Country: a novel Part 7

Stephanie woke up at seven a.m. to drive to Atlanta. She left the hotel at seven-thirty for the four-hour-plus drive, and checked into the Ritz-Carlton on Peachtree Street that Chase had recommended. It was as lovely as he had said, and her room had a perfect view of the Atlanta skyline. She spent the afternoon walking around Atlanta, went to the High Museum, and waited to see Michael when he finished work. They met in the lobby of her hotel at six o'clock.

Amanda was with him, and she was as perfectly groomed as he was. He had to wear a suit and tie at the Braves. She worked for an ad agency as a junior copywriter and had a good job. She had gone to Duke and was a bright girl, but there was something sharp and cunning about her that Stephanie had never liked. She was very ambitious and very demanding of Michael. They each had their own apartments in the Atlantic Station area, but they had spent virtually every night together at Michael's for the past two years. He made noises occasionally about renting an apartment together, but much to his mother's relief, they still hadn't. She was still hoping that Michael would break up with her eventually, and keeping their own apartments was simpler. Amanda had always had an agenda.

She'd been pressuring Michael for a while to get a better-paying job so they could buy an apartment or a house together, but Michael was in love with his job with the Braves. And in the three years since he graduated from college, he had done well. Stephanie was satisfied with his progress and thought he was nicer to Amanda than she deserved. Her mother was in real estate, very successfully, and her father worked for a bank. And she had an older brother and sister who were successful in business, and both were married. In their family, money was key.

"Where would you two like to have dinner?" Stephanie asked them, and Amanda immediately suggested Baccha.n.a.lia, an expensive restaurant where they'd been before. She knew that Michael preferred more casual dinners, but he deferred to her. It was the kind of aggressive greediness, typical of Amanda, that always annoyed Stephanie, and concerned her for the future.

They were already having dinner when Michael asked his mother what she was doing in that part of the world. He'd been startled when she'd called him and offered to come to Atlanta the next day.

"I'm a little bit at loose ends right now," she said honestly with a sigh, and they both knew why. "I got an invitation from a friend from college who lives in Nashville. I haven't seen her in years, and I thought it might be nice to come and see her. And it gives me a chance to see you too." The drive cross country to see a long-lost friend was so unlike her that Michael didn't know what to say. He could always count on his mother to be in the same place. She never ventured far from home, and never on her own. Even when his father was alive, they had taken only modest trips to Tahoe, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Palm Springs, or New York to see his sisters, and they went to Europe once every few years. He couldn't even imagine her driving to Nashville, Tennessee, and even less so alone. She looked well though, and said she'd been having a good time.

"We went to Graceland yesterday," she volunteered, which surprised him even more.

"Graceland? Since when are you interested in Elvis?" He had died when she was twelve, and she'd never listened to his music that he could remember. Her taste ran to other things, like ballads, Motown, or the occasional rap song they had played when they were young that she had liked.

"My friend suggested it, and I thought it would be interesting to see his home. It really is a phenomenon to see how someone like that lived. And Nashville is so alive with all the country music. Which reminds me. By a total fluke, I met Chase Taylor through my old friend. He's playing a concert this Sat.u.r.day, and he invited you both to come, with VIP tickets, backstage pa.s.ses, the whole shebang. I think you'd enjoy it. I'll go with you if you want."

"How much longer will you be in Nashville, Mom?"

"Just a few more days. I'll stay till the concert if you decide to come. I want to see Louise in New York next week, and then I'll drive home."

"By yourself?" He looked shocked when she nodded. "You've become quite a wanderer since Dad died." He sounded genuinely surprised and a little worried about her. She didn't tell him about Las Vegas, or the Grand Canyon where she had met Chase.

"I don't have much to do at home, except my volunteer work at the shelter, which is a little haphazard," she said honestly. "You guys are gone...and Daddy...there's nothing I have to do there now. Everyone I know is married and busy with their lives. I really want to get a job." He felt suddenly sorry for her, and she could see it in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Mom," he said quietly, and he looked so much like her, it was startling. He was tall and thin and athletic, with the same blond hair and blue eyes. He was the male version of her. People always commented on it, and even she could see it now, as he gazed across the table at her with pity. He had suddenly gotten a glimpse of how lonely his mother was, enough to drive across the country to visit her son and daughter and a college friend. He didn't like to think of her traveling alone like that. It pushed the invitation to the concert right out of his head.

