Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5
Hanson Through My Eyes
Chapter 1
We were finally going home. I was so excited to get back into America. For the past ten days I had been in Spain with my school’s Spanish club. My best friends were with me, which was great, but we were all extremely homesick. We had had enough of trying to understand the native speaker’s Spanish. The food was good but, well, Spanish food is not tacos and burritos. Spanish cuisine is a lot of rice and seafood. I unfortunately hate seafood. My mother thinks I am nuts because we live twenty minutes from the Atlantic Ocean and can get fresh seafood any time.
Anyway there we all were waiting patiently in Madrid’s airport to get our tickets to get to London, then back home to Boston. The computers were down at the ticket counter and we were in line for over an hour. Finally we got our tickets and literally ran through the airport to get to the gate.
We had to get our passports stamped before getting on the plane. I swear, Spain gets the meanest looking men to stamp the passports. Is it like, intimidation? I don’t know but those guys look really mean. I tried to smile but he just wasn’t buying it.
The plane was delayed due to bad weather and we had to wait for another half an hour. Our chaperones were starting to get nervous because there was a chance we could miss our connection flight in London. The plane took off, but I wasn’t conscious at that point. Ten days of only 2 hours of sleep a night had finally caught up with me. I was asleep before the plane started moving. I woke up about half way through the flight, took my walkman out and pressed play. Before I left, I taped about two hours of American radio for something to listen to on the plane. The Spice Girls’ 2 Become 1 was ending and the next song on the tape was Mmmbop. I ended up listening to it while drifting off to sleep. In what seemed like two minutes later my friend poked me in the shoulder to wake me up, the flight was over. Groggily, I collected my carry-on luggage and got off the plane. We were finally in an English speaking country. I spoke to anyone about anything. In line to get through the metal detectors, I met newlyweds that were from upstate New York. They had gone to Italy for their honeymoon.
My friends and I were so exhausted we were babbling incoherently and yet somehow understanding each other. We were recalling the last ten days’ events, how my friends hotel room almost blew up. We can laugh now but at the time we were petrified. The room was all smoky and it reeked of sulfur. We grabbed all of her stuff and ran to the other end of the hotel.
Back in line, we put our belongings on the conveyor to be scanned while we walked through the metal detectors. As our group reassembled on the other side, there was a bit of screaming at the end of the terminal. We could hear girls screaming and jumping up and down like idiots. I mentally made fun of them for acting like that but didn’t think much about it.
We made our way to the line for the bus that would take us to our gate. There were a bunch of people in line ahead of us and we started to hear the screams coming closer. The airport police had caught up with the girls and were making a human barricade between a group of people and the girls. I strained my neck to see who it was but couldn’t see anything but hair-blond hair. I thought, Hey cool, I already met Kurt Browning in this airport, maybe I could meet somebody else famous. My friend Nikki turned around and was looking at who was there too. I was mentally going through all the celebrities I knew with blond hair but my mind was so tired I couldn’t think of anyone. As they came closer I heard a girl scream, "Taylor-I love you." I put it all together; The hair was Hanson. Nikki chuckled and was making fun of the girls. My friend Dana groaned, "Ugh!! I hate them. If they start singing, I’ll belt them."
I replied, "Dana, I really don’t think they’re going to start singing in the middle of the flight. And if they do I’ll help you hurt them, I want to get as much sleep on this flight as possible". Our friend Liz, who was talking to someone, turned around when the commotion reached us in line, "Hey, who’s that?"
Nikki turned and said, "Know that song Mmmbop, the one that Sami always listens to?" Dana groaned again.
Liz nodded. "That’s the group who sings it...Sami I dare you to go up to them".
I laughed, "I’d have to get through the bodyguards first." Liz grabbed my hand, "Come on, I’ll go with you."
Before I could protest, I was being dragged across the room to where they were standing.
"Liz, if you embarrass me like you did with Kurt Browning, I will never speak to you again".
She turned and gave me a wicked smile. "Liz, please don’t embarrass me? Please?"
"Hi!" was all she said. They all looked at us, perplexed as to what to do. The bodyguards started to eye us and move closer. They did not look happy. I finally spoke, extremely fast, "We’re sorry to bother you. She’s just a little excited to be going back to the U.S. She dragged me over here for some god-forsaken reason. For the record, I had no part in this at all. Do you have to deal with that everywhere you go?" I asked motioning toward the crowd of girls being escorted away. Isaac said, "Yeah, they find us everywhere." At this point I looked around and realized that not only were the three boys standing there but the rest of their family was too. How is it possible that they’re all blond? I thought.
Liz was standing really close to me when one of the bodyguards touched her arm. It was time to go back to the rest of our friends who were standing on the other side of the room staring at us like we had the meaning of life stapled to our foreheads.
Isaac stopped the bodyguard and asked us where we were from.
I laughed, "You can’t tell by our accents? We’re from Boston."
Taylor joined in the conversation now and asked, "Would you say-?"
I stopped him before he could even get the sentence out and replied like a talking doll who just got its string pulled, "Park the car in Harvard Yard" with my thick Boston accent. They all found this extremely funny. I worked as a tour guide in Boston and I was asked to say that at least ten times a day. Liz repeated it for them and this started another round of laughter.
We introduced ourselves and made small talk for a few minutes before the bus came. We found out that they were on their way to New York for some promotional thing and that they had a two hour stop-over in Boston. The bus was crowded and they were being sheltered somewhere in the back with the guards. We discussed them on the bus the whole time. Dana yelled at the top of her lungs (or at least it seemed that way), "I cannot believe you did that."
Liz and I tried to tell her that they were actually very nice and that they were not snobby at all, but she wasn’t listening. She thought we were nuts for going over and speaking to them.
"What were we going to do stare at them from across the room?" This finally shut her up.
We found our seats on the plane and I was stuck next to some really weird looking old woman. Why do I always get stuck with the freaky people? I thought. After take off, I got up to stretch my legs. While I was up, one of the guards came up to me and said that the boys wanted to talk to me and that he would give up his seat in first-class so I could talk to them. I warned the guard that the woman next to me was freaky looking but he just said that he would read his book so he wouldn’t have to deal with her. After begging the chaperones to let me go and thanking the guard profusely; I grabbed my stuff and headed for first-class. A smile crept across my face, "Hanson wants to talk to me."
