Mistaken For A Girl Singer - Chapter 13

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As they gathered their belongings, Chris asked his mom where she was staying. It turned out that they’d put her up in the same hotel as the band, but she’d intentionally avoided seeing them so as to surprise them at the reception. 

So, Chris invited her to ride in Willy’s town car. She agreed, happily.  

Allan had been ‘pressing the flesh’ in the lobby and, as Chris and his mom approached he turned and smiled at them. 

“There’s my little girl!” he shouted as he pulled Chris into a bear hug that lifted him completely off the ground. 

“Pretty cool day, huh?”  

Chris laughed, “Pretty cool.”  

“Yeah. Yeah. Hey, never, ever decide to do your own set when I’m in charge, ok.” Allan scolded while smiling.  

“Ok. Sorry.”  

“I know, and all’s well that ends well, I guess. So, no harm/no foul.”  

They hugged again.  “Now,” Allan said, “take tomorrow off and rest. The day after that, we begin shooting video footage, just establishing stuff and inserts of you and John at first. After that, we’ll work out the music performance parts.”  

He looked around and located a young red head, “Bernadette!” He called to her. She hurried to his side and handed him a large envelope, which he, in turn, handed to Chris. Here are the scripts for the first couple of videos. They’re pretty wide open so we can adjust on the fly, but it’s always good to have an outline.” 

Chris took the envelope and before he knew what was happening, Allan grabbed both of Chris’s checks and pulled him into a full, on the lips, kiss!  When Chris was released, Allan shouted, “I love this kid! 

This kid and I are going to make history!” And he walked back into the function hall.  

“What was that?” his mom laughed. 

“I think he’s a little drunk,” said Chris.  

“Nope,” said Willy as he joined them. “I know what he’s like when he’s drunk and that’s not it. He’s excited. He sees what we all saw, tonight. 

You are amazing, little lady and you need to embrace that. Oh, and good evening, Mrs. Walters. My name is Willy. I will be your driver tonight and may I congratulate you? You have raised two remarkable young women. Right this way, please.” 

Willy escorted them, one on each arm, to his car. When Chris hustled towards the shotgun seat, Willy cleared his throat and indicated that Chris should sit in the back with his mom. He did.  On the way back, they talked about everything. 

What was happening in Nashville and what was happening in New Jersey. Chris told his mom how Willy had looked after him and Willy joined into the conversation, too, talking about how impressed he was with all the band members and what he had seen tonight.  Back at the hotel, Willy escorted them both to the elevator.  

“Willy,” Mrs Walters said, “Thank you so much for taking care of my babies. I was so worried.”  

Willy shook her hand and said, “My absolute pleasure, mam. They are wonderful girls.”  The elevator opened and Chris’s mom entered the car.  

Chris hugged Willy’s chest as hard as he could. “Thank you for all of your help, tonight. Do you think I did ok?” 

 Willy laughed, “Do I think you did ok!? 

Good gravy, child, what do you need to do before you accept that you brought down the house!?”  Chris laughed and blushed.  

“Let me recap for you,” Willy teased. “Your outfit was astounding, your hair and makeup were flawless, you moved like a goddess, you behaved like royalty and on stage, you were on fire. 

Young lady, you could not have done better if you were Taylor Swift! So, will you accept my praise and get your pretty little butt into bed and get some rest!?”  Chris smiled even more broadly. 

“Ok, Uncle Willy. Good night,” and he stood on his tiptoes to kiss Willy’s cheek.

  “Good night, angel,” Willy said as he returned the kiss. Then he handed Chris the envelope Allan had given him, “Don’t forget this. Now, sleep late tomorrow.”  

Chris entered the elevator and his mom wrapped her arm around his shoulder. They both waved to Willy as the door closed.  

“You have an interesting relationship with your chauffeur, don’t you think?”  Chris rolled his eyes. 

He’d been independent for a month and he had to smile at his mom being just like, well, his mom. “Willy’s not my chauffeur, mom. 

He’s my mentor. My teacher. He’s amazing and he takes care of me.”  Mom laughed, “OK, honey. If you say so.”  

When they reached Chris’s floor, they got off and went to the suite. His mom wanted to say goodnight to everyone and congratulate them on the evening. The girls were still dressed and still wound up. 

No one was wearing shoes, though, and, as Chris entered, he steadied himself on his mom and removed his as well.  

