Home is who you are

Part Fifteen

15

A few days later Monica knocked on Gabi's door unexpectedly.

"Hey!" They hugged. "You're back! How was the trip?" Gabi asked.

"Awesome! And I got a surprise for you!" Monica grinned and rubbed her hands together.

"A surprise? Come on in, this is my sister Flávia. Flá, this is Monica, from French classes."

"Hi, nice meeting you." Flávia got up and they kissed twice on the cheeks.

"Hi, great to meet you. Oh, this makes it even better!"

"What makes what better? Did you say you have a surprise for me? What is it?"

"Ta-da!" Monica produced three concert tickets out of her purse and shook them in the air, smiling. "I won tickets for the Backstreet Boys concert at the seaside!"

"What?!" Gabi and Flávia exclaimed in unison.

"How?"

"When?"

"Oh my God, this is fun!" Monica sat down. "Okay, so the concert is this Sunday, Jonas' family has an apartment there. We can take the train, enjoy a beach day, sleep over and come back on Monday morning. What do you say?"

"Yes, of course! The Backstreet Boys, I can't believe it!" Gabi couldn't stop smiling.

"Remember how we hung posters all over our room?" Flávia said. "And how we argued about who the most handsome was?"

"I cried when mom threw all our stuff away without even asking." Gabi said.

"Two married women keeping all this stupid old crap!" Flávia mimicked.

"Oh, I think I still have the CDs with me." Gabi went to her room and came back with a thick CD case. "I haven't listened to them in ages."

Gabi, Flávia and Monica stood right in front of the stage, sang along with every song and touched the guys' hands whenever they reached out. That night every single thing was perfect. Even the hysterical teenagers' screams.

"Oh my God, I think I've gone deaf." Monica said as they walked out of the venue.

"My ears are buzzing like crazy!" Flávia added, covering and uncovering her ears with her hands. "Aah! Make it stop!"

"Poor old ladies, can't handle a hoard of loud fans!" Gabi laughed.

"You say that because you're one of them." Flávia said.

"Wasn't it perfect?" Gabi was ecstatic. She could not stop laughing and talking about how much hotter they all looked in real life and how cool the new songs were. That night she forgot about everything else. Her thirteen-year-old self had her biggest dream fulfilled.

They were on the train back to Brussels when she got the call. It was her father. She stared at the phone, then at her sister, not knowing what to do.

"What?" Flávia asked.

"It's dad, he never calls." Gabi said.

"Come on, answer it!" Flávia urged.

"This can't be good..." The phone stopped ringing.

"Don't be 'silly, call him back."

"Oh, it's him again. Here, you answer." She dropped her phone on her sister's lap.

"No, he's calling you!" Flávia shoved it back in her hands.

"Hello? Hi dad..." They spoke briefly and quietly and Gabi's expression went from surprise to sadness to worry, all in a few seconds.

Flávia and Monica looked at her expectantly.

"Uncle Jorge just died." She said in a whisper.

"Oh... I'm so sorry to hear that." Monica reached for Gabi and Flávia's hands and gently squeezed them.

"What happened?" Flávia asked.

"Heart attack, they said. It was so sudden-"

"Dad must be devastated!"

They sat in silence for the rest of the trip, wiping quiet tears of sadness and concern.