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“Congratulations, Daddy.” Belle smiled at him proudly and handed back to him the copy of his job contract. “I’ve told you that you don’t have to work.”

“But, I just can’t sit around and watch you work your ass off non-stop.” John, her fifty-eight year old father argued.

She understood why her father wanted to work. Her salary from her two jobs was enough to pay the rent, utilities and bring food to the table. But her father wanted to provide more. She and her siblings grew up in a comfortable life. Her father used to run the biggest party supplies store in town. They have a house with six rooms and a big garden. They owned three cars. Someone comes in their house twice a week to do the laundry, iron their clothes and clean the house. But all of that changed when the store was destroyed by fire. The insurance didn’t pay them anything because the result of the investigation showed that the fire was set intentionally. Up to this day, her family has no idea who could have done that to them. Then, three weeks after, her older brother was picked up by the police and was charged with murder. They sold their properties in order to finance the trial. All of their savings were used as well. They were able to prove her brother’s innocence after three years, but it left them broke. Her four siblings got married in order to escape the poor life. She chose to stay with her father.

“Besides, all I have to do is clean Mr. Carter’s recording studio. That’s very easy, so you don’t have to worry about me, Annabelle.”

“Mr. Carter?”

“Yes, remember that blonde boy on the poster in your room years ago? I think that’s him.”

“You’re not sure?”

“Well, the plane crash has changed him a lot – “

“What plane crash?” She cut him off. She didn’t know the Backstreet Boys were involved in an accident. She stopped watching the news or reading the newspaper years ago. She had better things to do. She only watched the news if the weather was very bad.

“One of his employee have told us about the plane crash three years ago. According to him, Mr. Carter organized a concert for the benefit of one of the charities he was supporting. On the way home the plane crashed and took the lives of his bandmates. He was the only survivor.”

Belle’s eyes widened. Her father hugged her, and she broke down in his arms. She loved the Backstreet Boys since she was twelve years old.

*********************************************************

John opened the small room where all the cleaning materials were kept. He was looking for something that he could used to wipe the dirt off the furniture. His attention was caught by a small box. It was open and there were postcards inside. He took one and saw that it was a promotional item for one of the Backstreet Boys’ concert tour years ago. The picture has the autograph of the five boys. Knowing that this could make Belle happy, he took one and put it in his pocket.

“What are you doing?”

He turned around and saw Nick Carter at the door glaring at him.

“I was just looking for a cleaning material.” He stammered.

“What’s in your pocket?” He squinted.

He took the postcard out of his pocket. “I’m sorry, Mr. Carter, I thought you don’t need these anymore.”

“The hell, I don’t. But you just can’t take anything without my permission. I trusted you, John. I could have picked a younger applicant but I chose you because I thought you’re trustworthy. You’re fired.”

“Nick, we have a problem.” Jake, his assistant came out of nowhere.

“What?”

“The party planners backed out. We need to find a replacement asap.”

“They can’t do that. I paid 50% downpayment already.”

“They returned it.” Jake handed a check to Nick.

“Damn it! Who could organize a grand birthday party for sixty kids in just three days? Did they send you list of all the things they accomplished already?

Jake checked his phone. “No, except for the copy of the contract with the caterer. 50% downpayment were made and the balance is due on the day of the party. That’s one problem solved. All we need now is someone who can decorate the place and arrange the program.”

Every year, Nick throws a birthday party for all the kids in the shelter. Since they all have different birthdays, they have decided to celebrate the party in the middle of the year.

“I have a daughter who’s into party planning. She might be able to help you.” John offered. He was ready to be rejected, after all, he was no longer Nick’s employee.

“I thought you’re broke like a rat?”

“Well, she’s not really running the business because she doesn’t have capital. The party planners in town hire her for her ideas, then they will be the one to execute them and take the credit. They pay her a small portion of the contract amount, too.”

“Ok. Bring her here and tell her to coordinate with Jake. If she can pull this off, you can have your job back.” Nick walked away. Jake nodded at John before following Nick.

**********************************************************

“Thank you, Rick.” Belle smiled sweetly at the owner of Be Happy mascot and clowns rental business. With just two days notice, she expected that Rick would turn her down and would tell her that there were no available mascots or clowns.

“Anything for you, Belle. Just let me know if you still need anything.”

“I will. Thanks again.”

Belle went out of Rick’s office and walked towards her next destination, Sweet Stuff Bakery. Since Cakes could be make hours before the actual event, she was positive that they will accommodate her request. She was planning to order big two cakes and sixty cupcakes for the cupcake tower. Then after that, she would visit different party supplies stores to pick up the decorations and game prizes she needed. She would also drop by the toy store to buy the birthday gifts for the sixty kids. There were so much things to do, and two days were not enough to organize a big party. She would have turned down this job if it weren’t for her father. It took her father more than three hours to convince her to agree to this job. She thought it was not possible to organize a big birthday party in just two days. She agreed to do this for three reasons : she wanted her father to get his job back, the party planner fee was worth more than her monthly paycheck on her two jobs, and she wanted to see how Nick Carter was doing.