The panic set in. I walked by the restroom and went in to make sure I looked at least somewhat presentable. Dear Lord! I thought as I looked at myself in the mirror, Why didn’t I get enough sleep? The bags under my eyes had somehow upgraded to suitcases. I look like I was run over by a train...Oh well. It’s as good as it’s going to get. I splashed cold water on my face and headed for first class.
When I reached the curtain that separates first-class and coach, one of the guards was waiting for me. I introduced myself and he said his name was Jason. He seemed to be nice but I could tell that he was extremely tired. I know the feeling, I thought. Moving up the aisle, I felt painfully out of place. I was in jean shorts and a T-shirt, while the other passengers were in suits and skirts. The people looked at me with vengence-it was going to be a long flight.
Jason showed me to my seat and helped me put my bag in the overhead compartment. My seat was between a young girl and Zachary, who was asleep with his headphones on. Across the aisle were Taylor, who was eating an apple and Isaac who was reading a book. Isaac looked up and smiled when he saw me coming. Taylor was staring off into space and after Isaac elbowed him, he turned to look at me. I wasn’t sure how I was going to get to my seat since Zachary was asleep and I could not get by him. I motioned to Taylor for help. He handed his half eaten apple to Isaac, who gave the apple a look of disgust and tossed it into his air sickness bag. Taylor and I slid Zachary over to my seat. As we did, his head fell onto the girl’s shoulder. She, doing the proper sisterly thing, grabbed his head with her hand and pushed him away. Well so much for trying not to wake Zachary, I thought. His eyes, heavy with sleep, opened. He gave me a weak "hi" motion with his hand before falling back into Dreamland.
I sat down and turned my attention to the two oldest who were still awake. I asked where the rest of their family was. Taylor pointed to the girl next to Zachary and said that she was Avery who upon hearing her name, looked up inquisitively. Taylor introduced me to her and she seemed very nice, asking a few basic questions about me. Their parents were in front of them while Mackenzie and Jessica were on the other side of Isaac. Mackenzie, obviously not wanting to be left out, ran over and launched himself up into Isaac’s lap. Isaac said, "Mack, I would like you to meet a nice girl named Samantha Dervan." The little ball of energy looked at me and repeated, "Samanta"
"No, Mack," Isaac replied, "Sa-man-tha," enunciating the sounds so he would understand. He turned to me, "He has a bit of a problem with 'th' sounds."
I leaned forward and said to him, "Hello, Mackenzie. You can call me Sami, all my friends do." He suddenly became very shy and hid his face into Isaac’s chest, smiling. I asked him how old he was but he just turned his face away from me, giggling. Taylor told me that he was three. Isaac was whispering in Mackenzie’s ear, but I couldn’t understand what he was saying.
Jessica was the only one that I had not met and she leaned forward in her seat to wave a hello. I looked over the seat and found Mr. and Mrs. Hanson to be asleep. We quietly talked about what they were doing in Europe. They were promoting Middle of Nowhere and they had been all over Europe. After going to New York, they had to go back to England before heading off to Australia and Southeast Asia. I explained that I was in Spain for a vacation and told them about some of my misadventures in the country, "It actually looks like Jesus’ eyes are following you around the room?," asked Taylor. He was referring to the painting in the Cathedral in Seville. The eyes are painted to make it look like Jesus is watching you from any angle you looked at it. "Yes, it’s a little bit freaky but it’s kind of cool when you think about it. I have trouble drawing stick figures, so anything that is even the least bit artistic I think is great. My mother paints well. I, unfortunately did not acquire that gene from her." After a few minutes of small talk Taylor and Isaac looked at each other and laughed.
I became increasingly self-conscious. "What?," I asked.
"Nothing," Taylor said between stifled laughs, "Really it’s nothing."
Isaac was smiling, "It’s your accent. The way you never pronounce your R’s, it cracks us up."
Countering the scales, I replied, "Well I hate to break it to you but your accents seem funny to me. To me, it sounds like you are stressing your words, like you’re not sure of what you are saying. As soon as you step off this plane at Logan Airport, you are going to be the minority. You’re going to be sorry you made fun of the accent."
Taylor found this funny and burst out laughing, "How are we going to be sorry?"
"You’ll find out."
We talked about everything from music to school and what Tulsa is like. Isaac said, "It’s totally different from Europe but I have never been to Boston so I can’t tell you if it’s different or not." Taylor chimed in and said, "It’s...well..um...it’s home".
"Good job Taylor she doesn’t know what Home looks like," said Isaac sarcastically.
Sensing an argument, I said, "Well let me describe Boston and then you can tell me if it is anything like that."
"All right"
"Okay, Boston-it’s old and a little cramped. Not really a big city but definitely not small. It has a lot of history and everything in the city has a story behind it." I went on to describe what seemed to be all of Boston’s history and they just took in the information like sponges. Realizing I was babbling, I abruptly stopped and asked, "So is Tulsa like that?"
Both in unison said, "No." Isaac said that the city was young compared to Boston but that they had their own history. Not with the British that came from England, but from the Native Americans that were there long before Oklahoma became a state.
Just about then we were interrupted by the stewardess with lunch. I turned around to wake Zachary up. He got up to go to the bathroom and I started to talk to Avery. She had a stuffed bear with her that looked old. "What’s his name?" I asked.
With her cute little-girl voice, she answered, "Teddy. He is almost as old as me".
"Wow, did you get him as a birthday present?"
"Yes, from my Mom and Dad," she answered.
"He must be very special, he looks like he has been loved very much," referring to his tattered fur. She shook her head up and down furiously.
Zachary came back then and we all started to eat. After a moment or two I realized I was the only one that was enjoying the food. The rest of them were looking at me curiously.
Finally Jessica spoke up, "You actually like the food?" She gave me a face of total astonishment. She couldn’t believe that I could actually eat it, like it was poisoned or something.
"Jessica when you have lived on granola bars and bottled water for the past ten days, you will eat any solid food given to you."
Zachary, finally coming out of his sleep mode asked, "Why have you been living on granola bars and water?"
"Have you been to Spain yet?" I asked.
"No, not yet."
