March 14, 2002 Derikab@hotmail.com *Nsync with my Premonitions-Remembering the Past
Well guys, this is it. I am so sorry it took me so long to put out the last few chapters, but with everything going on in my life, I just couldn't find the time. Just the other day, I completely reread the story and somehow wished this really happened to me. Although it was only in my mind, I know that one day I will find a love like the one Lance and Monty shared. I want to give my many, many thanks to all the readers for the patience and thanks the ones who wrote me with their thoughts. When finishing this chapter, I would greatly like to hear from you if you can spare a minute or two to let me know how you liked it.
Also, I would like to thank David at Nifty for allowing me to post this story so all of you can read it. Well, I hate to say goodbye, but this is about it. Once again, thanks to everyone who showed their support over the last year or so and for your patience. I hope to hear from you soon.
Best wishes to all,
Derik Derikab@hotmail.com
Final Chapter-Chapter 20 *Nsync with my Premonitions-Remembering the Past
"Are you still at that blasted computer?" Lance called out walking into my office.
"Yup, this should be finished within the week, I hope," I replied.
"Me too. Then you have no reason to avoid me anymore."
"Don't worry, I'll find some reason," I said, winking at him.
"Bastard," he called me while walking out of the room.
I turned my computer on; booted up the program I needed, and started to type, then remembered something else I needed to tell Lance.
"Mandy called yesterday. Wants to know if you're still planning on making her graduation."
"Of course I'm still going. I've cancelled all my appointments for that week. I just want it to be family and friends. Do you know who all will be there? Did she tell you?" he asked, walking back in the office.
"She said, so far, that her boyfriend, his parents, you, me, Justin, Brittany, Chris, Danni, Joey and his wife, a few more of her friends, and I think that's just about it."
"Will Dusty be there?" he asked, continuing to fax what looks like a book somewhere.
"Of course. He, Sheila and the kids will be going for the week as well, and then they think they might come back home with us the following week. With all the extra rooms in the house, it shouldn't be a problem."
"Of course not," he agreed. "We should tell Mandy and her boyfriend that they can come too. It'll be just like old times, with just a few extra people at the table."
"It sounds great to me." I said, smiling. I sat back in my chair and said, "A lawyer, in our family. Can you believe that?" I asked, looking over at Lance.
"I know. I can't believe she's already 26 and getting her law degree. It seems like only yesterday we were teaching her how to talk, now she will be arguing for a living."
"Then she should make a fortune with the way she likes to argue," I said with a wink and a smile. Lance smiled back at me with the memories.
"Remember how she and Dusty used to argue? Hours on hours about whose turn it was to do this or that."
"Yeah," I agreed with a laugh. "After a couple of hours, either you, myself or Dusty would get so tired of the arguing the they would end up doing whatever it was together."
"Ya know, I think she just wanted her big brother's attention, but she sure had a funny way of showing it."
"I know, but when she started dating, she sure had it then. He was so protective of her, that neither you nor I had to worry as much. And I think she ended up hating him for a year or so."
"How do you mean?" Lance asked.
"Don't you remember? For a year, she went out on many first dates. He really intimidated the guys. If a guy like Dusty came up to you at her age, wouldn't you have been intimated?"
"I was."
"When?" I asked, puzzled.
"When you started dating JC," he said.
"I didn't intimidate you, you just hated me."
"I never hated you, but you intimidated me because you were so good looking, still are, and you were the one that JC loved."
"But he loved you too."
"But I didn't know it at the time. And when you came along, I knew from that point on that I would never get his love, until...." He let his thought trail off and looked over to the fax machine. When he saw that the 'book' was finished, he stood up and went to retrieve it.
"Well, you also intimidated me. When I saw you that first night, and then saw the tool you were using, I thought that I was nothing in comparison," I said with a huge smile.
"OK," he said. "Shut up and hurry with finishing the book. I want us to play with this tool tonight," he said, squeezing his crotch.
"Ya know, for a 64 year old, you still are one sexy son-of-a-bitch," I said, sitting up and propping my chin on my fist.
"I know," he replied, then came around the desk and gave me a kiss. "Get to work."
After he left and shut the door, I focused all my attention back on the computer and started typing.
The album turned out to be a big success. In fact, because of JC's death, it became the number one selling album in history. In the first day, close to three million albums were sold. By the end of the week, it had gone Diamond and by months end, it went triple Diamond and the fastest selling album by any group or artist. The record still holds today. No one has been able to come close. Once the album was released, about ninety-nine percent of all reviews were great. That one percent was about me singing that one song. It didn't bother me and none of their fans said anything negative about it at all.
