Loyalty

Chapter 42: Surprises.

Jessica's POV

It was the beginning of August, around the time of Brian and I's first anniversary. He had been acting sneaky for the past few weeks, and I knew that he was planning something. He tried to blow it off like it was nothing, but I knew there was something going on. The anticipation was killing me, and I was wracking my brain trying to figure out what he was up to. Eventually, I stopped asking and pestering him about it. I just relaxed, ready to accept whatever this surprise was.

About a week or so before our actual anniversary, Brian decided that it was finally time to reveal his big surprise.

"I know it's a little early, but I kind of have to do this know. And I'm sure you won't mind. I know I've been keeping you guessing," he said.

Brian went into our room and brought out two surprises for me. Each was in its own, separate gift box. One was green and the other was blue. I didn't think anything of the two colors at first. But I would later learn that the colors had been specifically chosen because they were related to the contents inside.

Brian told me that one of the surprises was career-related and the other had to do with our life together. Somehow, the more hints he gave me, the more confused I got. But I was still trying to guess what the surprises would be. For career, I guessed that the Jokers were filming in another interesting, possibly exotic, location. And maybe I would get to tag along like I did in Hawaii. Thinking about a surprise involving our life, my initial thought was that Brian got another kitten, or maybe even a puppy. We were just getting adjusted to Nathan, and he easily fit in with our little family. Speaking of which, he was chilling right next to me, wagging his tail while I was opening Brian's presents.

"Please don't tell me that you put an animal in there," I said. I was worried that the thing would suffocate.

"You should know that I would never put an animal at risk like that. But I'm not giving you any more hints," he insisted.

"Can I open them now?" I begged. The anticipation was killing me.

"Go ahead. I think you should open the green one first," he suggested.

As instructed, I began to open the green box. The first thing I saw was a gray t-shirt. I took it out and immediately starting laughing when I looked at the front. It was one of their IJ shirts, and it had "Team Q" written on the front, very similar to a few shirts I already owned. At the end of the day, I was still a fan of the show, and I was proud to wear a shirt with my man's name or face on it. Obviously, I was on his team. I still considered myself his biggest fan. But it's just not the kind of gift Brian had me anticipating...

"Is this whole thing a joke?" I asked.

"There's more in the box. Keep going," he told me.

I looked down further into the box and pulled out a ticket to one of their live shows. It was the holographic version, which looked really cool. But I was still confused. This had to be a joke, right? I've never actually needed a ticket to their shows. Since I've known the guys from the beginning, they've just put me on a list so I can get backstage and watch from there.

"Why did you get me a ticket?" I asked.

"Read the back of it," he instructed me.

When I turned the ticket around, suddenly it all made sense to me. He gave me this ticket for a reason. It was a show I would want to remember.

"November 9th, 2017. Madison Square Garden," I read aloud, almost in disbelief. "Is this real?" I asked, questioning if this was another joke.

"It's real, baby. They're actually going to let four idiots from Staten Island perform at Madison Square Garden," Brian told me.