~a few days later~
"Lizza, I'm not tired." Emma stood at the door of Liz's room in her pajamas. "I tried to go to sleep, but I can't." It was 9:30. The last three days had been beautifully busy and Liz adored the girls, but according to Alyssa, they were supposed to be 'in bed or reading/looking at picture books quietly' by eight.
"Well… Emma, I want you to have fun, I really do, but it's getting late, ya know what I mean?"
"You don't look tired."
"I don't? Even though I'm sitting on my bed with most of the lights off?" She tried to distract her.
"No. Your eyes look awake. Like me. I'm not tired! Braeden went to sleep so she won't talk to me."
"Do you want to read a book together?"
"No. I'm tired of reading, Liz. I…" Her face crumpled. "… miss my mom."
"Aww, honey.. It's okay." Liz had always been a sucker for crying. She hugged Emma and smoothed her hair out of her face. Light footsteps padded down the hallway.
"Lizzy, I-" Braeden stopped in the doorway. "Why's Emma crying?"
"I want Mom to come home!" Emma cried piteously. "And I hate it when she talks about me like I'm not there!"
"Sorry!!" Braeden, who couldn't stand arguments, kissed her sister's cheek and looked cheerful, and not in the least tired.
"What's that noise?" Liz asked. "Is Ivy awake?" It sounded like it might have been a baby or a young child yelling, but the noise seemed farther away than Ivy's little room down the hall.
"Ivy's awake!" Braeden chirped. "I wanna hold her!"
"Wait here, Braeden..." Liz caught her hand before she ran out the door. "Do you hear the doorbell?"
"I .. umm..." Emma sniffed and straightened her nightgown. "Yeah. I do."
"Me too! Me too!" Braeden declared gleefully. "Visitors!! Yippeeeee!!!!" She took off down the hallway.
"Wait!! Braeden? Hold on a second." Liz was only wearing her pajamas and didn't really feel like answering the door anyway.
"What? How come?" Braeden asked.
"Don't answer the door, okay? I'll be there in a minute. Hold on for just a second.."
"I'll be right back." Emma tiptoed back to her bedroom to look out the window and see if someone was at the door. Liz quickly exchanged her sweatpants for her favorite pair of baggy jeans and cautiously went downstairs. She could still hear the sound that might have been crying, but now it sounded a lot closer and kind of like a dog.
"Doggies!! Look Lizzy! Doggies!" Braeden had apparently opened the door and invited someone in.
"Umm...." Liz walked past the open front door into the living room. Hey! It's Mr. Brian Littrell, of the mysterious BSB. I wonder what happened to him ... He looks dead! At a second glance, he didn't really look dead. He looked dead the way Liz felt dead sometimes.Often. No, Lizza, be optimistic.He was restraining one dog in each arm and standing tensely near the door, clothes rumpled and one shoe untied. "Hi, what's up?"
"Uhh.. I.. my.." He organized his thoughts and started again. "I just found out tonight I have to fly to Kentucky and I might be there for a while..." Hopefully. At least a few days, please please... "I, uh, I don't really know and I thought maybe you could give this to Alyssa... it's just the stuff I was going to tell her when she got back." He held out a battered piece of notebook paper with some messy writing on it.
"Sure. I'll do that..." She turned around as Emma tripped down the stairs.
"Hi Lizza. Ooh! Dogs!!" Her face lit up. "Oh… Ivy's awake."
"Ivy? Ohhh... Wait just a second," she instructed. "I'll be right back."
"Okay," Brian said complacently, wondering exactly how many kids there were. He looked absently after Liz as she ran up the stairs and disppeared. Susie snorted and wriggled.
"Why're you going to Kentucky?" Braeden asked, never taking her eyes off Tyke.
"Umm…" Brian wasn't sure how to respond. "To see my grandmother."
"Why?" the girl inquired peacefully. She turned her gaze to Susie.
"Because … She's, um, sick."
"Sick?" she repeated. Brian nodded. "Can I hold your dog?"
"Sure. Which one?" he asked.
