Meredith let herself into the house, sighing as she dropped the mail on the table. The guys had been gone for a week, and she felt adrift without them. They'd come into her house as strangers and left as family, and not seeing them every day was much harder than she thought it would be---not seeing AJ made her heart ache
The day after she put them on a plane, three dozen peach Gerbera daisies appeared in her office. The card simply read 'I miss you.'. She smiled as she sniffed the bouquet, ignoring everyone's questions about the sender.
The day after that, she found a delivery on her doorstep when she got home. She dropped the box on the kitchen counter and went to change clothes. When she got back, she opened the package and read the card. It said "It's weird not having you here." There were sketches of the guys, carefully packed in a leather portfolio. She laughed as she studied them.
On the third day, she received a phone call from a local spa. The owner told her that a relaxation package had been purchased for her, and that she was to receive ten full-body massages. The woman told her that she'd been instructed to pass on the message of "Thank you." Meredith thanked the woman and made an appointment for her first visit.
On the fourth day, Becky placed a box on her desk and smiled when Meredith looked up at her. The young woman just shrugged and smiled before leaving. She opened it and found a coffee cup with a woman wearing a cape painted on the front. The caption read "Never fear. I am in control." She also found a book entitled "Daily Contemplations for the Woman in Charge." Becky could hear the laughter from behind the closed door.
On the fifth day, she downloaded her e-mail at home and discovered that she'd been signed up for an e-mail list that sent daily blessings to the list members. Opening the first e-mail, she discovered a few simple words that made her smile. She knew that she would get a lot from this list.
The sixth day, she wasn't sure what to expect. By the time ten o'clock rolled around, she was disappointed. Lying in bed, staring out the balcony doors, she picked up the phone after the second ring.
"Hello?"
{Hey, beautiful.} The raspy tones still had the same effect on her body, even though they were miles apart.
"Hey, handsome. How are you?"
AJ settled himself on his pillows, looking around the hotel room. "Stuck in a hotel, getting ready for another damn interview tomorrow morning."
"I saw the interview on 60 Minutes. You guys looked great."
He sighed. "Management's got us hitting all the big guns for the rest of this week and the next. They want to make sure we're interviewed by professionals."
"Guess Teen Beat doesn't qualify." She couldn't hold in the chuckle.
{Very funny.} He rolled onto his side and pulled a pillow close to his chest.
There were a couple of minutes of silence as they just listened to the steady rhythm of each other breathing.
"Is everyone else okay?" Her question was hushed.
He hesitated for a moment. {Not great, but we're hanging in there. Having to relive everything is really hard on Howie and Kevin. There were a couple of times I wasn't sure they were going to make it.}
"Damn."
He could barely hear the expletive.
{Can I come see you when this is over? We're supposed to have a few days off.} The question came out of his mouth almost before he realized it.
She knew he couldn?t see the smile that spread across her face, but she hoped he could hear it. "Yes. I'll be waiting."
He released the breath he'd been holding with a huge sigh, joining her in laughter. {I should be there next Friday sometime.}
"You've still got the key?" She twisted the phone cord around her fingers.
{Yeah, I've got it.} He ran his fingers over the pillow pressed against his body.
"The daisies were beautiful. Thank you."
{I'm glad you liked them.} He heard a knock on his door. {Someone's at the door. I've got to go.}
He didn't want to let her go, didn't want to lose their connection.
"Better answer the door. I'll see you next Friday." Her voice was full of warmth and gentleness, and it wrapped around him in a caress.
{Sweet dreams, Meredith.}
"Sweet dreams, AJ."
They hung up the phone at the same time.
On the seventh day, she found an e-mail in her inbox that told her to watch Dateline that night. Getting home late, she hurriedly fixed a salad and dropped in front of the television to watch another interview with the guys. All three groups were on this show, and the interviews were interspersed with concert shots and pictures of them in training. Meredith hadn't paid much attention to the photographers her superiors had allowed to follow them through some of the training, and she was surprised to see how good the photos were.
Right before the show ended, the Backstreet Boys stood in the studio around a couple of microphones. Stone Phillips announced that the guys wanted to do one song for someone special. They sang an a cappella version of All I Have to Give, and Meredith teared up because she knew that they were singing it for her.
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