Epilogue

Kevin


I hang up the phone and look towards my closed office door, hearing the TV across the hall. Our lives are about to change all over again with that phone call, and part of me worries about how those changes are going to effect us. I can't, though, find it in me to turn it down. We've all been working too hard to get here, quietly, under the radar. We're about to blow up the radar.

Once I take a few deep breaths, and attempt to wipe the smile from my face, I head across the hall to find my girls sitting on the floor, watching TV.

"We need a family meeting," I announce.

I'm greeted with two faces looking at me, then at each other in question. "Can it wait for a commercial?"

"Annie…" I start to say no, but Sammie turns off the TV and they turn to face me. "Thank you. I just want to run this past you and see what y'all think." I sit down on the couch and look down to them. Still so little, but looking so much older these days. Annie's lost her baby face and is looking more and more like Kris each day - bright, big smile and crisp blue eyes. Sammie's hair has grown past her shoulders, sleek and straight, and her eyes show an intensity that's going to break a million hearts. "I just got off the phone with Uncle Nick and you know how we all have been going down to Florida and Atlanta to record?" I get two nods. "Well, Uncle Nick is supposed to be on a TV show in two weeks and he wants us to go and be on the TV show with him. It's in Los Angeles." That's a slight hint of panic in Sammie's face. "If you two don't want me to go and do that, I can tell them to hold off and we can just keep doing what we're doing."

"Do we have to see mama if we go to LA?" Sammie asks.

I shake my head slowly. "I'd have to call and let her know you're coming, but I won't force you to see her if you don't want to, no. I might suggest you at least have dinner with her, though. Or, you could stay here with Grandma. I'm not really going to make that decision for you. I just want to see if you want me to join your uncles on TV, because if it goes well, things might really change for us."

"Can we go with you to the TV show?" Annie asks.

"Sure."

"Is Miss Kim going to come with us?" Sammie asks, teasing me.

"Uh, yeah, I'm going to ask her." We look at each other and Sammie attempts to hide one of her little girl giggles. I half expect her to start chanting 'daddy's got a girlfriend.' "But what do you think about the idea? If we sing, it means we're going to re-start Backstreet."

"Isn't that what you're already doing?" Annie asks.

"We know that, but this means everyone will," Sammie explains. "You'll be really busy again, won't you?"

"Really busy," I admit, "but not too busy for you two. We'd have to make some adjustments." And I'd have to make it known to whoever we choose to sign with that the family comes first under every circumstance; tours in the summer months only when they're free from school, no more months on end, freedom to choose what we do, and when - which no management company likes. We might never get signed…but I refuse to disrupt their lives. Hell, we may never find management or a record company. We might just flop. "I'll let you think about it."

"I want to go to the TV show!" Annie whines.

"I think you should do it, Dad," Sammie says. "It might be cool."

Later on, once the girls are in bed, Kim teases me, "Sammie said it might be cool?" She curls up next to me sitting on the couch and rests her head down on my chest. Her finger plays with one of the belt loops of my jeans and I can smell her perfume. "I think that's some serious progress, Kevin."

"That she thinks I should do it, or that it might be cool?" I question, wrapping my arms around her waist.

We've gotten this far, haven't we? A long year of arguments and therapy, but Sammie's finally coming around now. It took me three months to actually introduce the girls to Kim, and by the time I did, they all seemed to handle it pretty well. I took everything really slow; small, tiny steps with everything - including my work with the fellas, and with each step, I made sure my footing was truly solid this time; for the best of all of us, not just a wish, a hope, or a dream. And none of them pressured me to go faster than I was comfortable going. And now, I'm sitting on the couch with a beautiful, intelligent woman; my girls are safely asleep upstairs; and we might be heading out to LA to make this whole thing public.

