Duchess

by Nikki Wilson

  All these questions would go unanswered, just like her hopes and prayers. Clasping her hands together, she fidgeted with her fingers.

  “Katie?”

  She turned toward Chase’s rumbling voice. His face was closer than she thought. It was a nice face, actually. His eyes were narrowed with his eyebrows turned down, and he reached over and began to rub her back.

  “It’ll be all right.” Hearing the words from him suddenly brought her peace. Being near him made her feel safe.

  “I didn’t get to say goodbye.” She looked off toward the hallway outside the waiting room.

  “Do you want me to leave?”

  “No.” Katie shook her head to clear her thoughts. “I mean, I didn’t tell my mom goodbye. What if she doesn’t make it, and I didn’t get to say goodbye?”

  “Katie, do you know how happy your mother was tonight watching you perform? You were amazing, and she was so proud. When there’s a bond between people like you two have, words like ‘goodbye’ and ‘I love you’ never have to be spoken.”

  It was a good speech. It was the speech she needed to hear, but the meaning of the words escaped her comprehension as she continued to stare off at nothing.

  “Thanks.”

  She wasn’t sure what to say anymore and slowly rested her head on Chase’s shoulder. He moved his hand from her back, put his arm around her shoulder, and squeezed her softly to him. Soon she drifted off to sleep.

  “Ms. Murphy?”

  Katie woke up slowly and realized she was still leaning on Chase’s shoulder.

  “Ms. Murphy?”

  She looked up into the face of a nurse. Sitting up, she tried to remember what had happened.

  “Yes?” She looked around sleepily at the fake living room. It took her a moment to remember she was at the hospital, and then the horrifying events of the night rushed into her mind. “How is she?”

  “She’s stable, and would like to see you.”

  Her mother was stable! Her heart leaped for joy. Maybe there was hope still. It didn’t have to be the end. They could still beat this. She fanned the tiny flame of hope inside her as the nurse took them back to see her mother.

  She entered the room to hear the sound of steady beeping. An IV tube protruded out of her mother’s arm, and an oxygen mask covered her nose and mouth. The machine connected to her mother’s frail body hummed and beeped quietly. It assured Katie that her mother was still alive, though she looked so small in the hospital bed.

  “Mama?” Katie hadn’t called her that in years, but it seemed to fit that night.

  “Hi, Katie Bug.” Her mother lifted the oxygen mask off her face. “Carter, come in.”

  Katie realized he was lurking by the door.

  “I don’t want to intrude.” He rubbed the back of his neck as he looked behind him toward the exit.

  “Nonsense.” Even in the hospital, her mother could sound in control.

  Chase came a little closer and gave a tentative smile. “Hey, Shirley. Was this youngish, sort-of handsome man too much for you?”

  Her mom smiled back. “What can I say? You took my breath away!”

  Katie groaned. “That’s a terrible joke.”

  “Well, if I have to choose between laughing or crying, I will always choose laughter.”

  Katie understood where her mother stood on this subject. Even after they had gone through the death of her brother and also her father walking out on them, Shirley had always found a reason to smile, no matter what. She wondered where her mother got the strength to smile when life didn’t seem to give her much reason to.

  “So … colon cancer, huh?” Chase looked uncomfortable. It wasn’t an easy topic to discuss. Katie had been avoiding the subject altogether except to send her mother to another specialist.

  “Yep,” Shirley replied, and paused for an awkward moment before adding, “Hey, you know how every cancer has a different-colored ribbon that represents it?” Chase nodded, probably not sure where this was going, though Katie knew. “What color do you think is for colon cancer?”

  Chase looked perplexed for a moment before answering, “Brown?”

  “Exactly! That makes sense, right?”

  “I was right? I was just joking.”

  “No, you weren’t right.” Katie sighed as she cut her mom off from keeping the joke running. “It’s dark blue, not brown.”

  Katie’s mom scowled at her before jumping right back in the conversation. “Well, it should be brown because everyone has to admit, colon cancer is pretty crappy!”

  Chase laughed, and Katie tried to give him a “Don’t encourage her” look, but either he didn’t notice it or he didn’t care. “Yeah, like giving each cancer a pretty color is going to make it better. Instead of spending money on marketing campaigns, they should just cure cancer already!”

  “They won’t do that,” Shirley jumped in. “Cancer makes too much money. Do you know how much money Duchess has put into cancer research already? Not to mention all the treatments. No way—cancer is its own big money-making industry now.”

  Katie shook her head. It was the same old conversation.

