The Call

Stephanie

I sat at my desk tapping the keys on my keyboard with sharp precision. I had my headphones turned up loud to drown out the office chatter around me and, quite frankly, to keep my mind off the boring entry I do on a daily basis. I enjoyed my co-workers but listening to cd's is the only thing that keeps me sane.
I certainly didn't hear the phone ring, but I saw the blinking light. "Dang. Now who is it?" I thought. I'd just talked to my sister and mother. I was going to let the voice mail get it but it hit me. Something wasn't right. I grabbed the phone.
"Thank you for calling ASV. How may I help you?" I didn't give my name until I knew who I was talking to.
A familiar southern accent replied "May I speak to Stephanie please? It's an emergency."
Stephanie. Dammit! Something was wrong. "Is this Brian?" I asked
"Yes. He gave me a letter that said I should tell you my middle name only, though. Are you Stephanie?"
"Yes. What's happened? Is he alright? You should have made another phone call before you called me? Did you make it?" I began to shut down my computer and clean off my desk. If Brian had done what he was asked, I'd be on my way to the airport. It wasn't even lunch time.
"He was in a car accident."
I stopped cold. "Him? How? What happened?" My best friend, Veronica noticed me and asked what was going on. I signaled her to wait a minute.
"He was coming back from taking the guys to the airport. It was raining something fierce. Something happened. We don't know if he was trying to avoid something in the road or if he was hit. He ended up wrapped around a light pole." Brian stopped to calm himself. "He...He stayed conscious long enough to tell the paramedics to tell me to call you. I've already called the airport. Your ticket is waiting. It's flight 1235 from MIA to CVG, non-stop. The flight is in two hours. Are you coming?"
"I'm halfway there." I told him. I gave him the number to my cell and he gave me his. He offered to meet me at the airport, but I didn't think that would be a good idea. "Kevin would kill me..." Brian stopped at his choice of words. "He wouldn't like it if I didn't meet you and pick you up. I'll be there. Look for a limo driver holding a sign with your name on it. Stephanie, what is your last name?"
"Manning. Stephanie is my middle name. Don't ask for the first name." I let him go and told Veronica I was leaving for the day.
"What's going on Dee?" I've known Veronica or Ronnie since I was twelve years old. I'm the only person who can call her Ronnie and she's the only person who can call me by my first name.
"My 'friend' was in a car accident. I have to go." I told my supervisor, and she was none to pleased. "We're in a crunch and you have to leave now? I don't think that I can approve this, Stephanie."
"Maureen, I'm so far ahead of the rest of the team it'll take at least two days for you all to catch up to me. YOU told me that just this morning. Today is Thursday. I'll be back by Monday. I have the vacation and sick time so I'm taking it."
"I'm going to take her to the airport." Ronnie told her. "No ma'am you are not. I don't want you having problems here with anyone." Right on queue, Carol stood up at her desk.
"I thought we couldn't take vacation during crunch times Maureen? You said I couldn't take my vacation this Friday and I requested it before Stephanie's 'emergency'." She whined. She always whined. I wanted to slap the shit out of her little leprechaun sized ass.
"This is not a vacation Carol, it's personal and that means it's none of your business. Let me remind you of something; each book we enter has five clients and each client has twenty pages worth of entry. I am 10 BOOKS or 50 CLIENTS ahead of you, so you need to sit your little behind down, stop taking a smoke break every 5 seconds and type! By the time you get halfway close to me I'll be back! Maureen, I've got to go."
I grabbed my bag and Ronnie and I left.
"Umm ok DeeDee...what 'friend'? Are you seeing someone? Why didn't you tell me? Are you still messing with those white boys??" Ronnie is the only person who can give me shit about who I date. She has no use for white men. Tom Cruise, Mel Gibson, and maybe a couple of others are the only ones she finds remotely attractive. I tell her variety is the spice of life. You can't date just brothers. Not here in Miami, anyway. There are too many fine men to pick an choose from. I've always had a weakness for Hispanic men, Island men in general actually.
"Yes I am still messing with those white boys! And the Spanish ones, the Jamaican ones..." she interrupts...she always interrupts.
"Yea, yea, but you aren't going to the airport to see them, You are going to see a WHITE boy...some blond haired blue eyed white boy. I know cause you didn't say anything about him being Spanish. You always tell me about the Spanish guys. So give or I'll pull over and put your ass out right here." She wouldn't...but you never take chances with Ronnie.
"He's not a blond. That's the other one. He's...He's Ronnie, he's perfect! He's 6'1 of solid muscle...all over..."
"ALL over??" I know what she wanted to know with her nosey ass and I tell her the honest truth.
"ALL over. And for the record that story about white boys being...uh..." I wiggle my pinky finger. "Not true in his case. Lord it's not true at all!!" She laughed.
"He's got green eyes and this this long, thick dark hair and he's a good guy. I...I like him a lot." I do. It disturbs me that I'm that attached to him. I'm no 'playa', but I didn't expect to get attached to him.

