“Thank you so much.”
“Are these your kids?”I ask, gesturing at the boy and girl who are watching us.They look skinny.This may be the biggest meal they’ve had in a while.
“Yes, would you mind saying hello?”
“Please.”I follow her to the table, and she introduces me to the freckled, brown-haired children that look so much like her.“Pete and June, say hello to Ms.Gilmore.”
They smile at me like I’m just some friend of their mom’s, not a famous singer, and it makes me smile.I’m not famous to everybody, and that is fine.
“Hi kids.Are y’all having a nice visit in Sweetgum Valley?”
They nod and continue eating hungrily.Their mother turns to me and speaks quietly.“We don’t come to town often.I apologize for their manners.”
“No apologies necessary,” I say as my order is called out.I turn to acknowledge the waitress, then turn back to the lady.“What’s your name?”
“Lorraine,” she replies.
“You have a great visit, Lorraine, and thank you for coming to my show.”
I turn and go to the counter, where I wave at the waitress to come over.When she does, I hand over the credit card again.“Can you please charge Lorraine’s bill to this?”I glance back to their table and notice they don’t have any drinks.“And whatever drinks they want, too.I think those kids would like some chocolate milkshakes, but check with their mom first.”
The waitress processes the card before handing it back to me.I collect my coffee and wave to Lorraine as I leave the diner.
Outside, I pull out my phone and dial Brendon, who picks up quickly.
“Bayleigh, how’s it going in ‘the valley’?”
I roll my eyes.“That’s not what we call it here.”
He chuckles.“Maybe you could start calling it that.Could get it trending!Anyway, that’s not why I wanted to speak to you.
I continue wandering around town aimlessly, Max following silently behind me, while Brendon catches me up on business.“All your publicity is really paying off and making your image more wholesome.I got to say I’m really glad you’re following my advice on this.”
So far this trip hasn’t been as bad as I thought.Especially last night.Totally worth it.
“How are rehearsals going?The new guy picking it up?”
“Yeah, he’s really good.He fits in with the band well and has picked up the songs super-fast.It’s quite impressive, actually.”
“That’s great.”There’s excitement in his voice as he continues, “They want to live-stream the event so we can’t have any mistakes in this.”
My eyes widen, and I stop walking.“Live-stream?Really?”
“That’s right, kid; the reach could be insane.Mathew is pulling in the younger audience and you’ve got the hometown advantage.He’s even been doing the media rounds to promote it.You didn’t see hisTonight Showappearance yesterday?It was epic.”
Once upon a time that would have been me, doing all the TV shows and radio appearances.Now all the best promo spots are going to the young cowboy.I try not to let the news hurt my ego, but it definitely still stings.
“What can I do?”I don’t want to be seen as riding Mathew’s coattails.“I have time to kill here.”
“Well, you could go to that bar again.Get seen helping out the town—you know the drill.”
“Okay.Have you been sent any more songs for me?”I ask, eager to start making more music again.
“Nothing great.We need something authentic and meaningful for this one.”
My first albums were sexy and controversial, then as I grew older they became raw and gritty with a lot of pent-up anger.I don’t want to go back to either of those styles.I want to make music that can inspire and heal.Music might have been the cause of my pain, but it can also be a kind of therapy.If I want this album to be a true representative of me, I need more creative input.I need to write.
“I’ve actually been doing some writing.The new guitar player has been helping me put my lyrics to music.”