  “How’s my favorite patient doing?” A nurse came in holding a clipboard.

  “Half left,” her mother replied. Katie rolled her eyes. She didn’t know how many times she’d heard that one.

  “Half left?” the nurse asked quizzically.

  “Yes. I’m not all right, so I must be half left, right?”

  The nurse gave a mercy laugh. They always did. Nobody really knew how to take that joke—or many of her mother’s other jokes, for that matter.

  “I’m sorry to break up the party,” the nurse said, “but you need to get some rest.”

  Katie didn’t want to leave. She was about to argue when Chase walked up next to her.

  “Come on—let Shirley get her beauty sleep. We wouldn’t want to delay her recovery. I need my favorite date to get better soon.” Chase picked up the hand that didn’t have all the tubes and wires attached and kissed the back of it.

  Katie bent down and gave her mother a kiss on the cheek. “Don’t worry, Mom. We’re still going to beat this. I’ll find all the newest research available, and we’ll kick cancer’s butt!”

  Her mother just gave a tired smile. “I love you, Katie Bug. Don’t ever forget that.”

  “I won’t, Mom. I love you too.”

  She turned to the nurse and pulled her aside. “What did the doctors say happened?”

  “The cancer spots that attached to your mother’s lungs are getting bigger and making it harder for her to breathe. Unfortunately, as you know, the spots are inoperable, so this could become a more common occurrence.”

  “Thanks,” she mumbled as she let Chase pull her into the hallway.

  She walked numbly as he called the taxi company on his cell phone. She tried to stop from swaying. It had been a long night—it felt like weeks instead of hours since she’d sung on the stage at Roderick’s bar. Her leaden feet didn’t want to move, and her head started to ache. Maybe she did need to go home for a little while, but would she really be able to sleep, knowing her mother was here? Her mind said it wasn’t possible. Her body had a different theory altogether.

  Chase ended his call and slowed down to match her pace. They walked in silence for a bit before he finally spoke.

  “Are you doing all right?” She heard concern in his voice.

  “What?” She tried to focus. “Oh, yeah, I’m fine. I need to get to my computer and make some more lists. I told her the latest doctor wasn’t doing enough. There’s a new treatment I heard about recently, and a couple of medical trials that she might qualify for. I need to get her signed up.”

  “Katie, you know that all of it might not be enough, right?” His voice was gentle and soft, but his words weren’t what she wanted to hear.

  “It will! There are cures out there. Some foods and natural spices have healing powers. We just have to find the one that will work for her.”

  Cha
se had stopped walking, and she turned to see why. He was staring at her with his eyebrows raised.

  “What?”

  “I think …”

  “Chase? Is that you?” A doctor stopped beside him, and they shook hands as the doctor continued, “How is your leg?”

  Chase seemed to pale a little at the question. “It’s fine. Good as new.” He gave his knee a little pat. “Do you work here now?”

  “I’m still at the Veteran’s Hospital too. What can I say? I get around.” They both laughed.

  “Well, it was good seeing you, Doc.” Chase started to walk forward, and the doctor resumed his path the other way.

  “You too, Chase. Take care.”

  Katie couldn’t contain her curiosity. “What happened to your leg?”

  “It’s just an old injury from my tour in Afghanistan.”

  “You were in the military?” For some reason, she’d thought he was just a volunteer like her mother.

  He nodded quickly, and she knew he didn’t want to talk about it anymore. “Let’s go see if the cab’s here.”

  As they opened the hospital doors, a cab was parked at the curb, and Katie and Chase got in.

  “Thanks for your help tonight.” Katie yawned as the cab rumbled down the street.

  “Sure,” Chase answered.

  “I really mean it. You were there for us tonight, and you barely know us.” Katie’s eyelids began to fall, and she leaned her head back against the seat of the car. A warm hand covered hers, and she couldn’t help the tiny smile that came to her face. Taking a deep, satisfying breath, safety and peace enveloped her as she drifted off to sleep. Her last thought was of how soft Chase’s hand felt against her skin.

  Chapter Nine

  Katie took a deep calming breath, and then another. Today would be Duchess’s first television interview. Although she’d been prepping for a month, she didn’t feel ready. Plus, her mother had spent the past three days in the hospital, and no one could tell her when she could bring her mother home. Frustration battled with nerves, and she wasn’t sure which would win out.

  Katie had worked hard to fix every detail of Duchess’s persona. But could she do a television interview without blowing her cover? The answer was simple—she’d better. If she didn’t, the record label took everything. Including Duchess. She’d signed over the rights to Duchess in that fateful contract two years ago. She’d been so focused on getting signed that she hadn’t paid attention to the fine print. All she’d wanted was to make sure she could take care of her mother.