"I'm having a good time," she said, and seemed to mean it, and she didn't mention how much she dreaded going home. "What about the concert this weekend? It's on Sat.u.r.day. He seems like a nice guy, and he's a big star." She was grateful that Michael hadn't asked her the name of her college friend, she knew she would have had to come up with one fast.

"He sure is. And you're a country music fan?" It was a whole new side of her he'd never seen before.

"Not really," she said honestly. He knew her better than that. She couldn't lie to him about everything, and she never had. She hated doing it, but she had no other choice. There was no way he would understand the chance encounter at the Grand Canyon or what Chase was beginning to mean to her. And it was too soon after his father's death to introduce a new man into his life, or even into hers. "But that's what Nashville is all about," she added. "Why don't you both come?"

Amanda seemed as though she liked the idea, particularly of the backstage pa.s.ses, and the weekend with Michael's mother, where she would score brownie points with her. Michael wasn't as sure, although he'd be happy to see his mother again.

"Can I let you know tomorrow, Mom? The team's away this weekend, but I think we had some plans."

"Sure, sweetheart. He was very nice about getting us tickets. I can let him know tomorrow." She tried to sound casual about it.

"I'd like to meet your college friend too," he said warmly, trying to let her know that he cared about what she was doing and what was happening in her life.

Stephanie knew that if he came, she'd have to come up with an excuse for why her mythical friend wasn't there. Maybe she could say that she was sick, she thought to herself-if Michael came, which didn't sound like a sure thing. But she would have loved to introduce him to Chase. She was proud of her son. She smiled across the table at him, then glanced at Amanda. She was a pretty girl, with hair and eyes as dark as he was fair. There was just something so determined about her, as though she had Michael in her control, which made his mother nervous. Amanda seemed older than her years and ready to settle down. And Michael just seemed to be going along. He was innocent and young. Amanda was more mature for her age.

They had a nice dinner together, and then the two young people went home to his place, and Stephanie went back to her hotel. She was leaving the next morning to go back to Nashville, since he said he was busy all that day and evening. And Michael spoke to Amanda about his mother on the way home.

"I'm worried about her. She tries to act like she's happy, but I know she's sad." He knew her well. "She's lost without my dad."

"Don't be silly," Amanda dismissed his fears. "She's never looked better. She's a beautiful woman. She'll have a new man in her life in no time. I'll bet she gets married again." It was not what Michael wanted to hear.

"You don't know my mom. She really loved my dad, and was devoted to him. I'm sure she'll never marry again, or even have another man."

"At forty-eight?" Amanda laughed at him. "Dream on. She's pretty, she's got money, there will be a man in her life within a year." Michael looked straight ahead as he drove home and didn't say a word. "And look how independent she is. She drove all the way across the country alone."

"She had to be desperate to do that," he said through nearly clenched teeth. Amanda wasn't listening to him and had missed the point of his concern. "She doesn't even like to go to Tahoe alone."

"Maybe she turned over a new leaf when your dad died. I think it's great. And look at all the people she's meeting. What about the concert on Sat.u.r.day night?"

"I'm not that crazy about country music. Are you?"

"Who cares? VIP tickets and backstage pa.s.ses to meet Chase Taylor is pretty sweet."

"Yeah, I guess." He didn't look excited about it.

"I'd like to go," she said firmly. "Besides, it would be nice to see your mom again. Why don't we go?"

"I'll call her tomorrow," he said, looking unhappy.

And in her hotel room, Stephanie was talking to Chase. "How was it?" he asked her.

"Nice with Michael, except for Miss Control. I always feel that she has him by the throat and runs his life."

"Did you invite him to the show?"

"He said he'd let me know tomorrow. I got the feeling that she wants to go."