I want to believe I'm ready for it all again, telling myself that it might not even happen again… But I know, listening to the tracks we've laid, we still have something, and it's still something amazing, and something that carries our sound. It might be something we can control this time around - if it goes anywhere - if we get some kind of reaction at all. I am petrified of the cartoon parody…you know the one…Bugs Bunny…or is it Elmer Fudd…Daffy Duck, maybe…performing and only the sounds of crickets when he's done. I'm petrified we'll hear the sound of crickets.

Kim lifts her head, and kisses my quickly. "You're having all those deep thoughts again, aren't you?" She furrows her eyebrows playfully before lifting one up knowingly.

"Not too deep," I say with a smile, kissing her in return. "I am allowed to think about what I might be in for, aren't I?"

"Not until it starts happening." She pulls back from me and scoots over to sit closer. "And you've already considered all of that before you took one foot into a studio, didn't you?"

See? She knows me. She gets me.

"I've thought about it," I admit reluctantly, slouching into the couch a bit and turning my head to look at her.

She nods and rolls her eyes doubtfully. "You've thought about it," she repeats dryly. "You've already picked management in your head, haven't you? The record company you want to work with?" I have to nod. Of course I have…it's something ingrained in all of us, I think, from the early years. From the moment we started working together, we were focused on those kinds of things - and when we weren't in control of those things, we nearly killed ourselves. "Baby," she says, resting her hand on my stomach gently, "you'll make it work. You lived through the first time, and went on to have a successful life. When you put yourself out there, you make it work to the best of your abilities. Look what happened when you put yourself out there with me." She straightens her shoulders and sits up proudly. "All it takes is a bit of confidence. And let me tell you, from someone who's experienced it first hand; you have the talent to back up your claims, baby."


Nick

I can see Kevin glance over to the side of the stage and he's getting some kind of mental pep talk from his latest friend, Kim. They met at some environmental conference where they were both speakers, and apparently, they've known each other for quite a while, but Kev finally made his move on her a few months ago.

I wasn't sure I liked her the first time I met her. She came by the studio to drop off something and was in this real sharp business suit, and her hair was pulled back. She was wearing small, thick rimmed, stylish glasses. When you think of high profile lawyer…well, that was Kim. I didn't see her again until today, although she's been seeing Kevin a lot: 'Kim this, Kim that'…Kev's totally smitten.

Today, she reminds me of Rachel sort of. Some people can wear certain clothes and they manage to look totally hip and sexy, while others just look like they're trying too hard and are cheap. Kim manages to look hip and sexy in hip hugging jeans, and a snug sweater that shows her endowments quite well. Her hair is in short, wiry braids and her skin is just a gorgeous cappuccino color. She's hot, and she's what's been making Kevin take a little better care of himself, as if that's possible. Apparently, they meet at the gym each morning, and both his girls adore her. In just a few months, between working with us, and seeing Kim, that Kevin we once knew and loved has broken out of that Kevin that confused and distanced himself from us. I don't think I have real words to say just how amazing it is to have us all here…

Jay's out front attempting to silence the audience to introduce me. I'm the only name on the schedule as the guest, but once we told Jay what we wanted to do, he's been helping us make this surprise work. He's arranged to have the other fellas brought in through back doors, without being seen by anyone else and I can't wait to hear how they react once each of them walk out during the song. I can feel the butterflies in my stomach already I'm so excited, and when I glance over to Rachel, I'm getting my own mental pep talk. She's totally excited and spent the last week telling me how great we're gonna be. That's what her beautiful eyes and smile are telling me now. We're gonna be great.


Kevin

We're still waiting for the audience to quiet down, but from the sounds of things, it's gonna be a few more minutes. It worked…a total surprise, and a year ago, I never would have thought this would happen. Here we are, all five of us, grinning like idiots, looking between the audience and each other. We nailed it, not just the song, but everything it meant to all of us, to be standing around the piano, doing what we do… Looking over to the side of the stage, I see Kim with my girls, and all the various other members of our families these days. Sammie's head peeks around to look at the audience in awe. Her smile grows when she looks up to Kim, and when she looks back at me, she gives me the thumb's up, mouthing 'you rock, dad!'

And we do…

The End