The Reunion

Chapter 12

PRESENT DAY

'...So it was all down to you for bringing us together,' said Samantha.

'I think you would have got together without any encouragement from me,' I pleaded. 'But, just out of curiosity, would any of you have tried to sneak the solo spot?'

All heads turned towards Gillian who, sheepishly, raised her hand. 'I guess it's no surprise that I would have tried to.'

'Which is why we sent Samantha,' said Graham.

'We're nearing the end of this brilliant reunion interview,' I said which brought quite a few boos from the audience. 'My last question is to you all individually, starting with Tony. What are the three things you most regret and the three things you are most proud of?'

'Three things I regret...' said Tony thoughtfully. 'I guess number one would be not speaking to Gill sooner. We probably could have settled the argument a lot earlier. Number two... missing a lot of my

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children's infant years because of my job. Number three would have to be that I wish I could have swapped places with Christian. To watch a young child have to go through so much is heartbreaking. But what I'm proud of... firstly my family. We've always been very close but they've kept me going day after day when, sometimes, I felt like just giving up. Secondly, starting the careers of some very talented groups and singers – Maxi Mix and Chelsea B, for example – and thirdly, being part of one of the most successful pop groups in history.'

'Thank you, Tony,' I said. 'Gillian, same question to you.'

'My biggest regret is that what I did to Tony,' Gillian responded. 'It was stupid, wrong and a downright lie. However, for me, personally, it meant that I lost my best friend in the group and in my life at that time. Even if I had of rectified it immediately, which, I agree, I should have done, I knew that I had lost my bestie forever. My second regret is linked to that. It is for not apologising sooner. But not just to Tony, but to Samantha, Graham, our management team, Wayne the waiter and to all you guys...' she gestured to the audience, 'because I let you down. I don't expect to ever be forgiven by any of you but it's my own stupid fault and I'll have to live with that forever. My third regret would be for the way I treated Brian and Clint. I was trying to make them similar to Tony but should have realised that they were their own person with their own personalities. The thing I'm most proud about is my relationship with

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Sue. She is my rock. Without her, I dread to think what I would be doing now. Probably those reality television shows that everybody hates but just have to watch. I love her with all my heart.' This brought a loud round of applause from the audience and they generally seemed to be warming to Gillian. 'My second thing would have to be being part of the best pop group ever. We had some good times and now, thankfully, we will have a lot more. Finally, I guess I'm proud of how I've kept going. I've hit bottom a few times, mostly my own fault, but I managed to keep coming back.'

I turned to Samantha but didn't have to ask her the question as she was ready.

'I regret not standing up for Tony, even though he told us not to,' she began. 'Although, perhaps, if we did then we may have alienated Gillian completely and we probably would not be sitting here now. I regret not trying to get the band back together sooner. I've thought about it many times over the years but never really took those first steps to do anything about it. Finally, I really regret not being there for my son, Christopher. I was pretty successful in fashion and was just about to launch a new trouser-suit line, which quite a few people ridiculed and criticised, but did pretty damn well. I was jetting off to meetings and shows, leaving Christopher behind. I missed much of his "firsts",' she continued doing the quotation marks with her fingers on both hands. 'Three things I have been proud of? Well, being with my wonderful husband, Luigi, and our wonderful children, Christopher, Davido, Stephanie and Charlotte. Creating a successful fashion brand and being