Chapter 5
“So, you ready?” Carli asked with a smile as she did a last-minute check of her office. She and Hope were surrounded by suitcases and bags. A car was coming to pick them up in fifteen minutes. From there, it was over to the studio, where the crew was already loading other belongings and equipment onto the tour buses and semi truck.
Hope looked at Carli. She wanted to tell Carli that she was tired and that the thought of three months on tour was making her even more tired, but she put on a smile and said, “Yep, you know it”, in the most cheerful tone of voice she could muster.
Carli stopped her check and looked back at Hope. She could always tell when Hope was faking enthusiasm. “Hope…”, she said and let it hang.
“What?”
“Hope…” Carli said, drawing out Hope’s name. Carli knew what was coming, based on what Hope had started to say on the last night of the previous tour, three weeks ago. She knew Hope was on the fence about going back out on tour, but she needed to get back out there if she was going to stay on top. Beneath all of the glitz and glam, it was a hard grind, touring nine months out of the year. Most people didn’t realize how grueling it was. The constant travel. Being in a different town every day. Having to always be “on”. But touring was necessary. It was the number one way for an artist to stay on top and make money.
“I’m tired, Car”, Hope said. “I thought that these three weeks off would recharge me, but I’m not gonna lie – I’m just burnt.”
Carli smiled empathetically. “I hear ya. I was on that tour too, with you, remember? All eight months of it. And it was a crippler. I know. And I know what you mean – it seems like the three weeks we just had off flew by in an instant. But just hang in there. We just need these next three months to keep ourselves going, and then we can take the rest of the year off.”
Hope exhaled and then said, “Touring’s just not as easy as it was when I was younger.”
“I hear ya. Well, just hang in there, okay?” Carli said again. She looked at Hope, and when Hope didn’t respond, Carli said, “Hawaii.”
“Huh?” Hope said.
“Hawaii. After this tour, I’ll send you on a vacation to Hawaii.” Carli smiled at Hope, and she saw Hope cracked a small smile back. “I know how much you love it there.”
Hope laughed lightly. She did love Hawaii. Her little beach bungalow in Kauai was her favorite vacation spot. The thought of being there relaxed her. She looked at Carli, exhaled and smiled, and said, “It’s a deal.”
********
Kelley stared out the window as the bus hummed down the freeway. They were on their way to San Diego for the first stop of the tour. There were three buses and a semi truck in tow. The bus that Kelley was on was the nicest, reserved for Hope, Kelley, Christine and Carli. The rest of the band was on the second bus, and the crew were in the third bus, with the semi bringing up the rear. It was an impressive caravan.
Hope and Carli were in the lounge area in the back of the bus. Kelley was up front in the dining area with Christine, going over the game plan and itinerary. Kelley was trying to focus but kept getting distracted looking around the bus. She had been on tour buses before, but never one this nice. In addition to the dining area and the lounge in the back, there were two king-sized beds, a full bathroom, and even a small kitchen. It was like a moving house, and not necessarily a small one. It was a lot bigger than Kelley’s apartment. Kelley looked towards the back and saw Hope lounging and talking with Carli. Hope was wearing a pair of form-fitting designer jeans and a purple tank top. Kelley caught herself staring and started to look away, but right before she did, Hope looked up. It took Kelley a second to realize that Hope had caught her staring, but then Hope smiled coolly and gave Kelley a tiny wave. Kelley broke out of her trance, smiled, slightly embarrassed, and waved back, then focused her attention on to what Christine was saying.
“…and the production manager will take care of the details at every venue. Your biggest responsibility is to take care of Hope. Got that?”
“Uh, yeah, got that. Take care of Hope”, Kelley repeated.
“Whatever she needs, just…make it happen.”
“Got it.”
“One thing, though”, Christine said. She lowered her voice and leaned in. “You may end up going out with Hope. You know – to dinner, events, etc. Just…keep it professional.”
“Yep, got that”, Kelley said. “Abby told me the same thing. Keep it professional.”
“Good”, Christine said and smiled. “Any questions?”
Kelley shook her head. “No, I think I’m good.”
Christine looked at Kelley and then rubbed Kelley's shoulder lightly and smiled. “There’s a lot to learn and a lot to do, but once you get into a groove, you’ll find that things will become routine, and the tour will kind of take care of itself.” Kelley smiled, and Christine patted Kelley's knee. “I’m sure you’re going to do fine.”