“Well, look who’s here,” said Gina, “the Princess Bride herself.”  

Everyone laughed and Chris, disregarding the $1,500+ of clothing, lingerie, and jewelry he was wearing, plopped himself down onto the couch between Gina and Margo. 

Margo threw her arm around him and pulled him in for a warm hug, “You. You. You, you are amazing, you know that?” and she planted a kiss firmly on his lips.  Terry went to her mom and hugged her, “Thanks for coming, Mommy. I wish you could stay.” 

“Me, too, honey, but I have to get back to work. I’ll stop by to say goodbye before I leave tomorrow afternoon.” 

“I love you, mom.” 

“I love you, too, sweetheart and you have done a great job with your brother.” 

“Sister, well, sissy, I guess.” They both laughed at the double meaning of the nickname.  

“Chris,” Grace said, perusing the script for the videos that had been in the envelope, “have you looked at this?”  Chris shook his head. “No. Why?”  Grace threw it to him, “It’s pretty hot. Looks like you have to make out with John Holden... a lot.”  

“Ooh!” Came the teasing from the girls, including Chris’s mom.  

“Holy cow!” Chris whispered as he read the pages. "I am so proud of all you girls," Margo's dad was saying to the band members, Allan Bennett, Willie, Mark, and all the parents who had gathered for brunch in the lobby restaurant before the parents returned home after last night's soirée. 

"And you, young man," he said to Chris who was wearing his hair the same as Terry was today, a high ponytail with a headband and a few wisps of hair hanging on either side of his face, "if I hadn't met you before all of this happened, I never would have known."  

"Dad, dad, dad," Margo pulled on his sleeve until he looked at her with an innocent 'what' spreading across his face. "Chrissie, daddy. Chrissie is just Chrissie. 

Always a 'she'" she whispered as he leaned in to her.  

"Oh, yes of course You, young lady," he continued, "I am so impressed with you! Where on earth was all that hiding all these years." 

"It's not 'me,' sir. It's 'us.' We do it together," Chris said. 

"Well, whatever, I really just expected to hear the kind of garage band noise that Margo and Terry made throughout high school. Allan, you're a miracle worker!" He said as he toasted Allan with a mimosa.  

Allan, who had dealt with family members giving his artists this kind of back-handed compliment for decades, smiled and said, "I'm afraid that Chrissie is right, Phil. 

The miracle is your daughter and her friends. I've been doing this a long time and this band is one of the best I have ever heard. That beautiful young woman that you raised so well, she's the miracle. 

Every one of you should be incredibly proud of your daughters. They didn't get this good on their own, so congratulations to the real miracle workers you, the parents. Mark and I just push the buttons."  

There were hugs all around until Willie interrupted, "I think we need to get everyone headed to the airport at this point. It'll take about an hour to get there and you want to give yourselves plenty of time to check in."

  Everyone stood and embraced their children and parents. Lots of kisses and promises to call when the plane landed. In the lobby, Brenda hugged Terry tightly, "I love you, Theresa. 

Take good care of yourselves and watch out for Chris. I'm a little concerned about him. The more I thought about last night, the more I wonder if he'll be truly happy with this decision." 

 "Ok, mommy. I'll take care of him. So will the others. It's like he's got four big sisters with him, and two father figures with Allan and Willy. He's in good hands." 

 "I know he is, honey, but I'm his mom and I have a right to worry about him. Call me if you need anything." They hugged once more and kissed each other goodbye.  When they separated, Chris came to his mom and hugged her tightly.

 "I'll miss you, mommy. Take care of yourself. Come see us again when you can. We'll pay for it."  She laughed, "No, you won't. I don't even like you buying breakfast for all these people. You need to talk to someone about all this money before you spend it all."  

Chris laughed and hugged her again, "Don't worry, mommy.  Mr Bennett has us talking to accountants and lawyers this week. We'll send everything to you to look at and sign. Thanks for worrying about us." 

"That's all I do, baby." Then thinking back to last night's introductions, she said, "You know that I love you both with all my heart, right?" 

 "Of course I do, mommy. Why?" she seemed anxious about something  "Well, last night, when you introduced Terry, you said she was my favorite daughter. I hope you don't think that's true."  

