[ - ]
Table of Contents [Report This]
Printer Chapter or Story Microsoft Word Chapter or Story
- Text Size +
Chapter 32: Frustrating Guilt

When the sun creaked through the cracks in the drapes and successfully drew Kevin from his slumber, he found himself waking up to feel rather refreshed compared to how he had been feeling the past few days. His body was relaxed rather then tense, his mind peaceful and clear. But his heart was still aching, one feeling that just wouldn't subside. Kevin hated the feeling, but the way he saw it, he figured there wasn't much he could do about that problem. So he tried to push it aside and ignore it, hoping it would eventually just go away. He knew it wasn't that easy though; problems just don't disappear upon your wishing them away. But how was he supposed to go about taking care of it when he didn't even know where or how to start?

He'd spent hours on end speaking to his wife over the phone the previous night. He felt as if he were going to break if he didn't talk to someone. Kristin was caught off-guard with concern when she'd heard her husband's depressed voice on the other end of the line and it was obvious Kevin had woken her up. He felt guilty for having called her so late; afterall, the group didn't arrive back at the hotel until nearly midnight, due to some claimed setback that none of them had understood. It was clear Kristin had been in a deep sleep, too, as it took several minutes for her groggy voice to turn somewhat normal. 'Baby, I woke you up. I'm sorry. I can call you back tomorrow...' Kevin apologized, feeling lame for not even considering the couple hours of time difference. But Kristin quickly declined his offer and made him stay on the line. Kevin could never have been more glad that she did. Talking was really what he needed to ease some of the tension and Kristin was able to do just that.

The relief was only short lived. As soon as he placed the hotel phone back on it's base, Kevin felt that empty feeling settle back into the pit of his stomach. The conversation with his wife had really set Kevin to thinking about everything. All of her reasoning made perfect sense, as much as he really wanted to deny it. He spent an hour afterward lying on his back and staring aimlessly at the bland ceiling. 'Maybe if you go and try to talk to him, you'll see that he doesn't hate you afterall' Kristin repeatedly told her husband throughout the duration of their conversation. Easier said then done, Kevin figured. Kristin was right though. It would do Kevin good to suck in his pride for once and take the initiative. He even slipped his Adidas Runners back upon his feet and strode towards the door, ready to get the 'task' over with and take care of whatever was going on...or, at least he thought he had been ready. But the thought of actually facing AJ at that moment killed Kevin's courage, just like it had been since their...Hell, he didn't even know what to call it. Kevin never made it out the doorway. He only got so far as reaching for the handle, before he cowered away from it and retreated back to his bed.

So sleep had come as pure bliss to Kevin, pulling him from the world of the living for a few short hours and allowing him the chance to clear his mind completely. He was able to drag his body out from under the warmth of the covers when he finally did awaken and saunter into the bathroom for the further wakeup remedy of a warm shower. For the first time in a long time he was having difficulty remembering what exactly was in the agenda for the group that day. Kevin hated to admit that he, of the five of them, had been slacking when it came to keeping on top of things within their schedule. It was still pretty early, and Kevin seriously doubted that any of the others were awake also, except for maybe Howie. Hopefully the day would be pretty laid back, considering they weren't leaving for the next venue until the following day.

Kevin sighed. Where had he placed the group's intinerary?

Yes, he still carried a copy of it with him after all of the years the five of them had been together. And he was still given a hard time about it, too. Mainly Brian, to say the least, never failed to crack a comment when Kevin would pull out the sheet, always crinkled from being folded into several halfs to fit nicely in his wallet. Better to be safe then sorry Kevin preached in return, taking their jokes lightly and never thinking much about it. This time, however, the sheet was nowhere to be found within the leather wallet. And Kevin made sure he looked between each bill of money, and every pocket...coming up empty-handed in the end.

"Well, I'll be damned," Kevin muttered to himself, tossing the wallet carelessly back into the opening of his suitcase. So much for that, obviously. Ok, so misplacing the group's itinerary was one thing, but actually forgetting their day's schedule was a whole other ball field when it came to Kevin. He found it to be rather bothersome as he stood there in the middle of the suite, scanning the room with his emerald eyes and running a hand through his dark spikes. "Brian will get a kick out of this if he finds out," Kevin couldn't help but to think outloud, knowing very well that he could call one of the others up to plainly find out what was going on that day. Of course, he would have to come up with a damn good coverup as to why he was asking and when it came down to it, Kevin decided that it just wasn't worth it. He quickly abandoned the idea.