"When you get there you’ll understand."
~*~*~
After lunch, Mr. and Mrs. Hanson turned around and this started what seemed like an endless stream of questions directed at me. Mackenzie was sitting on Isaac’s lap, banging on the tray with his thick crayons, coloring. Jessica came and sat on the floor in front of me, looking up at me intently. See, we were in first class where there is room for a person to sit on the floor in front of you. I was used to coach where if you breathe deeply, you deprive the person next to you of oxygen. I wasn’t sure what to make of her, she was only nine, but she seemed to honestly want to know what I was saying. I have always been the only girl. I have two brothers, so I was always the one looking intently. Not the one being looked at. Not that my brothers were rude or anything, I had just never been the center of attention to a crowd of nine before.
I answered all the questions they asked me, and felt despondent when the captain announced that we were approaching the runway. We all commented on how short the flight seemed. I couldn’t believe that I had spent the last five hours with these people and knew almost nothing about them. I didn’t get to ask them many questions and knew just as little about them then as I did before I met them. Everyone else got off the plane. Their entourage waited because they knew they would be causing a scene as soon as they got into the airport. I waited with them, quickly giving them my address and phone number. I figured, They’re famous, I don’t think they’re going to stalk me. Besides what are the chances they’ll ever call? I said my quick good-byes to everyone, thanked the guard that let me have his seat and grabbed my luggage. As I stepped into the airport I thought of how good it was to smell American air again. It felt great to be home but I was a little sad that I would probably see the Hansons again. Not just the three boys, but their whole family. They are all extremely nice, polite and close-knit. I felt kind of silly thinking about it, They probably talk to people all the time. What makes you think you’ll ever see them again?
I found my friends in line for customs. They drilled me for information, Liz nearly tackled me when I stepped out of the gate. She was rambling off questions at what seemed at light speed. I answered all their questions and just as I was about to go into the customs room, I was attacked around the legs by a three-year-old. Trying to keep my balance and not wanting to fall on Mackenzie, I grabbed at the door frame for support. Bending down, he handed me a drawing of a truck (it’s on the wall above my computer in my room) that he drew on the plane. I gave him a hug and told him he would have a great time in New York. After releasing him from my hug, I watched him run back to his mother’s waiting arms. He had the cutest little overalls on, he is so adorable. I waved to all of them and walked away.
That was the last time I saw or heard from the Hanson family.
~*~*~
Until I got home from work a few days after I got back. My parents were in the kitchen, talking in hushed tones. When I came in, they stopped talking and my mother said that a Diana Hanson had called and wanted to talk to me as soon as possible. She said to say that it was urgent.
"You want me to what?!" I was now screaming into the phone.
"Samantha, please don’t scream. The rest of the family can hear you and they’re standing on the other side of the room." Mrs. Hanson quietly said, "If you would like a little time to think it over that is fine, but we need an answer sometime tonight."
"Yes, I need some time. You said my parents know the details?" I questioned.
"Yes, both Mr. Hanson and I have spoken to them about this, they have all the details. Talk to them about it and then give us a call back. Your parents have the number. Thank you, we look forward to hearing from you soon." And with that Mrs. Hanson hung up the phone and turned to talk to the captive audience that had assembled in the hotel room.
"All right, I talked to her parents. They said that the decision was hers to make and that they would not push her either way." Mrs. Hanson made her way across the room to talk to her husband.
He spoke first, "if she doesn’t agree, we need to go to an agency. Jason and the others can’t handle it all."
"I know, but let’s just hope for her to say yes. I would rather have her watch the kids rather than someone we don’t know at all. Granted we’ve only known her for a few hours but I think she’s nice. Besides her parents seem very confident in her." Mrs. Hanson ushered all the children out of the room and went to help the younger three unpack.
Avery was struggling with her suitcase but managed to ask her mother about the phone call, "Did she say yes?"
"No, Sweetie she didn’t. I didn’t expect her to, not yet anyway. Six weeks is a long time when you’re seventeen. Don’t worry, let me and Dad deal with it. Now why don’t you go find your brothers and help them unpack. Tell them to bring me the clothes that need to be ironed. I will help them with those in a little while."
With that, Avery ran out of the room and down the hall. She sounded like a herd of elephants running down the hotel corridor, yelling, "Guys, Mom wants you to unpack and get your clothes ready to be ironed"
Running into the room, she repeated her former statement and jumped onto the nearest bed. Her hair was flying around in the air as she jumped, "Sami didn’t give Mom an answer but she has to give her one by tonight."
Isaac came out of the bathroom with a toothbrush dangling from his mouth. He came around the corner and said, with toothpaste spilling out of his mouth, "We know Ave, we were in the room when Mom talked to her."
"Ike, that’s gross, you’re spitting on me"
With a devilish grin that only a sister can recognize, he replied, "I know, that was the whole point."
Zachary finally turned around from where he was unpacking his suitcase and said, "Ike, you look like a rabid dog."
Isaac found this amusing and started to growl, causing even more toothpaste to come out of his mouth.
~*~*~
Back in my bedroom, I was sitting on my bed with the phone in my hand. Only when it started to beep loudly did I snap out of my daydream. I put the receiver back on the cradle but let my hand rest on the phone for a good five minutes. Finally snapping out of it, I ran down the stairs. I bellowed through the house, "Mom! Dad!" Running into the kitchen I found them sitting at the table, talking.
"Did you call her back?" my mother asked.
"Yeah, she said that she already talked to you. What do you think?"
My father finally spoke, "It’s up to you. You pointed them out at the airport and they seem like a pretty normal family. They just happened to have an entourage of bodyguards with them. We talked to both she and Mr. Hanson for at least two hours and they assured us of your safety. They said that you have met the security and that you did not seem intimidated at all."
"Well I must be the world’s best actress because I was scared as Hell when I first saw them."
My mother gave me a stern look, "Sami, if you are going to do this, you need to curb your language. We don't mind it but most families would cringe at your lack of the ability to hold your tongue. They seem like a very close-knit family and from what you have told us about them," she sighed, "We will back you in whatever decision you make. This is a once in a lifetime chance, but we know six weeks is a very long time to be away from your friends."
"I know that I would get to see things that I would never have a chance to see on my own but I don’t know if being a nanny for the three kids is such a good idea. I barely know them."
