Annie Morgan gazed across the noisy fellowship hall, darting her head back and forth as people milled around and her line of sight was continually interrupted. Goldilocks over there was making her a little nervous, but in the fifteen months since becoming a mother, she’d learned to pick her battles. A little boy with curly blonde hair, who looked to be about eight or so was leading her toddler, Drew, around by the hand, but clearly wasn’t really paying much attention, as he kept bouncing off the legs and hips of various adults and saying, “Excuse me, pardon me, sorry!” over and over again. She took a sip of her water and glanced down at her watch, and as soon a she took her eyes away, though only for a second, she heard her child’s characteristic screams. She slammed her drink onto the nearest table and ran.
“I’m sorry!” The little boy was stooping down and picking up Drew, who had a large red spot on his forehead that looked suspiciously like carpet burn. Both boys had tears streaming down their red faces. Though, Goldilocks’ face was most likely red from embarrassment while Drew’s was from the screaming fit he was having, which was quickly into a breath-holding spell. He only did that when he was truly hurt, whether physically or emotionally, and this time, she suspected it was a little of both.
“Breathe, baby.” Annie coaxed gently as she scooped her son out of the little boy’s arms.
“Baylee Thomas Wylee Littrell! You can’t just go around man-handling other people’s children!” A blonde man, who was very obviously Goldilocks’ (who was apparently more appropriately named Bayee) father, came rushing up while waving his finger at the younger manifestation of himself. “I’m really sorry about this.” Annie took in a sharp gasp of air as the man turned to her apologetically with his hands on his hips.
“D-Don’t worry about it. It’s- it’s fine,” she stammered.
“No, it’s not. I’m a dad. I remember what it was like when he as little and all the kids at church wanted to handle him all the time. The germs, the little accidents like this one. It really puts you on edge, doesn’t it?” He was practically screaming over Drew’s wails.
“Yes! That’s exactly what it was! An accident!” Baylee chirped up at his dad. “I didn’t mean it! Our feet just got tangled up in each other and he tripped and fell! I’m sorry!”
“We’ll talk about it later.” He acknowledged his son and turned his attention back to Annie and the crying baby. “Are you sure he’s okay?”
Annie looked down at her little siren. He was now magenta. “He’s fine. Just a little bump on the head. I think we’ll go get some fresh air.” She sighed as she shuffled away from him, lamenting the brevity of her chance meeting with Mr. Teenage Dream. Such was motherhood. Little Man always came first. “Drew, sweetie, look at the butterfly!” She pointed at the orange and black monarch as it fluttered by just as she stepped outside. Drew’s cries were replaced with a squeal of delight as he reached his chubby hands out into the air. Annie smiled, thanking God for the beautiful little distraction he’d placed out in the September sun.
“Good to see he’s doing better.” Annie jumped at the voice behind her. “Sorry. I din’t mean to startle you. I just wanted to check on the little guy.” He pinched Drew’s cheek lightly and made a funny face, making the toddler in her arms cackle. “I’m Brian Littrell, by the way.” He held out his hand to her.
“I know.” She shook his hand nervously. “I mean, um, I’m Annie. Annie Morgan.”
Brian’s eyes danced in amusement. “You looked about the right age to know who I was.”
Annie blushed. “Are you sure it wasn’t the solo I sang during the service that gave me away?” She’d sung “Over My Head” on stage just before they’d taken up the offering in the little country church in Berea, Kentucky.
Brian chuckled. “You have me there. Although, there are some Brian Littrell fans who aren’t Backstreet Boys fans, believe it or not. You know, I think you do that one better than I do.”
“Oh, no way. You’re an international pop star. Your voice is amazing. This is for church,” she said, pointing to her throat.
“Well, so is this.” He gestured to his own throat. “I was just incredibly lucky and blessed.” Annie nodded in appreciation. “I’m sure you already know this, but you’re really talented. Have you ever thought about doing it professionally? Singing, I mean.”
“Well, yeah, of course. I dreamed of it. When I was fifteen, I imagined I’d open for the Backstreet Boys and fall madly in love with one of you.” They shared a laugh.
“Was it me?” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
Annie bit her bottom lip. “Nope. Sorry. Besides, you’re married.”
The door opened behind them. “Here’s your dad, kiddo.” They turned to find the pastor, Tim Richardson, standing behind them with his hands on his hips. “You’re going to steal her away from me, aren’t you, cuz?” he said with a twinkle in his eye.
“I’m going to try,” Brian said with a smirk.
Annie’s eyes widened in sudden realization as she put Drew down and let him run around in the side yard with Baylee. She’d spent the past 15 years of her life being a die-hard Backstreet Boys fan, and here they were right under her nose. “Brother Tim! You are Kevin Richardson’s brother, and you never told me?!” She put her hands on her hips in indignation. She’d lived in this town and gone to this church for two and a half years. Her pastor had told her before that he had some family in the music business who would be impressed with her vocal ability, but she’d never put two and two together. There were a lot of Tim Richardsons in the world. Though, now that she thought about it, he did slightly resemble his brother.
Tim chuckled. “He was here on Easter, but you weren’t.”
“I had to work! Stupid work..... What about back in July when I went to the NKOTBSB concert in Louisville? All you did was give me a hard time because it was on a Wednesday night, and I was going to miss church! Then you made fun of my t-shirt! You could have told me!” While an innocent bystander might think she was disrespecting a man of God, Annie and Tim were good friends. As the pastor and music director, they spent a lot of time together, both in and out of church.
“You weren’t just missing church,” Tim replied quickly. “It was Vacation Bible School week and I needed my music minister.”
Brian looked at her with a grin. “You missed VBS for one of our concerts? I guess that makes you a pretty hard-core fan, huh?”
Annie shrugged. “I guess. I mean, I don’t have a Wylee bag or anything, but...”
Brian burst out laughing. “Oh, wow, I don’t think I’m supposed to think that’s so funny,” he said as he double over and gasped for breath.
“No, no Drew! Oh, yuck!” Annie rushed over to her toddler, who was holding a “wooly worm” just centimeters from his mouth while Baylee cackled. “We don’t eat caterpillars, baby.”
“Mmm, wom!” Drew exclaimed.
Brian was still doubled over laughing and clutching his stomach. “Tim, why have I never been to your church in Berea before? This is entertainment!” Annie rolled her eyes at him as she reached into her diaper bag to retrieve a wipe for Drew’s hands.
“Baylee, don’t do that!” Brian suddenly screamed, but it was too late. The little boy went sailing over the stair railing going up the side of the church that he had been swinging on and landed on the pavement with a thud.
Story Notes:
I'm having a little bit of writer's block with Forever (I know where it's going, just having a little time with transitioning to get there). In the meantime, this story has been running around in my mind for months, so I figured why not write it all down. While the general story line has been done before, I think this one is different enough to make it interesting.
Wow! A felix award?! Really?! Well, no, not really, it's a runner-up award, but I couldn't imagine being any more excited if I'd actually won! There's so much talent on this site, and just to be included is awesome! Thanks so much!
Ya'll need to know that I am so overwhelmed by the response this story has gotten! A huge thank you to everyone who voted for it in the Double Rainbow Awards!
