Chapter 10 - Kate
KATE
NO WAY THIS IS REAL
“I’m standin’ at the doorway, hand on the light/Half of me’s leavin’, half wants to fight.Do I stay, do I run, I don’t really know…‘Cause love’s got a way of not lettin’ me go.” Kate Riggs
My phone rings.
Then it rings again.
Then it doesn’t stop.
Manager. Mom. Brother. Some unknown number that is probably tied to a journalist who was digging through my recycling bin as I sit here, thinking.
Overthinking.
My phone rings again. I grab under the pillow, thinking it must be hexed. I rummage for it and pull it out. Ray.
“Hello?” I croak. “You called earlier?”
He doesn’t even say, “Hello,” and dives right in with, “Are you married to a hockey star?”
“Kinda,” I eke out, waiting for him to go ballistic.
“Is this for real?” He sounds excited. Is he a hockey fan?
“It was a drunken night, and I was drunk.” I can’t admit that I was vulnerable.
No, I can’t admit that. Although Finn impressed me as being nice, even genuine.
But what do I know? I have terrible taste in men.
Besides, he picked me up in a bar - that’s a recipe for disaster if there ever was one - and we’ve known each other for less than twenty-four hours.
“Well, it looks real,” he counters.
“I’ll get it annulled,” I offer flippantly.
“Like hell you will!” he shouts.
I hold the phone away from my ear. He continues his rant.
“This is ingenious. You’re getting free press. Sales are up. Your songs are being played on every station across the country. You’re golden.”
“I am?” I ask, my voice quivering.
“Honey, you’re the newest happening thing. You have the news cycle. Remember what I said in the beginning? Any press is good press.”
“But what if I don’t want to be married?”
“I don’t care if you want to be married or not. You choose it at some point in time unless he faked your signature. So, deal with it. Just fake it. Besides, you need a year to make it respectable, anyway. Do you think he’ll agree to that?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, make it happen. This takes years off of your ascent to the top.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” I reply without weighing my options.
Did I just cave to my manager?
“You do that. But whatever you do, notify me if there’s any change because an annulment right now would be a disaster!” Ray’s voice practically explodes through the speaker.
“I thought you said any press is good press,” I counter.
“There’s a caveat to that. You don’t want to be labeled as impulsive or a problem.”
“Oh.” I gave myself a pass for one night. I’m not going to make a habit of marrying strangers.
Geesh.
“By the way, I have a singer in rehab, so the band won’t be playing as the opening act for the concert in Atlanta.
I need to catch the next plane there. You’re trending.
Your name will sell out the show. I’ve already sent a security team to assist you.
Pack light. Sing hard. Don’t talk to anyone about anything. Just smile and wave.”
Like the Queen of England. Right.
Well that’s a bunch of horse shit. I’m no queen, for starters.
We hang up. As if my life couldn’t get more complicated, Shay peeks through the cheap blinds of our apartment.
“Oh god,” she says. “There’s a camera crew on the lawn.”
“What?” I jump up and join her at the window. There are TV vans and reporters on the property.
Shit just got real. Then, my phone rings again. My brother, Jack, is calling.
“Hi,” my nondescript self answers. I’m emotionally dead. Is this how it is for large stars? I underestimated the paparazzi, that’s for sure. In one night, I’ve gone from an unknown to a touted country singer.
“You are trending globally. Why didn’t you call me? I wish you had told me. You’re blowing up the internet,” he says.
“I’m sorry, Jack, I panicked,” I say, and honestly, I did.
Before he can respond, Shay interrupts with, “Well, panic faster next time,” just to be snarky.
“I don’t know, I got married!” I snap.
“I don’t care!” She yells back, but she’s smiling at me.
“Well, maybe you should find your husband,” she replies.
“Point taken.”
I return to my brother. “Anyway, I bailed on him this morning.”
“That’s not cool.”
“What was I supposed to do?”
“Uhm, stick around like an adult,” he replies.
Suddenly, everyone’s a critic. I glance at Shay, and she stands there with a critical look on her face.
Like, okay, it’s not my best move.
“We don’t know each other. It was a mistake,” I tell Jack.
“Sis, it’s cool. Can I meet him?’
“I don’t know. But I have to go. I need to be in Atlanta for a gig tonight.
“Okay, keep me posted. I can’t believe you married a jock.”
“Bye,” I say, dragging out the ‘e’.
I turn to Shay. “I don’t want my career to be defined by his last name. That’s not who I am. That’s not what I’m about.”
“A hot, passionate mistake from what you told me. I think he likes you. What’s the worst that can happen?
I don’t see a downside to this, for you anyway.
And hockey players are always the life of the party.
Don’t kid yourself. He’s hitched to a pretty country singer, and everyone will think he scored. ”
“I’m not that big. What if everyone thinks I’m riding his coattails to fame? What if anyone thinks I’m a gold digger? You know that’s what they’ll say.”
“Does it matter? You don’t know these people, and don’t let the media eat you alive. Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one.”
“True. But I don’t want to be that girl.”
“I know. But you just opened for Rose Maghee—that’s not nothing. You’re working your way up. No one can take that away from you, Kate.”
“Right,” I say, but I don’t believe it. The media are a critic, and they push their agenda regardless of the truth.
I tell myself this will die down in twenty-four hours. I mean, that’s today’s news cycle. All I need is for a famous star to die, the president to fall going up steps, or another protest, and I’m off the hook.
But I never imagined what would happen if that weren’t the case.
I get on my phone and buy a ticket. I’m excited to be doing another opening act, but I’m filled with dread at the same time. Not only do I have to navigate a huge airport and transportation, but my life has just gone viral.
And I have no clue where my husband is or how to reach him.