“Hey, get in here and look at this! Look what arrived!” AJ Mclean’s voice echoed through the house and upstairs to where Brian was putting the finishing touches on the trim in one of the guestrooms. They had painted the room the day before and were touching up the trim that morning. Carefully he finished the last little spot before he stuck his brush into the water jug and stretched.
The excitement that he’d heard in AJ’s voice had him grinning. He knew exactly what his partner was talking about, since he’d had the window open and was able to hear the truck that had pulled up. It looked like the team was there to do the countertops in the kitchen.
Brian moved down the hall and very carefully down the staircase. Two months had gone by since his surgery but he still had to be careful with moving himself along things. Stairs didn’t tire him, but he was cautious on them all the same. Some thoughts take a while to go away.
He still had, at most, another month before his sternum would be considered completely healed. So he practiced caution so that he wouldn’t damage it in its healing process. Still, it was nice to reach the bottom of the stairs and not be out of breath from it.
“Well, what is it?” He asked. AJ stood in the doorway, staring out at the trucks in the yard. He grinned over his shoulder at Brian. “Don’t tell me you don’t know, Bri. You aint fooling me.”
“Could it be, just maybe, our countertops?” The teasing in Brian’s voice as he stepped up beside AJ had the younger man grinning even more.
“Maybe it is. How long do you think it’ll take them to get it in? I can’t wait to see what it’ll look like.” AJ sighed as he watched them unload their supplies. Lucky for them all that it had stopped raining for a while.
Because of the twisting of the entryway, and the wider door on the back, AJ had directed the men to go around the side of the house and through the patio door that led directly into the kitchen. None of their furniture had arrived yet, though AJ had purchased a folding chair or two at Brian’s insistence that sat around the house for Brian to take his breaks in as he was healing.
They had wasted no time on starting their housework. The other members of the band had left two weeks ago to head to their homes. Almost immediately Brian had wanted to start on remodeling the house. At first he had only been able to watch and paint trim, but he was gradually stepping up his abilities as his recovery continued.
“I don’t know how long it’ll take. We should ask them. But once that’s done we can start stocking up the cupboards more with dishes and getting the tables in here.” Brian answered.
“We’ve got to get that carpet up in the formal dining room. Seriously, who puts carpet in a place that someone eats? I mean, come on.” The scorn in AJ’s voice had Brian chuckling softly.
A howl from the dining area reminded AJ that they hadn’t put Nina away. He cursed lightly and dodged back toward the kitchen. Just as the workers opened the door he grabbed hold of Nina’s harness and pulled her backwards. It had been two months since they’d bought her, and she had tripled in size since then. She was now 29lbs and stood eighteen inches tall at her shoulders; and she wasn’t done growing yet. The contractors froze in the doorway when they saw her pulling against AJ’s grip and howling lightly at them.
“Basta, Nina!” AJ corrected her, telling her to ‘stop it’. She quieted under his hand. “Sientate. Muy buena, niña.” She sat calmly at his feet now, her bright blue eyes locked on the works.
By that time Brian had joined them and he waved them inside. “She’s fine, guys. She won’t do anything. We just forgot to let her know people were coming in the house. Come on over, say hi, she won’t bite.” He reassured them. Two of the workers were hesitant to step close, but the contractor, who had already been by to look at the house and had met them all, stepped forward and squatted in front of Nina. She had liked him when he’d been there before.
“Hey there, Nina. How’s the pretty girl doing today?” He scratched at her ears, chuckling as she tried to lick his arms.
Once everyone had finally met Nina, AJ let her loose again and she pranced happily around the house, watching as the men set to work tearing out the countertops.
Slightly tired, Brian moved toward his office, intending on making a few phone calls and getting some things taken care of. He left AJ chatting and laughing with the workers. The younger man would make sure that things were done the way they needed to be.
To offset the noise Brian made sure to shut his door as he went inside. It muffled it enough that he would be able to make his calls. Once he was sitting behind his desk in his comfortable chair he grabbed the house phone that sat there and dialed Kevin’s number first. His cousin answered within the first few rings. “Hey, Bri! How’s it going out there? How’s the work coming along?”
“Demolition zone, Kev, I swear. An AJ’s happier than a kid in a candy store. He’s always in the middle of it all trying to figure out what they’re doing and asking if he can play with their tools.”
Kevin’s laughter echoed down the line. “Play with their tools? Oh, yeah, that sounds like AJ. Geeze, some things never change.”
“Worst part is, most of them end up letting him help, too.”
“An I’m sure you’re not right there trying to help out as well…”
This time it was Brian’s turn to laugh. His cousin had caught him out. AJ wasn’t the only one who got in the middle and wanted to be a part of things. They both did. “That’s beside the point, and totally irrelevant to why I’m calling.”
