Country Singer

Fred Preiss

Description

The last thing 70-year-old Ed expects when he offers Kristen a ride is to have his life entangled with that of a wannabe country singer. 

An odd and unlikely friendship ensues between two strangers on a long road trip. Ed, diagnosed with a terminal illness, is trying to escape his impending demise, and Kristen, 22, her rotten past. After hearing her heartbreaking story, Ed decides to help her emotionally and financially and even agrees to drive her to Las Vegas, where she hopes to make it big. Along the way, Kristen makes a great impression at several karaoke bars, and eventually catches a break in Vegas when she meets Sid, a big-time country music manager looking for a new face. After arranging for Kristen to do a special performance at the hottest nightclub in Vegas, Sid signs her on and guarantees her mega-stardom. Kristen eagerly accepts Sid’s strategy to bypass “paying her dues” and subjects her body and soul to a grueling rehearsal schedule of twelve-hour days. Amazed by Kristen’s dogged determination, Sid sets up a six-city tour, which is an enormous success, making Kristen an overnight sensation. But joy sometimes has an unwelcome component, and Kristen’s happiness is overshadowed by Ed’s deteriorating condition, just as she’s reaching mega-stardom.

Sujets

• Musique
• Musique
• Music
• Southern
• General
• General officer
• Multiple signal classification
• Friendship