********
The first few days of the tour went by in a whirl. The shows in San Diego, Phoenix, and Las Vegas went off without a hitch. Days, Kelley would spend managing Hope’s affairs, fielding calls and emails for interviews and appearances, and confirming details for upcoming shows. Kelley split her time between working the business end of things and looking after Hope. Kelley had heard horror stories of rock stars running managers ragged, but Hope was so low-key. She had to have coffee right when she woke up, and she liked to have at least a couple hours of alone time in the afternoon, but other than that, she was pretty low-maintenance. At night, Kelley would manage the events from before the performance to the time Hope retired to her hotel room. Kelley had never been this involved in the affairs of a rock star of Hope’s magnitude, and at show time she would stand on the side of the stage, watching in awe as Hope captivated the thousands of people in the crowd.
On the fourth day of the tour, Kelley was in her hotel room, working through some emails and logistics for the next few days. The caravan had pulled into San Francisco the night before. It was now just before noon, and Kelley was about to go attend the daily lunch status meeting with Hope, Carli and Christine, when her phone rang. It was Christine.
“Hey Christine.”
“Kelley - I was just talking with Carli, and we think you should do the status meeting with Hope alone today.”
“Wait – you guys don’t want to…you aren’t going to be there?”
“No, we don’t really need to be. You’re doing a good job, and you should get used to meeting with Hope alone. Besides, if something does go wrong on your first meeting alone with her, both Carli and I will still be here.” Both Carli and Christine were scheduled to leave the tour and fly back to L.A. in three days.
“Uh, okay. I’ll do the meeting with just me and Hope then”, Kelley said, excited but a little nervous to be having this meeting with Hope alone. I’ll uh, let you know how it goes.”
“Okay, I’ll email you the agenda right now. Let’s talk later”, Christine said and hung up. Kelley exhaled a deep breath, waited for the email from Christine, and then grabbed her laptop and headed down the hall towards Hope’s hotel room.
********
“Hey Kelley”, Hope said as she answered the door, barefoot, in another pair of form-fitting designer jeans and a low-cut tank top. “Come on in.”
“Thanks”, Kelley said as she entered. Kelley stared for a few seconds, and as Hope walked past her she caught a whiff of Hope’s perfume. Kelley’s heart fluttered for a moment. She forced herself to refocus. “So, um…how’s it going today?”
“Pretty good”, Hope said in her smooth voice. “By the way, I haven’t spoken with Carli today. Have you heard from Christine?”
“Um, they’re actually not coming today”, Kelley said. Hope stared at Kelley with her intense eyes, and Kelley felt herself getting nervous, but did her best to stay cool. “I spoke with Christine. She said we could do the meeting, just you and me.” Hope continued to stare at her. “Um…is that okay?” Kelley asked nervously.
Hope stared for another second and then laughed. “Yes, that’s totally okay”, she said.
“Oh, whew”, Kelley exhaled and smiled. “I thought you were, like, mad or worried or something, because you were staring at me.”
“I was just giving you a hard time”, Hope said lightly. “Just wanted to see if you could take a stare. I mean, you have to be tough in this business”, Hope said, then smiled and winked at Kelley. Kelley felt her face flush. She tried to think of something to say, something that would make her look witty, clever, or confident, but couldn’t think of anything, so instead she just smiled. Hope smiled back and then said, “Well, we don’t need the parents here anyway, do we?”
Kelley laughed. “No, I don’t think we do.” She looked around the room. For a Top 10 rock star Hope’s room was surprisingly tidy. And surprisingly small. It was a junior suite, so it was larger than a standard hotel room, but evidently Hope didn’t require the penthouse. There was a coffee cup on the table, a guitar resting against the couch, and soccer on the TV. Hope was looking at Kelley and saw Kelley’s eyes fixate on the TV screen.
“Do you like soccer?” Hope asked.
Kelley snapped out of her trance. “Yeah, I love it. I used to play.”
“Oh, cool!”, Hope said. “So did I.”
“I know”, Kelley said, a little too quickly. Hope stared at her, so Kelley said, “I mean, I read that you used to play, on your Wikipedia page.”
“Ah, yes. Wikipedia. The source of all good information”, Hope said and smiled. “What position did you play?”
“Mostly forward, but I also played defense. I mean, I guess I played a bit of everything.”
“Nice. I played forward too.”
“Do you still play?” Kelley asked. “I mean, you know…for fun? I mean, I’m sure you’re busy a lot of the time, so you don’t have time to play, and, I mean, not professionally, but, well, and…” Kelley trailed off. She was about to say, “And you look amazing”, but she stopped herself as she realized her rambling habit was taking over.
“And…what?” Hope asked.
