Part 281

True to her word, Becca stretched out for a nap only to awaken some four hours later. Disoriented, she looked around groggily before remembering where she was. She looked at the clock and gasped. Five in the afternoon? Where was Garrett? Surely he needed to be fed by now, her breasts were aching and it was way past time for him to eat. She stumbled out into the living room to find him on a blanket on the floor, in between Julie and Lynne who were watching old Backstreet videos. They didn't hear her, so she sat quietly, watching them.

"Oh my GOD! Look at them!" Lynne squealed.

"They were so young," Julie giggled. "And the hair, god Nick, bleach it ALL, not just the top layers. What a dweeb."

"Julie, be nice," Lynne scolded.

"I AM nice, but he's such-"

"A dork?" Becca said, loving the startled looks on their faces when they realized she'd overheard their conversation.

"God, Bec, you scared me to death!" Julie fanned herself, laying back on the floor in a mock faint.

Becca laughed, looking at a very young Nick onscreen. "Good Lord, what WAS he thinking?"

"How old was he when they did this, Bec?" Lynne paused the video and turned around to Becca.

"Not sure, I think seventeen, maybe only sixteen?"

"He was so cute," Julie sighed. "Is Aaron that cute?"

Becca laughed. "Promise not to tell?" She grinned as they sat up. "He's cuter."

"No WAY! Becca, how could you?!"

She laughed and shrugged her shoulders. "He is, I can't help it! He just has a different presence about him when he's on stage. He's learned a lot of it from Nick, and Nick didn't really have anyone to model himself after."

Garrett began to fuss, but before Becca could get him, Julie had picked him up and was placing him in her arms. "I'm sure you need to nurse him, sorry about not waking you up."

"I'll be all right, I'm just surprised HE didn't wake up."

"He did, but we kept him quiet with some water. Nick said you didn't sleep well last night."

"He did? He called?"

"No, this morning before he left," Julie said.

Lynne looked at her watch. "They're probably at sound check now, Bec. He said he'd call before the show."

Becca sighed as Garrett began to nurse, and she looked like her mind was a million miles away.

Julie and Lynne exchanged a glance.

"Just think Bec, day one is almost over."

Becca smiled tearfully. "Only seven more to go."

 

* * * * * *

The phone rang at 7 p.m. sharp. Becca jumped, but there was no way she could get to her feet fast enough to answer it, so Julie grabbed it before the third ring.

"Hello?" A smile lit her face. "Hey! Yes, we're fine, no problems at all. Who? Becca who?" She laughed as she held the phone away from her ear. "Some people are certainly impatient," she laughed, handing the phone to Becca.

"Hello?" she asked breathily, beaming when she heard Nick's voice. "Hi, baby," she whispered. "I'm fine. Really." She looked at Julie, who was giggling.

"How's the baby?" Nick asked, holding his hand over his ear to drown out the noise from the crew.

"He's fine, Nick, good as gold." There was a long silence. "I miss you," Becca whispered.

"I know, baby, I miss you too." Nick closed his eyes and sighed, running his hand through his hair and resting his arm on his head. "Not too much longer, Bec, just hang in there, okay?"

Becca heard the noise in the background as it grew louder and knew their conversation was about to be cut off. "Nick-"

"Look, I'm sorry. We have an interview to do before the show and it's just nuts. I'll call you later. There's something I need to-"

"Nick, just wait till tomorrow. It'll be late …"

"But Bec, I need to talk to you."

"It can wait, Nick. Whatever it is can wait. Look, go do your show." Becca closed her eyes and tried to picture him in her mind. "I love you."

"Baby, I love you, too. We'll talk tomorrow, I have to- Okay, it can wait I guess. Sleep tight tonight, give GT a kiss for me."

"GT-?!" she asked, but the line was already dead.

Nick broke the connection and leaned against the cold concrete wall of the venue. Damn.

He needed to tell her about what had happened with Sarah and the longer he waited, the harder it was going to be. He felt like such a heel, almost like he'd been unfaithful, and in all the time they'd been together he'd never cheated on Becca. Hell, even when they were apart last spring, when he'd had no hope of her ever returning, he'd never even looked at anyone else.

"Yo, Kaos! Get a move on!" Kevin called, and Nick stuffed his cell phone in his pocket and moved wearily to join the others.

* * * * * * * *

"Bec?" Julie asked. "Is everything okay?"

She hesitated. "I guess. Nick sounded funny, Julie."

"He's probably just tired, Becca. This has been just as hard on him as it has been on you.

He's tried so hard not to let you see how worried he is, but when he and Kevin came by to drop off Garrett's things, he was almost in tears."

Becca wiped her eyes. "Julie, we've never been apart since we got back together in June."

"But you know there are going to be times when you can't travel with him, especially with a baby."

"I know that, Julie, but it doesn't make it any easier. Especially with everything that's happened in the last few days. Being separated from him … with all those nuts running around out there…" She shuddered and Julie sat with her arm around her.

"He's going to be fine, Bec. You'll see."

Part 282        The Dance Index(3)