His mom looked very concerned about this. Chris smiled and whispered, "Mommy, I'm not your daughter or, at least I wasn't. Of course, Terry was your favorite 'daughter.' She was your only daughter. I just meant it as a joke for you and Terry."  She laughed and hugged him, again. 

"Oh hahaha, I get it, little miss smart-ass. You're hilarious. I'm going to miss you. You'll always be my baby, you know whether you're my daughter or my son. I love you both, so much." 

She kissed his cheek and squeezed him so he felt like he was going to break. When she released him, he had to catch his breath. 

"I have to go, now. Bye, bye, honey." Another kiss and another hug for Terry and she turned to join Willy at the door.  

"Take care of her, Uncle Willy! Drive safely," Chris called to him. 

 "Only way I know how darling," Willy chuckled.  When they got outside, Chris's mom turned to Willy and whispered, "Please, please, please look after them, Willy. Especially, Chris. I am so worried about that child." 

"No need, Mrs Walters. Uncle Willy and Uncle Allan are here to take care of both of them. They're in good hands."  

Chris and the girls waved as the town cars pulled away. When they went back into the lobby, Allan waved them back into the restaurant to talk. 

When they all were in the alcove where they'd had breakfast, Allan closed the privacy doors that shut off the space from the rest of the restaurant. Mark had already departed for the studio, so it was just Allan, Chris, Terry, Margo, Grace and Gina.  

Allan spoke in a low voice to ensure that so one outside of the alcove could hear, "I wasn't going to bring this up for a week or so, but I think Margo's father's little outburst puts a pretty fine point on an issue that needs addressing."  They all had a pretty good idea as to what this issue was.  "We don't live in a world where people can easily hide their secrets. 

We live in a world of TMZ and all kinds of click-bait journalism that is designed to expose celebrities' most intimate secrets. So, we need to organize ourselves and present a plausible story. 

So, other than the other parents and Ellen, who else knows you're a boy?"  Chris shrugged, "I mean, there was the woman from the theatrical makeup place that helped with the breast forms back in New Jersey. 

She'd know" 

 "Ok. How do we track her down?" 

 "I have her card in my purse, upstairs," Margo said.  "Great. Take a photo of it and text it to me, ok?"  Margo nodded.  "Don't forget Evan. He signed us and he demanded that Chris become Chrissie, so, he'd know" said Grace.  

"So," Allan continued, "Let's make a list. Each of your parents has no siblings?" 

 They all shook their heads.  

"Ellen, Evan, and this prosthesis woman. Now, Terry and Chris, how about relatives?"  

Terry shook her head, "None. Both our parents were only children and our grandparents died before we were born." 

 "No second cousins, or half-assed-relatives? Believe me, once you girls start bringing in money, these people will come crawling out of the woodwork."  

Terry and Chris looked at each other and shook their heads. "No," Terry said, "no one."  Allan nodded and wrote something in his notebook, "OK, how about friends and school?"  

Chris laughed, "No friends at school, but teachers would probably remember my name."  Allan smiled, "Well, we've been toying with some scenarios regarding your school. 

They can't release your records to the press or anything, but, if it ever comes up, we may have to develop a story regarding a private school. We've had complicated backstories to develop before... I think we can handle the school stuff."  

Allan wrote down a few more notes and then said, "So, that's a start. I'll get people working on covering our asses on these fronts." Then he looked at all the girls and said, 

"Can anyone else think of anyone who might know our dirty, little secret?"  Everyone shook their heads, except Gina who said, "Umm, I think John may know."  

Everyone got quiet and looked at her.  

"John who?" asked Allan.  

"John Holden. That night that Evan signed us, John was there. He saw Chris performing as a guy. I'm pretty sure that we introduced Chris to him." 

"Holy cow," Said Gracie, "You're right. Actually, I'm pretty sure that we introduced him as Terry's twin brother, too. He must know! 

Why didn't he say anything?" 

 Allan leaned back put his fingertips on his forehead and rubbed. "I'll bet he didn't say anything because he wants his shot at fame and doesn't want to screw things up for himself. 

You know, he was in the control room several times while you girls were recording and, like everyone else, he was blown away by y'all. 

My guess is that he's a kid who'll do what needs to be done to get ahead. That could work for us if his release goes well, but, if not... then it could definitely work against us. I guess I need to talk to him and make sure we're all on the same page."  