For a moment he considered placing another call to Kristin. Kevin was dying to hear her voice and to have the company it would bring. And if there was one thing Kevin could undoubtably spend forever doing, it would be talking to her. Just her words of advice and the sound of her voice could do wonders when it came to calming Kevin's stormful soul. It was one of the many things about Kristin that made him fall in love with her and Kevin often wondered if he ever thanked her enough for it. But again he ended up abandoning that idea also, knowing very well that she would still be sleeping. He would just have to wait until they had a break in their schedule later that day and then he would call. All of which brought Kevin back to square one on deciding how exactly he was going to spend the next hour or so of time before one of the fellas was sure to come knocking.

And someone did come knocking, not even a minute after the thought had passed through Kevin's mind. It caused him to jump where he stood and he chuckled sheepishly at himself as he regained his composure and slowly walked towards the door, wondering who could possibly be on the other side. Much to his relief, Kevin found none other then his own cousin to be standing on the other side of the closed doorway, a fact he discovered after taking a quick peek through the peephole. Judging by the way the younger Kentuckian was bouncing on the heels of his feet with his hands clasped behind his back, not to mention that Kevin couldn't ignore the hilarious faces Brian was making towards the peephole at the moment by scrunching and unscrunching his nose in an odd manner, he figured this would be no more then a friendly morning greeting. Either that, or Brian actually wanted something from Kevin. Now if that was the case, Brian would be getting a door slammed in his face.

"On second thought, that just might be humorous to watch..." Kevin murmured as he grasped the door handle and slowly pulled it open. Brian stopped in the middle of one of his nose scrunches, his eyes wide and making him look vaguely like a deer caught in a car's headlights. Kevin raised his eyebrows with curiosity; to this very day, he still didn't quite understand his cousin's antics at times. "Whatcha want?" he asked, scanning the hallway at both ends. "I was sleeping."

"No you weren't," Brian answered in a plain tone.

"How would you know?" Kevin challenged, staring the shorter man down.

"One, you were too quick to answer the door. Two, your hair is wet, which means you just got out of the shower or you really sweat way too much when you sleep. I'm going for the former. And three, you're dressed in your day clothes," Brian explained with ease as he pushed past Kevin and made his way inside the room. "And besides, you're always up at the buttcrack of dawn. So you can't fool me, Kev. Sorry."

"For your information, lil cuz," Kevin began to reply as he shut the door and rolled his eyes at the fact of how Brian just loved to invite himself in. "I've only been up for half an hour."

Brian shrugged, making himself comfortable in one of the chairs. He held his amused smile at bay, knowing very well that it wouldn't take much to press his cousin's buttons to the point of annoyance, and by the looks of it, Kevin was already on the way to the point of strangulation. Of course, Brian always managed to escape out the door before that was ever able to happen. This morning, however, he'd simply come to chat or lack thereof. His cousin hadn't been willing to talk much to anyone lately. "So, you have plans this morning or something?" he questioned oddly, picking at a loose piece of thread on the hem of his t-shirt.

"No, I don't have plans this morning," Kevin answered. "What's your point?"

"Well, gee, didn't know I had a point." The sarcasm dripped from Brian's lips as it was his turn to now roll his eyes. He looked at Kevin with wonder. "I came by to see if you would be interested in grabbing some breakfast with us down in the restaurant...say about ten minutes?"

Breakfast. Now that sounded like a good idea. And Kevin had to admit that his stomach was growling. "Who's 'us'?" he asked, considering the invitation carefully, knowing it just might actually do him a bit of good to be around those he considered himself to be close to instead of locking himself up alone whenever he had the chance. Maybe that was one of his biggest problems lately. He was trying to take the easy way out instead of dealing with whatever was going on.

Brian hesitated for a moment before answering. "Myself, Denise, and...AJ."

Another idea down the drain.

Kevin bit down on his bottom lip. He knew he should accept the invitation. Afterall, it would set him up with the perfect opportunity to pull AJ aside finally and talk to him. But once again his ego was taking control over his better judgement and he shook his head slightly. "Nah, cuz...I think I'm gonna have to pass," he answered, burying his hands in his jean pockets. He looked around the room for a means of distraction from the conversation but opted to just collapse onto the bed. Kevin had started to reach for the tv remote control when he actually noticed the disappointment masked in Brian's eyes. He could only guess that Brian was really counting on him to attend. Kevin didn't know what to say and flipped the television on.