"Good. Then I'll get to meet them both. I want to check out this girl myself. I'll let you know what I think."

"I hope they come." She liked the idea of seeing her son again and had taken a reservation for them at the Hermitage Hotel just in case. "I'll be back in Nashville tomorrow by lunchtime," she said, and he sounded pleased.

"I'll pick you up in the afternoon, and we can come back to the house. I have rehearsal tomorrow night for the show."

"That sounds like a plan. See you tomorrow," she said warmly, but when she hung up, she was thinking about her son. No matter how polite and pleasant Amanda was to her, she just never liked her. And she always, like Michael, did whatever Amanda wanted. She ran the show.

- Michael called her as soon as she got back to the hotel in Nashville, and he surprised her. They had decided to come for the concert. He told her honestly that Amanda wanted to meet Chase.

"He's a nice guy. You'll like him too. And his music is really good." She didn't tell him that she had helped him with a few lyrics to one of his songs, or that she had watched them record an alb.u.m, or that she'd driven to Nashville with him. There was a lot Michael didn't know, and didn't need to for now.

He said they'd be in Nashville on Sat.u.r.day afternoon before the show, and she promised to meet him at the hotel. Chase would be busy at the Bridgestone Arena, where the Country Music a.s.sociation Awards were held every year, but this was an independent concert set up by a famous promoter of country music. It was a venue that Chase liked, and he was looking forward to it.

She was pleased she would see Michael again before she left for San Francisco. When Chase picked her up that afternoon, she told him and he was happy for her. He was excited to see her, and gave her a kiss as soon as they drove away from the hotel. He had a lot to tell her about their preparations for the concert the next day, and Chase looked annoyed when they got to his house and he saw a dozen tourists outside, holding a map. They were easy to get at the visitors' center and the Ernest Tubb Record Shop, which sold maps to the homes of the stars. Chase took one look, then drove past the house and behind the property, to the entrance to Sandy's house. Her car wasn't there, and he could see she was out as they drove through the back gate and parked the Corvette in the garage. It would have been easier living in a gated community, or behind tall walls, but he loved his house. It was worth putting up with the occasional tourists gawking outside, or tour buses that drove by. They couldn't see anything from the street, and they kept the shades closed on the front of the house. And all the windows had been replaced with bulletproof gla.s.s before he moved in. Stephanie thought it was sad that he had to worry about things like that. But it was a reality for him and the price of being a major star.

They chatted in the kitchen while he checked his e-mails at his desk, and answered a few. Wanda came in and out and said h.e.l.lo to Stevie. She had become a fixture overnight, and Wanda liked her and could tell that Chase was very taken with her. And finally the band arrived, and they started rehearsal in the studio and played until midnight, stopping only for a quick dinner. He'd written a new song for Sandy and was introducing two for himself. They all agreed that the show was strong and fresh, and Stephanie liked their new songs. During a break he whispered to her that one of them was about her. It was called "The Country Boy and the Lady" and he was going to try it out for the first time in public on Sat.u.r.day night. She loved it when she heard the words. He told her he'd written it since their return to Nashville, entirely inspired by her. The melody was as beautiful as the lyrics.

After rehearsal, they made out in his car like two teenagers when he took her back to the hotel. Things were heating up between them, like a slow blaze taking hold.

The next day she waited at the Hermitage Hotel for Michael and Amanda to arrive. When they did, Amanda looked genuinely excited about the concert, and Michael was happy to see his mother. They wandered around some of the music shops that afternoon, enjoying the live music, and Michael asked about her friend, whom he was looking forward to meeting. Stephanie turned to him with a disappointed look, exhibiting acting skills she never knew she had.

"s.h.i.+t luck. She came down with the flu last night, and she's sick as a dog. I'm so disappointed. I wanted you to meet her, although she tells some pretty awful stories about me in college that you don't need to hear." He smiled. "She called Chase Taylor, and he's giving us the tickets and pa.s.ses anyway. Everybody seems to know people involved in music here. So we're all set for tonight."