After all the cd signings, the public appearances, the talk shows and everything thing else they went through, the guys finally settled into an everyday, normal routine. A year or so after the release, Justin came out with a solo album. It did very well and for the next four years, he released three albums. His success as a soloist outweighed his success as a member of a boy band. A year after that, he and Brittany finally decided to tie the knot. Once his solo contract was up, he just seemed to loose interest in the performing side of the industry. He said that he just got tired of the same old thing, but we all know that it was because JC wasn't with him anymore. He missed his performance buddy.
He stayed in the business, though. He became a successful songwriter and producer. He even managed a couple of groups and solo acts, but none of them lasted more than five years at most. Now a days, he is the CEO and owner of Chasez Records, Inc. Brittany is his V.P., and loves the work. She always said that when her time in the spotlight was up, she wanted to work behind the scenes, and that's exactly what she's doing.
By the end of the next decade, Justin and Brittany had two kids. Joshua Montgomery and Alexandria Leigh. I thought the sentiment that they named their son after JC and I was very touching and I knew JC would've appreciated it too. Justin and Brittany both said that because of JC and I, their love grew stronger after seeing what we went through and it was the least they could do.
Chris dropped out of the music industry for a good five years or so to work on his clothing line. Then decided to put out a high-tech, new wave cd. Just a lot of music with a good beat to it. That was the last bit of music he ever created. Once the success of the cd died, he and Danni decided it was time to tie the knot. On April 24, 2007, they were known from that day forward as Chris and Danni Kirkpatrick. Within the next year, Danni gave birth to a beautiful little girl named Jessica Lauren. His clothing line continued to do well, and when Jessica was out of school, in 2030, she took over as the CEO. Now Danni and Chris have nothing but time on their hands and usually they spend it traveling to far off places.
Joey, on the other hand, was a different story. After the release, he ended up getting a girl pregnant. He met her a few months after JC died and started dating her. Within six months, Julie was pregnant. After he found out, he realized that he was so in love with her that they decided to get married. To this day, they are still together and have three girls. Tasha Marie, who was born in 2003. Followed by Catherine Monica in 2006, then in 2012, Deborah Ann made her way into the world.
After Tasha was born, Joey started missing the spotlight. Since the group was no more, he wanted a creative way to bring in some money. So what did he do? He started acting. He went on to be in about ten movies, seven of which he was the lead role, but after eight years in the business, he called it quits to be a full time husband and father. He not once regrets giving up his acting career for his family. They were and still are his number one priority.
Mom ended up passing away in 2023. She was 75 and ended up passing in her sleep. She was just so tired of constantly being sick, her body just gave out. In 2012, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and finally ended up beating it. Nevertheless, ten years later, it returned and claimed her life. Mike ended up dying a year later of a broken heart. I knew the pain he was going through after what happened to JC, so I did my best to console him, until the day he died.
Lance and Connie ended up breaking up a couple years after the album and Lance did find a nice girl named Elizabeth. The following year, he purposed. She accepted and they were married by the end of 2005. In 2009, they had a boy and named it after my father and I. Montgomery Derrick.
As for Pat and Steve and Tony and Mitchell, they ended up getting married in 2013. Gay marriage was finally legalized and they were the first two couples to be married in Nashville. They decided on a double wedding so Pat and Steve decided to come back to Nashville to have their ceremony.
Neither couple decided they wanted children, so it was and still is just them. About twice a year, they come down to Orlando for a week's visit and we all get along about the same. Tony's getting slower with his witty comebacks and cut downs, but never the less, he still makes everyone laugh.
Well, I guess that's about everyone. Now on to Lance and myself. We ended up going into the talent scout business full force. Free Lance Entertainment became one of the biggest scouts in the country. We would do our best to find the best talent we could then we would sign them to contracts if we thought they were good enough.
We decided that since we've been together for so long, we didn't need to make it legal, but after a year of pushing from my four friends, we decided to go through with it. In August 2015, we were married in the garden behind the house. Everyone was there. Mom, Mike, Lance, Elizabeth and their son, Lance's mom, dad, sister and her husband and kids, the rest of the *Nsync'ers and their wives and kids and more friends we'd accumulated over the years.
In addition, in 2012, the government finally legalized gay adoptions for gay partners. Once the marriages were legalized, they changed the adoption law to state that the partners had to be married before both partners could adopt. Therefore, in 2017, Lance and I adopted our son Dusty Scott. Three years later came Mandy Karen. We adopted them both right after they were born, so we started out not knowing anything when Dusty was growing up. When Mandy came along, things were easier, until Dusty figured out how to start aggravating her. That was another story.
When they both finished high school, Dusty went on to get his Masters in Business Administration and he now runs Free Lance. Mandy is just about to graduate law school and is going to work with Dusty at the talent agency. We did our best to raise them well, and in the process we lived a dream that neither one of us ever thought possible. We had a family.
