REPRESENTED (21 page)

             
Karin sat up and opened her eyes and took one of the crackers.  She nibbled at it and eyed the Gatorade with distaste.  She knew Cassie wanted to help and she realized that she was right about the liquid and electrolytes but she hated the taste of the stuff.  Plain water though was a bad idea as she had found out over the last hour; it had led to more cramping and more acid.  It was becoming a vicious cycle.  She ate the rest of the cracker and drank some of the Gatorade.  Cassie nearly laughed as she took it like a shot of whiskey one capful at a time.

             
There were some more runs to the bathroom but they lessened over the next few hours.  Cassie called down for some more towels as the ones they had were all damp by now and she was happy when Karin allowed her to help dry her off and tuck her in.  She added her own body heat to Karin’s as she held her as close as Karin would allow and breathed a sigh of relief when Karin finally fell into an exhausted sleep.  She watched over her as the color returned to normal and when Karin finally got up a few hours later and went to the bathroom she didn’t stagger out of the room.

             
“God that was awful” was the first reference she made to the ordeal she had just been through.  She helped herself to another fistful of crackers and eyed the Gatorade distastefully as she swigged it.

             
“How are you feeling?” Cassie asked still feeling a little shook up over what she had witnessed over the past hours.

             
Karin smiled ruefully “better.”  She waited a few beats before adding “actually, I’m a little hungry but I better stick to this” she held up the crackers she was eating.

             
“I brought you a little chicken soup if you think you can manage it?” Cassie got up and pulled a little covered bowl from the bag.

             
“Ah, you’re a lifesaver” Karin breathed as she sat down at the desk instead of on the bed.  She now had two towels wrapped around her to cover her torso and her middle and for some warmth as her body began to make normal temperatures.

             
“I feel terrible” Cassie told her as she watched her dig into the chicken soup which was luke warm now.

             
“Why, you didn’t force me to eat that fruit” Karin said practically sounding normal.

             
“No, but you looked miserable and there wasn’t anything I could do” she said sitting on the edge of the bed.

             
“You went and got me the Pepto, and the Gatorade, these crackers are great” she indicated them as she grabbed one and dipped it into the soup.

             
“You were in so much pain though” she worried.

             
“Yeah, that acid was a little bad” Karin winced remembering the pain of her backside.

             
During the course of the day she got stronger but not as quickly as she had come down with her illness.  It was late in the day when she realized “your bus!  You missed your bus!”

             
Cassie came over and held her, she could do that now that Karin was feeling stronger, had stopped shaking, and wasn’t running to the bathroom every ten minutes.  “I called them and they went on ahead, I’ll fly home when you’re feeling better.  What about your work?” she asked.  This was the first time she hadn’t seen Karin checking her phone regularly or taking calls.  She had turned down the volume after Karin had started shaking from the reaction of her body and hadn’t mentioned it.

             
Karin shrugged; she didn’t really care at the moment.  The world could have ended that day and she wouldn’t have cared.  Cassie took care of her and she was grateful.  She didn’t run to the bathroom once that night.

             
The next morning Karin made love to Cassie but wouldn’t let her return the favor as it were.  She insisted her body wasn’t ready for it and she wasn’t up to an orgasm yet but she wanted,
needed
to hear Cassie’s before they left that day.  Afterwards Cassie wasn’t happy that she didn’t hear the same things in return, she felt incredibly selfish but Karin assured her that it was okay, she had enjoyed it.  They showered together and Karin was sick of that cubicle she informed Cassie who laughed at her.  Once her hair was brushed and dried and in its familiar bun and her makeup applied Karin felt loads better, she dressed in her familiar ‘business’ clothes and Cassie recognized the cold businesslike Karin was back.  She still looked a little pale but then Cassie had been watching her very closely.

             
As they walked into the airport together having just left their taxi and carrying their luggage Cassie asked “I couldn’t talk you into coming to Nashville could I?”

             
Karin smiled sadly at the temptation “I’d love to but I have to get back.”

             
Cassie said she understood but she was saddened that they would be apart again.  She resigned herself; this long distance love affair was going to take some adjustments.

              “So has she talked you into signing with her?” Travis said in a nasty tone when next he saw Cassie a few days later.

             
She stared at him not understanding what he was talking about.  So she asked “what are you talking about?”

             
“That woman, Karin Myers?  Did she get you to sign with her firm?”

             
She blinked at him across the table where they were all sitting in their offices in Nashville.  “No, I didn’t sign with their firm” she answered quietly, confused, what was he talking about?  What did Karin have to do with anything?

             
The other members of the band looked uneasily between them.  They had all wondered what was happening.  Since Tallahassee Travis had been like a bear with a thorn in his paw.  It made them all wonder though and when Chet had found out who Karin was exactly and shared it with the band they had all begun to think maybe it was time for a change.  It wasn’t up to them though, it was ultimately Cassie’s decision and she hadn’t indicated she was hiring a new group to represent them.

             
“I hope you realize you won’t get the personal touch you do with me” he said in a nasty tone.

             
“Travis” she said kindly “I wasn’t planning on replacing you.”