"That's too bad she's sick," Michael said, thoroughly convinced. It never dawned on him that his mother would lie. Or be involved with a country music star. Both concepts would have seemed preposterous to him, and Stephanie felt a little guilty for not telling him the truth, and hoped that nothing she or Chase said that night would give them away. She had told him the story she would tell Michael, and they had picked a fictional name for her college friend. Laura Perkins. It sounded perfectly credible to them, and it did to Michael too.

They had dinner at the hotel's excellent Capitol Grille that night, and at eight o'clock they left for the Bridgestone Arena, where Stephanie knew Chase had been rehearsing and setting up for the past eight hours. He always oversaw the preparations himself, and never trusted the event producers or venue managers to do it right. He had sent a car and driver for them, which Michael thought his mother had arranged, and as soon as they showed their tickets, they were escorted to the first row, dead center, where Chase would be only a few feet away from them. Amanda was so excited, she was practically squealing and called a friend from work on her cell to tell them where they were, and that they'd be meeting Chase backstage.

"I never knew you liked him this much," Michael said, looking surprised.

"Are you kidding? He's gorgeous," she said, with her heavy southern drawl. She always made a point of saying that southern men were better looking than Yankees, "except for Michael, of course." But the added compliment never sounded totally sincere. She chatted with Stephanie then, while Michael checked the baseball scores on his BlackBerry. The Braves were in Philadelphia that night, and he was happy he didn't have to go. He went to a lot of their out-of-town games. Amanda loved going with him, especially when they stayed at fancy hotels, paid for by the team, who treated their employees very well. And she liked their room at the Hermitage Hotel too. His mother was always very generous with them. Amanda just expected it, but Stephanie did it for her son.

The arena was packed, and the concert was due to start at eight-thirty, but it didn't begin till nine. Stephanie wondered what was happening and hoped nothing was wrong, but she couldn't go backstage to ask. Sandy had been feeling squeamish that day, and she hoped she wasn't sick. The last time she had spoken to Chase was before dinner, and he had said that everything was fine. He had sounded busy, and they had gotten off quickly. And as she started to worry, the house lights went down, and the opening band started playing. Bobby Joe and his group played a short set and left the stage. And then the big band came on, and the music exploded through the sound system, and a moment later Chase was on the stage, as dynamic as ever, grabbing the audience's attention, and his fans screamed his name as he started to sing one of his new songs. He saved the one about Stephanie almost till the end, and the audience fell in love with him all over again.

She could see that Amanda was mesmerized, and Michael was enjoying it too. The concert had been fabulous, and the crowd applauded and screamed and begged for encores when it was over, and he played three. And then he took his final bow and left the stage as the spotlight followed him off. It had been a fantastic performance, and Amanda was jumping up and down and clapping her hands, as an usher appeared next to them and asked them to come backstage. Chase had looked straight at her several times during the performance with a look that was filled with his feelings for her, but the people around them just thought it was part of his act, and she was a lucky fan. But she knew exactly what it meant, just as she did when he sang the song he'd written for her. She just hoped Michael didn't figure it out too, but there was no reason why he would.

They followed the usher up onto the stage, into the backstage area, past all the sound technicians, and into a trailer they had set up for Chase behind the arena. It was almost as luxurious as his bus. Amanda was wide-eyed as they walked up the steps into it. Stephanie introduced them both to Chase.

"Thanks so much for coming to the performance," Chase said to Michael, who looked amazed.

"Thank you for the tickets." They talked about baseball for a few minutes, and Chase said he was a Braves fan. Chase couldn't have been more welcoming to both young people, and he gave nothing away when he spoke to Stephanie. He played it to perfection when he told her how sorry he was that Laura couldn't come and he hoped she wasn't too sick. Stephanie a.s.sured him it was just the flu, just as Sandy bounded into the trailer with a look of fury and walked right up to Chase, oblivious to Michael and Amanda, and even to Stephanie for once, as Michael stared at her. She was wearing the sequined cowboy s.h.i.+rt and skin-tight jeans she'd worn on stage, and her straight blond hair was hanging down her back to her waist.