"So if you like him, why haven't I heard about him. I know your mom doesn't know, because she'd call me and tell me. Your Dad hasn't had the "let me meet him so I can tell him I'll break his neck if he hurts my baby" meeting and your sisters haven't spoken about him either. So, what with all the secrecy?"
Thankfully we pulled up to MIA and I was given a temporary reprieve. "Look. It's not all the drama you make it out to be. I...I just don't want to share him yet. Trust me. I have to share him with enough people already. I wanted to have him to myself, just for a little while. What are you doing? You are not paying to park here girl! You can drop me and I'll run in!" Damn! No reprieve!
"Nope. I'm taking you inside. I can at least walk you to the security area. That way you can keep telling me about your Invisible Boyfriend."
I grabbed my suitcase out of the trunk. Kevin and I had an agreement. When we started seeing each other he asked that I keep a small suitcase at my desk with a few personal things in it. Enough to get me through a weekend getaway if necessary. I'm happy to say I've used it quite a few times. I did happen to have some real clothes in though, too...just in case.
We walked inside and I got in line. Just as Ronnie opened her mouth to ask another nosey question one of the monitors caught my attention.
"And on the entertainment news front, Backstreet Boy Kevin Richardson was in a car accident earlier this morning. 30 year old Richardson, was apparently on his way from the airport having dropped off group members A.J. Mclean, Howie Dorough, and Nick Carter. It is not known at this time what exactly caused the car accident; whether it was just the weather or something else. Richardson is listed in critical condition at this time."
My eyes begin to tear up. Ronnie noticed immediately. "DeeDee...is THAT the Invisible Boyfriend?" Ronnie had the sense enough to whisper to me. I could only nod my head. "Aw honey. He's gonna be fine. Weren't you just saying that he's solid muscle? Well that means he works out, right? Which means his body is in good shape. He's healthy and Strong. He'll pull through just fine."
I hoped she was right, but I felt it again. That sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. Something wasn't right.
I finally got to the front counter and showed my ID. The reservation agent entered my info and got a weird look on her face.
"Ms. Manning?"
"Yes?"
"Ma'am, You were booked on a commercial flight, but that information was recently changed. You are now booked on a private jet. You are to go to Concourse C and the pilot will be waiting for you there. I also have a note here that says 'Tell her to turn on her cell phone.'"
I checked my cell and sure enough I'd forgotten to turn it on after I spoke to Brian. Just as I turned it on, it began to ring.
I checked the caller ID and it was Brian.
"Hi. Sorry I hadn't left the office and I forgot to turn this on. I almost never do. Kevin...he got it for me. I never use it." I'm going to cry. "Is he ok? Has something happened?"
"No nothing's changed except your flight information. I wanted you to get here as soon as possible so I booked you on a private jet Jive keeps for us in Florida. Did you get to the airport yet?"
"Yes, I'm there now. I just found out. I'm headed for the plane right now."
"I just wanted to make sure you get here quickly. He goes in and out of consciousness. He...he keeps saying the name Dianna? Is that your name?"
"Uh, Ok. Brian, I like you a lot and I understand the situation. Yes, Dianna is my first name, but I have to ask you please, do NOT call me that. I only let him call me that. So please stick to Stephanie, ok? I've got issues."
Brian laughed. "Ok, I'll stick to Stephanie. Just hurry, please. I don't think he's going to be ok until you get here."
