EVEN ON A SATURDAY, people bustle up and down the hallways at work. I suppose Nashville never rests, some saying it’s more alive on the weekends. It’s been a few days since the awkward evening where Dalton garnered me so many unwanted eyes. The man who escorted me home had been sweet, but I would have enjoyed Dalton’s company more. I really didn’t need the ride. I could have done without the attention, but it was nice to be thought about for once and not be an afterthought. It’s really no matter, though; Mae—this job—is my life.
My phone rings, and I push myself away from my desk. Answering the FaceTime, Mae’s fresh face and messy bun greet me with a kiss toward the camera. I laugh and cross my free arm across to my other shoulder. I haven’t seen her in person in days, mostly because she and Trenton are on a good spell. I want nothing to do with messing that up for her.
“We still good for tonight?” she asks me. Trenton passes by behind her, leaving a kiss on her head. As per usual, he pays me no mind.
“Still good if you are,” I affirm, thinking forward to our scheduled appearance at a friend’s retirement show.
“I spoke to Linda this morning.” Her voice lowers slightly, and I lean in to hear the rest of her statement. “They want me to sing a song.” While not a problem on the surface, Trenton will undoubtedly not be happy about it as he believes it cheapens their appearances together. “I don’t want to mess anything up,” she pleads.
I nod, my mind running circles around possible outcomes. “Well,” I start, “I do think it would mean the world to Chris if you sang with him one last time.”
Mae rolls her eyes. “You don’t honestly think he’s being truthful about retirement.” Her smile falls, and suddenly the idea of not having Chris and Linda in her life is frightening.
Lightening the mood, I reach for something that I don’t think is entirely out of the realm of possibility. “I think he’s definitely going to cut back, but I don’t for a second believe he’s done for good.” Chris and Linda Mayfield have been at this since the 90s but it’s their life. “I’m sure we’ll still be able to catch them drifting from honky tonk to honky tonk down in Texas.”
She nods staunchly and sighs. “Well, that settles it. I’ve got to send him out of Music City with a bang.”
“Are you going to tell Trenton?”
She shrugs and glances over her shoulder. “I’ll cross that bridge if I have to.”
“Things are going well?” I prod, hopeful for a positive answer.
“Better than ever!” she exclaims. Her enthusiasm does little to cover the trapped look in her eye.
“Okay well, I’ll be over–”
“No,” she interrupts. “I’ll come to you. Trenton’s security can drop me off.”
“Okay,” I answer calmly, no questions asked. “I’ll see you later.”
I hear Trenton reenter the room on the other end of the line before Mae mouthssee you laterand hangs up.
With the conversation left behind me, I make my way through the rest of my immediate work and pack up my things. It’s mid afternoon and time for me to get to my place to help Mae get ready for her night out. I suppose that is one thing we haven’t lost. Despite the fame and the increasing pressure, we can still treat evenings as girls’ night. They might come further apart since she and Trenton got together, but they’re no less meaningful to me.
***
Parking in the bar’s VIP lot, Mae and I slide from the cool leather interior of her SUV. We’re met with a few members of Chris’ team, two whom I recognize. Mae exchanges hugs with them before popping the trunk open. One gentleman carries her guitar toward the back door. Mae and I move to follow but a crowd has gathered at the gate into the lot. It’s no surprise that fans have figured out that she would make a surprise appearance tonight. Mae has been doing this at Chris’s shows since, well, she began this journey.
I urge Mae forward but the crowd at the gate is adamant, screaming for her to come over. She ignores me and floats toward them. I plant myself by the door to watch as she signs autographs and takes pictures. The last lucky crowd member is an older man, who Mae quickly signs a shirt for and then blowskisses to the rest of the crowd. With one fluent wave, she turns on her heel and joins me in entering the bar.
We’re immediately intercepted by Linda and Chris. Mae launches herself into their arms, and I feel my guard slowly go down. Before I came along, Chris and Linda protected her. Besides a wonderful grandmother in Mae’s early life, she hasn’t known true protection from anyone.
I flinch at the memory of Mae laying out her past for me for the first time. For a woman like her to come from nothing, to align herself with people who genuinely care. She’s still learning how to trust, but she’s getting there. Finding the indie country royalty couple of Chris and Linda Mayfield was the best thing she ever did.
Despite the hospitality of Linda, who always insists on welcoming me into the fold, their world is far too close to how I pictured mine to pan out. There was a time I thought playing the smoky bars with my partner would be my life. I’d yearned for it, and yet here I sit on the opposite side of it. It’s always hard to see Chris and Linda because they bring up so much of my open past. For Mae, I could grin and bear it for an eternity. For anyone else, it’s just a nasty scar that reopens.
Sharing my normal greetings, I do a once over on Mae before leaving her with a nod and a smile. Working my way through backstage, I flash my badge at a staffer and am escorted up to the balcony section where the performers have their own box.
A few people filter in and out to get drinks before the show, one man even brings me one. I politely decline and settle in on my phone. Scrolling through Mae’s feed, I search through the venue and hashtags. A few fans from outside the venue posted footage and photos from meeting her through the fence. I take the liberty of liking the posts from Mae’s account, just to be fun.
As the lights finally dim for the show, I have my camera at the ready. We’ll want some sort of post to go out the moment that Mae takes the stage. Luckily I don’t have to wait long into the set.
Chris has always had the most inviting smile that just commands the crowd. Tonight is no different. Those in attendance know this is a goodbye in some capacity so they are hanging on to every word he says. This performance will forever be immortalized on the phones of so many.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Chris begins. “Tonight marks the end of one of the longest chapters of my life. While my story is not finished by a long shot, I’ve got to mark this end by going back to the beginning. That beginning belongs to one humid night in Louisiana where I met one of the most talented people in the world.” He strums his guitar lightly as the teaser starts to connect with the audience. This is a known story, and as he continues, the crowd only gets more excited. “No one knew at the time, well, except for my wife, that this young girl we stumbled upon would become one of the biggest names in the industry. I’d like to invite my pride and joy to the stage.”
Chris announcing Mae’s name is overtaken by the roar of the crowd. Seizing the moment, I leap to the rail and snap a few pictures of Mae on her way out. She’s hand in hand with Linda, and together, they step up to Chris’s side.
