Adri wrote this for Krissy'd birthday but is too shy/stubborn/phobious to post this herself, so a gang of us convinced her to let us post it. She's going to hate us for it. But read it, embrace it, enjoy the amazingness that is Adri.
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Memories That Last A Lifetime
A wave of adrenaline rushed through my body as I took a deep breath and stepped out of the tour bus. Another day of crazy, screaming fan girls, deafening my ears. But as I walked or rather squashed my way into the venue, something seemed different. I couldn’t quite place the strange feeling in my stomach. Then, as I scanned the sea of colours in front of me, all yelling out expressions of love, the energy I had just a few seconds ago, disappeared as something caught my eye.
I stopped abruptly, causing a slight traffic jam, and stared. She had a look of pure joy on her angelic face, her black hair flowing freely with the occasional brown, and her dark eyes sparkled in the bright autumn sun. I continued to stare, not paying attention to where my feet led me and suddenly, they clumsily tripped over thin air and I landed smack bang on my face.
That was the first time I saw her; the first time my heart melted completely. And I’d never even spoken to her…
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With the less attentive attitude I had that night, you’d think I was just low on red bull or something, but that sure wasn’t the case. In fact, I’d had over 5 cans in the past 2 hours!
It really wasn’t my fault though! The image of the smiling girl in the crowd just wouldn’t go away. I could almost hear the kind of voice she’d have; cute and quirky, that’s what it would be like, I thought.
I’d been daydreaming all through the performance, starry eyed, not even noticing when Kevin picked someone from the crowd during ‘Please Be Mine’. I paid little attention to the crowd, the band, the backstage guys – all I could think about was THAT girl. The girl of my dreams.
I stared at the photograph sitting delicately in my lap as if one touch would tear it apart and take away all the memories I had vowed to keep for eternity. The picture that I had snapped the first time I ever saw her jumping up and down with excitement, brushing the fringe away from her eyes, face glowing and basically itching to get inside.
A silent tear slid down my face. It was only when the moment passed and I felt a small body attach itself to me that I remembered I wasn’t alone. She looked up at me, her brilliant brown eyes identical to her mothers, and said in a cute innocent voice, ‘What happens next, daddy? Did you get to meet her? Tell me more!’
The show was over and I wasn’t my usual pumped up self. It dawned on me that I would probably never see the girl again, that I would probably never even be able to work my irresistable charm on her.
I stared blankly at the door in a daze, feeling deflated and watched as it creaked open.
The world around me froze.
I may have even died and make a quick trip to paradise for a second because there she stood in the doorway. One look and I knew she was legitimately the most beautiful creature that had ever walked the planet – HECK, she was the most beautiful creature in the entire galaxy!
Taking control, I stood up and made my way over to her. She looked up at me, squeaked a barely audible ‘Hello!’, squealed, then covered her face with her hands and went as red as a tomato almost instantly.
She stayed there for a few moments, then lifted her head up and took a deep breath.
‘I brought you a kangaroo friend, Joe.’ She said in a single breath.
This was getting ridiculous. My staring, that is. My mouth was hanging open like an idiot and my cheeks were burning. How did this one girl tear down Joseph Jonas’ front? She had an amazing accent and the first thing I thought was, ‘SCORE!’
The scene was interupted when Frankie suddenly came flying at me, almost knocking me over.
‘Joe, Joe! Why do you look like one of those sideshow laughing clowns?’
I was oblivious to the quiet snort of laughter and continued staring until she broke the silence with an, ‘awkwarddd…’
I’ll admit that I didn’t actually record the time we met face to face for the first time. Later, she informed me that the exact time was 9:22pm on the 22nd of the second month. That was the point when she regained faith for the number 2. It had always been her unlucky number until that day, she said.
But while I had paid no attention to my watch, I’ll always remember the first time her lips moved and the first words she spoke. It was the beginning of many more conversations filled with random comments and the beginning of a flourishing friendship which would last forever.
And there she was, an older, and more beautiful (if that was possible) girl, grinning cheekily at the camera, surrounded by seals. I remembered the cute seal noises she would make just to break the silence, a noise I could never quite master, though I practiced for hours.
I’ll always remember the way she slowly got over her shyness and braced herself the day we announced our relationship to the world. The look on her face when I asked for her hand in marriage was priceless. You could almost SEE the hearts popping out of her eyes like in a cartoon!
And so the pages in life turned. There we were, exchanging wedding vows at the altar. Her smile was as genuine as ever, and she looked like a china doll – perfect.
I ran my finger gently down her face before turning to the next page. The last and one of the only snapshots of us all together lay before my eyes. The end of one era, but the raw beginnings of another. Not wanting to relive the pain, I tried avoiding it completely, but a tiny hand stopped me. She pointed to the heavily pregnant woman beside me and asked, ‘Who’s that, daddy?’
I sighed, but decided this was the right time to tell her.
‘Only the two most precious people in my life – you, baby girl, and your mother who was, and always will be, the love of my life. Her name was Kristina and even though she’s not here anymore, I know she’s watching us from heaven. I know she’s with us every second of everyday. She and I both love you with all our hearts,’ I told her, tears glistening in my eyes.
She glanced up at me, smiling sweetly and said, ‘ I love you too, daddy.’ Then she looked up at the sky and whispered, ‘I love you, mummy.’
That was the second time my heart melted completely. Only two people in the world had that effect on me and they were both angels. My angels. My girls. My loves.