“That was a really long drive since the last rest stop,” she complained as she realized that every part of her lower body had fallen asleep while she was riding in the car.  "Next time, we are not driving straight through, Cincinnati is just too far!"  It was just past two o’clock in the afternoon and they wanted to get into their room and freshen up before they had to be at the venue. 

            “C’mon girl, get the lead out,” Andrea shouted behind her as Annie was still trying to walk normally and get feeling back in her legs.  “We only have an hour to get ready before we have to leave and you are not going to make me late for the soundcheck!”

            The two girls made their way into the hotel lobby and up to the front desk, where a very friendly woman greeted them; her nametag read “Samantha”.  After they checked in, Andrea and Annie dragged their bags to the elevator and pressed the “up” bottom.  As they were waiting for the elevator, Annie looked over at her cousin and noticed the anticipation and excitement on Andrea’s face.  When Andrea noticed Annie looking at her, she turned to look at her and noticed the same expression on Annie’s face.

            “I guess you are excited too, huh?” Andrea asked.

            “Yeah, I guess I am,” replied Annie.  “Who would have thought that I would be this excited about going to not one, not even two, but six Backstreet Boys concerts over a three week period.”  Andrea chuckled a bit and the girls stepped onto the elevator and up they went to their room.

            Andrea and Annie had not been to a Backstreet Boys concert since their first tour in 1998.  After the boys took a break, Annie became skeptical that they would reunite, and she started to let her love for the group fade, but Andrea never did.  She knew they would get back together and do another tour, and she made Annie promise her one day a few years ago that when the Backstreet Boys went on tour again, Annie would go with her, and Annie promised, thinking it would never happen. 

            As they were walking off the elevator Andrea turned to Annie.  “It is kind of surreal when you think that we are going all over the country, doing fun stuff all along the way, and mixing in six BSB concerts to top it all off, isn’t it?”

            “I’m still trying to comprehend our middle of the night drive from Wisconsin to Ohio, so I cannot even begin to process how many miles we are going to put on your car over the next three weeks!” Annie responded.  The girls walked into their room and plopped their bags onto the beds.  They wanted to walk around the hotel and see what it had to offer, but decided to get ready for the sound check and concert first.  Surprisingly, the two were ready and looking fabulous in record time, so they set off on their exploration of the hotel. 

            Annie had wanted to talk to Andrea all afternoon about what she was feeling during the car ride, and she decided that this would be the best time as any.  As they turned a corner and started walking down another hallway, Annie stopped Andrea and motioned for her to sit down on the bench that lined the wall. 

            “I know that things have been really hard over the past several months, but I am really starting to worry that you are not letting go the way you should be.  I know there is no amount of time that is going to make you forget, but there has to come a time when you are okay living your life without them.  He was not my husband and they were not my kids, but I still loved them so much and I miss them too.  I guess what I’m trying to say is, maybe this trip could be your turning point.  Maybe during this time, you will realize that Michael would have wanted you to be happy and my hope for you is that during this trip, you find happiness.  Find someway to be “at home” again.”

            Tears had welled up Annie’s eyes as she finished her statement.  Her and Andrea had talked, and talked, and talked so many times about the accident and about her life after it.  There was nothing that they didn’t talk about.  Andrea has said many times that she is coping and dealing with it, and that she is moving on, but her actions and emotions have not shown it.  She has not looked at another man in any personal way in eight months.  It was time for her to fall in love again, to create a family again, to be at home again.

            “I miss them so much,” Andrea began to sob as her best friend wrapped her arms around her.  After a few minutes of crying, Andrea looked up, and wiped her eyes.  It was as if she had gained a whole new outlook on her life and what she wanted out of her life, or what she referred to often as her “new” life.  That would not be the last time she would cry for her husband and her babies, but that would be the last time she would cry because she was standing still in a world moving constantly around her.  She was finally ready to move on, and that’s what she was going to do.