**********************************************************

“Aren’t you going to join the kids?” Jake asked when he reached Nick’s Car.

“And ruin the party by scaring them? Hell, No. I’ll just stay here.” He had been watching the birthday party from his car fifty meters away from the shelter home.

“They were looking for you. They miss you, Nick. Why don’t you join them this time?” Jake tried to encourage him.

“Can’t you see the scars in my face? I look like a monster, Jake, and those children will be scared of me.” Nick pointed to the two long scars that he got from the plane crash. It was like a big letter X on his face.

“That’s nothing a plastic surgery couldn’t do.”

“Just go back there and entertain the kids. Tell them, I said hi.” He said in a dismissive tone.

Jake shrugged his shoulder and walked back to the party. He saw Jake whispered to a beautiful dark brown haired woman. She was the one hosting the party, and entertaining the kids. She was doing a very good job. All the kids looked very happy and excited. The woman’s smile was contagious. He saw the woman walked towards him. He wanted to start the engine and speed off, but something about the determination on the woman’s face made him want to hear what she was going to say.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Carter. My name is Belle, the party planner.” She offered her hand for a handshake, but he ignored it. He couldn’t believed that Belle did not react differently when she saw him.

“You did a great job, Belle.” He replied nonchalant.
“The kids would love to see you. I’ve been hearing where is Mr. Nick all day.”

“Just in case you didn’t notice the scars on my face, please look closely. The kids will be scared of me. I looked normal when they saw me the last time.”

“I’m sure the kids won’t mind,”

“You’re not sure about that.”

“Those kids love you, Mr. Carter. I’m sure they will look past the scars on your face, and they will see the compassionate individual who has a very big heart with so much love to offer. You have been supporting them for ten years. Most of them grew up loving you. Stop judging them as people who care about the physical look.”

“I don’t have to explain myself to you. Goodbye, Belle. Take care of the kids.”

“If your scars bother you that much, then why not have it removed? With all your money and connections, I’m sure nothing is impossible.”

“You don’t understand. These scars remind me of that day. They remind me that my brothers are dead while I, the one who doesn’t have a wife and children, is alive.”

“Then, you should be proud of it. You just have two choices, if you don’t want other people to see you like that, have it removed. If you want to keep them as memories of your friends, then learn how to be proud of it.”

She walked away. Nick couldn’t believe that he just let a woman have the last words. This was the first time he ran out of words to say. Belle was very different from the others. She made him feel like he was the Nick Carter before the plane crash.

**********************************************************

“Three points!” Brian mimicked the voice of the NBA announcer. He has a big smile on his face. They were in a basketball court in one of the hotels they stayed in during the millennium tour.

“I can beat that.” Nick answered, full of coincidence.

Brian’s smile slowly faded. “I’m sorry, Nick, but I have to go. You gotta let us go, buddy. The plane crash ain’t your fault.”

“That’s right, Nick.” AJ said with a big proud smile on his face. The basketball court slowly vanished and was replaced by Ava’s nursery. Nick could clearly remember that day when he visited Ava, and AJ taught him how to change a diaper. “Now, I’m sure you can take care of Ava when I’m gone.”

“And James and Holden, too.” Howie laughed while telling a story about the birthday party his kids attended. They were now in a restaurant waiting for the other guys to show up. This was one of their meetings for the charity concert before the plane crash.

“Let go, Nick. Let go!” Kevin shouted as he followed. Nick looked around and saw they were in a park, he was holding Mason’s bike.
“But, he will fall.” Nick argued.
“You gotta trust him, Nick, like we trust you. Let go.”

**********************************************************

Nick woke up with heavy panting on his chest. This was the first time he dreamed about his friends, and they were not mad at him. They wanted him to let go and go on with his life. The beautiful face of the party planner flashed before his eyes. He was thinking about her all night. There was something about her that made him want to know her better. Nick quickly took a shower and send a message to Jake to get Belle’s number for him. He dialed her number with excitement.

“Hello?”

“Hi Belle, this is Nick. Nick Carter.”

“Good morning, Mr. Carter. What can I do for you?”

“Would you like to have breakfast with me?”

“Why?”

“Well, I just want to thank you for giving the kids the kind of party they deserve.”

“That’s my job, Mr. Carter.”

“I was also wondering if you would like to accompany me to the shelter. I would like to visit the kids after breakfast.”

“Oh, I would love that.”

“Great. I’ll pick you up in fifteen minutes.”

“See you.”


Nick underwent plastic surgery after eight months, a week before his wedding. He wanted to surprise Belle. He wanted to look his best on their wedding day. He had been exclusively dating Belle since their first breakfast together. Belle was the kind of woman Brian, AJ, Howie and Kevin would have approved of. He wished his brothers were here to see him marry the love of his life and live with her happily ever after.