"That one." Braeden pointed at Tyke. She didn't like Susie very much, who looked to her like some strange genetic fusion of pig and dog.
"Here ya go." Brian smiled and awkwardly handed Tyke over. Braeden accepted him happily, amusing herself by talking to Tyke for a few minutes. Brian watched her peacefully, occasionally speaking a few words to Susie, who didn't seem any more pleased with the situation than she did with any situation that didn't involve gorging herself. He watched the girl (whose name he didn't know) as she innocently played with Tyke. There was nothing on her mind aside from the little dog she held. Brian envied her that. He noticed the girl's sister dozing on a couch as she woke up abruptly and looked at Braeden.
"Braeden," she said in a motherly tone.
"What?" So Braeden is her name. It's somehow a lot like Alyssa find a name you've never heard before that's still pretty.[AN: Braeden is the name of Jason Wade's wife. It's pretty, ent it? Hee hee, sorry I stole a name.]
"Did you ask before you took his dog?"
"Yes!!" Braeden replied indignantly. She looked at Brian, wide-eyed. "I said please, didn't I?"
"Yeah, you did," he affirmed.
"Where's Liz?" Emma asked.
"She's still upstairs," the younger girl replied, then turned her attention back to Tyke. The older sister acted considerably older than she looked, but in a young kind of way. She fastidiously straightened her t-shirt then stood up.
"I know who you are." She smiled at Brian, very slightly excited. She didn't wait for him to answer. "Lizzy and me and Braeden and Ivy made cookies today. Do you want cookies? You can have cookies and milk," she offered graciously.
"Emma!!" the younger one hissed. "Emma! No cookies after bedtime! I already asked," she admitted.
"He's allowed to have cookies, Braeden, he's a grown-up," Emma said exasperatedly, then looked questioningly at Brian.
"Umm… Is it okay with Liz?" Not sure she'd want a Backstreet Boy creeping around her kitchen, eating her cookies, talking to the kids she's taking care of…
"Sure it is. Lizza's really nice," Emma said confidentiallly.
"Liz is so nice!" Braeden babbled cheerfully. "I love Lizzie. I want her to stay here forever."
"Follow me," Emma instructed. "Braeden, you have to come too, but you can't have cookies."
"Can I borrow Tyke?" Braeden asked hopefully. "I wanna go to my room. I'll give him back, I promise. Please?"
"Go ahead." Brian really hoped Liz wouldn't mind. Braeden flashed a smile at them and ran out of the room, carefully holding Tyke, who seemed to enjoy her attention. Brian obediently followed Emma into a kitchen. She quickly found a zip-lock bag of peanut butter cookies hidden away in a cabinet, which she offered to Brian, then poured a glass of milk for him.
"Thanks, Emma." He took one cookie, skillfully keeping it away from Susie's reach, and in the other hand took the glass Emma held out. She grinned at him.
"You're welcome." She assumed a guilty expression when Liz walked in, looking exhausted and holding a round-faced baby girl with wisps of reddish blonde hair, who gurgled merrily at Emma and waved her arms.
"Emma! Emma!" she said joyously, carefully emphasizing each syllable.
"Look Liz!! Brian's having peanut butter cookies!" Emma announced proudly.
"Don't be taking any captives, Emma," Liz said while looking bemusedly at Brian.
"I'm not!" Emma ran to Liz's side and smiled at Ivy. "Hi Ivy! Want me to hold you? Can I hold Ivy?" Liz handed Ivy carefully to Emma, who babbled at her for a few seconds then returned her to Liz.
"She doesn't want to sleep," Liz noted, then yawned. "…Where's Braeden?"
"She borrowed Tyke and went to her room," Brian answered.
"I'm hungry," Emma said. "Can I have something to eat? Can I have a cookie?" Brian managed with great self-control not to laugh.
"Well… I dunno about that. Are you really hungry or do you just want a cookie?" Liz asked.
"I'm hungry! I'm STARVING!" Emma made a melodramatic face and clutched her stomach pitifully. Liz looked at her skeptically and Emma made an even more painful face. "Pleasepleaseplease?" Liz gave in.
