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Whenever You Call Chapter 1 Ring. Ring. After wiping her hands on the dish towel, Mariah picked up the phone wondering who would be calling her at this hour on a Friday night. "Hello?" "Hi, is Brian there?" a deep male voice asked. "No, I'm sorry you must have the wrong number." "Oh, I'm sorry. Thanks." "You're welcome." She replaced the phone and returned to cleaning up her dinner dishes. Five minutes later the phone rang again. Mariah sighed. "Hello?" "Uh-oh," said the now familiar male voice. "Let me guess? No Brian?" She smiled. "No, sorry. What number are you trying to call?" "555-3597." "There's your problem...this is 555-3-5-6-7." "Boy, I feel genuinely stupid. Guess I need to pay attention when I dial." "It's okay. An honest mistake." "Thanks for being so understanding. The last time I dialed a wrong number some guy wanted to reach through the phone and strangle me." Mariah giggled. "Thanks again." "Good luck trying to get ahold of your friend. Third time's the charm, right?" The man chuckled. "Guess so. Goodnight." "Goodnight." The phone didn't ring again the rest of the evening although Mariah wished it had. She hated spending Friday night with Wagner (author's note: pronounced Vagner, after the German composer), her tom cat, working on her computer. Most of her friends were married or had significant others, that made her a third wheel on nights out, a feeling she hated. They had all at one point tried to set her up with this guy from work or that cousin once removed, which led to a string of unsuccessful blind dates. It wasn't that Mariah was unattractive. She stood around five and a half feet tall. Her auburn curls hung just above her shoulders. She wore wire-rimmed glasses that her girl friends said hid her chameleon eyes - the kind that could change from dull gray to bright blue to a dazzling aqua green according to her mood. They were undoubtedly her best attribute. Otherwise, she thought her hips too wide and her body too square. If anything, she felt plain, ordinary. She thought about this as she typed out her emails to her sister, brother and parents. Then she cleared her mind, turned on some Mozart and began her nightly creative session. She lived for this time to put her feelings on paper - or in this case floppy disk. Later on, when the inspiration came, she planned to sit at her piano and put the words to music. She kept her songs private, not really ever intending anyone else to hear them. She had found the courage to show them to friends once and regretted it after they chided her for wasting her time. Besides, she was an amateur at best. Mariah was at the computer again the following night when the phone rang. "Hello?" "Okay, now I feel like I've lost it. No Brian again, right?" She laughed. "Maybe you should invest in a phone with speed dial?" "A comedian, I see." "So who is this Brian that need to call him every evening between 7 and 8?" "Well, he's my cousin, but we're in....business together." "Business on the weekend?" "Actually this was a social call. I'd hoped to get together with him tonight with some friends. You know, hit a club or see a movie." "Sounds like a night out." "Yeah, it always is." He paused. "What are you doing home on a Saturday night? Shouldn't you be tearing up Orlando?" "Not my cup of tea really. Don't think I've been clubhopping since I was college about four years ago." "Really? I recommend you get out. Orlando has great night life." "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." "555-3-5-9-7." "Right. Have fun." "Goodnight." That guy is always such a sweetie. Mariah thought. So polite and that voice. She had always had a weakness for guys with accents, Southern or otherwise. She sighed. And like every other nice guy out there he probably has some gorgeous blonde hanging off his arm. Across town, Kevin Richardson smiled as he clicked end on the cordless phone and fell into an overstuffed chair. "Hey, Kev, want a soda?" Brian Littrell, his cousin, called from the kitchen. "Yeah. A Coke would be great. Thanks." Kevin hadn't accidentally dialed the wrong number tonight. He had just wanted to talk to the young woman again. It was a rare opportunity in his life to have such a normal conversation with anyone of the opposite sex. He sighed sadly. The perks of being in the Backstreet Boys � one of the most successful pop music groups of the last decade. "So who were you talking to?" Brian asked handing over the soda. Kevin graciously took the soda and after popping the top, took a long swallow. He wondered whether Brian would understand. With a breath of courage, he answered, "A woman - no one you know." "So mysterious," the younger cousin teased. "Does this 'woman' have a name?" "I'm sure she does, but I don't know it." He told Brian about the last two nights. "Does she know who you are?" "Nothing like that has come up." "I don't know, Kev. Sounds to me like you're playing with emotions here...and I don't mean just hers." "Christ, Bri, I'm just talking to the girl. I mean, she seems really sweet." Brian knew that look in Kevin's eyes and just shook his head. "Just be careful, okay?" "I will."Next: Chapter 2 |