chapter thirty-four
chapter list
chapter thirty-six
Chapter Thirty-Five
It had been months since the Backstreet Boys had done a full tour. They decided that now would be the best time to do one. They were on the verge of releasing a new album. They had to go now.
With Hailey being in school, we would not be able to join them on tour. As soon as the tour schedule was official, I was given a copy so I could plan when Hailey and I would be able to visit them on tour. In the nine-month tour, we would only be seeing them three times. They were beginning in January. We would be visiting them for two days in February, a week in May, and the third would be for the summer before Hailey went back to school in August.
Nick had all of his stuff packed and was taking it outside to the limo. “At least we were able to spend your birthday and Christmas together. Are you sure you don’t want to come with me to where we’re meeting the buses? You could say goodbye to all of the guys.”
We had celebrated the new tour last night with a big dinner for all of the guys, the crew, the band, and their families. “No. Last night was bad enough. I don’t want to have to go through the good byes again. I wish I could come with.”
“We’ll see you in February. That’s not too bad. It’s only a little over a month away.” I nodded. Nick hugged me tightly. “I’m going to miss you and Hailey so much. I should go up and say good bye to her now. She’s not taking this very well.”
When he got to Hailey’s room, she wasn’t there. He checked the bathroom, my bedroom, the guest bedrooms, and his own room. He still couldn’t find her. He walked back downstairs. “She’s not in her room.” He walked past me and opened the door to the limo. There was Hailey, sitting inside with her overnight bag in her lap. He sat down next to her and shut the door. “You can’t come with, baby. You have school on Monday.” She didn’t respond. “You have to stay here and keep Mommy company. She’ll be lonely without you.” She nodded as tears began to roll down her face. He held her close to him and slid out of the limo with her still in his arms.
He stood and placed Hailey in my arms. Then, he kissed us both good bye, got into the limo, and was gone.
~<3~<3~<3~
I kept in touch with the guys through email, letters, and phone calls. AJ always asked me how Cat was and hadn’t started dating again. Nick called each night to tell Hailey goodnight. He mentioned someone named Kayla but didn’t say much about her. Kevin had grown close to one of their dancers, and they had started dating. Howie had met a girl in one of the cities they played at. He said they kept in touch as much as possible. He was planning on spending their next break with her. Brian wasn’t dating anyone, but had been writing a lot of songs. He said it had consumed any of his spare time.
Hailey and I were doing well. It was strange being on my own with her again. We were anxious to be joining them in St. Paul in a few weeks. Hailey hadn’t been around snow since she was a baby, so she didn’t remember it at all. All of the guys were anxious to teach her about snowmen and snow angels.
~<3~<3~<3~
“Mommy, are you ready yet?” Hailey was getting very impatient with me as I finished packing to head to the airport.
“Just a minute, Hail. I don’t want to forget anything.” She rolled her eyes. When I was growing up, I was always told how aggravating it was when I rolled my eyes at people. It drove my sister nuts. I never realized what she meant until just that moment when my daughter did it to me.
I grabbed out bags and took them outside to the awaiting cab. We made it to our flight on time and landed in Minnesota just after noon. We took a cab to our hotel to drop off our bags and took another cab to the venue the guys were playing at that evening. Security let us in with no problem and told us that the guys should be finishing their soundcheck.
“Hailey, when we get into the arena I want you to be very quiet. We’re going to try to surprise them, ok?” Hailey had a huge grin on her face. She loved surprises and was very excited.
We snuck into the arena and sat in the back row without them seeing us. “Ok, Hail, when they finish singing and walk off of the stage, you can run up there and surprise them.” She nodded and continued watching them sing.
Just as I had said, as soon as they began walking off the stage, Hailey ran down the aisle to them. AJ was the first to see her. He ran over and scooped her up in his arms.
“Hailey, my girl, how are you doing?”
“I’m good. I bought my report card.” She smiled and proudly pulled her report card out of her pocket. By this time, the other guys had also come over to her. I was walking down the aisle towards them. It was good to see my daughter so happy again.
Brian saw me approaching and came over to give me a hug. “God, I’ve missed you. How are you, Nikki?”
“I am very well, Brian. It’s good to see you again.” I kissed his cheek. “Are you guys hungry? We could order some food for before the show.”
Everyone agreed to Chinese, and we ate while we discussed what had been going on since the last time we spoke. Before long it was time for the concert. Hailey and I were seated backstage.
When the show had ended, we all went back to the hotel. It was late, and everyone was tired. We all went to bed and agreed to meet for breakfast the next morning. We spent most of their day off together. They had a couple of radio interviews that they also had to do. Most of the evening was spent in Nick’s room. We all watched movies together. Hailey had fallen asleep on the floor.
“I should go. I need to put her to bed. She’s had a long day.” I stood and was ready to pick her up when Nick stopped me.
“Leave her here. I’ll come to your room in the morning for clothes. She can sleep with me.”
I nodded. “Then I’m going to go get some sleep. Goodnight guys.”
“I’m going to go too.” Brian stood and walked to the door. He held it open for me. As we were walking down the hall, Brian spoke. “Do you want to come to my room for a little bit to hear some of the new songs I wrote?” I smiled and nodded. He led me to his room. I sat on his bed as he got out his guitar and walked to the bed to sit next to me.
Each song he played was amazing. His eyes were closed tightly as he put emotion into each word that left his lips. The song that hit me the hardest was one about a man never telling a woman he loved her until it was too late. He put so much feeling into it.
When he finished the song, a tear rolled down his face. I brushed it away with my thumb. He closed his eyes and turned his face so his lips touched the palm of my hand. I took my hand from his face as he leaned forward to kiss me.
chapter thirty-four
chapter list
chapter thirty-six