"What do you want?" she sighed.
"Umm… Spaghetti! We had spaghetti for dinner, right? So there's leftover, right? You won't have to cook anything!" Emma wheedled.
"No leftovers…" Liz said regretfully. "That's okay. It won't take long to cook. Here, Emma, can you hold Ivy?" Emma took Ivy and Liz put some water on the stove to boil.
"Cat! Cat! Cat!" Ivy shrieked, pointing frantically at Susie. "Cat!"
"It's not a cat, Ivy," Emma explained, then had second thoughts and looked at Brian. "Is it?"
"No, it's a dog. Her name's Susie." Brian laughed as Susie snorted again. He'd never really found it funny until Liz pointed it out last Thursday.
"Cat!" Ivy repeated, slightly agitated. She held out her arms to Susie.
"Dog," Emma corrected. "Ivy, say DOG."
"Caaaat!" Ivy wailed. Brian held Susie out so Ivy could pet her. Luckily, Susie wasn't feeling malicious. She didn't bite Ivy and Ivy was very happy with her new 'cat' friend.
"Whatcha doin' Ivy?" Liz sat on her knees on the floor, eye level with Ivy. "Having fun? Torturing Brian's poor dog?" Ivy grinned, displaying two teeth.
"Nah, I think Susie likes her," Brian commented. Susie snorted. Liz was sitting on the floor facing Emma, with her back to Brian, and her tank top was low enough in the back to display what looked like a rug burn or maybe a really bad sunburn across her shoulder blades. "What happened there?"
"What?"
"On your back…"
"Oh! I scraped it on the side of a pool," she said readily. Yo u came up with that fast, Lizza. "Brian, uh, you probably have stuff to do and-"
"No! He has to stay!" Emma interrupted. Liz laughed.
"The thing is, I don't want you, young lady, keeping him prisoner if he's busy. What time's your flight?"
"Tomorrow, at nine. My stuff's packed already, I just-" He'd been hoping for that to come up. Hopefully Howie won't mind having Susie and Tyke left at his house with not much notice at all. Hopefully he won't say no. The phone rang and Liz cringed visibly. "What's wrong?"
"That'll be my mom. She calls all the time.. She just worries too much." She shook her head. "I guess I should get it. I'll be right back." She ran into the living room, leaving Brian and Emma wondering why she hadn't gotten the phone in the kitchen.
"Hey, Mom. You know, you don't have to call twenty times a day. It gets kind of annoying." I don't want to talk to you.
"How are you doing, Liz?"
"How do you think I'm doing?"
"I wish you wouldn't act like this, honey. It's not like we threw you out or anything."
"I'm glad I'm here, actually."
"I talked to Chris a few hours ago." The silence was suddenly not as impermeable.
"You… When? Where?"
"Your dad and I saw him at the mall. He's not doing too well, Lizza, and I'm not surprised-" Her tone had suddenly changed from coddling to condescending.
"I haven't talked to him," Liz replied in a monotone that was something between a plea and an order to change the subject.
"If you can't address this, I don't think you should be surprised that I worry about you constantly, all alone there-"
"It's really nice to know what you think, but how am I supposed to believe that you actually worry about me?" Silence. "And I'm not alone, Ivy and Emma and Braeden are always here, in case you forgot."
"On the subject of being alone-"
"Which I told you, I'm not."
"-have you met any friends?"
"Uh." Liz craned her neck, looking into the kitchen. Brian was still holding Tyke out so Ivy could pet him, and Emma looked very pleased with her captive. "No, not really."
"Chris seemed really hurt."
"Chris…" Chris, Chris, Chris… She always loved him.
"I just hope you have a chance to think about him sometimes."
"How could I not have a chance to think about him?" She wanted to go on fussing at her mom, but there wasn't anything to say.
"You still love him, don't you?" she said dreamily.
"I never did." Liz hung up the phone and sighed slowly. She stood leaning against the wall, staring intently at the floor. Never. Never. Hear that? Of course you do, liar. She was right. She always is.