- Text Size +


Brian and Leighanne gasped while Tim and Tracy nodded knowingly. “Annie....I-I’m sorry,” Brian stammered. “I just assumed.....”

Annie held up her hand to stop him. “It’s okay, Brian. I still wear my wedding band, so it happens a lot, and before you ask me, yes, I did actually talk to him about it, even if you think I’m crazy for doing so.”

“I don’t think you’re crazy at all,” Brian replied earnestly.

“Kevin talks to dad all the time,” Tim said quietly as they fell into an uncomfortable silence.

“So, you’re a Backstreet Boys fan?” Leighanne broke the silence, sounding just a little bit too chipper.

“Yes! For years. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I came face to face with your husband at church.”

“And you never realized Tim was Kevin’s brother?”

“No! I even skipped a Wednesday night service to go to an NKOTBSB concert back in July and he never said a word!” She crossed her arms over her chest and pretended to shoot a dirty look in Tim’s direction.

“It was kinda low, Tim,” Tracy reprimanded him.

He held his hands up in defense. “I don’t talk about my famous brother. It’s just not my style. I did, however, mention to Annie that I had family in the music business who would be impressed with her. Hence....” He motioned towards Brian.

“I still don’t understand, though,” Leighanne interjected. “You’re Drew’s babysitter. Are there not pictures around your house of Kevin and Brian?”

“Well, we just moved into a new house....” Tim explained.

“And Tracy’s only been keeping Drew for a couple months,” Annie jumped in. “Things didn’t work out with the last babysitter. Still, though, I really don’t know how I didn’t see it, either. Now, if we were in Irvine, I think i would have picked up on it right away.” She turned to Brian. “You know, I used to drive through Irvine on the way to visit my brother at EKU back when I was in high school and imagine somehow running into Kevin, who would happen to be in his hometown for a visit. Same for you in Lexington.”

“Really now?” Brian’s eyes danced in amusement.

Annie blushed. “Now you think I’m a crazy fan girl, don’t you?”

“Nah, not really. But, why would you drive through Irvine to get to Richmond from here? Wouldn’t you go right up I-75? Hmm. Now that I think about it, if you were driving through Irvine to get to Richmond in hopes of running into Kevin....I’d say that definitely makes you a crazy fan girl. Maybe I should take back my offer....”

“Oh, hush! That was like twelve years ago, and even so, I’m still not that desperate. I didn’t grow up in Berea. I’m from Jackson. So, yes, Irvine was along the way.”

Brian placed his hand over his heart dramatically. “Well, that’s a relief. How did you end up in Berea?”

“Um....” Annie bit her bottom lip nervously. “My husband,” she replied quickly. She was met with another uncomfortable silence.

Leighanne broke the silence again. “So, is Tim in the doghouse for never introducing you to his Backstreet Boy family members?”

“Well, of course! He only ever referred to Kevin as his brother, ‘Mr. California.’ I imagined a Bohemian street performer to be honest, I’ve met his mom, Ann, and his other brother, Jerald......” Annie trailed off and clapped a hand over her mouth. “Oh my gosh! Of course you’re Kevin Richardson’s brother! What kind of a fan am I?!” Everyone, Annie included, started laughing.

“One who’s human and not too creepy?” Brian answered with a guffaw. “So, now that we’ve established that you’re not a creepy fan girl, do you want to make some preliminary travel arrangements? I will need a few days to get things in order, but after that, you can come any time. Do you need to talk to your boss about getting some time off, or.....?”

“Well, I only work three days a week, so if it would only take a few days, I might not even need to ask for any time off.”

“Annie, you should give yourself a break. Maybe it would be good for you to take some time off...” Tim coaxed.

“Drew! No!” Annie jumped up as the toddler wandered into the bathroom and grabbed his wrist just before his hand hit the toilet water. Drew’s face crumpled and his lower lip quivered, then the meltdown started.

“WAAAHHH!” he wailed as tears streamed down his red cheeks.

“I’m sorry, sweetie,” Annie said patiently. “We can’t play in the yucky toilet.” He continued to scream, and tried to wiggle out of her grasp when she scooped him up onto her hip. “He’s probably tired....and hungry. I think this is my cue to leave,” she said to the room apologetically. “Tracy, we’ll see you in the morning?”

Tracy nodded with a smile. “Night-night, Drew.”

He continued to cry, and Annie turned to the Littrells. “I’ll get up with you sometime tomorrow. Did they tell you what time to expect to be discharged?”

“Dr. Tony wanted him to spend another day in traction, so he said tomorrow afternoon around 3 or 4. We have a flight out of Lexington at 7:00,” Leighanne said loudly over Drew’s screams.

“See you tomorrow.” Annie looked down at Drew and sighed, then left the room.
_________________________________________________________________________


“Be sure you give him his pain medicine before you get on the plane. The plane ride is going to be uncomfortable for him as it is. You want to try to prevent the pain, not treat it after the fact. Oh, and you’ll probably want to give him some Dramamine, too, even if he doesn’t tend to get airsick. The codeine might make him a little queasy. Just make sure that it’s the non-drowsy kind, or it will be kind of like mixing pain meds and alcohol, which is bad news. How much does he weigh again? Do you need me to write down the dose?”

“Annie, I wrote it down ten minutes ago,” Brian said with a laugh. “You are such a mother hen, you know that?”

She grinned sheepishly. “Sorry, but we’re talking about my second favorite boy here. The doctor and the mommy in me can’t help it.”

“Thank you again for everything, Annie. I’ll call you in a few days, and we’ll get you down to Atlanta to do some singin’.” Brian enveloped her into a hug.

“Yes, Annie. Thank you, and we’ll see you soon,” Leighanne also have her a friendly hug.

“Thanks for making sure my dad didn’t throw up when I broke my arm,” Baylee told her with a grin. “And I’m excited you and Drew are coming to visit.”

“Take care, Baylee, and do what the doctor says so that arm gets better quick, okay?” Annie tousled his hair and gave him a careful hug, making sure not to disturb his arm. “You guys be safe.” She started down the hallway and turned back to give them a quick wave before heading back down to the ER.

“Where have you been?” Brad asked her as he closed a patient chart and looked up at her.

“The Littrells are getting ready to go back home. I just wanted to see them off.”

“You seem to have gotten pretty chummy with the Littrell family,” he observed.

“They’re good people.”

“So, are you leaving me for them?”

“I, uh.....I’m going to need a few days off.”

Brad smiled. “Good for you.”