I took my ticket and Ronnie walked with me to the security gate. She gave me a hug and told me to call her as soon as I landed in Lexington. I told her I would.
I met the pilot who grabbed my suitcase and helped me board the flight. I was the only passenger he was waiting for. There were a few other people on the flight. Jive employees on working vacations, I guess. Brian must have known about this and called the office. He must have insisted that they hold the flight for me. Because of Kevin's situation, they didn't have a problem with it.
I took my seat next the "Next Big Thing". Blonde hair, blue eyes, and a rack from here to Jersey. The guys will love her. The few women on the flight wanted to kill her for breathing.
"Do you work for Jive?" She asked. What she really wanted to know was "Are you someone I should be nice to?"
"Umm no I don't. I'm not on the label at all. I'm just hitching a ride."
"Oh..." She turned away from me and I became invisible. I was glad. I didn't want to talk. I needed to think.
I can't believe he was in an accident. A CAR accident. He drives like an old man! Dammit Kevin! You better be ok, or I'm kicking your ass! You don't make somebody love you and then leave them. I don't care about the argument. I just want you to be ok.
I just talked to him yesterday and he was fine. Except the the fight, he was great.
"I'm tired. I don't want to keep discussing this. You need to make a decision. I love you and I want to tell the world. I don't care about anything else. I understand all of your fears, but you need to understand one thing. You are it for me. I love you, point, period, end of story. I need to tell the guys and my family about us and soon. You need to tell your father that I'm not some guy after his baby girl just for sex." He paused "It is more than just sex, isn't it Dianna? What we have?"
"Jesus Kevin. Of course it is. I...I...look I love you too...I do. I need you all the time. I can't breathe or function when you aren't with me. I...I just don't want you to...to regret this. I don't want to be the 'Yoko Ono' of the Backstreet Boys."
"Yoko Ono?!" He laughed out loud. "Are you crazy? The guys will love you. They want me to be happy and you make me happy. You aren't trying to change me or take me away from them or the fans. Anyone with a brain can see that, Di. You have to give them a chance and no its not a chance to have them reject you. They aren't like that."
I squirmed at my desk. He knew me too damn well!
"Kevin...look, I mean, I love you. I have never said that to any man, except my father, and meant it with my soul so completely. I just don't want you to look back years from now and say or even think that if you hadn't gotten involved with me, you wouldn't have...achieved...something, anything, whatever!" I couldn't think. "This group is your life! It's what you wanted. You, all of you, have worked too hard to get the fame and notoriety that you've finally attained. The respect from your peers as well as your fans! I don't...I don't want to 'cost' you anything."
"Shit! Dianna, I am not going to lose anything by having you in my life. If I lose fans because they don't like me going out with you, then they aren't the kinds of fans I would want anyway. None of us would. Look," He was tired. There was something in his voice...a warning. "You need to get back to work and I've got to go to my Mom's. I love you and I want to be with you forever. The ball's in your court, Baby girl. If we are going to stay together, we have to tell everyone. I mean everyone. I'll come there. You and your family could fly here. I'll pay for it all. But we HAVE to take the next step, ok? Let me know what you want to do.
"So this is...it's an ultimatum?"
"Yes, I guess it is. I gotta go. I love you."
"I love you too. Bye"
"Bye."
He was serious and I was scared. What the hell am I gonna do?

Back to Main
Back to Stories
The Call - Part 2

Email: daddysgirl1003@yahoo.com