One (Bar Dance) (19 page)

He started chuckling. “Keil
ey took the phone from Adam then. He obviously wasn’t either translating fast enough or well enough. She said to set the date quick or drive down to Vegas next weekend.”

Keiley knew what she was talking about. She had seen my mom in action more than once. Two weeks was about her patience level. Anything that took longer than that to plan, instigate and pull off, pissed her the hell off. I told Rand that.

“Even I know that a wedding takes longer than two weeks.”

I shook my head. “Not for my mom.”

“Wow.” He mumbled.

“Yeah.”
I went to the fridge and poured myself a glass of wine. I also handed Rand a beer. “We have two choices since the cat is out of the bag. We leave in the morning and you take Monday and Tuesday off of work and drive to Vegas, quick like.” I took a swallow, “Or you just take Monday off and we go to the court house and get it done. There isn’t a waiting period in Colorado.” I rubbed my eyes. “If my mom even thinks that my dad’s wife may get involved, which she will, it probably will be bloodshed.”

Rand shrugged. “Honestly. I don’t care how or when we get married,” He smiled at me, “As long as we get married.”

He ducked his head. “I also have selfish reasons to do it fast.”

I simply waited for him to continue. He was picking at the label on his beer bottle. I finally gave up. “Rand?”

“When your album comes out I want everyone to know that you are mine.” He finally lifted his eyes and looked at me.

“I already am.” I said quietly to him.

“If we go to Vegas will you wear the dress?”

“I’ll wear it whenever you ask me to.”

Rand just smiled at me.

Then he took me back to bed after I finished eating.

Chapter
Twenty Four

Monday morning we were at the court house at nine. Married by ten-thirty. I sent a quick text to Vince.

Tell HR I’m married now. Terra Frasier.

I got back a quick text.

HR?

I sent one back just as quick.

HR/PR. Same thing.

My phone started ringing. Before I could even say hello Vince was talking. “We go live in less than a month and you think that we can change all of your bio and
contracts
that fast?”

“Yep.” I answered him

“All your contracts are under Chapman. It doesn’t work that way.”

“I’m keeping Chapman for that reason. I was just telling you that I married a Frasier. Eventually I will add a hyphen. Legally.”

“You’re killing me here Terra. You owe me another album.” He said as he hung up on me.

I burst out laughing as I told Rand what Vince said and did. We were sitting in Rand’s car with the air running in a parking garage. “Your turn.” I said to him.

He dialed his parents and found that they were home. We had found a jewelry store first and both of us were sporting simple gold bands. Rand was holding my hand spinning mine against my finger slowly as we drove. We parked and I was almost dancing in my seat with my excitement. I hopped out and nearly ran around the front of him to get to the door. He chuckled at me as his mom opened it up.

I ran up the front steps. All four
steps dragging Rand behind me. I held out my hand and Della broke into a huge smile. “I didn’t even know that the two of you had talked about getting married.” She said as she led me to the kitchen.

I didn’t know how to answer that. We hadn’t been talking about it. I don’t know that we had much thought about it. Luckily Rand answered for both of us.

“We hadn’t Mom. We just did it.”

Ron walked in the house from the back door. He was holding a pair of gardening gloves and had a cowboy hat on. He pulled it off and wiped his forehead with a paper towel. “What are you two doing here?” He asked with a grin.

I held up my hand to show my ring. Ron grinned then scowled. “Why the sudden change?” One eyebrow went up, “Is there something that you two need to tell us?”

“No Dad. We just decided to do it.”

I blushed. “It’s kind of my fault, or my mother’s.”

Della gave both of us the mother stare. You know the one that says, “If you tell me the truth now
, your punishment will be less later.”

“None of you know my mom. She is kind of a takeover everything planner.
Keiley reminded me of that and suggested that we run to the court house or to Vegas. Neither one of us has time to go to Vegas.”