There was a bit of quiet while they all thought, and then Terry said, "Look, Allan, since we're talking about John, can I talk to you about the video scripts for a moment?"  

Allan sat up straighter in the chair, "OK, but before we get too far into this, just remember that the script is just to set up this romance between Chris and John. You will all be heavily featured in the performance sections." 

 "Well, that's kinda the point, Allan," Gracie said. 

 "You see," Terry said, not wanting to upset things, but needing to make her point, "Chris is really uncomfortable with the script." 

 "Sissy," Chris said, "I'm willing to,"  Margo cut him off, "And he made a really good point this morning. 

If this should ever go south on us, it could, possibly, destroy our careers, but if John's seen as Chris's lover, well, this is country music, right? There's not a whole lot of openly gay country singers. He'd go down with us. 

So"  Allan interrupted, "so, we should, what? 

Pull this whole promotion we have developed to tie the two acts together? 

Jeez, girls, that's kind of a big thing. We've invested a lot of money and time into these parallel projects. I can't just throw it all away. I need to think about this a bit."  

"Can we offer an alternative?" Grace asked  "Because Chris has a great idea," Margo said.  

"It was just a thought." Chris said, feeling kind of stuck betwixt and between the girls and Mr Bennett.  Terry rubbed his back for encouragement. 

"Go ahead, sissy. Tell him your idea."  

All eyes were on Chris who was searching for a diplomatic way to proceed. 

 "Well?" Allan said, "Honest, honey, I'm open to any ideas."  "Umm," Chris began slowly.

"I was thinking that, instead of having me be the center of the videos, maybe someone else could be John's romantic interest." 

 "Uh huh," Allan said. 

"Let me guess we use Terry instead of you, right? I know you guys look alike, but how will that shield John if things go awry?" 

 "No, no, I was thinking... well, you see, I don't know how to act at all and Terry, Gracie, and Margo don't have any experience at it either. so, I'm suggesting that Gina be the one we feature." 

 "Gina?" said Allan.  

"Me?" Said Gina. 

 "Why not you?" asked Terry. "You told us you were in the theater program in high school and we've seen all the awards on your bedroom wall."  Grace joined in, "You're the only one with any experience." 

 "Alright, everyone, just hold on a moment. Chrissie," Allan interrupted, "YOU are the face of Dusty Rose. Gina is and no offense, Gina, darling Gina is as far away from the focus of the band as someone can be. It won't work."  

"No, wait, it will... it has!"  

"It has?" Allan's eyebrows were nearly leaving his forehead. "When?" 

"1964 the movie 'A Hard Day's Night'  and then again in 'Help!'" Chris said cautiously. "In both of those Beatles films, Ringo was the main character." 

 "Chris, you keep coming back to The Beatles! You are not The Beatles. This is not 1964. This is the 21st Century and we need to market accordingly." 

"I know, I know, I know," Chris said as his brain started to think through what he had just mentioned in passing, "but what if,  do you know that song 'Stop Dragging My Heart Around' by Tom  Petty and Stevie Knicks?" 

 Allan nodded.  "What if, instead of building the video stories at the beginning of one relationship, we start it at the end of one and the start of another. 

I mean what if we do a breakup song and one of us, could use Terry if we want to protect John, breaks up with John and he sees Gina and falls for her. 

That way we could have Gina do the heavy acting and the rest of us just be supportive, or jealous, or just playing in concert sections. 

That would work, right?"  Allan sighed, "Yes, I like it, it's different, but look we have a completed album from Dusty Rose. 

The only breakup songs are 'Get Outta My Way' and 'Footsteps.' I'm not leading your career with one of those. We need a ballad first. So"  "so we record a breakup ballad with John and release it on his album!" Margo said.  

"His album?" Allan said. 

"Well, that is interesting, but first, he doesn't work as quickly as you girls do, and second, what breakup ballad? 

You're not doing another cover song, so what do you have."  Terry smiled, seeing that Allan was liking this idea, "We don't have one, but my little Sissy can write one that will break your heart!"  

"WE!" Interrupted Chris. "WE can write it. I'll need some time and some help." 

 "How much time?" Allan asked.  "How about a week?" Chris said. 

"How about a day?" Allan said. I'll hold off the video shoot for 24 hours to hear what you come up with and, if and only IF I like what I hear, I'll consider it."  They all applauded, but Gina said, "Wait a minute. 

