Brian lay dead to the world. When the sunshine poked through his bedroom window, and invaded the darkness of his room, he still refused to stir. But the light was not that easily defeated. It sauntered across the room and cast itself over Brian’s eyes. His eyes flicked for a moment and then opened slowly. He squinted because of the light and told his body to get up. But it would not obey him.
Brian sat in his bed, debating whether he should get up or not. He remembered that he was visiting his mother and that, for once, he was not on tour. His mom usually forgave him if he slept in past breakfast. He gazed lazily at the clock on his left and sighed. It was a quarter past twelve. He yawned and willed himself to get out of bed, but his body stayed put. Brian gave up and closed his eyes once again. This time the light would not wake him, because he had pulled his quilt over his head.
Ten minutes later, another intruder disrupted his beauty sleep. “Brian,” it called softly, “Brian, wake up.”
Brian threw back the quilt in defeat. Some unknown force wanted him to get his hinny out of bed and he wasn’t willing to object. That wasn’t much to ask of him.
Brian turned to the door to see who the intruder was. It was his mom and she was waiting patiently, a smile creeping across her face. Somehow it was obvious that she missed waking Brian in the mornings, not only because he was so mild tempered, but also because she never got to do it anymore. She ran out of chances when he turned eighteen and it had always been on and off since then. As the person she was, she always took the time to appreciate the little things in life.
Brian got to his feet, his bones grumbling in protest. When he got up, his ankles and knees popped, but that didn’t stop him from going up to his mom. He hugged her tightly like he had done the night before, and hugged him just as vigorously back.
“Sorry about that mom, I was going to join you for lunch, but I couldn’t get out of bed!”
“That’s all right, I understand.” She took his hand and squeezed it, smiling reassuringly. “Your brother stopped by too. He’s been dying to see you.”
“Ok mom, I’ll be right down.” Mrs. Littrell left the room just as she had come, smiling. Brian raced to get dressed and combed his hair madly. When he made the bed, he took his time. Even so he was in a hurry, everything had to be perfect.
When he finally got downstairs, he saw that Harold, his brother, was waiting patiently at the table for him. He put down his paper when he saw Brian and got up to engulf him in a brotherly hug.
After the reunion was through, Brian sat down at the table and ate breakfast. He hated eating lunch at lunch time if he sleep in, because his body was clocked to eat after he left and it usually had an early breakfast.
He poured himself a bowl of Captain Crunch with soymilk and inhaled it. He used to eat it with regular milk, but now that he was in the Backstreet Boys, he had to be careful with everything; with what he said, did, and ate. But it didn’t bother him as much anymore because he was used to it, and it was good for his heart.
His mother watched him knowingly until the phone rang. She picked it up and listened to the person on the other end, every once in a while putting her two cents in and asking abstract questions. Brian and Harold were engaged in a deep conversation in the background and they didn’t even notice that the phone rang.
When she hung up, she turned to the two guys and they waited expectantly for her to say something. She walked over to the table and pulled up a chair.
“Brian,” she said, “ I need your to do a huge favor for me and your uncle. I know it’s your first day back and everything…but this shouldn’t take too long.”
“It’s cool mom, it’s cool.”
“I need you to go to the airport and help your uncle look for your little cousin Candice. She got lost at the airport and your uncle needs all the help he can get to track her. Could you do that for me?”
“I’m already there mom.”
“Thank you so much sweetie. Call me when you find her all right?”
“Yes mom, I love you.”
“I love you too, Brian.” They exchanged kisses on the cheek and then Brian grabbed his coat. He hadn’t seen his cute little cousin in ages. She was a shy young girl with blonde hair and freckles, he remembered. Brian smiled as he revved the engine. He’d been to the airport many times and he didn’t think that finding Candice would be much of a problem.
Brian had a quiet trip down to the airport. He thought randomly; he forgot his watch on his night table, they were running out of soymilk and he should go get some after they find Candice, and he needed to call Nick to invite him for dinner. Music played softly in the background and Brian’s thoughts drifted further.
He began to wonder if he the task ahead of him would be tougher than he what he had first thought. Sometimes he would come to conclusions about things without thinking about the lateral. But he wasn’t too worried. Besides the fact that he forgot to ask where to meet his uncle, everything would smooth itself out, he was sure. Nothing special or different was supposed to happen to him that day. Of course, that’s what he thought when he got that phone call from Kevin. That faithful phone call that led him to become a member of the Backstreet Boys.
Brian took in the beautiful scenery of his birthplace. As he came by a more populated area, he pulled on some shades and became a shadow. Kentucky, the blue grass state it was. Although Brian had been to many beautiful places, he still regarded good old Lex as his most favorite. Perhaps he was being biased, but that was his personal opinion.
Brian was so used to being on the road that he even forgot that time slows when you’re travelling. He glanced at his clock and swore at it. He still had a long way to go, and no one to talk to. Why didn’t he ask Nick to come along? They would have had fun, but it was too late to back down.
Brian had his cell phone and he gazed at it longingly. Only, he knew that the batteries were nearly dead. He was supposed to go to the store and buy some more. Oh well, if there was an emergency, he would just have to use the quarters he packed just in case.
A Backstreet Boys song came on the radio, and since he was out on the open road, he sang loudly along with it. When the next song came on, he couldn’t help but sing that one too. He sang for a good half-hour or so, and when he finally stopped, he realized that he was nearing the airport.
Part 2
Back To Table of Contents