Love Thy Neighbor

Chapter 25

Shawn has been in Europe promoting the single that just dropped. It's getting lots of air play here in Canada and is getting really good reviews. I love it, but I am a bit biased. Elsie says it's one of his better songs, and I tend to take her word on his music. Sadly, she knows more than I do.

We communicate several times a day, though my work schedule does not mesh perfectly with the time zone difference, so we usually have a text conversation while I am at work, and then we either talk or Skype when I get home. It's always late where he is, and I sense he waits up so we can have those brief talks.

The trip is only two weeks, but he has more travel ahead of him when he gets back. He'll be doing the talk show circuit in the US, performing the new song live.

On Shawn's last day in Europe, he's in London at one of his favorite radio stations. Each promotional visit is essentially the same. There's usually some playful banter, maybe a game or quiz or some sort of funny contrived part, the song is played, and then there's a Q & A. The order of these things can change, but it's pretty routine.

I can't listen to all the European stations, so I rely on his fan accounts on social media to share anything that's particularly funny or exciting.

Around 2:00 PM I get a call from my sister. Elsie never calls me during a workday. Ever.

"I'm at work, Els. Is everything okay? Why aren't you in school?"

She groans. "Yes everything is fine. It's a teacher workday. Chill."

"What's up?" I ask, looking around at the other cubicles where everyone is hard at work.

"Did you see or hear Shawn's interview from this morning?" she asks.

I usually check social media when I get home, so I had not seen it yet. I tell her that.

"Check it out. Bye!" and she hangs up.

I am now very curious. I get up and go to the bathroom, taking just my phone with me. I go into a stall and pull up Twitter. It takes about 2 seconds for me to see that the big news is that Shawn Mendes has a girlfriend.

Shit. I forgot my ear buds. I really don't want to play the video in the stall. Someone could walk in. It's kind of lame to be caught listening to a story that involves you personally.

I leave the bathroom, go back to my cubicle, dig through my purse until I find my ear buds, and try to go back to the bathroom as inconspicuously as possible. I'm pretty sure everyone with a desk near the restrooms thinks I have diarrhea or something.

When I am back in the privacy of the stall, I put my ear buds in and plug them into my phone. I locate the video again and press play.

The clip starts out with the DJ joking about how much of a bigger star Shawn is now and how soon he won't come on the show. Shawn says that would never happen. Next he takes some quiz about British foods. He fails. They play his song. I fast forward through this (sorry, baby!) and stop when it's clear they are talking again.

The DJ, some spiky-haired silvery-blonde guy, tells Shawn he has to answer five burning fan questions. Each question he's willing to answer will mean 100 pounds for a local children's charity.

Host: Question #1. You know what this one is, of course. You get asked this in every interview.

Shawn: (laughing) Oh yeah. I know what's coming.

Host: How many times have you been asked if you have a girlfriend in the last few weeks?

Shawn: Question 1 is how many times have I been asked if I have a girlfriend?

Host: No! But really, how many times?

Shawn: Actually, not once. I have been asked if I am single at least a dozen times though.

Host: That's the same thing, though.

Shawn: Not at all. I can be single, meaning unmarried or not engaged, and still have a girlfriend.

Host: That's not what they mean by single.

Shawn: (laughing) I choose to interpret it that way.

Host: So you do have a girlfriend?

Shawn: Is that the question?

Host: Yeah. Money for charity, man.

Shawn: (long pause) I do have a girlfriend.

Host: No way! You've never admitted to this before!

Shawn: It's recent.

Host: Forget the other questions. We'll give the whole 500 to the charity. I want to hear about this.

Shawn: (laughing) Is it that big a deal?

Host: You are joking right?

Shawn: (laughs)

Host: So how long have you been off the market?

Shawn: Um. Well I met her a few months ago. Off the market? I guess as of right now since it just became official.

Host: Maybe you should tell your girl.

Shawn: Yeah. (laughing) Can I take a second and text her?

Host: I'm sure she knows she's special to you and this is no surprise.

Shawn: I think she knows, yeah.

Host: So is it love?

Shawn: Man, can we go back to the original five questions? That's hard.

Host: You're either in love or you're not.

Shawn: Let me put it this way...um, how can I say this? I would not be acknowledging the relationship at all if I didn't have strong feelings.

Host: Gotcha. Time's up, radio fans. Shawn Mendes has just told us he's got a girl. You heard it here first!

I look at my texts, just in case I missed a text from Shawn. Nope.

I knew from our talk last night that he was leaving this interview and going straight to the airport. He was flying home and would get home around 7:00 tonight since he has a layover in New York. The layover was intentional so that he could have a meeting with his label. It was going to be a super long day for him.

I realize, after about 20 minutes, that I've just been sitting in the stall. I'm in a state of shock. I want to talk to Shawn, but I also feel like this needs to sink in first.

A strange thought flickers through my brain. What if he didn't mean it? What if this was just some publicity stunt. He never mentioned me. It was all very vague.

I need to wait until I see him.