"Kev-"

"Ya know, I'm just not hungry right now," Kevin lied, interrupting Brian before he could get a full word out. He began to tap the channel button rapidly a couple of times, hoping to find anything that would spark his interest and signal to Brian that he wasn't up to listening to what Brian had to say.

"You'll be hungry later," Brian attempted. "We've got a busy morning later on and who knows when we'll get the opportunity to take a break and grab a bite to eat. I mean, you know how it can be. So why not just come down and have breakfast, even if it's just a slice of toast. And hey, you can also get a word in with AJ-"

Kevin shot his glance towards his cousin and noticed the hopeful look right away. He sighed, tossing the remote to the bed and crossing his arms over his chest. "Bri, I know what you're trying to do right now, but it's not gonna work, ok? I'm not ready to talk to AJ. I just wish you would understand that, mind your own business, and leave well enough alone."

Brian's lips parted in an effort to say something, but he closed his mouth. His eyebrows furled deeply as he leaned forward in his seat and stood up. "That hurt, Kev," he replied in a low tone. "At least someone here is willing to make an effort at fixing things."

"I never asked for your help."

"And that's your problem. Geez, Kevin...stop acting your shoe size and grow up. In my opinion you're acting childish about this and it's gonna get old quickly!"

"Listen here, cousin!" Kevin snapped, his emerald eyes narrowing as his back became stiff. Brian stepped back. "I never asked you for your opinion so I don't appreciate you going and giving me one. When I tell you to butt out and mind your own damn business, I freakin' mean it! Understand? I don't need your help with anything. The problem is between AJ and I. Your name isn't in the equation so leave it alone!"

Brian inhaled a sharp breath to calm his nerves as he made his way mechanically towards the door. Upon reaching it he looked back over his shoulder. "No wonder AJ got so mad at you," he hissed before opening the door and slamming it on his way out.

*****

"Earth to AJ!" Brian called out in an amused tone as he proceeded to lean forward in his seat and snapped two fingers in front of AJ's rather vacant eyes. The movement prompted no reaction out of AJ and Brian ended up shrugging his shoulders in defeat. Figuring it was no use trying to gain AJ's attention which just didn't seem to be there at the moment, he glanced up towards the waiter who was standing patiently at the table's side, hands clasped behind his back. "My turn to order, huh?"

"Do you need more time, sir?" the waiter was polite enough to ask, though Brian could see evidence in his eyes that they were only holding him back from actually doing his job.

"Uh...I think I know what I want. Yo, J, are you going to order?" Brian attempted to grab AJ's attention once again, this time lightly driving a fist into his left shoulder. AJ's eyes squeezed shut tightly once before he slowly turned his head to stare at Brian with raised eyebrows. Brian shook his head with a chuckle. "Welcome back. Have a good vacation?"

AJ looked absolutely clueless. "What?"

"Order your breakfast, dude."

"I'm not really hungry to tell you the truth."

'You and my cousin both' Brian thought with an obvious roll of his eyes. He looked back up at the waiter with a look of apology for the delay. "Ok, let's see..." Brian reached for the menu out of habit and opened it back up. "Well, Denise wanted a ham and cheese omelet, AJ will have the same, and I think I'll have some...scrambled eggs and bacon. Oh, and a slice of wheat toast would be good too," he rattled off quickly, handing the menu over when he was finished.

"I thought I said I wasn't hungry," AJ spoke up once the waiter had disappeared.

"And I didn't want to hear you complaining later about being hungry," Brian answered simply, glancing at AJ knowingly. AJ was like clockwork when it came to that sort of thing. Have him skip breakfast and exactly two hours later, right on the minute he would be complaining, quite earsplittingly, that he was dying of starvation. The resemblence between the sound of AJ being hungry and that of a screeching cow was scary.

"Where'd my mom go?"

"You really must have been spacing, J."

AJ sighed, unamused. "I have a bit on my mind at the moment. Where'd she go?"

"Bathroom. She should be back anytime."

AJ shrugged, slinking down in his seat. He began to fidget with the visor he was wearing.

"So what are you thinking?"

"Come again?"

"What...are...you...think...ing...?"

