Chapter 25

Richie was sitting on the plane, tapping away on the laptop so totally engrossed in what he was doing that he didn’t even notice Jon sit down next to him. Jon watched for a minute and waited for Richie to say something. When he didn’t Jon nudged him.

“You looking a dirty pictures again?”

Richie laughed and lowered the top, “not this time man. What’s going on?”

Jon smiled. “Nothing much bro, what’s got you so distracted?”

Richie shook his head, “nothing just doing a little surfing.” Truth be told, he was looking for the song that Kara had sung for him. He couldn’t get it out of his head.

As they flew across the Pacific, Richie spent most of the time on the computer, ignoring his friends. Jon was talking to the others and glancing over at Richie. He left Dave and Tico arguing over some new movie and sat down next to Richie and nudged him again.

“Hey, what’s going on with you man?”

He looked over at Jon, “huh, what?” He had found the song and with headphones plugged in had been listening to it and was oblivious to what was going on around him. He pulled the headphones off and lowered the top again. “Sorry man, I guess I am distracted today.”

Jon knew Richie better than anyone and could tell that it was more than just being distracted. “It’s this woman, isn’t it? The little music teacher?”

Richie glanced out the window before looking back at his friend, “yeah, it is.”

Jon studied his friend, “what’s so special about her that she has you ignoring us?”

Richie didn’t hesitate, “what’s so special? That’s easy; she didn’t know who I was when we met. She doesn’t listen to our music, she’s not a fan, she has the voice of an angel and she’s beautiful.”

Jon rubbed his chin, “you sure she’s not a fan?”

Richie nodded his head, “yeah, she doesn’t own any of our stuff,” he paused, “well, she has one of my CDs but not any of ours.”

Jon seemed surprised, “she has one of yours?”

Richie smiled, “yea, but only because her best friend gave it to her. Her friend is a fan.” That didn’t surprise Jon, one out of every two people he met were fans.

“What are you going to do about her?” Jon hoped his friend wasn’t plunging headlong into this relationship, the last time he did that it had been a disaster.

Richie looked out the window, “I’m not sure yet. I want us to help her with her singing, I know that much.” He turned and looked at Jon, “I think this could be serious man. I haven’t stopped thinking about her since she left LA the other day.”

Jon wasn’t sure he had heard Richie right, “you want us to help her? I haven’t even heard her yet, how do you know I’m going to want to help?”

Richie smiled, “believe me man, when you do hear her, you’ll be in line right behind me.”

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

When Kara finally took a break after cleaning her apartment Saturday she booted up her computer. She hadn’t checked her e-mails in a couple of days and she was sure there were going to be a ton of them. There weren’t as many as she had feared. She answered the ones that needed responses right away and deleted the junk ones before coming to one she didn’t recognize the address for. She scanned the subject line and smiled, it had to be from Richie.

To: karad@yahoo.com
From: bluesguyatheart@aol.com
Subject: konichiwa princess

So did you guess it was me? I hope so. The plane ride was long but now I’m in my hotel room stretched out on my big empty bed. Tokyo is the same, hustle and bustle like New York, but that’s the best part. One thing I did notice, all the girls here remind me of you. They are all petite with long dark hair. This is going to be hell for me princess.

We just got back from dinner. The sushi was better than I remembered. Do you like sushi? See, there’s something I don’t know about you. I told you I’m going to have fun exploring.

Well Princess, I’m going to try to sleep, we have a busy day tomorrow. I’ll talk to you soon. Oh, I attached a picture. I hope you like it.

jamata,
Richie

Kara read the e-mail three times before opening the picture. She gasped when she saw his face and she wondered who took it. She traced the screen with her fingers before saving it and making it her wallpaper. She sat for a minute and stared at his face before composing her reply.

To: bluesguyatheart@aol.com
From: karad@yahoo.com
Subject: Hi!

Yes, I guessed it was you; your subject line gave it away. I’m sorry you are having a rough time with the girls over there, but your picture isn’t making this any easier on me. Thank you for that. I’ll send one along when I find one decent enough to send. (Don’t hold your breath waiting, it could take a while). :P

I’ve never had sushi so I don’t know if I like it or not. That was a good question. I’ve got one for you, what’s your favorite color? That wasn’t on your bio.

I have no idea what time it is there or what day it is. I hope you are enjoying yourself. It’s Saturday afternoon here and I just finished cleaning my apartment. I need to have a shower.

Bye for now.
Kara