"Bobby Joe is such an a.s.shole!" she said to her guardian, and even surprised him. "He said I sang flat for the first half of the show, and I was completely off by an octave for the new song." Chase tried to keep a straight face. It was just more of Bobby Joe's antics to make her feel bad about herself. She still hadn't figured it out.

"You were great!" he rea.s.sured her. "Believe me, if you'd sung flat or been off by an octave, I'd have given you s.h.i.+t myself. He's just jealous, and we cut his set short tonight because of the new songs. He's just p.i.s.sed." And then he reminded her of her manners. "Sandy, we have guests. This is Stephanie's son Michael from Atlanta, and his girlfriend Amanda." He looked serious and circ.u.mspect as he said it and gave her a look to telegraph to her not to say too much. She got it immediately. She was a very bright girl.

"Oh, hi," she said, looking embarra.s.sed. "Sorry for the complaints. My boyfriend thinks my singing sucks," she said, looking up at Michael, thinking she had never seen anyone as handsome in her life, except maybe Chase.

"You were fantastic," Michael rea.s.sured her, as their eyes met and held. Stephanie felt as though she could see sparks coming from them, and she smiled. Amanda was too busy fawning over Chase to notice. She had her back turned to Michael and never saw the exchange. But Chase did, and so did Stephanie. Something had happened between the two young people without words.

"I need to rehea.r.s.e that song some more," Sandy said vaguely, but she looked as though she had no idea what she was saying, and Michael didn't seem to care. "You live in Atlanta?"

"Yes, I do. I work for the Braves."

"I love baseball," she said suddenly sounding very southern, even more so than Amanda, who was charming Chase, and he kept her busy so Michael and Sandy could talk. He was on Stephanie's team.

"You'll have to come for a home game sometime," Michael said vaguely to Sandy, his eyes never leaving hers, oblivious to Amanda.

"I'd like that," Sandy said, completely forgetting about Amanda, and that she had a boyfriend herself. It was as though Michael and Sandy were alone in the room. And then more people crowded into the trailer, Chase got busy, Sandy was pulled away to talk to someone, and Stephanie led Michael and Amanda out of the trailer. She noticed that her son seemed dazed. Amanda was talking to him a mile a minute about how incredible Chase was and how charming, and he didn't hear a word. He glanced at his mother with a blank look, as though he were under a spell and a bomb had hit him the minute Sandy walked in. She was seven years younger than he was, just eighteen, but he didn't care. She was the most beautiful, enchanting girl he had ever seen.

They had a nightcap at the hotel at the Oak Bar, and Michael literally didn't say a word.

"Are you okay, sweetheart?" his mother asked him, and he nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine. We lost tonight in Philly."

"Oh, I'm sorry." But they both knew he wasn't thinking about the Braves. She wondered if he would say anything to her about Sandy, but he couldn't. And he had no idea how well his mother knew her. Amanda was still rhapsodizing about Chase.

The young couple went to their room shortly afterward, and Amanda thanked her profusely for the tickets. Michael just said he was really tired and disappeared into the room.

Stephanie went to her room, lay down on the bed, and turned on the TV. It was two hours later when Chase called her after he left the arena, while the band was still packing up their equipment, and he was on his way home. He had been there for fourteen hours and he was tired, but it had been a very successful show.

"It was terrific," she told him, as she turned down the TV. And she was happy that her son had suspected nothing between them. Chase had played it very straight, out of deference to her.

"Yeah, it was pretty good," he said, as he drove the Corvette with the top down. It was a beautiful June night under a full moon. "I think we had some magic here tonight."

"I loved our song," she said, still very moved that he had written it for her and sung it while looking at her that night.

"Me too. But that's not what I meant. I meant in the trailer afterward. Your son looked like he was about to faint when Sandy walked in. I heard birds chirping, harps playing, violins. The two of them looked mesmerized by each other. I tried to keep Little Miss Busybody occupied so she didn't notice." Stephanie laughed at what he said.

"I thought maybe you were falling for her," Stephanie teased him.