"I'm not deaf," AJ groaned, blindly kicking Brian's shin under the table. At least he gave a half-hearted attempt at trying to. It was only obvious that he had missed his target when he grimaced seconds later. "Damn..."

"Table leg get in your way?"

"Guess you could say that."

"I ain't gonna comment..." Brian replied, shaking his head as he held his laughter at bay.

'That's right. Don't laugh now 'cause you know you won't be laughing when I don't miss next time' AJ thought, his lips curling into an amused smile. He was even tempted to distract Brian's attention so he could go for another kick, but he noticed that Brian had caught onto his look of mischief and was now slowly backing up in his chair. "What?" AJ questioned innocently, clearing his throat and raising his eyebrows toward the southerner.

"I know what you're thinking," Brian accused, suspicion dripping from his voice. "I've known you for far too long...Yeah, I know exactly what you were just thinking."

"Maybe you oughta lay off the caffine there, 'Rok. You're looking a bit jumpy this morning," AJ joked, abandoning the idea of teasing Brian further and just indulging in the fact that he was being able to enjoy one of his close friend's company without any problems that morning. "So, uh...I thought you said Kevin would be joining us this morning...?" he attempted to question casually seconds later when niether of them made an attempt to continue speaking. Geez, how obvious did he sound? No hinting around at the fact that he wanted to speak to the eldest member, nope, bluntness was more of AJ's thing. It didn't help that he was really looking forward to Kevin showing up to the breakfast, although AJ wouldn't admit it right then. It was already taking him long enough to realize that the disagreement they were having was quite foolish, and whether the thought was mutual between him and Kevin, it just wasn't worth it to AJ to let something so petty destroy a friendship of many years building.

Brian saw the expression of slightly hidden hope wash over AJ's dark orbs, but it disappeared just as quickly as it had shown. Then he remembered the angry words Kevin had spat towards him right before he had ventured down to the hotel's restaurant. So Brian felt pity for the fact that AJ was finally stepping up to the plate to try and fix things and Kevin still wasn't allowing him the chance. But on the other hand, Brian was beginning to feel some of his own pent up anger towards his cousin and he sighed, trying to hide it with an apologetic smile. "He was still sleeping when I stopped by his room," Brian lied, not quite understanding why he was chosing to cover for Kevin after the treatment he had just recieved. "I tried to get his butt out of bed, but he was acting like a grouchy bear. I feared for my life that he was going to bite. So I gave up all hope that-"

AJ chuckled. "Alright, already. I get the point."

Brian shrugged. "Sorry, J. I tried-"

"It's not that big of a deal," AJ immediately interrupted, trying to drop the subject so he wouldn't have to deal with Brian wanting to press into it further.

Brian winced at the tension he had somehow managed to create. "Have any plans for the day?"

"You mean before we have to go to that promotions thing later?"

"Unfortunately," Brian answered, scrunching his nose in distate.

AJ nearly mirrored the action. "Yeah, I know how you feel. But um, yeah, have to check in with Jeanie. Then my mom and I are gonna go spend the day on the town. I don't know, catch up on somethings I guess." AJ shifted uncomfortably in his seat, mostly due to the fact that his leg was beginning to fall asleep from having stayed in one position for too long a period. AJ had already gone past despising the brace on his knee. And the crutches were becoming a major pain. "You're welcome to join us if you want to."

"Nah, man, that's ok," Brian declined, acknowledging the offer greatfully with a polite smile. He leaned back in his seat before continuing, "I'm waiting on a phone call from Leigh. I forgot to charge my cell last night so she's supposed to be calling me here."

"Oh yeah, can't miss a call from the wifey poo. That would be like the world coming to a disastrous end," AJ teased, knowing he couldn't pass up the opportunity to pick a bit of fun at the Kentuckian's expense.

Brian rolled his eyes. "I think you're jealous."

"You're right," AJ answered honestly, his mood turning a shade darker as his thoughts slid back to the one girl who still had a tight grasp on his heart, even if she wasn't aware of it. God, if it wasn't just one more thing to trouble him further...

"Sorry J, I didn't mean it like that," Brian apologized.

"What do you have to be sorry for?" AJ shot Brian an odd glance as he noticed his mother heading their way and approaching quickly. 'Oh yeah, you did manage to screw things up part way between Jaymee and I...with the aid of Nick...'