“Oh, nothing”, Kelley said, a little shyly. “Sorry, I was rambling.”
“Kelley”, Hope prodded in her smooth, low voice.
“Well, I was just going to say, um, you look like you’re in really good shape still…” Kelley said, and then thought – was that out of line? She smiled at Hope, a little embarrassed.
Hope stared at her for a second and then smiled back. “Well thank you. And no, I don’t play anymore, but I actually did play one year in college, but they already had an awesome forward so they stuck me in goal, and I couldn’t quite get the hang of it. Then I dropped out of college after my freshman year and moved to L.A. to pursue music.”
“Well, that move obviously paid off”, Kelley said.
“It did”, Hope agreed, “but I still love soccer. I’d love to play again sometime.” She looked at Kelley and said, “Maybe when we get some free time, we can do a little one-on-one?” Hope smiled and raised her eyebrows.
“Uh…yeah, that would be…one-on-one would be great”, Kelley said. She was a bit flustered, not quite able to make out what Hope was meaning, and unsure how to respond to a Top 10 rock star, but then her mouth just kind of took over as it had at the market the day they had met, and she said, “I mean, as long as you think you can keep up with me.”
“Ooooh”, Hope said and pursed her lips. “A little sass.” She looked at Kelley and then laughed lightly. “I like that. You’re on, junior”, she said. Then it was Kelley’s turn to laugh, and she glared at Hope playfully.
“Anytime, old lady.”, Kelley said. She smiled at Hope, and Hope’s eyes twinkled back at her
********
“Hey, are you hungry?” Hope asked. She and Kelley had just finished reviewing the daily agenda. There wasn’t much on tap for today except for a radio interview in the evening.
“Um, yeah…starving actually.” Kelley started to get up. “Do you want me to order something? What do you want?”
Hope stared at Kelley for a second and then said, “You know what? Let’s go out. We have the day off, and I could use some fresh air. And some clam chowder in a bread bowl. I mean, we’re in San Francisco, after all. What do you say?”
“Uh, yeah…I mean, is that okay? I mean, are we…”
“What - are we ‘allowed’ to leave the hotel and go out in public? Is that what you were going to ask me?” Hope asked, amused.
“Well, yeah, I guess so”, Kelley admitted sheepishly. “I mean, I know we have things to do, and people will probably be looking for us, or at least you. And me too, I guess.”
“They can wait”, Hope said. “We don’t have anything scheduled until later, and you know what? Everyone can wait for a couple hours. I mean, we need to eat, right?”
“Well, yeah, true”, Kelley said.
“Plus, you shouldn’t skip meals. Especially a growing girl like you”, Hope teased.
“Okay, grandma, thanks for the tip”, Kelley teased back.
Hope laughed and then said, “Anyway, if Christine or Carli asks you where you were, you can just say that you were accompanying me, ‘taking care’ of me. I mean, that’s your job, right? To take care of me?” Hope asked with a wink.
“Yes, it is”, Kelley said and smiled. “Anyway, I’ve never had clam chowder in a bread bowl.”
“Well, then we have to get some. I insist”, Hope said. “It’s delicious.”
“Okay, uh, sounds good.” Kelley said. “So, um, what shoes do you want to wear? Do you need me to get them for you?” Kelley started to look around the room, and Hope laughed.
“Kelley – I need you to manage my business affairs. You don’t need to dress me”, Hope said and laughed lightly.
“Oh, okay. I just figured, um…”
“What - that because I’m a Top 10 rock star I need to be waited on hand and foot?” Hope laughed again. “Maybe some other people need that, but not me. I can dress myself.” Hope paused for a second and then said, “But it was kind of fun to watch you look around for my shoes. You’re cute when you’re flustered.”
Kelley blushed a bit and smiled lightly, then said, “Well, I thought maybe, you…you know, being so old and all, might need help getting dressed.”
Hope laughed as she grabbed a pair of Chucks. “Ah, there we go again with the sass.” She stared at Kelley for a second and then said, “I like it”, and winked.
********
Kelley called a car, and she and Hope rode down to Fisherman’s Wharf. Private cars were one of the few luxuries of celebrity life that Hope really appreciated. It wasn’t like she was above taking taxis or public transportation, but the longer she was out in public, the greater the chance that she might be spotted, and therefore the greater the chance that she might get mobbed. Hope had thrown on her hoodie and a pair of sunglasses for their lunch adventure. She and Kelley walked around the wharf for a bit and then got clam chowder bread bowls at a casual restaurant on one of the piers. Kelley was amazed that so far no one had recognized Hope, even with her being incognito, but a few people had done double takes or looked her over, especially when they had been stuck standing in line to place their orders. Kelley had suggested that Hope stand outside so she wouldn’t be recognized and perhaps mobbed while waiting in line, but Hope had scoffed at that.