             
That didn’t seem to appease him as she had hoped.  He just looked at her suspiciously and they went on to other business.  They met to talk over ideas, go over new songs, and shoot ideas into the air.  It gave them a chance to air grievances too.  When they were in the tour bus they had similar meetings but being in so close quarters it was still different.  They were more cordial then, they had to be.  Here in Nashville they saw each other a little less and it was a good thing after weeks on the road, especially this small tour which hadn’t been a good one.  They were meeting today to discuss possible ways to make the next one better.  Travis used Austin to berate them and bend them to his ideas and agenda.  They were all tired of it as their meeting came to an end.

“Hi Chet, hi Alex, what are you doing here?” Cassie asked as she answered her front door a few hours later.

             
“Can we talk to you?” Chet answered for both of them.

             
She looked at them puzzled and said “of course, come in” she invited them into her house.

             
They sat in the western styled living room.  The decor was decidedly western with pictures of cowboys and horses as well as a wagon wheel coffee table.  They sat on the leather couch and Cassie looked at them expectantly.  “What’s going on?”  She hoped they weren’t quitting the band.  They had been together a long time and she loved them like brothers.

             
“We think you should replace Travis” Alex began.

             
Cassie looked at him in alarm.  Travis too had been with them a long time and they hadn’t had any problems with him except in the last year or so but then that was her fault.  They were all paying for her having come out publicly as a lesbian.  They had fully supported her need to be honest and truthful but the public backlash had hit them all and hard.  She was barely working and they all knew it.  Austin had been only a small part of it.  She couldn’t blame Travis for her failures.  “Travis has been with us a long time, he works hard for us” she argued.

             
“Does he?” Chet asked astutely.

             
“What do you mean” her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

             
“I mean, he doesn’t seem too happy these days and today’s meeting was just the tip of the iceberg.  I don’t think he fully supported your decision last year.  We need someone who is going to go to bat with us.  We aren’t going to get anymore recording contracts with things the way they are.  No one is going to want to support someone who doesn’t put people in the seats, can’t fill a venue, your talent is well known, and we need someone to promote it.”

             
“Travis has done all that for years.  He got me that contract with Sony, you all know that!”

             
“Yes he did and that was while you going up.  They dropped you before you came out though, did you ever really wonder why?”

             
“What are you saying?” Cassie sat in a chair to hear what they had to say.

             
“I think Travis cost you some things before you made your announcement.  Do you see the expression on his face when he tells you once again you’re in a GLAD party or LGBT parade or something that is even remotely related to being gay?  He despises it even if he tries to hide it well.”

             
Alex put in “I think you should ask your friend Karin to either represent you herself or put you in contact with someone who will.”

             
“She won’t” Cassie put in almost absentmindedly.

             
“Why not?” Chet asked curious she didn’t seem the type to refuse her girlfriend.

             
“She doesn’t do entertainment representation” she repeated almost verbatim.  She had heard it time and again through their various conversations.  She bit her lip musingly wondering what she was going to do.  She had noticed some of Travis’ reluctance but had thought it was the strain of being on the road, too much work, or a million other excuses.  She didn’t know he didn’t approve, when she thought about it though she got angry.

             
“Cassie, how much of your finances does Travis’ office handle?” Chet asked.

             
She looked at him in alarm.  That she didn’t really know made it really sink in.  She might be in more trouble than she realized and this made her want to panic.  She had thought long and hard before she came out last year.  The book was supposed to explain everything.  She had only been half kidding when she said to Karin that she should have represented her with the book.  The sales had been dismal.  Her coming out was supposed to have freed her; instead she was in real trouble and knew it.  The tour had been a failure and while they had made money, they had barely made ends meet.  They had never lost money like in Austin, the spot that Travis kept harping on.

             
That afternoon she went over her statements closely from Travis’ office.  The amounts had steadily decreased over the last two years but had drastically declined after she came out.  In fact if she read the last two correctly she was in danger of losing her house.  She looked around.  It was a symbol of her status and fame.  It wasn’t large or fancy, she had seen larger and fancier in the country music field but she had been comfortable.  It was hers.  Or was it now?  Perhaps she had put too much trust, too much faith in the wrong people?  Alex and Chet had put the bug of suspicion into her and she now knew the paranoia would eat at her.  Who could she call?

              “Kreske Public Relations” the impersonal voice answered the phones.

             
Cassie had never called Karin at her work but she was panicking and Karin hadn’t answered her cell phone, she was probably very busy.  “Karin Myers please?” she asked a little shakily.

             
“I’m sorry, Ms. Myers is out of the office at the moment, would you care to leave a message or would you like her voicemail?”

             
“Voicemail please” Cassie said weakly, she didn’t want to leave a message there too but she had tried her cell phone numerous times.  This was a first that Karin hadn’t answered when she called except a few times when she was on a plane or in a meeting.  Maybe that was it!  She had gone somewhere?  “Wait, wait, can you tell me where Karin is?” she asked the person who had answered the phone.

             
“I’m sorry, I don’t have that information, who is calling please?” the voice asked.

             
“Never mind” Cassie mumbled as she hung up the phone dejectedly.  She was feeling a little panicked.  What if she lost it all?  That had been a real concern that everyone had discussed when she came out.  Apparently though, if she was reading her statements and other papers correctly, this had been coming about for two years.  Six months before she had come out.  What the heck was going on?