"Well they obviously think they know you," my father said, "Samantha, this is a great honor to be asked to do this. They told us that they were very taken by your maturity and your compassion for the children. They are in a bind. Everyone else has either backed out or does not have the time to travel with them. They will pay for everything-plane tickets, hotel rooms and food, everything. You already have a passport and we will write a note saying that they can make any medical decisions for you in our absence. Samantha, we are not pressuring you but they need an answer today. Think it over, but please hurry."
I went upstairs to think about it. I called my friend Chrissy to get advice, "Sami, are you nuts? You’ll have the chance to see the world. I wish I went to Spain with you and then I’d have gotten the chance to meet them and charm them into taking me to Europe."
"But Chrissy, would you want to have to take care of three children for the whole summer? Their normal nanny/helper person is pregnant and she has pregnancy diabetes. It isn’t serious, remember John? His wife had it, it goes away after you deliver the baby, but she is bedridden till the end of the pregnancy and she is only twelve weeks along. Chrissy how did I get myself into this? I just talked to them, that’s it. I’m only seventeen, what if something happens to one of the kids? I’d never forgive myself."
She wasn’t buying it, "Sami, both parents are still there and the three boys are there. They even have bodyguards there. Sami, all you have to do is occupy them, color with them, play games with them. Besides the youngest is already three, it’s not like they’re newborn babies."
"But it’s our last summer before we all head off in our separate ways to college. I wanted this to be the best summer of our lives. We may never see each other again after this summer."
"Sam, you’re being dramatic. They have a computer, right? We can email each other everyday. I’ll keep you up on all the gossip"
"Chrissy I know. I just don’t know what to do. Let me call you back later, I have to take a shower."
I grabbed clean clothes and headed for the bathroom. After drying my hair, I stepped out of the bathroom. My mother was standing with a piece of paper in her hand. Dictating what was on the paper, she said, "Liz called and said if you don’t call her back she will hunt you down. Nikki called and feels you should go with the Hansons. Dana called and thinks you are insane for even considering it. I would suggest calling them back ASAP. I don’t think you want to face the wrath of any one of them."
I smiled, Geez, good news travels fast. As I walked away I thought, The grapevine has nothing on us. Gossip travels at the speed of light with my friends.
I went for the phone and for the next hour I was lectured by all three of them. Everyone had an opinion, but I realized that nobody could help me but me.
I came to my decision while at dinner. I was looking at my plate, moving the potatoes around with my fork. I told my family that I was going to go and my mother told me that she was happy with that decision, but that she would miss me. My father expressed the same attitude. I was excused from the table and went up to my room to call Mrs. Hanson. There was no answer, so I left a message at the hotel front desk.
There was nothing good on television so I went to the video store. There were rows of videos but I couldn’t decide. I finally went for an old musical called Meet Me In St. Louis. I had seen it a hundred times but I felt like I was in the mood for it. Judy Garland was in it and it was upbeat and happy.
As I pulled into the driveway, my older brother Jamie was waiting for me, "Hey, I heard you’re going back to Europe. Mom told me that you’re going to be a nanny or something. Do you know what you’re doing?"
I leaned up against the car and sighed, "I hope so"
"Well be careful, I don’t want to have to identify your dead body in some foreign country."
I laughed, "Thanks, I’ll remember that. Hey, did you know they have six kids? God, I thought Mom was bad with three. I can’t even imagine having six kids. I think I would have gone insane after the fourth."
Jamie stood next to her, "Six kids, Wow! Isn’t that like a record? It must be something in their water."
I swatted at my brother, "Jamie, you’re brutal. They’re very nice. And the kids are very well behaved, they are so mature. They make you look like a two year old."
Jamie tried to look hurt, "Seriously Sam, be careful. I don’t want you to get hurt"
"I know. Hey, I’m going to miss these little heart to hearts when I’m gone. You’ll have to email your lectures to me." I was trying to be funny but it wasn’t working.
We stood in silence for a minute. Jamie broke the silence, "So when are you leaving?"
"I don’t know, I have to go and call her now. Wanna come?"
"No, I’m going out with Mary tonight. I’ll talk to you when I get home though"
I quietly picked up the movie off the hood of the car and handed the keys to him. We had become close since he went off to college. When we didn’t have to live with each other for nine months out of the year.
I stood in the headlights of the car as he backed out of the driveway. I felt such an empty feeling when I walked into the house. I picked up the phone and dialed the number. Mrs. Hanson seemed to be waiting for the call because she picked it up after a half a ring. I smiled when Mrs. Hanson hurriedly asked, "Sami?" instead of saying hello. She was happy that I decided to go. They needed someone and I was glad they asked me. Although I was still confused as to why they chose me since they had only met me once.
Mrs. Hanson let out a huge sigh of relief when I told her I would go. She told me that she would have the details later that night and that she would call me when she had more information. She said, "You will probably have to meet us at JFK, here in New York, since our tickets have already been bought. We are heading back to London on Saturday so you will probably have to get here by then. We will take care of everything, you just need to get to the airport."
"What? This Saturday? That’s two days away. I can’t make it by then. I haven’t even started my laundry yet...Okay...no, I can make it just get me the last possible flight out of Boston. Thank you."
Mrs. Hanson replied, "No, Samantha, thank you for this. We really appreciate it. I will have more information for you by later tonight."
I put the phone down and called Chrissy, "I did it. I’m going. I’m glad I am but I’m going to miss you. I have to go and pack because I have to leave on Saturday. Could you call everyone and tell them? I don’t have time to."
"Yeah, tomorrow night why don’t you come over and we’ll get some take out and watch movies"
"All right. I’ll talk to you then."
All I kept thinking that night was, "Thank God I work for my father, no one else would let me out of work with only a few hours notice."
~*~*~
The next hours were a blur. I got twelve loads of laundry done that night. I made a list of all the stuff that I needed and had to pick up the next day. Mrs. Hanson called back and said the flight out of New York was leaving at 3:30 on Saturday. I had to be at the airport in Boston at noon. I flew through the house grabbing anything that I could find: shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste etc.
