faith7

Chapter Seven

   They stayed in Vienna for three days, sleeping in real beds, and doing some sightseeing. Leighanne and Danielle, as well as Kristin and Kevin Jr., Kevin's wife and son, stayed for all three days, though the families kept to themselves for most of the time. Kaelyn went sightseeing with Nick one day, shopping with AJ the next, and for the last day, she just enjoyed being by herself, experiencing the city. However, when Leighanne left, taking Danielle with her, Brian was even more withdrawn and quiet, only becoming his usual, vibrant self when he was on stage.
    About a week after Leighanne had left, the bus had stopped at a roadside McDonald's, and everybody was inside, pigging out. While Kaelyn sat with Kevin, AJ, Howie, and Nick, Brian chose to sit a few tables away, by himself.
   "Is he alright?" she asked Kevin.
   He shot a concerned glance at his cousin. "I don't know. He's not even talking to me about it."
   Kaelyn chewed on her lower lip as she looked at Brian for a long moment. Finally, she stood up, picked her up tray, and walked across to Brian's table. "Is this seat taken?" she asked when Brian looked up, his eyes dull. He shrugged and looked back down at his hamburger wrapper. Sitting, Kaelyn set her tray down and propped her elbows up on the table so her chin was resting on her hands.
   Brian looked up to see Kaelyn looking back steadily. He stared back for a minute before giving her a tiny, self-mocking smile. "Hi."
   She smiled back. "Hi." She peered forward slightly. "Wanna talk?"
   He exhaled noisily. "This isn?t exactly a good time, Kaelyn."
   "It never is Brian." She reached over calmly and took one of his fries from his tray. "But you'll feel better if you get it off your chest. I'm a really good listener..."
   After thinking about it for a moment, Brian took a deep breath and began. "Leighanne and I had only been married about a year and a half when we discovered that she was pregnant with Danielle. I couldn't have been happier. I'd always dreamed of a family, so I reveled in every preparation we made. Choosing colors, furniture, clothing... it was all very exciting. But Leigh didn't share my enthusiasm. She thought that a baby would interfere with her career." He ran his fingers through his hair and looked at Kaelyn. "I love my wife dearly, I really do. And I love Danielle more than I thought possible, but things are getting so complicated and difficult."
   Kaelyn placed her hand gently on his arm. "How is it more complicated?"
   "Leighanne has decided that she is not going to let having a child damage or delay her career in any way. She hired a nanny and leaves the raising of Danielle to her when I'm not around. I wish I could be around all the time to take care of her, but I can't stop being a Backstreet Boy, it's part of who I am. And I can't always have her here because it would rive everyone crazy, and there's so much rehearsal time and performances and..." he trailed off. "I don't know what to do."
   She took a drink of her soft drink before answering. "What is your heart telling you to do?" she waited patiently as Brian struggled with the question.

   Kevin, Nick, AJ, and Howie all ate in silence as they watched Brian pour his heart out to Kaelyn.
   "I haven't seen Brian talk that much in months." Nick finally said.
   "I guess Kaelyn has the magic touch." AJ agreed.
   "I hope she can help him. I hate seeing him like that. It's not the Brian we know and love." Kevin said.
   Howie looked at his watch. "Shit. We?ve got to get back to the bus. Who wants to interrupt therapy?"
   All four of them avoided each other's eyes. Finally, Kevin stood up. "Okay everybody. Time to rock and roll. Hey B-Rok! Let's hit the road!"
   Kaelyn and Brian looked up, startled. "If you want to talk more later, you know where to find me."
   Brian chuckled. "I might get lost. You'd better give me your address just in case."
   "Oh, you can't miss it. It's the bus that's surrounded by screaming girls." The two of them laughed as they stood up and headed back to the bus.

   Over the next few weeks, Kaelyn overcame her initial discomfort with being with the guys and became closer with them. On the days that they had off, she hung out with all or some of them. Although she was a friend to all of them, she and Brian became closer because of his confidences to her. The confidences were not all one way, so Brian learned as much about Kaelyn as Kaelyn learned about Brian.
   One night, the two of them were sitting at the back of the bus after everyone else had gone to sleep. Brian was sitting at one end of the sofa while Kaelyn lay with her feet in his lap.
   "So..." Kaelyn began. Brian had just hung up the phone with Leighanne. "How is her highness and the little princess?" she had taken to using a sarcastic tone when talking about Leighanne, but she also reverently called Danielle "the little princess."
   "Danielle is a bit cranky. Leigh thinks she's teething." Brian sighed. "I wish I was there. But Leigh is even more impatient with her, and she's spending more and more time away from home."
   Kaelyn sat up and placed her hand on his shoulder sympathetically. "Oh, Brian. I'm sorry."
   He rested his hands on her legs, which were still in his lap. "I'm afraid that she's having an affair, Kay." He bowed his head so she couldn't see his face. "What am I going to do?"
   She put her arms around him and made comforting sounds. "I don't know, hon. I don't know."