“I understand why Rand doesn’t have that kind of time since he hasn’t been working that long, but you?” Ron asked.

“I just burned a bunch of vacation with the album. Besides I love my mom but having her takeover everything would drive me crazy. Then there is the whole second, or third family thing with my dad’s newest wife. She would feel like she needed to get involved too.”

“That’s why we’re here. Keiley and Adam told us to get you involved mom.”

Della beamed at the praise. “I’d love to help. What do you want?”

Rand and I looked at each othe
r. I shrugged at the same time he did. I finally looked to Della. “Family dinner?”

“Oh nonsense
. We can just do a small reception here. Your girls can run interference between your two families and keep them separated. Everyone needs at least a small party for getting married. Especially if it is a first wedding.” She raised an eyebrow at me.

“First and only.”

She nodded. “Have you even told your family yet?”

I shook my head no. Della gave me another mom look.

I dug in my purse and pulled out my phone. I turned it on and shifted nervously in my seat while it powered up. Rand reached his hand out and put on the back of my neck to let me know he was there for me. I dialed and nearly jumped when my mom answered.

“Hey sweetie.” She said, “Going in for a facial right now. Shawn paid for a spa day. Call you back tonight. Love ya.”

“Mom I got…” I managed to get out before she disconnected the phone.

I had three sets of eyes trained on me. “She’s getting a facial. Guess you get to do whatever you want Della.” I smiled hugely
at her. “Guess I panicked for nothing.”

“Good. We’ll have a barbe
que. Probably the last one of the year in,” I could see her doing mental calculations, “Two weeks. Not enough time for anyone to get too involved yet enough time to do it right. That good for the two of you?”

I looked to Rand. He grinned at me. “You thought that your mom was the quick one.”

I couldn’t help it. I laughed out loud.

Chapter Twenty Five

It was edging towards the holiday months. Halloween candy. Yeah.

Lots of food. Yeah.

Presents. Yeah to opening. Boo to buying.

I had a love/hate relationship with the holidays. I didn’t go for the, “Yes dear, you do have to choose who you want to spend the holiday’s with.” That only happened one year until I put my foot down after I turned eighteen. I chose neither one. I opted to work every holiday. A double shift so that someone else could enjoy them with their family. This year was going to be different. I was choosing Rand’s family. Except Halloween. I didn’t have kids outside of the hospital so I was going to spend it there. I had made scrubs with every type of material that I could find
that had holiday themes on them.

The album was up and Bray
assured me that it was selling well. I mostly ignored it. Well except for my own copy that I had downloaded to my iPod. I didn’t listen to it except for the first time I had bought it. The cover was beautiful. It was the picture of me and Rand with my eyes closed. The one tear on my face. I had showed it to some of the other nurses. They made a small fuss but that was all the recognition that I got. More than I expected actually.

I was standing with a to
-go cup from the cafeteria at the nurses’ station. My back towards the elevator. I had just gotten back from lunch with Rand when I heard the commotion from behind me. There was a man standing taking pictures. He started walking towards me still snapping away. I hastily set my cup down and advanced towards him holding out my hand to try to block him and his camera lens. “Sir you cannot have a camera in this area. You need to leave immediately.”

The second bank of elevators opened and two security guards poured out. They walked up behind him and each one grabbed a bicep. The man quit taking pictures. Mostly because he had to. The camera was held to his wrist with some kind of strap. I
watched them turn the man and march him back to the elevator that was held open by a third security guard. I heard the rip of Velcro as I watched the door close and the camera was held by one of the guards.

I whispered to no one, “What the hell was that all about?”

I didn’t know that I had three of the other nurses behind me. Megan, the perkiest CNA that I had ever met, stood closest to me, “That is the price of fame, I think.”

I turned to her stunned. “Wha…” I stammered, “Price of what?” I finally stuttered out.

“You’re
The
Terra Chapman? I should have realized when I saw your picture.”