I sat down to watch the movie at two o’clock in the morning and fell asleep listening to Judy Garland sing, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. I woke up at eight the next morning and continued packing. I grabbed clothes right out of the dryer and put them into a suitcase. I managed to fit everything into two large suitcases, one small suitcase and my backpack. Although I was jumping on the suitcases to get them to close. I had just about every piece of clothing I owned in a suitcase. I learned the hard way that just because it’s summer in Boston doesn’t mean it’s summer everywhere in the world. By the time my parents got home, I packed most of my room up. My mother went through the luggage and took out all the unnecessary items.
I headed downstairs later and was about to go into the kitchen when I heard my parents talking. My mother said, "I know this is best for her but I really don’t know. I know that they will take care of her but I still am worried about how she is going to be in a foreign country."
My dad replied, "She made it through Spain all right. I think she’ll be fine. She’ll be 18 in August and we can’t keep her here forever."
"I know, but that plane that went down in New York Harbor last year. It makes me nervous that she is leaving out of JFK."
I crept back upstairs and sat on my bed. My cat climbed up and sat on my lap, begging to be petted. I wanted to go, but I was going to miss everyone so much. I called Chrissy and told her that I was on my way to her house. I went down to tell my parents that I was going out and that I would be home by curfew.
I drove to Chrissy’s house. Chrissy had called half the state of Massachusetts. I had to park down the street because so many people were there. Chrissy had made an impromptu going-away party for me. I walked up to the door and as soon as it opened, I felt better. I didn’t have a chance to feel bad. My friends were dancing and jumping around like animals. Any excuse to party and we were there. Before I knew it, it was eleven o’clock and I was getting ready to leave. I hunted down my closest friends and we grouped together in Chrissy’s kitchen. The tears started and we were in a huge group hug. Nikki went to get something and everyone kept telling me that I was going to have a great time. Nikki came back with a notebook-sized album in her hands. I opened it and there were pictures of all my friends with messages from each of them in it. I told them I would read it when I got on the plane and I gave everyone a final hug before leaving. I was definitely going to miss them.
Mrs. Hanson replaced the receiver and walked down the hall to the room where the younger children were playing. Jessica and Avery were playing fish while Mackenzie was pushing his toy truck around on the rug. Mackenzie made little beeping noises as he crawled between his sisters’ card game. The girls were about to yell when they heard Mrs. Hanson come into the room. She sat down on one of the beds and told them that Sami had said yes. The girls were happy but listened intently as their mother explained what they could and could not do. Mrs. Hanson ended her lecture with the oh-so-common, "Do you understand?" in that motherly tone of voice.
Jessica was the first to respond, "Yes, but what’s wrong with Ms. Spaulding?"
"Jess, Mrs. Spaulding is pregnant and she has to stay in bed until the baby comes. If she doesn’t stay in bed, she could hurt the baby."
Jessica, not quite understanding, just replied, "Oh"
Avery climbed up onto the bed next to her mother and asked, "Can Sami sleep in our room?"
"Yes, Sweetie. She is going to be staying in the same room as the three of you, but you have to respect her privacy. She’s not used to having to share a room with three other people. She only has two brothers, but she doesn’t share a room with either of them. When your father and the others get back, I’ll tell them."
A few hours later, when they came back, Mrs. Hanson knocked on the boys’ door, "May I come in?"
Zachary opened the door and then went back to watching television and eating fruit snacks. Taylor was in the bathroom changing into pajamas and Isaac was on the phone, "Mom, what time should we make the wake-up call for?"
Thinking about it for a minute, "Um...you have to be at the radio station by seven, but you won’t be singing so you don’t need to warm up. I’d say probably five. Unless you all want to take showers tonight and then you could make it later. That’s up to you. We should probably have breakfast at six."
By then Taylor had come out of the bathroom and was putting his clothes into his suitcase. Isaac asked the front desk for a five o’clock call and hung up the phone.
Zachary finally tore his eyes away from the television and looked up at his mother to ask, "Did Sami call back?"
"Yes that’s why I came in here. She said yes, but I want you to be nice to her. Please don’t gang up on her. You can be very intimidating as a group. If she needs a little help with Mack, you know how he gets, just give her a hand. She doesn’t have any kids" she stopped for a second, realizing how absurd her last comment was, "so she really doesn’t know what to expect. Just be nice."
They all reassured their mother that they wouldn’t do anything to drive Samantha insane. And after quick goodnights, she left them so they could sleep. But they didn’t go to sleep, they talked for a good hour before they finally closed their eyes.
~*~*~
I woke up the next morning with a splitting headache. I took two aspirins and hoped for the best. Other than my headache, the morning went smoothly. Both of my parents were going with me to the airport, but neither of my brothers could go.
I put my suitcases in the car. Jamie waited for me to come back inside to say good-bye. He had the keys in his hand and was ready to go to work, "Hey, I gotta go." he paused for a second, "You know that by the time you get back, I’ll be at school."
"No, they have a concert in Canada in the middle of August. I’ll be home for my birthday and you can see me then. Mrs. Hanson said that they would give me a few days off before we have to go to New York. We can get Josh and Mary and go to the beach or something. I’ll call sometime at the beginning of the week."
Josh just waved before flying out the door after Jamie. He was going to a friend’s house and Jamie was his ride.
The airport ride was pretty quiet, I had my headphones on and was listening to one of my Dave Matthews Band CDs. My other musical obsession is Dave Matthews, I love their sound. I am amazed at what one man (Boyd Tinsely) can do with a violin.
I got my luggage out of the car and my father helped me carry it into the airport. I picked up my ticket and was kind of surprised that I was flying first class. I quickly said good-bye to my parents, not wanting to get too emotional. As much as I tried to be mature and grown up, I was still going to miss my parents.
"Hey, just think of this as a look at what’s going to come. Remember, I’m moving away to college in a couple of months." My mother gave me a hug and kiss. My father did the same and handed me an envelope. He told me not to open it until I got on the plane.
I found my seat and opened the envelope my father had given me. It was a good bye card that my family signed enclosed was $200 worth of travelers checks to go away with. I put it into my backpack and let my eyes lazily close. The sleep I had been deprived of for days finally caught up with me. I woke up when the stewardess touched my shoulder, "Miss? Miss, the flight is over." I opened my eyes and looked around, the plane was empty. I grabbed my backpack and rushed out of the terminal. I stopped and looked around-no one was there to meet me. I didn’t expect the family to meet me but I thought Jason or one of the others would come to claim me. I sat down in one of the chairs and when Jason finally came around the corner, I was half-asleep. He put his hand out and I shook it, "Do you remember me?"
