“Some people are meant to fall in love with each other, but not meant to be together.”
"Sometimes you'll never know the true value of a moment until it becomes a memory."
Prologue: Pictures
—When they point to the pictures, please tell 'em my name—
"Daddy!"
I look up from my paper at my three year old bouncing around in front of me.
She smiles at me and hops on the couch next to me. I put my newspaper down on the coffee table and pull her onto my lap.
"Leann!" I mock her excitement.
She giggles. "Mummy said to tell me a story!"
I laugh, leaning my head against the back of the couch. "I think mummy tells the best stories," I tell Leann, looking at my wife in the kitchen. She's making tea and smiling at me.
"I think daddy tells stories better," she tells our daughter. "Plus, mummy has to go to work," she adds, pouring her tea into a thermos.
I roll my eyes and sit up, looking at Leann. "What story do you want to hear, sweetie?" I ask her.
She shrugs her small shoulders. "I dunno."
I chuckle. "You don't know? Do you want to hear the three little pigs again?" I ask.
"She was up all night last time you told her that one," my wife said, walking into the living room with her purse and tea. "Why don't you tell her about that picture on the fridge," she suggest, gathering her things from the coffee table.
I look at her curiously. "What picture?"
"The one of you and the boys," she explains.
My heart stops. The boys. God, I hadn't seen them since we broke up. It's been almost ten years. I had rarely thought about them since then.
"I thought we weren't going to tell her about that?" I ask her, raising my eyebrows.
She shrugs. "You're the one who said you weren't, I never said you couldn't."
"But doesn't it bother you? You know, since everything that happened?" I ask her. It clearly has to bother her somehow. I mean, it would bother any normal person.
She shakes her head. "We're married now and it was in the past. You shouldn't dwell on the past, babe."
I shrug and look back at my daughter. "Do you think she's ready?"
"Just don't go into too much detail. Make a story out of it. You've always been creative."
I chuckle. "I have, haven't I?"
She smiles. "I'll see you two tonight. Try not to make a mess or burn the house down," she says, kissing my brown hair.
I glare at her. "I'm a big boy now. I'm not going to burn the house down."
She laughs and kisses Leann's cheek. "Make sure daddy behaves, sweetie," she tells her.
I roll my eyes and Leann giggles. "Okay mummy!"
I sigh as the front door to our flat closes. Leann looks at me and smiles. I smile and kiss her forehead.
I stand, taking her with me to the kitchen as she wraps her small legs around my waist. She lays her head on my shoulder and her small light brown ponytail bounces as I walk.
I stop in front of the fridge, grab the picture of the boys and me and walk back to my seat on the couch.
I sit down slowly, still holding Leann in my arms. I lie back on the couch and sit her on my stomach.
"Want to hear a story?" I ask her.
She smiles and nods happily.
I smile and kiss her forehead. "You know that song that mummy always listens to?” I ask her.
“What makes you boo-ti-full,” she chirps.
I smile, chuckling at her mispronunciation. “Yes, What Makes You Beautiful? Well, I sang that song when I was younger,” I explain to her.
She gasps. “Really?”
I nod. “I was in a boy band when I was younger and we sang that song together and that’s why mummy likes it,” I say.
“What else did you sing?” she asks and her eyes light up.
I smile. “We sang a lot of songs. We traveled the world and met a lot of people, too.”
“Who was in the band?” she asks.
I smile to myself and lift the picture up. I stare at it for a second. I stare at the four boys who use to be my best mates. My eyes find the boy who changed my life forever.
I admired him. He was a lot braver than I was. He put up with all my crap and everyone else’s crap. He carried it all on his shoulders the whole time we were together as a band. He kept everything under control when it was all falling apart. He was known as Mr. Sensible.
I chuckle at his nickname. God, did I miss him. I miss them all.
“Daddy, what’s so funny?” she asks, looking at me curiously.
I smile at her. “Nothing, sweetie.”
“Are you going to tell me about your friends?” she asks.
I smile and nod. I’m not going to tell her about what happened behind closed doors because that’s not for a three year old to know. I’m going to tell her about our music, how we were put together, about Uncle Simon, all the awards and how it all slowly fell apart.
Everything that we accomplished in those few years together will never be forgotten. It was impossible. I still hear our songs on the radio and see girls wearing our shirts like how girls would wear Beatles shirts when I was younger. We became a musical phenomenon in a short time, too short if you ask the experts. That’s why many people think we fell, because we shot to global fame in two years time. They didn’t know the truth; I did.
It fell apart for several reasons. It was because of what happened behind the camera and how sometimes people go too far. We couldn’t handle it all, even though we wanted to. It was for the best. I know that now, but then, none of it made sense. I guess I wasn’t mature enough to handle it.
“Who’s that?” she asks, pointing to the brown haired boy in the picture. He was standing my side, his arm draped around my shoulders casually. It was one of the last pictures we took together as a band.
"That's Liam," I tell her.
"Lee-yum," she repeats, sounding out the name. "Is he your friend, daddy?"
I smile and kiss her head. “He was a really good friend, Leann.”
As she stares at the picture, my heart starts to remember everything that happened. I start to think about all the emotions I felt in that short time. I was happier than I had ever been in my thirty-two years of living. It’s crazy to think all this happened only a decade ago.
I smile to myself as she continues to stare at the picture. I remember the day as if it was yesterday.
And the flashback starts…