I turned quickly to see who was speaking behind me but also too fast for my non-skid shoes. I slightly wrenched my knee and lost my balance. If Rasmussen hadn’t caught my by the arm I probably would have fallen into him. I didn’t know his first name. I only knew is last name because it was on his shirt. He was one of the more friendly security that we had around the whole place. I whispered under my breath, “Shit.”

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you.”

“You mean startle me more.” I stood and tested my knee. It hurt a little but I could stand on my own. “What was that?” I pointed towards the elevator.

With my question Rasmussen seemed to come back to his professionalism. “Why don’t you come with me?”

“Okay.” What else could I say? I figured that he was going to take me somewhere to make a statement or, I didn’t know. That whole thing was just plain weird. I had been working at this hospital for a little over six years. I got my Certified Nursing Assistant, or CNA, with a technical class in high school. I was lucky when I got hired on right after I graduated. In those six plus years I had never had something like that happen. Never.
All of us took patient security seriously. Even taking pictures from family members was closely watched.

He walked me to the elevator and hit the button.
I flexed my knee a few times. I was going to have to find some ice soon. I had done this a few times dancing. I was debating on getting some ice while we waited or just go with him and get it over and done with so that I could sit and put it up with ice when the doors opened. Decision made for me I guess. I walked in and turned carefully. He hit the button for the eleventh floor.

The eleventh floor only had administration there. I was beginning to not have a good feeling about this car ride. I was also stuck in the five by five foot car going up. I turned to ask Rasmussen
what was going on but with the look on his face I got defensive. He looked awe struck and not in a good way.

“What?” I said defensively.

He just shook his head. “Sorry.”

I rolled my eyes and stared at the lights above the door. When it hit eleven the door opened. He walked out ahead of me then held the door open. Now I really didn’t have a good feeling. I walked out because what else could I do. Shove him out of the door. No. Elevator doors take forever to close if you are in a hurry.
I followed him down the hall. He turned to the left and I still followed him. About six doors in he knocked on one that was open. “Ms. Chapman.” He stated.

“Please come in.” She said to us I thought. “Close the door behind you please Ms. Chapman.”

I looked at the name plate on the door. Elaine Chambers. Under that it said, Director of Nursing.

Oh boy. I had never met her directly. I knew of her of course. We had one really bad nurse when I first started. She said one time to the charge nurse, “What are y
ou going to do, send me to the Chambers?” I thought that she meant something else until I learned what she meant was being written up or fired by the director.

I took three steps in turning on my good knee when Rasmussen closed me in the room. I knew that she was a fair woman. I knew that she ruled with an iron fist but an even one.
I tried to remind myself of this she motioned me to sit in one of the leather seats in front of her impressive wood desk. This room was furnished well. It probably cost more than most of the furniture in my whole condo. Plus a couple of grand more and that didn’t include the bookshelf that was full of leather bound books along the wall. I tried not to be intimidated but I was.

Regardless I held my head high and sat as professionally as I could in my cartoon ghost scrubs and hair that I had added black and orange chalk strips to.

She smiled at me. “I see you try to entertain your patients. I’ve heard that about you.”

I gave her wide eyes.

“Since the disturbances began I done some research. I understand that you released an album a short time ago.”

I nodded. “My brother-in-law uploaded some of his songs that I sang for him.”

She gave me wide eyes. “That is a bit of an understatement don’t you think?”

I was truly confused. I tried to tell her that. “Bray, my brother-in-law, wrote the songs and pulled in some of his friends. He recorded it and sold part of the rights to his other friend. He owns a label. Whatever that means.” I shrugged. “I know that he put it on iTunes.”

She put both of her elbows on her desk with her hands under her chin. All I could see of her was her wavy dark brown hair with a few grey strands running through it. Compassionate gray/green eyes and a green shirt that must have been silk from the sheen of it. She put one hand close to her mouth with the other arm extended tapping a pen.

“You have no clue do you?”