“Kelley, I wanted to go out today because I want to feel like a normal person. If I was afraid of getting mobbed, I would have stayed inside my hotel room.”
“I guess”, Kelley said. “But it must be hard having to go out incognito every time you go out in public.”
“Yeah, it’s a bit of a drag”, Hope affirmed. “But I guess that’s the price you pay for being able to play to tens of thousands of people every night.”
“Well, I’m sure it’s worth it.”
“Hmmm”, is all Hope said. Kelley wondered what that meant, since she had expected Hope to say something more along the lines of “Absolutely”, but she let it pass. They took their bread bowls to go and sat down to eat on one of the benches at the end of the pier.
“Mmmmm…this is soooo good”, Kelley said as she took a spoonful of clam chowder.
“I’m glad you like it”, Hope said and smiled. “The best part is how the clam chowder makes the bread bowl soggy, and then you eat the bread bowl, and it tastes like clam chowder.” Kelley smiled and nodded in agreement as she took another spoonful.
They ate for a minute longer in silence and then Hope asked, “So, why did you leave the Georgia peach farm?”
“Wait, what? A peach farm?” Kelley said. “And how did you know I was from Georgia?”
“I read your Wikipedia page”, Hope joked.
“Wait – I have a Wikipedia page?” Kelley asked, surprised.
“I’m kidding”, Hope said and laughed. “I don’t know if you have one. Or if you’re from a farm. I was just playing. But I guessed Georgia because you have an accent. A southern accent, but not Texas accent, so I thought maybe Georgia. Or maybe Alabama or northern Florida. Did I get it right? Is it Georgia?”
“Yeah, you’re right. I do have a bit of an accent”, Kelley admitted. “And yes, Georgia is correct. I’m surprised you could identify my accent.”
“Well, I have done a bit of traveling”, Hope said and winked.
Kelley smiled. Hope was actually really nice to be around, she thought. Right now, at this moment, it was kind of like just hanging out with a friend, and not a rock star. A very beautiful, stunning and charismatic friend. “Of course”, Kelley said. She was silent for a moment and then said, “I grew up in Fayetteville, not too far from Atlanta. My parents owned a small grocery store there.”
“Cool. Is your whole family still there?”
Kelley was silent for a moment and then said, “My dad left us when I was ten.”
“Oh”, Hope said. “Where did he go?”
“I don’t know”, Kelley said. “He just up and left. My aunt took over for my dad at the store and has helped my mom run it ever since. My older sister Erin works there too.”
“Do you ever talk with your dad?”
“No. I haven’t seen him since he left.”
“I’m sorry to hear that”, Hope says.
“Thanks.”
It’s quiet for a moment and then Hope asked, “Are you still close to your sister and your mom?”
“Yeah. My sister and I are best friends. My mom and I are pretty close, but she worries about me. She worries about me working in the music industry and it not being a steady profession, and she worries that if I was to meet someone on a personal level, that person will leave me, just like my dad left us.”
“That’s good that you’re still close to them.”
Kelley was quiet for another moment and then said, “My dad leaving is like the most painful memory for me, and I wanted to get as far away from it as possible, so I focused on playing soccer and studying hard in high school, and I ended up getting a soccer scholarship to UCLA.”
“Wow”, Hope said. “So you must be pretty good.” She looked at Kelley, and Kelley just smiled modestly. “I’m worried now”, Hope said. “I may actually not be able to keep up with you.”
Kelley laughed. “Well, I played all through college, but I wasn’t good enough to go any further with it, so it’s been a couple years since I’ve played. Anyway, I got into music, being in L.A. and all, so I ended up studying music business, and then I got a job with The Firm right out of school. I’ve been working there ever since.” Kelley was about to start talking about how her father leaving her family and her mother telling her that music is an unstable profession has made her determined to make it in the music business, and on her own steam, but she realized that she was talking a lot, and she didn’t want to monopolize the conversation, especially talking with her client, who was a Top 10 rock star, so she stopped talking and asked, “So, what about you? What’s your story?”
Hope looked at her from beneath her sunglasses. “I thought you said you read my Wikipedia page”, she said. Then she smiled and winked at Kelley. Kelley smiled back, and the two of them gazed at each other for a moment and then went back to eating their clam chowder bread bowls.