It wasn't until the following Saturday that they were able to see each other. They had texted or talked every day leading up to that, but Brian was so busy with work it left little time for actually doing anything.
He'd invited her to go to the Staten Island Yankees game, the minor league baseball team on Staten Island. Loving baseball as much as he did she readily agreed. He told her to come to his house first and they could ride to the game together.
She got there just before 6:00 and parked next to his red Jeep Wrangler that he'd told her to watch for. He answered the door almost as soon as she had knocked and he beamed when he saw her.
"Hi, come in," he said, stepping back, allowing her to enter. He closed the door behind her then grabbed her hand and she spun around to face him. He put his other hand on the back of her head and pulled her lips to his.
"I've missed that so much," he said when he finally pulled away from her.
"Me, too," she smiled at him.
He walked over to the couch and she followed him.
"Where are your babies?" she asked as she sat down. Just as she asked a small black and white cat came sprinting around the corner and leapt up on the couch.
"This is Brooklyn cat. She's the one I rescued last month." The cat paced back and forth across his lap, her tail high in the air, head butting against his hand every time he went to pet her.
"She's so cute. And she was on the highway? And you just stopped and got out?"
"Pretty much. She was dodging traffic and was trying to jump over the barrier but she would have gotten hit for sure if she had made it. I was actually on my way to work, to a punishment, and I had to crawl under a truck to get her."
"Wow. I hope you weren't the one getting punished after that," she said.
"No, it was Murray. But I was late and dirty. I had to turn my shirt inside out it was so dirty. But I don't regret it. She's already turned into the sweetest cat imaginable."
"That's a great thing you did. I'm sure she's grateful and can appreciate it now that she sees how good she's got it. How are the other cats taking to her?"
"Good. A lot better than I expected. Especially Benjamin cat. He's old and doesn't really want to play but he tolerates her."
"That's great. I got mine at the same time and they were both used to and got along with other cats so I didn't have any problems."
"Are you ready to go?" he asked.
"Yes but can I use your bathroom first?"
"Of course. It's just around the corner."
When they got to the stadium Brian bought their tickets and they stopped to get beer and hot dogs on their way to their seats, which were five rows up from the field along the first base line.
"These are great seats. You must be doing VERY well," she joked.
He laughed. "Yeah, I'm rolling in money."
At the end of the 5th inning Vivian headed to the restroom. As she reached the top of the stairs she was approached by a teenage girl.
"Is that Q?" the girl asked, pointing down in the direction of the seat she had just vacated. She had no idea what to say. If she said yes the girl would most likely run down there and ask him for an autograph or picture, then that might draw attention to him and cause other people to come over.
"Ummm...who?"
"Q, from Impractical Jokers. Brian Quinn."
"Who's that?"
She wasn't sure if playing dumb would work but obviously the girl wasn't sure it was him since she was asking now.
"You've never heard of Impractical Jokers?" the girl asked.
"No, sorry. I don't watch a lot of TV. And that guy down there, his name is Steve."
"Oh, ok." The girl walked away looking disappointed.
As she headed back to her seat she noticed two young boys posing for a picture with Brian. She looked around, hoping the teenage girl didn't see this. The boys and what she assumed was their mother walked away just as she reached her seat. She noticed a twinge of red spread across his face when he saw her.
"Sorry about that," he said.
"Nothing to be sorry about. A girl approached me on my way to the bathroom and asked me if you were you, Q."
"What did you tell her?"
"I lied and told her your name is Steve. It caught me off guard."
"Well thanks for that. And again, I'm sorry. This is one of the things I hate most about fame. You should never have to deal with my fans. Jesus Christ I sound like such an asshole saying that out loud."
She laughed. "Well, you are famous, to some degree anyway. And you do have fans. Nothing wrong with that. And it wasn't a big deal. I just wasn't expecting it."
"Well thanks for being cool with it. I'm sure we'll be fine for the rest of the game now. Do you want another beer?"
"Sure. Thanks." As he stood up and turned to leave the aisle the teenage girl from earlier came bounding down the stairs.
"I knew it was you!" she exclaimed. She looked past him to Vivian. "Why did you lie?"
Vivian felt her face flush. Before she could answer Brian spoke for her.
"It's not her fault," he said politely. "Don't even worry about it. You're here now, right?"
She looked at him, a puzzled look on her face. "Yeah. Yeah, ok. Can I get a picture?"
"Absolutely sweetheart." He put his arm around her and posed for the selfie.
"I love your show. It's the funniest thing on TV. I watch it all the time."
"Aw, thank you sweetheart. I'm glad you like it."
He held his arms open, welcoming her in for a hug.
"Thank you so much!" she said when they broke apart.
"You're welcome. Take care."
He sat back down as she turned and walked back up the steps, looking down at her phone as she went.
"I'm sorry," Vivian said.
"Don't worry about it."
"You were great with her."
"Well, she's just a kid. And she caught me on a good day," he smiled at her. "Ok, where were we? Beer! I'll be right back."