On to the present. Lance just had a birthday and is now 64. I can't believe he's gotten so old. I can't say too much better for myself. In November this year, I'll be 68. Next month will be our forty-first anniversary. I often think back to when JC and I spent that week in Jamaica. Madam Zuvik told us that for three hundred years and later, JC confirmed it was three thousand, our souls have been separated because of the death of one of us. Now, it's going on forty-one years so far. If it were possible, I wish we could be together for another forty.
It was because of Josh, that we were able to stay together for so long, my only wish is that he was with us to share the experience. I know he's happy and I know that he's still with us. Whenever Lance and I are feeling down, Josh somehow seems to make his presence known so that we realize that he's still with us. For that, I am truly grateful and never stopped loving him.
Of course, Lance and I have had our rough times and our fallouts, but because we loved each other so much, we ended up working through them to spend the rest of our lives together. As the years passed, my love for him seemed to grow. If you could measure love on a width scale, I would say that I loved him as far as my eyes could see the sky. Now, if only I could see the depths of the universe, I would say that still wouldn't be enough love to show Lance. The only way to describe it would to be to quote Jerry Maguire. 'He completes me.'
After punching the last three words on the keypad, I hit the save key, started the printer and headed down the stairs.
"Taking a break?" Lance asked seeing me walk in the kitchen.
"Nah," I said with a little smile.
"So, you'll be headed back in a minute?"
"Nope," I said opening the fridge.
He looked at me for a minute with a puzzled look and then the light bulb went off. He grew a big smile and said, "You finished it!"
"Yup. Only took me eight months, but it is now complete."
"Congratulations honey," he said, throwing his arms around me. "Can I read it now."
"Yeah. It's printing. As soon as it's done, I'll give it to you. Then once you've proofread it, I'll send it on to the publishing house."
Pulling back, he laid his hand on my cheeks and gave me a big kiss. "I can't wait."
"I'm going to warn you now, you will cry when you read it. I cried just writing it trying to remember everything. It was tough, but I got through it."
"I know. I'm expecting that." Going back to the sink, he asked, "Have you thought of a title yet?"
"The other day, while I was typing, I finally found one I liked. '*Nsync with my Premonitions.'"
"I like it. It's catchy. How long is it?" he asked.
"It's twenty chapters and about three hundred pages."
"Oh, God, I've got some reading to do."
"It should be done printing within ten minutes. I'll get it for you so you can start on it."
As I turned to leave, I couldn't help but think how lucky I was. Because of Lance and the kids and my family and friends, I've become the happiest man in the world.
We had to leave two days later to attend Mandy's graduation and every spare minute Lance had, he was reading. He finally finished on the night before we left and told me he was amazed. He couldn't believe that he just read the story of our lives. "It was like I was transported back in time. I almost didn't want to come pack to the present."
I told him that I was glad he did, and then switched off the light and we both fell asleep.
After arriving back home, my first project was to send the manuscript to the publishing house and wait for my editor to call me. After that, we had our two kids and their family and boyfriend come stay with us for a week. During that week, Mandy got the photos developed from the graduation ceremony. Once they arrived, she went to work on a project to surprise Lance and I with later.
A few days later, I got a call from my editor saying that the process had started and the book was being printed. After I told the news, Mandy gave Lance and I our gift. She had taken the photos and made a collage of the photos with all the *Nsync'ers and their families. Like the picture Tony gave me on my 26th birthday, there were three photos lining from top to bottom. The top picture was of Lance and I with our arms draped across each other's back. The very center was of Mandy, Dusty, Lance and me. The bottom picture was of everyone. The four of us and the rest of the guys with their families including Mandy's boyfriend.
After everyone had their chance to look at the gift, they went on about doing their own thing. I looked at Mandy and told her it was beautiful.
"I know just the place for this," I told her as I walked over to the mantel.
I placed it next to the picture collage that Tony had given me many years ago. "I wish I could've met him," Mandy said, running her fingertips lightly over the pictures of JC and I.
"I wish you could've too, baby. He was one special person. He was the man that taught me how to love and because of that, he was my first true love."
"It shows," she said, looking at the pictures. Looking back at me, she asked, "Are the uncles coming?" She was talking about Tony, Mitchell, Pat and Steve.
"They'll be here in a couple of days. You won't miss them."
"I hope not," she said, kissing my cheek and wrapping her arms around my neck. "I love you, daddy."
"I love you, too, sweetheart."
Later that evening, Lance and I were talking about the book before we both became too exhausted to talk anymore. He leaned over, gave me a sweet kiss on the lips and turned out the light.
"I love you, Lance," I said, taking him in my arms and pulling him close.
He gave no response. He was already fast asleep.
The End.