I was losing my mind and my patience. I also knew that I couldn’t show either emotion. I shook my head and rubbed my knee without trying to look like I was rubbing it. I must have hit a tender spot because I winced. “Are you in pain?”

I hated to admit it but I really needed to get this iced soon. “I turned wrong on my knee. I’m afraid that it is starting to swell and needs ice.”

She stood and walked around her desk. She had on cream linen pants and low heels. She knelt next to my knee and prodded. “Good assumption.” She walked to the corner of her office and opened a cabinet which wasn’t just a cabinet. It was a mini fridge. She pulled out an ice pack and handed it to me. “Put it on.”

I did and it felt wonderful.

She walked to another cabinet, opened it and then closed it. The next one held what she was looking for. She pulled out a knee support with Velcro closure. “I would suggest ibuprofen for the next few days to help with the swelling as well as the pain.”

“Yes ma’am.” I said with a smile. I also took the brace and wrapped it lightly over the ice.

She sat back at her desk. “Sorry. Once a nurse, always a nurse.”

I nodded. That was the first thing that I understood since I walked in this room.

She sat stoically. “If this was under different circumstances I would ask you for your autograph or strangle you. I have two teenagers. If I have to hear your songs played one more time I may have to…” She stopped there.

She must have seen my face pale because the only place that I could feel my heart beat was in the throbbing of my knee. “You really don’t know do you?”

“Know what?” I said in quiet exasperation.

She went to her keyboa
rd and started typing. When she did her search she turned the monitor towards me. It was obviously a web site dedicated to me. “What is that?” I asked. Then I smiled and pointed. “That’s my husband behind me. He asked me to marry him about ten minutes after that picture was taken. I think. The day was kind of a blur.”

She scrolled down and double clicked. “Billboards fastest climbing singers. You are,” She put on a pair of glasses
that were obviously readers, “Number thirty eight as of right now. I think that they update your page every couple of hours. You were in the sixty something last night when my girls checked. They say that is radio play or request for the ranking.” Then she shrugged.

I gave her a slow blink. Then I whispered. “Holy shit.”
I blinked another couple of times. Then I looked at her with panic in my eyes. “They’re Bray’s songs. I just sang them.”

She gave me wide eyes and clicked around on her computer some more. “Top,” She scowled and looked harder at her computer screen, “Thirty on downloads.”

I forgot that my knee hurt until she started talking again. “Today was the first time that a reporter, if you can call them that, has made it past security. It has become a problem.”

I still didn’t understand.

Then I got it. “Security risk for the patients.” I said with tears trying to form in my eyes. “I’m being fired aren’t I?”

“No.” She stated firmly.
“You are however being put on leave. Three months paid by the hospital and you have about three months of vacation and sick leave accrued. You have been too good of an employee for us to dismiss. If this passes in the next few months we can re-evaluate the situation.” She took a deep breath. “Terra, I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t have to.”

I understood. I didn’t like it one single bit but I understood it completely. In theory the patients always came first. Sometimes their insurance capability dictated how much they came in first or the doctors’ ego or clout. I was just a nurse who had created a problem. I finally realized that I had to ask how much of a problem that I had caused.

I cleared my throat a few times to try and tame my emotions. “How much of a problem have I caused?”

Now I knew what going to the
Chambers really meant. I didn’t like it one bit when she started speaking. “Enough that I had to bring you to my office and send you home.”

I heard one long note in my head as the one tear escaped. I was on permanent leave so I had nothing to lose. I opened my mouth and the words just fell out. “Do you think that I can go to jail if I kill my fucking manager and the label owner?”

Elaine threw her head back and howled with laughter. “Only if you give me a couple of autographs before you do that please.”

I didn’t want to smile. I really didn’t but her laughter was so infectious that I did. I also signed about two hundred hospital hats and a couple dozen shirt so that she could hand them out. I would have done more but the pen ran out of ink.

Who knew you could dry out a couple Sharpies that fast.