that he is conveniently here while the show is filming?"
"Paranoid much?" Syd teases me.
"There's one thing I haven't told you yet," I admit. At his raised eyebrows, I add, "I have a school picture of him that I like to look at pretty much every night. I'm not still obsessed or anything," I quickly add wanting to squash any concerns he may have about my mental stability. "It's just that I like to remind myself that it's possible to feel so wonderful with another human being, and I don't want to ever settle for anything less than that kind of all-consuming passion."
"I guess that makes sense," Syd admits.
"It's really more of a reminder of how love can feel than of Andrew himself." I'm still trying to justify keeping the picture and allowing it to be such an important keepsake so many years later. At Syd's understanding nod, I go on. "The picture is in my suitcase, and someone unpacked all of my things for me. They didn't move the picture, but do you suppose they saw it and told one of the producers?"
Syd's bright blue eyes widen in surprise at me. "So, you think someone found that tiny picture tucked away in your luggage and took it to the producers who then researched who it could be before returning it to your bag, had someone track down the person from the picture and bring him aboard the ship to do a show in the hopes that you might stumble into each other on a cruise with thousands of passengers and rekindle your high school almost-romance?"
"Well, it sounds a little far-fetched when you put it like that." I grin at him until we both start laughing at my paranoia.
Chapter 21
It isn't long until people start filing out of the theatre. Syd and I remain in our spot on the floor watching them go. Logically, I know that I should get up and return to my room, but the chance of getting to see Andrew again––even if he just quickly passes by us––is too tempting to miss.
Seeming to understand my desire, Syd sits quietly by my side. A few of the people emerging from the theatre give us strange looks for sitting on the floor, but most pass by without giving us a second glance. Eventually, the crowd diminishes to just a trickle, but there is still no sign of Andrew.
The door hasn't opened for several minutes, and I am beginning to feeling like someone standing by the microwave waiting for that last kernel of popcorn to pop as I stare at it. Just when I am beginning to wonder if he has exited the theatre via some backstage employee-only area, the door bursts open, startling Syd and me.
"Oh good, you're still here." Andrew beams a smile at me before sending a questioning gaze in Syd's direction.
I nudge Syd gently with my elbow and he quickly gets the hint. "I bet you two have some catching up to do, and I'm beat." He stretches out his arm and gives an overly dramatic fake yawn to prove his point. After getting up, he says, "Great show," to Andrew before turning to me to add, "See you in the morning." He starts walking away before turning back to look directly at me to say, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do...but that doesn't limit you very
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