Courtney
"How's Trevor doing?"
It was the first question I asked when I opened my eyes that morning. No one answered because my words came out sleepily and way too quiet for anyone to hear from the other room. My assistant, Denise, was in the living room of my suite along with my stage manager, Vick.
I hated to be alone, so I always had someone in my room, even if it wasn't right there in the bedroom with me. My mom toured with me for the first few years, but it stressed her out to see me stressed out all of the time, so she had long since been staying home with my step-dad while I went on the road.
Usually, I could count on Denise and Trevor being close by, but this morning, there would be no Trevor. I could see Denise and Vick from my spot on the bed, but my bedroom door was mostly closed, and neither of them knew I was awake. I rolled over, taking my phone off of my nightstand so that I could text her rather than yelling out.
Me: "How's Trevor?"
There was more light in the living room than there was in my room, so I could clearly see Denise as she looked at her phone and then directly toward me. She stood up, smiling as she walked my way.
"Are you really texting me from in here?" she asked with a smile as she came into my room. She stood near the doorway, trying to focus on me even though it was still dark in my room.
"I tried to holler at you, and you didn't hear me," I said sleepily.
"I'm in here talking to Vick. He's about to head downstairs to get some coffee."
"How's Trevor?" I asked.
I was worried about him. He was not only my personal security, but in the years since he had been with me, he had become one of my dearest friends. He had literally never missed a show, and I knew if he went to the hospital it was bad.
"He's fine," she said.
"Fine like he'll be at the show tonight?" I asked.
She smiled. "No, but fine like they're gonna figure it out. Fine like you shouldn't be worrying about it. You've got three shows to go. Let's just chill and focus on finishing them up."
"Who's gonna work security?" I asked.
"She's up if you wanna head down there and get coffee. A grande latte with one pump of simple syrup." Denise had turned to talk to Vick for a second before looking at me again. She sighed. "We contacted Trevor's firm and asked for a sub. They sent a guy named Daniel. He's here. I met him a few minutes ago. He seems like he knows what he's doing. He's a lot like Trevor except quieter."
Denise began to open the curtains in my room, and when she did, light spilled in and caused me to squint.
"How'd you sleep?" she asked.
"Okay," I said. "I'm nauseated."
"You're nauseated everyday," she returned, meaning it as an encouragement.
"I know, but I'm extra nauseated today. I was up last night worrying about Trevor. I wonder what's wrong with him."
"You can't worry about that. He's going to be fine. You just have to try to forget about it and get through these last three shows."
I glanced at the clock by my bedside. I had already looked at it, but for some reason the time hadn't registered. I sat up, stretching and yawning when I realized it was almost 8:30. Denise walked around my room, absentmindedly straightening things up.
"You need to hop up. Nina and Jake are here to get you dressed and do your hair and makeup. We have to leave in about an hour."
I groaned as I stood up, feeling like I wanted nothing more than to lay in bed for the next month.
"Come on," she said. "Vick will be back in a minute with coffee."
"I need a shower," I said. I lifted my arm and gave my armpit a sniff, trying to decipher whether or not I could get by without taking one. "I woke up sweating a bunch last night, "I said.
Denise patted me on the back. "You're just worried about Trevor, but he'll be fine, I promise. I'm sure it's just the flu. We were all exhausted after the East Coast. We just have to push through these last few dates."
This type of encouragement was commonplace in my hotel rooms. I was great once we got to the venue, but my nights were predictably rough, and I often needed encouragement to get out of bed. Truth be told, I was not built for life on the road. I loved making music in the studio, but I honestly didn't love the pressures of touring—at least not at the sold-out arena level.
At first, it was a rush to hear people in the audience screaming for me, but the physical symptoms I experienced as a result of the pressure outweighed that rush a long time ago. I suffered from stomach issues that never seemed to resolve in spite of the fact that I had been performing at this level for the last seven years of my life. Touring made me physically ill, but I pushed through it because going on the road was the primary way musicians made a living.
It wasn't only my living at stake either, but literally hundreds of people (including Denise, Vick, Trevor, Nina, Jake, and all of my dancers, band, and stage crew). They were all counting on me to earn an income. If it were just about me, I would have most assuredly quit touring years ago. I was good at saving money, and I had earned enough of it in my career to retire.
Vick was already there with my coffee by the time I got out of the shower and joined Denise and the others in the living room. She thrust the paper cup into my hand as soon as I entered the room. She did it in a rushed way that let me know they had been waiting on me and I should go ahead and sit down in the stylist's chair.
Nina was busy fiddling with setting up her make up station, and Jake was straightening the clothing selections that were hanging on the rack near the chair. Everything seemed to be in order except for the two new faces in the room—one of which I assumed was Trevor's replacement.
"Court, this is Daniel from Alpha Security and his little sister, Ivy." Denise said.