Brian shrugged uncomfortably in return. "Said the first thing that came to my mind, I guess," was his reply. Then there was a spark in his eye as he proceeded to squint at AJ in wonder. "What about that one girl...um, sorry, I'm having trouble remembering her name. Jay...Jaymee was it? The one who called?"

"Also the one you rudely hung up on," AJ answered back in a dry tone.

"Oh yeah..."

"Yeah."

"Well, what about Jaymee?"

Denise chose to step up to the table right at that time and took her place in the seat next to AJ on his right. Her eyes seemed masked with the obvious curiosity of having overheard the last snippet of the conversation between her son and Brian. "Oh? Is there a new girl who's caught your interest?" she asked, nudging AJ playfully in the ribs as he slouched further in his seat. That right there was a dead give away. "Who's this Jaymee you were just talking about?"

"Noone important," AJ muttered.

"His new love," Brian immediately followed.

"'Rok, you obviously don't know what you're talking about."

"But you said-"

"I said nothing of the sorts."

Brian scuffed, shaking his head.

Denise, on the other hand, responded by laughing quietly. She knew very well that whoever this mystery girl was, she was more then just someone who was unimportant. "Alex..." she teased, poking at him again with her finger this time. He swatted at her hand. "C'mon, you can tell me."

"I'm going to be honest when I say I really don't want to talk about it right now," AJ answered finally, holding his mother's hand away so she couldn't resort to jabbing him any further. Upon seeing his mother's signal to defeat, he grinned triumphantly.

"I'll just drag it out of you later then," Denise mumbled with a hint of mock arrogance in her light voice.

"Give it your best shot," AJ challenged. "No guarantees."

"We'll just see about that."

AJ stared at his mom with a dead expression.

"I think your mom has you whipped, AJ," Brian laughed, noticing the tint of redness that had creeped into AJ's cheek.

"And we know that your wife has you whipped for sure, Brian," AJ was quick with his come back, knowing exactly how to press Brian's buttons.

"She does not," Brian denied, feeling his own cheeks turn crimson in color.

"Brian, my man, I think you are in denial buddy."

"Leigh does not have me whipped."

"Denial."

"At least I don't still take orders from my mother."

"You take orders from your wife. That's just as sad."

"Well, at least...well,...yeah, shut up Aje," Brian grumbled, his eyebrows furled, although he made it clear that he took AJ's joking lightly.

"De-nial..." AJ sung quietly, settling back in his seat as he waited for the morning's breakfast to arrive.

*****

Kevin held his hands in a cupped fashion under the running faucet, allowing the cool, clear liquid to gather in a small pool before bringing his hands up and splashing the coolness against his warm face. He looked into the mirror above the sink as tiny droplets of water fell from his skin and exploded, silently, against the porcelain below. Kevin had to wonder, staring downcasted at his own reflection, exactly when he had turned into such an unhappy person, a stranger to his own knowledge. Kevin barely recognized himself. His green eyes dull from their usual brightness. His forehead held site of near-permanent creases, streaked from countless moments of worry and frustration. The sad thing was, Kevin couldn't remember the last time he had been truly happy, the last time he had looked in a mirror and saw an honest smile reflecting back. Such memories, he figured, were buried deep somewhere below all of the frustration and anger that had been mounting lately. He was tired, not only physically, but much so mentally and it was something Kevin was longer able to successfully hide.

Kevin knew he had taken one step too far when Brian slammed out the door. He had unfairly berated his cousin in a vicious manner and Brian's expression, words added, were just enough to make him realize that. Unfortunately Kevin realized it too late. By the time he was able to pull himself up from the bed and hurry over to open the door, Brian had already dissappeared from the hallway. The silence glared at Kevin, pushing him back inside the hotel room. He shut the door and stood there for several minutes after, unsure of what to do. Kevin knew Brian deserved an honest apology after the way he had just treated him, but how to go about giving it... God, he had act like such an asshole. Brian was right, no wonder AJ did get so mad at him.

Could things possibly get any worse? Maybe it was a stupid question to ponder, because maybe the answer was obvious. Kevin had once again let his ego get the best of his emotions and send him tumbling into another problem he just didn't have the energy to deal with. That was one of his greatest downfalls, though. He remembered how in his earlier years he would come across many who referred to him as Mr. Perfectionist. It was true. Kevin did have the problem of being unsatisfied with much of his work, leading him often to become rather frustrated with what exactly he was doing. It also led him to wonder how he got by without being called Mr. Egotistic Perfectionist. His ego often showed larger then his perfectionist side. Obviously his personality hadn't changed one bit over the years.