"Yes, Jason right?"
"Yup, sorry I’m late, we had a problem this morning. We’re running a little late, so if I can grab your stuff we have to go."
We were practically running through the airport to the ticket counter. Jason had my ticket and when they straightened out where I would sit, we walked to a door marked Employees Only. Jason took a key out of his pocket and unlocked the door. The room was considerably less bright than the airport itself and the faint smell of stale cigarettes was in the air. He led me to a room filled with people, the Hansons were there along with their entourage. Some of which I knew, others that I didn’t know. They all smiled (the whole family is big on smiling) and looked up when we walked in. Jason brought me over to where two other men were standing.
I extended my hand to one of the men, "This is Louis."
Pointing to the other man Jason said, "This is Robert. He along with Louis and myself are the boys’ bodyguards." This was the man who gave up his seat for me on the plane.
"Hello, it’s nice to meet you."
Jason turned to face me and I realized how big he was. Not fat, but he was very muscular. I felt bad for anyone that made him angry. I made a mental note to myself to never get on his bad side.
"Samantha," he spoke in a serious tone, "Our job is to keep the whole family safe. Along with Mr. and Mrs. Hanson and the children, we will ensure your safety. It is imperative that you stay with us when we are in public and that you never speak to anyone about the family."
By now, I was scared stiff. I couldn’t even reply, all I could do was shake my head up and down. Jason smiled at me and said, "We will brief you more later" Turning to the family he said, "Now we need to catch a plane."
Everyone picked up their various items and headed for the door. I was starting to rethink my decision, "What did he mean ‘brief me’? What the heck did I get myself into?" Each of the children had said hello. Taylor and Zachary walked over to me and told me that Jason was just trying to tell her what to expect.
Mrs. Hanson came up to me, "Thank you for this. I’m sorry if he scared you. It’s just that the fans can be a bit...vocal when they see the boys."
I took a deep breath and walked behind the family. After a few quiet moments, they were recognized and the group quickened their pace. Girls were following them through the airport, some taking pictures (I soon realized that girls keep cameras with them at all times. Why you would have your camera with you in the middle of an airport is beyond me, but they do) others asking for autographs. The boys politely tried to explain they were late and did not have time. Most of the girls left, but some kept following and were getting a bit rude. They were yelling at us, saying "I love you" or "I love the song...." They followed us right up to the gate and would have followed us in if airport security hadn’t stopped them. We got on the plane and found our seats. I was seated next to Jessica and across the aisle was Jason. He purposely did this so he could explain everything that I needed to know. He gave me a piece of paper that had numbers on it. Numbers that I had to call if I was separated from the group. He went on to talk about basic stuff that I figured I would need to do anyway.
Jessica was listening intently to our conversation. She leaned forward and said, "Jason, you’re scaring her."
"Thank you. He isn’t scaring me, just making me a little nervous. Do they get that emotional when they see your brothers?"
"Yes! They start screaming and crying and acting like idiots. I don’t understand why they get so stupid."
I laughed, "I agree. I don’t know how I’d react if my brothers were the object of so many girls’ affection."
"How come you didn’t scream? We saw you when you first came to talk to them. Don’t you like them?"
"Oh, of course I like them. They are very nice." I had to think about it for a second, "I don’t know why I didn’t scream, possibly because I didn’t want to act like those girls. I saw how the girls acted before my friend and I came to talk to you and I didn’t want to be like that. Also, I am older than most of the girls that were screaming.
Most of those girls were only fourteen or so."
She smiled and I turned to face Jason again. He was gone. I looked back down the aisle and saw him arguing with some girls with cameras in their hands.
Jessica turned around and was peering over her seat to look at Jason, "They’re just boys, why do they get so excited? I mean it’s Ike, Tay and Zac, what’s so special about them?"
"They make girls smile, I guess. I don’t know why they get so ecstatic...So what do you like to do? I’m staying with you for a while so I need to know what you like to do. Are you even the least bit happy that I am going to watch you?"
"Yeah, I guess so...Mrs. Spaulding is sick."
"I know, but it’s common in women. She’ll be fine after the baby is born."
Jessica got really excited then, "You know what’s wrong with her?"
"Yes, I know someone who had diabetes during her pregnancy. It’s not a comfortable experience but she’ll be fine."
I heard the thumping of little sneakers running down the aisle and was attacked by a blond in black overalls.
"Joshua Mackenzie!" Mrs. Hanson had followed him and had a look of shock on her face, "You know better than that. You could have hurt Samantha."
I picked him up and put him in my lap. He put his fingers in his mouth and looked at his mother with the most innocent look.
"Don’t give me that. You know better." She was smiling by now and Mackenzie knew he had her. "I’m sorry Samantha, he’s just a little excited about flying."
I turned Mackenzie to face me, "Wait a second. Your first name isn’t Mackenzie?"
He looked up at me and shook his head back and forth furiously.
Jessica explained, "No his first name is Joshua."
"I have a little brother Joshua...Well, he’s not really little...he’s..fifteen. But to me that’s little."
He took his fingers out of his mouth, "Really?!"
"Really...hey are you ticklish?"
Before I knew it, he was off my lap and running down the aisle yelling, "Dad!" and then some incoherent phrase.
Mrs. Hanson was walking behind him, "shushing" him the whole way.
"I’ll take that as a yes." I said
On the other side of the plane, Taylor asked, "So what do you think?" he finally looked away from the window and asked Isaac, who was sitting next to him engrossed in a book.
"What?" Isaac questioned, not looking up from his book.
"Samantha, what do you think?" Taylor was getting frustrated with Isaac.
"She’s fine. Why?"
"No, I was just thinking..." His voice trailed off.
Isaac finally turned to look at Taylor, "What’s wrong with her?"
"Nothing, but don’t you think it’s weird that Mom asked some girl to watch them."