Does this mean I have to make out with John Holden?"  "Possibly," Allan said.  "Cool." Gina smiled.  

Chris, Terry, and Margo had been working since Denise had left this morning. They'd outlined three different songs, but nothing was coming together for them. Gina and Grace had been trying to contribute, but they just didn't have any talent for this kind of work. 

It was closing in on noon when Grace had asked if anyone would mind if she went to lunch with her tech friend, Rick.

 They all agreed that it would be fine for her to go, so Gina and Grace went to Gracie's closet to pick out the right dress.  

Just as they returned to the common area of the suite, there was a knock on the door. 

"That'll be Rick!" Gracie giggled as she stared at the door.  

Gina stopped her and said, "No, no. You'll look too anxious. You wait here. I'll let him in."  Gina disappeared towards the door and the others heard her speaking to someone it wasn't Rick. 

After a moment or two, a very serious John Holden appeared with Gina.  "Hi, girls," he said. 

"Umm, Christine, umm, can I talk to you for a few minutes?"  

Chris was a bit stunned by John's presence. He'd thought that Mr Bennett would deal with him. 

 Terry stood, "Hi, John. Why don't you have a seat and talk to all of us? We all discussed this situation and we think it's in your best interest to do things the way we discussed with Allan."  

John rubbed the back of his neck, shrugged, and sat on the end of the sectional sofa.  After a few minutes of silence, John finally spoke, "Did I do something to offend you, Christine? 

I mean, when my producer suggested this boyfriend/girlfriend thing, I thought it was a great idea. Did I just spring it on you too suddenly the other night or something? What did I do? Whatever it was, I'm sorry." 

 Margo looked at Terry and they silently exchanged the message, 'He doesn't know!'  "Well, John," Chris started, "I'm sorry. You well, you seem like a real nice guy and I liked what I heard at the Student Union, but, you see, it's just that,"  "John," Grace jumped in, "how old are you?"

 "24. Why?"  

"Well, you see, our little girl here is only 17. Until a few weeks ago, she was a junior in high school. We were afraid that, if that were to come out, it would look a little weird for you." 

 John looked at Chris and Terry, "17? Aren't you two twins? I saw one of you around the college, didn't I? I'm a little confused." 

 Terry shrugged, "I skipped a grade and Chrissy stayed back once because she was in the hospital so much, but...yeah... I'm, well, we're, only 17."  

"Wow," John said as he nodded. "Wow. I guess you're right. That could be a problem, 

I guess. 17? Seriously? Ok. I get it. So, whose idea was this alternate script?"  "Mine," said Chris. "I didn't mean to upset you." 

 "You didn't," John smiled. "This is just all so new, you know what I mean? I don't really know where I stand with these people and I'm really scared that nothing's going to click with my album. 

All I hear from the big-wigs is criticism and Allan keeps telling me how great you guys are. Then, the other night, when I heard you guys play. 

I mean, Lord almighty! 

I can't compete with you. I figured that I might be able to, maybe, hitch my wagon to you and get a foot up, or something."  

The girls and Chris all looked at each other. Being told how great they are is great and all, but it was still a new and awkward experience. 

They all had the same thought, 'Are we really THAT good?'  Just then, there was a knock on the door. 

Gina, again, went to get it. When she returned, Rick was with her. As he entered the room, his smile faded as he looked around at all the serious faces.  

"What's wrong? Did someone die?" He asked.  Grace came over and gave him a welcoming hug. 

"No, just doing some business" Then she whispered, "Babe, would you mind if another couple joined us for lunch?" 

 "No, of course not."  Grace kissed his cheek, 

"Thank you." Then she turned to Gina and said, Gina, go put on something nice." She nodded in John's direction indicating why.  

Gina took the hint and nodded, then said to John, "Umm, John. Tell you what. 

Give me two seconds to change and then, why don't you and I join Grace and Rick for lunch, ok? 

That way, we can get to know each other better and we can leave the three of them to finish their work. 

What do you say?  John looked at her, then nodded. 

"Ok, Gina. I guess we're Nashville's newest couple, so yeah, let's get some lunch."

As Gina ran to her bedroom to change, John smiled at Chris. 

"Please come up with something great? I need your help."  

Chris nodded, "OK. I'll do my best," and went back to work.