Informations

• Publié par: Outskirts Press
• Date de parution: 30 juin 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781977205292
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Country Singer All Rights Reserved. Copyright © 2023 Fred Preiss v4.0
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
The opinions expressed in this manuscript are solely the opinions of the author and do not represent the opinions or thoughts of the publisher. The author has represented and warranted full ownership and/or legal right to publish all the materials in this book.
This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the express written consent of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Outskirts Press, Inc. http://www.outskirtspress.com
Library of Congress Control Number: 2023906233
Cover Photo © 2023 www.gettyimages.com . All rights reserved - used with permission.
Outskirts Press and the "OP" logo are trademarks belonging to Outskirts Press, Inc.
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
CHAPTER 29
CHAPTER 30
CHAPTER 31
EPILOGUE
CHAPTER 1
Ed Goff was barely three hundred miles into the trip, heading west on Interstate 80, when freezing rain began to pelt the car. He immediately flipped on the windshield wipers and the headlights and slowed the Toyota SUV. Gripping the steering wheel even more tightly, he was glad there were few cars on the road; in bad weather he always worried about being smashed by a careless driver. He hoped the road would not get more hazardous before he reached Ohio, where he intended to stop for the night. Even though it was only approaching five, darkness had already overtaken the dreary day, adding to his uneasiness because driving at night was becoming an issue another woe of getting old.
Wondering how extensive the storm was, he turned on the radio and scanned the stations till he found one just as they were giving the weather report. The forecast called for a cold front to move swiftly through, with the sleet changing to snow. He wished he had checked the national weather forecast before setting out and waited a day before starting the nine-hundred-mile trip to his hometown in Illinois. One thing he was glad about, that he’d allowed three days to make the journey, which normally took a day and a half. He intended to be in time to attend the Christmas Eve Midnight Mass in the church in which he was baptized and had been an altar boy. The last time he was there was for his dad’s requiem Mass nearly thirty years ago. During the intervening years, he had thought of making the trip to visit his parents’ graves and for his high school class reunions, but he always found a convenient excuse not to do it. This time, he finally had a most compelling reason.
The sudden swerve of the SUV on the rapidly icing road startled Ed into instant alertness and he promptly slowed the vehicle to the posted minimum speed of forty miles per hour. Feeling somewhat unnerved and needing to relieve himself, he warily eased the SUV onto the iced-over shoulder and waited for the two cars a short distance behind him to pass. He got out and hurried to the front of the SUV, then relieved himself, feeling uneasy and somewhat uncouth. Once back in the SUV, he felt less stressed but quite chilled and promptly reached for the large thermos of black coffee resting on the passenger seat next to a road atlas and a carrying case of Frank Sinatra CDs. He hurriedly unscrewed the top and took two hearty swigs. When done, he flipped on the overhead light, then reached for the atlas and opened it to the Pennsylvania map. Having just passed a highway mileage marker, he was able to determine that the next exit was about twenty miles; he figured it would most likely take him about forty minutes to reach it, driving at minimum speed on the treacherous road. Just before starting up again, he cranked his head to the back seat to make sure he had not forgotten the quilted bedspread and several other survival items for winter travel, the most prominent being a fifth of Wild Turkey.
Once again on the road, Ed thought how quickly time moves and catches a person unaware of the passing years. It seemed to him like yesterday that he was young and strong, just married and embarking on a new life with Ann. But in many ways, it was more like an eternity ago, and he wondered where all the years had flown. He had no doubt he had lived them all, but they were like a dream he could barely recall. He had vague glimpses of how life was then and his ambitions, though very few came to be, and here he was, all alone and quite surprised by old age and a fast-approaching demise. He vividly remembered seeing elderly people when he was young and thinking they were a lifetime away from him, and in no way could he imagine being that old, but here he was, just like them. Old age had crept up like a thief in the darkness and stolen his youth without warning. Just getting out of bed was a major chore every morning, always hoping there were no new pains. Even naps were not taken by choice now but rather happened on their own.
But perhaps the greatest regret of it all, he thought, was for all those things he’d intended to do and never did. He shook his head in disgust for wasting his life, especially the last eight years. There wasn’t a single worthwhile accomplishment to embrace and cherish, and he uttered loudly, "What a goddamn shameful waste of life." Even this trip to visit his hometown was only prompted by a foreboding circumstance. Deeply engrossed in his thoughts, Ed was startled by the intense blue lights of a state trooper cruiser pulling up alongside the SUV. He immediately slowed it to a crawl and lowered the window, which the trooper did as well, then motioned for Ed to halt.
"Shall I pull off on the shoulder?" Ed said in a shaky voice.
"No, there’s no traffic behind, so stay where you are. The shoulder is a sheet of ice."
"Did I do something wrong?" Ed queried nervously.
"Not at all, just wanted to make sure you’re not running out of gas or unable to cope with the road conditions," the trooper answered kindly. Ed was surprised by the trooper’s friendly demeanor. He was always skeptical about cops, thinking them to be bullies who took advantage of their authority and pushed people around just to get their jollies.
"So far, I’m handling it."
"You’re about fifteen miles from the next exit, and I would highly recommend you exit there for the night," the trooper urged. "I’d be happy to escort you."
"That would be great. I was going to stop there anyway."
"I’ll pull up in front and get you to the exit."
"Just one more thing, if you don’t mind. Is there a motel there?"
"Yes, and a gas station right off the exit; the motel’s a quarter of a mile or so down the road."
"Thanks so much," Ed said with an appreciative smile.
The trooper nodded and raised the window, then pulled the cruiser in front of Ed’s SUV and slowly started to accelerate. Twenty minutes later, Ed was greatly relieved when he saw the exit sign for Mercer, Pennsylvania. Just before the actual exit, the trooper turned on his right-turn signal and flipped his high beams a couple of times, then continued down the highway. Ed acknowledged him by doing the same and cautiously eased the car down the slick decline onto Pennsylvania State Highway 19, which was even more treacherous than the interstate. Fortunately, as the state trooper said, the gas station was no more than a hundred yards away. Much to his relief, as he pulled in, Ed also noticed a brightly lit Motel 12 sign a short distance down the road. Before getting out, he reached for the parka draped over the passenger seat and, once out of the SUV, quickly put it on, along with his gloves. When he got to the pump, there was a notice taped just below the grade selection, requesting cash customers to prepay before dispensing the gas. He shook his head and headed inside the convenience mart. Standing at the counter was an attractive, very young, honey-blonde-haired woman talking to the beefy, middle-aged clerk behind the counter, who immediately stopped the conversation and looked toward Ed.
"Nasty out there, ain’t it?" he said vociferously.
"Getting there," Ed answered as he approached the counter with a polite nod to the woman who at close range, appeared to have a slight bruise on her left cheekbone. She acknowledged the nod with a friendly smile.
"So, what can I do you for?" the clerk said in a less intense tone.
"Need about thirty dollars’ worth of gas," Ed said with a nod to the pumps and pulled out his wallet from the inside chest pocket of the parka, retrieving two twenties and handing them to the clerk.
"That’s all you need?"
"Yes."
"You going back on the interstate?" the clerk guessed as he rang up the sale on the cash register and handed Ed a ten-dollar bill.
"Not tonight. It’s too treacherous, and I doubt there’ll be too many cars on the road after me," Ed said, stuffing the bill in his wallet.
The clerk rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm. If that’s the case, maybe I’ll close up. You headed to the motel?"
"Yes."
The clerk glanced at the young woman. "Maybe this gentleman can give you a ride there."
Ed looked directly at her, saw the disappointment on her face, and kindly said, "I’d be happy to not a problem."
"Guess I’m out of luck hitching a ride tonight, so I’ll take you up on the offer. Thank you," the young woman said, shaking her head disco