Kevin shook his head sadly, sighed and reached for the black comb laying next to his toothbrush and toothpaste. He swiped the comb several times through his short locks, before tossing it back to the counter and left the bathroom, fumbling with the light switch on his way out. The television was still on, playing the volume so low it almost seemed mute. Some animal nature show was framing across the screen that Kevin might have found interesting had he not been in a hurry to leave the room and get down to the main floor. Five seconds later, the television was off, he had grabbed his wallet and keycard, and was walking straight out the door.

Kevin was hoping he had time to catch AJ, Brian, and Denise while they were still in the restaurant. Hell, he didn't even know if they would still be down there. Afterall, it had been quite a while since Brian had stormed from Kevin's hotel room, and from the way his luck was already running that morning, he'd probably missed them by a long shot. If that was the case, then he knew it would be no use to attempt to speak with Brian at that moment otherwise. Kevin would just have to catch up with him later. But AJ...that's who Kevin was most counting on seeing. His behavior towards AJ had been completely foolish, as much as it hurt to admit it (there went his ego again), and it definitely wasn't worth it to let it destroy a friendship that had been building over countless years of spending nearly 24/7 in each other's presence. Kevin decided there was no hurt in sucking in his pride and doing his part. He would apologize and if AJ chose not to accept the apology...well, in the end Kevin knew he had noone to blame but himself.

To distract his attention away from the nagging thoughts, Kevin spent the entire duration of the elevator ride three floors down picking at tiny pieces of lint from his dark-colored jeans as he rested casually against the wall of the elevator. Much to his relief, the elevator didn't stop to pick up any others before it reached the lobby floor, and when it finally did, Kevin stepped out cautiously, hoping with all hope that he could make it to the restaurant without any confrontations. There were very few mingling in the lobby that morning. Maybe due to the fact that it was still early. Kevin nearly sighed in relief.

He finally did reach the restaurant, after taking a wrong turn down one of the halls. How he managed to make that mistake was beyond him. It made Kevin laugh, considering the sign on the wall a few feet back read, "Restaurant" with an arrowing accompanying it. "Leave it to me to not pay attention to that...who would have ever thought..." Kevin found himself mumbling upon entering the french-style doorway. His eyes did a scan of the area and he found himself quickly becoming uncomfortable. He had to of looked odd standing there in the entrance, not moving. A few eyes did land upon Kevin; he even overheard a child's voice speaking to their parent in a hushed amazement, "Mama! That's Kevin from the Backstreet Boys!". Kevin glanced the little child's way and waved. And that's when he also noticed the table that Brian and Denise were occupying. However, as he walked towards it, he quickly realized there was no AJ sitting with them.

There went the hope of actually fixing that problem...

Brian noticed his older cousin approaching and shot him an odd glance. "Thought you said you weren't coming," he said, placing his napkin back upon the table as Denise turned around. "We already ate. Sorry."

Kevin held in a sharp reply, already expecting the less then warm attitude from Brian. "I wasn't going to, but I thought I would come down and try to get a word in with AJ while I had the chance to," he answered, wondering whether or not he wanted to take a seat at the table or just excuse himself from the situation before he got in too deep.

"You just missed him," Denise apologized. "He left about five minutes ago to head up to speak with his therapist."

"Oh..." Kevin bit down on his bottom lip. Brian wasn't offering him a friendly glance at the moment and Kevin really would have rather spun around and walked away, but Denise was already pulling out a seat for him.

"Why don't you take a seat and you can order some breakfast?" she offered.

"Nah, that's ok. I think I'll just head back up to my room and catch up with AJ later. Brian, you'll come get me when it's time to-" Kevin began to decline.

"I don't know," Brian interrupted his cousin as he pushed back his chair and stood up. He smiled at Denise. "Thanks for the breakfast this morning. I owe ya one."

"You don't owe me anything, Brian," Denise answered with a laugh and waited until Brian was gone before she looked back up at Kevin who was still standing and motioned to the chair she had pulled out for him. Kevin reluctantly took a seat. "I was hoping to have a word with you today."

"Howie told me last night."

"Would you mind?"

"No."

"Order some breakfast and we'll talk. From the sound of it, you've got a busy day ahead of you."