"Tay, she had no choice. It was either her or some strange woman who we’ve never met. Besides wouldn’t you rather have someone at least close to our age. Mrs. Spaulding was nice but she was...like...thirty. At least Sami’s part of our generation. Why you don’t have a crush on her, do you?"
***Hi! this is me, Amanda (the author). For the record...No he does not have a crush. None of them fall madly in love with Sami and vice versa. Now back to the story***
Of course Zachary’s ears perked right up at that statement, "Who’s Tay got a crush on?"
Taylor and Isaac just stared at him.
"How do you do that? You have headphones on. How did you hear that?" Isaac asked.
"Isaac said something about a crush."
"And what? Your ears just heard that over the sound of the music."
Zachary didn’t understand, "Yeah! What’s wrong with that?"
The other two just shook their heads. Taylor said, "You are weird Zac, really weird. And no I don’t have a crush on Sami. I just don’t trust her."
Isaac looked at him blankly, "Why don’t you trust her? She seems really nice. Besides Jason checked her out before Mom called her. You really don’t think Jason would let some freak stay with us do you? He’s way too paranoid for that!"
Zachary wanted to get in on the conversation, "I’m going to go talk to her. I’m sure Jessica has bored her by talking her to death."
Isaac put his book down, "Hey, I’ll go with you. Tay, you coming?"
"Yeah, I’ll be right there."
"Hey, has Jess bored you to death yet?" Zachary asked.
"No, actually we were just getting to know each other. She’s very nice."
"Did you know that Sami has two brothers?" Jessica was practically jumping in her seat.
"I have a younger brother, Josh, and an older brother, Jamie. I’m in the middle."
"You’re the only girl?" Taylor had finally joined his brothers and wanted to be included in the conversation.
"Yes. That can be good and bad. Good, because I know a lot more about the male mind than my friends, but bad because I have always been a bit of a tomboy. I was more interested in my brother’s trucks than Barbie dolls. My mother was crushed, she wanted a girl so she could buy her dresses. I think I was born in overalls covered with mud."
They all laughed. "Well at least I can keep them laughing," I thought. I had been pretty scared by the people that followed us through the airport. I joked about it when I first heard the girls screaming at them in London, but now that I was with them it was different. It definitely wasn’t funny anymore. Some of those girls looked like they would have done anything to talk to the guys. I was a little scared for the rest of the family, it has to be scary for a nine year-old to be pursued by so many people.
"Samantha?" My thoughts were cut short when Isaac called my name.
"I’m sorry, what? I was just thinking."
"We asked you about your brothers."
"Oh, Jamie is nineteen. He’ll be twenty in September, he has a girlfriend Mary. She is really nice, I like her. Joshua is fourteen, he’ll be fifteen in September. He is going to be a sophomore in high school. What else do you want to know?"
Jessica asked if Jamie still went to school.
"Yes, he’s going to be a sophomore at the Worchester Poly Tech and I’m going to be a freshman at Saint Augustine College in New Hampshire. What grade are you going into?"
Jessica held up four fingers.
"So I’ve heard that you guys have lived in various places around the world."
Taylor said, "My dad’s job took us to different countries in South America and the Caribbean."
"Ah, can you speak Spanish?"
"Ike and I can kind of, but Zac usually needs help with it. We can’t speak it fluently but we can get by."
"I’ve taken six years of the language and been to the country, but I still can’t speak it very well. They speak so fast; I can only stare at them and hope they repeat it slower. I hope no one said anything important to me while I was in Spain cause I never understood. I just kind of smiled and nodded my head."
The stewardess came by and asked the guys to find their seats. I wanted to keep talking to them, "Why don’t you see if you can trade seats with the people in front of Jessica and me. Zachary, I’m sure Jason will let you sit in his seat...Actually...where is Jason? He disappeared awhile ago and I haven’t seen him since."
"I don’t know but, finder’s keepers."
Zachary plunked down in the seat next to us while Isaac and Taylor went to get their stuff.
Zachary turned to me and politely asked me, "Could you call me Zac? I really don’t like when people call me Zachary. That’s what my mom says when she’s mad at me."
"Oh, I know the feeling. The worst is when they say your middle name too. That’s when you know you’re in trouble. I can hear my mother now, yelling from the bottom of the stairs, ‘Samantha Elizabeth Dervan get down here now’!!"
"Oh I know, Zachary Walker Hanson NOW!!!" Zac shuddered at the thought. I laughed. He seemed really nice.
The other two were back now and I asked them if they had a nickname they would rather be called by.
Isaac went down the whole family, "Call me Ike, Taylor is Tay, Jessica is Jessie or Jess, Avery is usually Avie and Mackenzie is Mack or Mackie. And my parents are Diana and Walker."
"Oh no, I’ll call them Mr. and Mrs. My mother would flip if I called them by their first names. She’s a bit extreme when it comes to that."
Isaac and Taylor were turned around in their seats and we talked and joked for the rest of the flight. When we landed in London it was so great to be able to stand up after sitting for five hours. Jason came back and kneeled down next to my seat to speak to us.
"Okay." He took a deep breath, "It’s three in the morning here so we shouldn’t have too many problems, but you and Bob will walk further behind us. Keep your eyes open and whatever you do, don’t stop. Don’t make it obvious you’re with us. The others know what to do. We want you to be inconspicuous. You will be in a car with Louis and Bob, if you don’t mind."
"No that’s fine. Besides" I gave a grin in the direction of the guys, "I think I’ve had enough of the Trio of Trouble for at least a little while."
Almost immediately a chorus of, "WHAT?!?" came from the guys.
"The trio of trouble. It’s the truth, you are trouble."
Jessie laughed, "I like it. Mom’ll laugh when she hears it." With that she climbed around my legs and went to tell her mother.
Zac stood up and held his hand out for me to shake it, "Well it was nice to see you again. I hope we can do this again some time."
"Oh, right, I can’t talk to you in public anymore. We’ll I’ll see you later."
We got off the plane and I took my place next to Bob. He smiled and we talked about various things. He’s from New York. He and Jason were friends before they started working for the family.