Daniel smiled and gave me a little wave. He was a strikingly handsome man whose presence made me sit up a little straighter. He was thick, but not in a beefy, bodyguard way. He had dark features, was tall with broad shoulders, and had a relaxed, easy manner. He wore casual smile, but the girl she described as his little sister would barely look at me. She seemed shy and nervous, but she managed to give me a slight smile when she saw that I was looking at her.
"Daniel and Ivy were on vacation at Disney when he got the call to come sub for Trevor," Jake explained. He walked over to the girl and patted her on the back as I got settled in my chair and took a sip of my coffee. "We ran into them downstairs, and she's just the sweetest little thing," Jake continued as if taking up for the girl. "She was planning on staying in her hotel room all day today while her brother was busy with you, but I told her she could hang out with me and Nina—be our little apprentice."
I glanced at the girl again, and she smiled shyly like she was trying not to inconvenience me.
"Aren't you a little old for Disney?" I asked, teasing her.
"She had a gymnastics tournament at their sports complex," Daniel said, taking up for his little sister.
His comment made me glance at him.
"I was just messing with her anyway," I said. "You're never too old for Disney."
Nina draped a cape around my neck and instantly went to work on my hair.
"We didn't go to the theme park," Ivy said. "We just went to the competition and then came straight here." Ivy glanced at her brother before lowering her gaze as if assuming that she should remain quiet.
"How did you do at the competition?" I asked.
"I got third place with my floor routine," she said.
"That must have been pretty exciting," I said.
She nodded. "It was for me," she said. "A couple of the other girls on my team placed higher in different events, but I was happy to get a medal at all—especially at such a big meet."
"I love watching gymnastics," I said as Nina continued fussing over my hair. "But the only time I ever get to watch it is when the Olympics are on."
Jake and Nina both agreed that they also enjoyed it and only ever watched it during the Olympics.
"I'm not going to do it in college or anything," Ivy said.
"What are you going to do?" I asked.
"I haven't really figured it out. My family owns a motorcycle shop, so I'll probably just work for them until I decide."
"Motorcycles, huh?" I asked, raising my eyebrows with an impressed smile. I glanced at her brother who wore a serious expression like he wasn't quite sure what to think about his little sister chatting it up with me. "Do you ride a motorcycle?" I asked, looking directly at him.
"No," he said seriously.
"Their last name is Bishop," Jake said. "Daniel and Ivy Bishop. Their grandfather is the guy who started the Bishop Motorcycle Company."
"Are you serious?" I asked.
The girl smiled and nodded, but I focused on her brother who was just sitting there taking everything in. "And you don't ride?" I asked him.
"No ma'am, I don't." he said in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Why not?" I asked.
He gave me a little shrug while maintaining a serious demeanor. "I just don't want to," he said.
"Did you ever hear of a blues singer named Ivy Bishop?" Jake asked.
"Yes," I said. I glanced at the girl who had already been introduced as Ivy. I felt somewhat confused since I thought the blues singer in question was popular in the sixties. "Were you named after her or something?"
She nodded. "She's my grandma," Ivy said.
"So, the singer is the same Bishop as the motorcycles?" I asked, feeling a little perplexed.
Jake let out a laugh. "That's the same thing I asked when she told me," he said. "Can you believe it? Same people."
I looked at Daniel, wishing he would add something to the conversation, but he just sat there, surveying the scene.
"Are you telling me that the blues singer, Ivy Bishop, also started a motorcycle company?" I asked.
"It was my grandpa, Michael, who started the motorcycle business." Ivy said.
"And you don't ride one?" I asked, looking at them with a doubtful expression.
"I do," Ivy said. "It's just Daniel who doesn't. I got my first motorcycle before I even got a car."
I glanced at Daniel who seemed content to sit there and not say a word. He certainly was quiet. He was being too professional if you asked me. I wanted him to talk to me the way his sister was doing.
"And what do you do?" I asked him.
"I work at Alpha Security," he answered simply. He wasn't trying to be rude, but his direct answer made me feel like I had asked an obvious question.
I squinted at him. "What do you do for fun?" I asked.
"I'm not much on fun," he said. He offered me the slightest hint of a smile, but I could tell there was an underlying seriousness to his answer.
I glanced at his sister who nodded at me. "He's being serious," she said. "But he's sweet. He'd give you the shirt off his back."
"I guess the world needs more people who would do that," I said, "Even if they don't like having fun."
Denise had been engaged in a conversation with Jake during this part of the exchange, but they must have tuned in because Jake said, "I don't know anyone who doesn't like to have fun!"
"Me neither," I said, teasing Daniel.
"Who in the world doesn't like to have fun?" Denise asked, obviously missing what we had just said.
I glanced at Ivy, expecting her to chime in, but she just glanced at her brother with a sweet half smile.
I barely knew them and I liked them already. I could tell they cared about each other, and I could see simply by the expression on their faces that they had one another's backs. It was moments like these when I wished I wasn't an only child.