"Not likely. And I know exactly what you mean about her. I know the type. She's pushy, but in a very hidden way. Even hardly knowing her, I got the feeling that she's after money. It's all she talks about, who has what. But I think something happened there tonight, with Sandy. I hope he does something about it."

"I doubt he will. He's totally faithful to Amanda. It's a terrible thing to say, but I'm not even sure he loves her."

"Yeah, but something happened tonight," Chase insisted, trusting his instincts, and Stephanie hoped he was right. "It was like watching a movie. He fell for her like a ton of bricks, and so did she. Sandy was telling him how much she loves baseball. h.e.l.l, she doesn't know a ball from a bat." Stephanie was still laughing, and she wondered if Chase was right and something might come of it. It seemed unlikely to her, but stranger things had happened. She had met Chase. "Can you slip him her number somehow?"

"I don't know how. What would be the excuse?" Stephanie asked him.

"Tell him to invite her to a game," Chase said simply.

"Are you promoting a romance between your ward and my son?" she teased him.

"Yes, I am," he said unashamedly. "And I'll be doing you a big favor if it works," he reminded her.

"Isn't that the truth. I'd owe you big time for that one!"

"I'll remind you of that one day."

They talked about the concert again then, and he was pleased. He told her he'd call her the next day, when he woke up.

She was planning to see Amanda and Michael for brunch at the hotel before they headed back to Atlanta.

The next morning at the hotel restaurant, Stephanie thought that Michael still looked distracted, and he was unusually quiet, while Amanda chattered endlessly about the charms of Chase, how handsome he was, and how great the concert had been. She thanked Stephanie profusely for inviting them, and then went upstairs to pack her bag and brush her teeth before they left, while Michael spent the last few minutes with his mother.

"Mom," he said, sounding serious for a minute, and she was suddenly worried that he would ask her again how she knew Chase, but he had given nothing away the night before, and neither had she. "You wouldn't have his daughter's number, would you?" He didn't see why she would, but he had to ask, just in case. He looked desperate and almost sick, which touched her heart.

"Do you know what's funny? As a matter of fact I do. She was with Chase when my friend Laura introduced me to them, and she gave me her number. She's not his daughter, by the way. He's her guardian. Her parents died, and her father left her to Chase when she was fifteen. She told me all about it when she gave me her number."

"How old is she?" He still looked concerned. He was afraid she might be sixteen or seventeen. She looked young.

"Eighteen."

"She's legal at least," he said with a grin, and his mother didn't say a word. She was ecstatic that he was even remotely interested in her. Maybe Chase was right, and she had seen the magic happen in the trailer the night before herself. Stephanie looked up Sandy's number on her cell phone and texted it to him. And as soon as she did, Amanda appeared back at the table, carrying her overnight bag and ready to leave.

Stephanie walked them out to Michael's car and hugged him and thanked him for coming.

"I'm glad I did," he said, looking her in the eye, and she nodded and then hugged him again. She couldn't say anything about his calling Sandy in front of Amanda, but she hoped he would. And she knew she couldn't pry after this. He was a man. It was up to him. But her fingers were crossed that the magic had been real. She wanted that for him even more than she wanted Chase. Michael had his whole life ahead of him, and she wanted it to be good, not spent with a woman who didn't really love him and saw him as a good catch. Amanda had convinced Stephanie of it in the past three years.

She waved as they drove away, then went back to her room at the hotel. Chase called her a little while later, and she drove out to Brentwood to spend the day with him by the pool. He broached a painful subject with her that afternoon.

"When are you leaving, Stevie?" He knew it would be soon. She had agreed to wait until after his concert, and she had wanted to see her son, but there were no more reasons left to delay. She had called Louise while she was waiting to hear from him, and she said that the only day she had time to see her mother was Thursday, which meant that Stephanie had to leave Nashville on Tuesday, to get from Nashville to New York in two days. It would give her another day together with Chase, but after that she had to face reality and leave. She was as sad about it as he was, and all Chase wanted was to figure out a reason for her to return. Soon. Or he'd go to California to see her if he had to. He couldn't imagine his life without her now.