We got out of the gate and it was pretty quiet. Bob and I kept walking slowly behind them. We weren’t noticed, but I didn’t want to jinx it by saying anything. We got to the luggage carousal and unfortunately my luggage was the last off the plane. Isn’t that always the way? No matter if I’m the first or the last on the plane, my luggage is always last off. The others couldn’t wait; they went on without Louis, Bob or I. When we made it to the doors, there was a car waiting for us and I climbed into the backseat with my stuff.
By the time we got to the hotel, everyone was already unpacking in their rooms. We were staying in London for 3 days. They had a radio appearance, a television appearance and a signing at a huge music store in the middle of London. I was just happy to find a bed. Mr. Hanson and Jason met us as we got off the elevator.
"You’re going to have to share a room with the younger three because the hotel doesn’t have any more rooms."
"No problem, I don’t mind."
When I came into the room, Avery was in the bathroom changing and Jessica was waiting with her pajamas in her arms.
"Where’s Mackie?"
"He’s with my Mom. He was being unusually hyper so Mom took him into their room. I’ll share a bed with Mack, if you don’t mind sharing with Avery."
"No, that’s fine"
There was a door that connected between our room and the boys’ room. It opened and Zac poked his head out and asked where Mackie was, Jessica pointed to the room across the hall. His head disappeared and few seconds later I heard their door to the hallway open. While Jessica changed in the bathroom, I rummaged through my suitcase trying to find shorts and a T-shirt for bed. I found my toothbrush but was missing toothpaste. I pulled everything out of my suitcase and scattered it unto a desk, but couldn’t find it. I went into the bathroom to change but didn’t find any toothpaste in there either.
"Avery, where’s the toothpaste?"
"Tay stole ours in New York. It’s in their room, I think." I went over to the boy’s room and asked to borrow theirs. Their room was the identical to ours except for the mess. Clothes were everywhere all over the room. "Amazing" I thought, " we’ve only been here for a half an hour and it’s already a mess"
"Can I borrow toothpaste? Apparently mine never made it into my bag."
Taylor was sitting on one of the beds with his back against the wall, reading a magazine, "Yeah but Ike’s in the shower so you’re going to have to wait."
"He’s in the shower? It’s three-thirty in the morning."
"It’s Ike, don’t ask"
"What are you reading?"
"Seventeen."
"Oh, I never thought of you as the Seventeen type."
"They have an article in it on us. We posed for the pictures about two months ago but it’s just coming out in this issue."
"Can I see?"
"Yeah, they’re not the best. We had just gotten back from Los Angeles and didn’t have much time to catch up on sleep."
I sat down on the bed and he turned the magazine around so I could read it. He got up and left me there in the room alone. "Well, all right" I thought, "That was a bit rude." I left the magazine and went back to my room. Avery and Jessie were already in bed but they weren’t asleep though; they were still pretty wired from being on the plane.
"Do you guys have a book or something you read before bed?" They looked at me kind of strangely, "I’m sorry, I really don’t remember when my mother stopped reading to me before bed." I went into the bathroom to brush my hair and I heard someone get up and move across the room. There was a soft knock on the door and I opened it. Avery was standing with a book in her hand.
"You can read this, if you want to"
I smiled at her, she was so cute, "Let me finish and I’ll be right there, all right?"
She went back around the corner and when I was finished I went in to sit on the bed. I took the book out of Avery’s hand and looked at the cover; a Dr. Seuss book that I had never heard of. Jessica was in her bed and when I asked her if she wanted to join us, she politely refused.
It was great, I kind of got into the reading and changed my voice for all the different characters. Avery laughed at one of the voices I did for a boy; I lowered my voice so low that it hurt to talk for very long. Jessica had rolled over and was listening intently to me. I had gotten part way through the book when I realized that Mackie would probably want to hear it. I held the book out for Avery to hold it and keep track of where we were in the book.
Zac, Mr. and Mrs. Hanson and Mackenzie were in the parents room talking. I knocked on the door even though it was open, "Come in"
"Hello, I was reading the girls a story and thought Mackenzie would like to join us."
He was standing on the edge of a bed, playing with Zac. When I asked him if he wanted to read a story, he jumped off the bed and ran across the hall. He was so cute in his little dinosaur pajamas.
When I got back in the room everyone had piled onto Avery’s and my bed.
"Make way for me. It’s my bed."
"Taylor was looking for you. He’s in his room"
I went to the door and poked my head around the corner, "Were you looking for me? Is Isaac out of the bathroom yet?"
"No, not yet. I went to get a soda from the machine at the end of the hall, and I got you one too. It’s on the table over there. Did you read the magazine?"
"No, I’ll read it later. Um...I’m reading the kids a story if you want to come in. You don’t have to but, I’m still pretty wired so I know I’m not going to sleep anytime soon." I walked over and picked up the soda off the table.
"No, I’ll probably just stay in here. But thanks anyway."
From the other room I heard a chorus of, "Sami!"
"Coming...well, good night."
I walked back into my room and found another kid on the bed. "No Zac, off, I need room to sit...All right, fine...but push over."
I climbed on and had Avery on my right and Jessie on my left. Zac was spread across the foot of the bed and Mackie was sitting in front of Jessie. Avery lost the page we were on, so we had to start from the beginning again. About two pages into it I heard Isaac come out of the bathroom. I put the book down and went to brush my teeth.
"Oh, come on, hurry up. I want to hear the voices."
Isaac was standing over his suitcase. "Hey, can I borrow your toothpaste?"
"Yeah it’s in there," pointing to the bathroom.
"Hey, I’m reading to the kids and if you want to can join us. I’m not going to sleep anytime soon so they’re all piled in our room."
"Um...yeah, there’s nothing to do in here. I’ll be there in a second."
After brushing my teeth, I went back to continue reading. Isaac came over and sat on the edge of the bed. Actually, he sat on Zac first and then after Zac pushed him off, he sat on the edge of the bed. I only made it through about half the book when the two girls were asleep. Mackenzie didn’t even make it that far-he was asleep before I even started reading. Zac was out sometime after that. Isaac and I put them in different beds. I picked up Avery and put her in the other bed. Isaac put Mackenzie next to her; I pulled the covers back and we put Zac next to Jessie.
My bed was already taken and without even thinking about it, I went in to the other room. Taylor was already asleep. Isaac shared a bed with him and I took Zac’s bed for the night. I didn’t think I was that tired but I was asleep almost immediately.
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