“Oh, fancy sounding words there, Rok. All right, let’s get to it. What’s up?”
“I figured that since it’s been two months now I should probably talk with you and try to figure out where things are going with the group. What management has to say about things, and how long I have before I need to worry about coming back.”
Silence settled over the phone line. Something in that had Brian sitting up a little straighter. The good humor he’d felt faded slightly and worry tickled its way up his spine. “Kevin?” he asked hesitantly. On the other end he heard Kevin sigh. “I wanted to talk to you face to face, Brian.”
“Talk to me about what? What’s going on?” Brian knew that there was a slight note of panic in his voice, but he couldn’t help it. He was terrified that Kevin was going to tell him they wanted him to come back now. There was no way he was ready yet! Sure, he was healing quickly. But it had only been two months!
“Bri, please don’t take this the wrong way, and please keep calm. I know your hearts better now, but I also know they wanted to keep you away from stress and such.”
“Just for that first month, Kev, and if you don’t stop beating around the bush and just tell me I’m gonna come through the phone line and hit you, I swear to God.”
There was a strained chuckle. “I’d say AJ’s rubbing off on you a little.” Kevin responded wryly. “I just, I wanted to tell you that I’m not coming back, Brian. Kristen and I have talked about this, and I just want to be at home. I’m tired of the touring and all that goes along with it.”
The news rocked Brian back. He stared at the top of his desk for a few minutes, unable to find words. He couldn’t fathom the idea of being in the Backstreet Boys without Kevin. They were a team. The five of them. How could their group function without one of its members, most especially Kevin? He was the head of their group. Their father figure; their leader. “You’re sure about this?”
“Positive. I’m ready to have a family, Bri. I’ve already done all the legal paperwork. Aside from a random guest appearance over the next six months, I’m officially out of the group. But I want you guys to know I don’t mind if you continue on. Please, use the name, keep being who you guys are. Don’t let me stop that.”
“I just, I can’t believe it. This wasn’t what I was expecting at all.” But there was no denying that Kevin was happy. That much was evident in his voice. He sounded happy and peaceful. Much the way that Brian felt here, in this house, with AJ. Making that connection brought him more understanding. It took away the surprise and allowed him to feel happy for his cousin. “But it sounds like what you want, so I’m happy for you, Kevin. I’m really happy for you.”
“I’d been thinking about it for a while now, but then Kristen told me she was pregnant, so I thought that it was the perfect time to stop.”
Brian floundered for a moment before laughing for joy. “Oh, congratulations! I’m so happy for you, Kevin! God, a daddy. You give your wife a hug and a kiss for me, ok? Tell her congrats as well!”
As they discussed how far along she was, only three months, and other details, Brian heard a faint scratching sound. He looked over at the door, recognizing what the sound meant, and chuckled in Kevin’s ear as the door opened. “What’s so funny?” Kevin asked him with a smile.
“Speaking of babies, mine just opened the door.” Brian said as Nina came strolling in looking very proud of herself. He and AJ had learned from one of the books they’d bought that Siberian Huskies were very intelligent dogs, and often learned to nose or paw a light on or off, and how to use their teeth to open doors. Nina strolled to him and sat, laying her head down on his lap. He smiled and reached up to scratch at her ears. “Who knew dogs could get so darn smart?”
“Wait a second? That baby? You mean Nina opened your door? Holy shit, that’s crazy!”
“Isn’t it, though? She learned how to do it when AJ was in the bathroom one day and she wanted in there. He was in the shower, so her wet nose about gave him a heart attack.”
The two men laughed for a few minutes. “She really bonded to you two, didn’t she?” Kevin asked when they finally stopped laughing.
Brian looked at the black and white head in his lap with a smile. She had grown so much from the fluff ball that he’d bought, and become such a part of their family. He couldn’t imagine life without her in it. “She loves us and we love her, but she has a special place in her heart for AJ. She doesn’t like to let him out of her sight for long.”
“Well it was easy to see while we were there that he cares for her too. Well I’m glad that things are settling ok for you guys there, and thanks, Bri, for not being pissed with me.”
“Pissed? Are you insane? Get real, Kev. You guys still going to come up for Christmas, right?” Brian reminded him.
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
After another few minutes of conversation Brian and Kevin finally hung up. Brian sat there for a minute, listening to the construction in the kitchen; listening to his boyfriend’s laughter echo down the hall.
Looking at Nina’s head, Brian sighed. Her eyes looked up at him as if asking him what was wrong. “Oh, Nina, our lives feel like they’re on a train ride. I just wish I knew where it was taking me.”