| Chapter 10 "Brian, honey, get up. You're gonna be late," Leighanne said. Brian opened his eyes and looked at her, she was already dressed and ready for the day. "What time is it?" he asked sleepily. "It's six, you gotta leave in thirty minutes, now get up," she said smiling at him. "Oh crap," Brian said as he threw the covers off and headed for the shower. Leighanne went downstairs. Tyke and Litty were in the kitchen waiting for their breakfast. "Hey guys," Leighanne said as she pulled the dog food from the cabinet and poured them some. Tyke dove in, not letting Litty eat until he was done. Leighanne picked Litty up and petted her, "Just like a man huh?" Litty just looked at her, then squirmed to get down. Leighanne let her go and was heading into the living room when she heard a loud thud come from upstairs. "Brian, you OK up there?" she called. No answer. Leighanne went back upstairs and into their bedroom just in time to see Brian getting up off the floor. "What happened? You OK?" she asked walking over to him. He looked perplexed, "Yeah, I tripped over my shoes," he said. Leighanne looked around, "Brian, your shoes are across the room." "My feet, I meant to say I tripped over my own feet. I'm just in too much of a hurry this morning," he said not meeting her eyes. Leighanne looked at him concerned, "Bri, are you sure you're all right?" "Yeah, I'm fine," he said, but he knew he wasn't. How did he loose his balance walking across the room? "I've gotta get going," he said. He stood up and kissed her goodbye and headed downstairs. Leighanne followed him downstairs and watched as he drove off. She knew he was lying to her, he wasn't fine. I just wish he would tell me what's wrong, she thought. As Brian drove down the road, he met Gary coming to pick up Leighanne. He waved, and Gary waved back. Brian could feel the hair stand up on the back of his neck. He didn't know why, but Gary always seemed to repulse him. But he and Leighanne had worked together many times, and she had told Brian that he just had to get to know him to see the real person. But Brian never really wanted to put forth the effort to do that. Crap, I'm gonna be late, he thought as he headed down the road. Leighanne heard Gary's car come up the drive. She made sure all the lights were off, and headed out the door. Gary got out and walked over to open the car door for her. "Morning," he said. "Morning," Leighanne replied. Leighanne got in the car and Gary made his way back over to the driver's side. "I met Brian on the way in," he said. Leighanne smiled, "You finally remembered his name." Gary laughed, "Yeah, I guess I did. Where's he headed off to?" "Oh, he starts recording today," Leighanne answered. "Oh, is he using the studios on 12th?" Gary asked. "Yeah, that way he doesn't have to leave town," Leighanne said. "Anne, you look like you're worried about something," Gary observed. Leighanne looked over at him, then down at the floorboard. "I'm right aren't I?" Gary pressed. "Yeah, but I don't wanna talk about it," Leighanne said still not looking at him. "Well, I'm here anytime you do," Gary said smiling at her. Leighanne finally looked at him and smiled back, "Thanks." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Howie was up with the sun. Everything seemed to be brighter today. Maybe it was because he was in such a good mood. He couldn't get Kira out of his head, her smile, the way she laughed at his jokes. Just everything about her was.....perfect. He went downstairs and into the kitchen. He opened the frig to see what was in there when he heard someone down the hall. He headed in the direction of the sound and ended up in the exercise room. Tara was there working out. Howie stood there watching her for a moment. Tara turned around and noticed him. "Morning," she said. Howie smiled, "Good morning." Tara pulled off her gloves and walked over to where Howie was standing. "Someone's in a good mood this morning," she said smiling at him. "Yep," Howie said grinning even wider. Tara walked past him, and he followed her back into the kitchen. She opened the frig and got a bottle of water, and leaned against the cabinet. "So, you got big plans for today?" she asked. Howie sat down at the bar, "Yeah, I'm gonna call Kira and see if she wants to have lunch." "Good, that will be fun," Tara said. "Yeah, I'm looking forward to it," Howie said with a smile. "So Tara, do you do that every morning?" Howie asked. "Work out? Yeah, almost every morning. It helps me think, get things in order you know?" Tara replied. "Yeah," Howie said looking around, "Nick not up yet?" Tara laughed. "Of course not, when have you ever known him to get up before ten?" she asked laughing. "Oh yeah, I forgot who I was talking about for a minute," Howie said smiling. Howie looked at Tara for a minute. "What?" she asked. "I was just thinking how good you two are together," Howie said. Tara walked over and sat down next to him, "Really?" "Yeah, before you came into his life, Nick was becoming kinda like the wild child. He always had a crush on someone, then a few days later, it'd be someone else. There wasn't any stability in his life," Howie said, "Since you've been here, it's like night and day for him." "Aww Howie, that's sweet of you to say," Tara said a little embarrassed. "It's the truth, anyone who see's you two can instantly see the love you have for each other," Howie said. He looked away from her, "I hope to find that someday," he said softly. Tara reached over and pulled his head around and looked into his eyes, "Howie, you will." "Sometimes I wonder," Howie said. Tara looked deep into his eyes, she could see the loneliness. "Howie, it will happen for you too. You just have to be patient, don't rush it, and don't look for it. It just has to happen," Tara said. "Yeah, I know, but lately I'm just......really....alone," Howie said. "Well, you're not anymore. You have me and the guys, and Kira," Tara said with a smile. Howie's face lit up, "Yeah, speaking of Kira.....I'm gonna go call her." He got up and walked out of the kitchen. Tara watched him go, God, please help him find what he's looking for. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian was having a hard day at the studio. Nothing seemed to be working right. First the board wouldn't work, when they got that fixed the mic stopped working. He had been there for three hours and hadn't sang a note. Finally one of the guys came into the room Brian was sitting in, "Bri, I think we finally got it," he said. Brian got up and headed into the sound room. "We ready to go now?" he asked. "Yeah, go in and get set up, we'll que you," the sound tech said. Brian went in the room, put his headphones on and ran through some scales to warm up his voice. "K Brian, you ready?" came a voice through the headphones. Brian walked over to the mic and nodded his head. The music came through the headphones and Brian began to sing. This was what he loved, making music. When he sang nothing else existed....it was just him and the music. All the strange things that had been happening ceased to be when he sang. Before he knew it the song was over. He looked into the booth and the techs were sitting there with there mouths wide open. "What? Was it that bad?" Brian asked seeing their faces. "No Brian, it was that good! Every note was perfect, I don't think we need to do it again," the producer said. "No, lets do it a few more times, I think I can do it better," Brian insisted. The producer shrugged his shoulders, "OK, if you want to." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Leighanne was having a really good day at the set. Everyone was really nice, and they were zipping through their scenes. No one had missed a line, and they were only having to do a few retakes. They had broke for lunch and she was sitting at a table eating when Gary walked up, "This seat taken?" he asked. "No, have a seat," Leighanne said. Gary sat down and began eating his own lunch. "Things are going really smooth aren't they?" he said. "Yeah, I don't think I've ever been on a set that went this smooth," Leighanne said. "You know if we keep this up, we may actually finish ahead of schedule," Gary said. "That would be nice for a change," Leighanne commented. Leighanne looked at her watch, "I better get to makeup, we start back in an hour." She got up and started to pick up her tray, Gary reached over and put his hand on hers, "I'll get it," he said. Leighanne looked at him and smiled, "Thanks," she said and set it back down. Gary watched her as she left. Soon Anne, soon, he thought. Chapter 11 |