Cowboy Casanova

Chapter 15 (Two Weeks Later)

The band plays Live Like You Were Dying, which is ironically my new single. I smile and wave to a roaring crowd who is all on their feet. David shakes my hand and then motions me to sit down. 

"So how are you?" He asks casually as the crowd finally calms down. 

"Pretty good" I say, smiling out to the crowd. 

"I hear that you've been diagnosed with cancer?" He asks. 

"Yeah."

"I'm so sorry." He says, seeming to almost go unscripted. 

"I'm not dead yet," I laugh. "I think right now I'm just focusing on my family." I say. David nods. 

"Your father passed from the same type of cancer recently, so I know this has to be a bit of a double whammy." He says. 

"Yeah, I mean," I start. "I don't think you ever expect something like that. I know Tug didn't, and I know I sure as hell didn't either."

"Well your new single, coincidentally called Live Like You Were Dying is absolutely dominating the charts. I'm hearing that there might be a possible Grammy Nom for it." he says. 

"That would be great!" I say, winking at the camera making the crowd laugh. I do the math in my head to realize that I'll probably be dead by the time the Grammy Awards take place. "Live Like You Were Dying was actually more of a tribute to Tug. I guess now it has more of a personal meaning than I ever expected it would." I say seriously. David nods. 

"So what does it mean to you to Live Like You Were Dying?" He asks. I sit for a second and think. 

"Spending as much time as I can with Faith and our three beautiful daughters. I want to leave some good memories behind. You know, the ones that last more than a lifetime. I mean it kills me to think that Audrey's only three, so she's not going to remember much. Gracie and Maggie are six and seven, you know? So I have to try really hard in order to make some real memories." 

"I know this probably isn't what you want to spend the whole time talking about, but how's Faith coping with all this?" He asks, sounding generally concerned. I can tell he's going off here, because the guys are no longer holding up cue cards. 

"She's taking it a little hard. I mean, it's been hard on all of us, but her mostly."

"Why?" He asks, although he knows the answer. I think for a moment how I should phrase it.

"Because she's the one left to pick up the pieces once I'm gone. In addition to making memories, I think I'm trying to make things easier for her too." I say. David nods. He's one of the few people who believed in my career early on. I can tell this is affecting him too.

We chit chat for about five more minutes before he goes to break. Once commercial goes on, he comes around from behind the desk and gives me a hug. He opens his mouth as if to say something, but nothing comes out. The director signals that we are about to go back on, so he gets back behind the desk. I sit down on the couch, so the next artist can have the seat closest to David. 

"Everyone please give a hand for our next guest, American Idol winner Carrie Underwood." He says. I feel like I've heard of her before... She comes from around the corner, playfully dancing and hugging David before sitting down next to me. She's tall, blonde, with extraordinarily long legs. She's gorgeous. 

"Hi! Wow, this is awesome." She says, looking out at the crowd. She is so excited. She turns towards me, and that's when it hits me. "Hey!" She says to me, giving me a little wave. 

"Hey." I say back, realizing she was the girl I mentored. I can't believe she won. Actually, I can. She's incredible. 

"So Carrie," David starts. "this is your first time in New York?" He asks. She nods as the crowd sounds astounded.