  “Duchess?” A knock on the bedroom door brought her back to the task at hand.

  “Coming, Maria.” Katie didn’t bother disguising her voice. Her loyal housekeeper was one of the few people who knew Duchess’s true identity. Katie wasn’t sure what she thought about it—she mostly spoke Spanish—but the woman hadn’t spilled her guts in the year she’d been with them.

  Katie looked at her reflection in the mirror one more time before leaving the house. The wig was actually a light pink one today. It matched the Jane Austen-era dress. The wig was also styled in the same era, though she was pretty sure no one had hair the color of cotton candy two hundred years ago. Her contacts were violet. They made her eyes pop out amongst all the pink. The fake nose was flawless—she’d gotten really good at making it look real.

  Before leaving, she added one final, but important, part of her costume. The synthesizing head mic nestled around the back of her wig, coming over her ear and hanging delicately next to her cheek. The tiny speaker attached to the inside of one of her sleeves. This way, no one would hear her real voice.

  With a satisfied smile, she turned on her heel and left the house to the waiting limousine. The driver held the door open, and she carefully folded herself inside. Kyle sat on the seat across from hers. She was glad she wasn’t doing this alone. This gig didn’t allow for many friends—Kyle was probably the closest thing to a friend she had right now.

  “Are you ready for this?” he asked, his voice emotionless, but Katie could tell he was nervous.

  “Dahling, I was born for this!” Duchess waved her hands dismissively. This was how it always worked for her. At a moment’s notice, she could become Duchess, who had her own personality and characteristics all very different from her real self. Sometimes it was freeing to become a carefree pop diva whose most difficult choice that morning had been which contacts to wear. She didn’t have to be Katie. She didn’t have to be responsible. She didn’t have to worry about her mother in the hospital. She didn’t have to worry about what would happen if none of the treatments worked. She could just smile at the camera and act like she didn’t have a care in the world. And for a second, she could believe it.

  “Well, remember to stick to the answers the PR team came up with.” Kyle reminded her, like Katie wasn’t the one who told the PR team to put the questions and answers together in the first place.

  “I’ll try, but I’m not making any promises.” Duchess winked at him, and Kyle grimaced. He never did like talking to Duchess. Always said she had a way of talking down to him. Plus, it really creeped him out knowing it was Katie behind the makeup and the costume, but Duchess wouldn’t break character.

  The car stopped, and Katie waited for the door to open.

  “Duchess?” A person from the studio waited for her out front. “This way, please.”

  Katie followed, and Kyle continued down the hallway, presumably to the room where he could watch the live feed.

  The woman took her to the set. The anchor table was the focal point. The lights burned brightly down on the anchor behind the desk. Katie was glad she’d doubled up on her makeup, though with the heat of the lights, she hoped it didn’t melt off.

  She reminded herself that she was Duchess and didn’t have a care in the world. She walked deliberately to the desk and sat down.

  The news anchor introduced himself and gushed about how happy he was to have her there. Duchess nodded and then reminded him to stick to the questions. He agreed, of course, but something in his eyes made her uneasy.

  Someone counted down, and Duchess could feel the heat of the lights already raising beads of sweat on her brow, though she supposed it could be from nerves.

  The camera started to roll, and Duchess sat up straight, trying to look as royal and confident as possible. She had to stay in control. After all, this was her chance to shine. This was Duchess’s moment, and she was going to live it to its fullest because if the world ever found out who she really was, it would be over. Her fans had proven to her that they would never be able to accept a serious musician like Katie. They wanted drama, mystery—smoke and mirrors. She smiled and decided to enjoy herself.

  “Welcome back, everyone,” the anchor said to the camera. “Just as we promised, I have the pop star Duchess here today in her first-ever interview in person.” He turned to Duchess and put on a smile she was sure he must have practiced in the mirror a thousand times or so. “Thank you for being here, Duchess. We’re excited to get to know you better.”

  “Thanks for inviting me, dahling,” she drawled.

  “The first question is this. How have you risen on the music charts so quickly?”

  This was one of the prepared questions, so she was ready with her scripted answer. “Because I’m fabulous, of course! Why else? People know good, fun music when they hear it. Plus, I don’t follow the rules. I’m my own person.”

  The lie tasted funny in her mouth, though she should be used to lies by now. Of course she followed the rules of the music industry, which was to look like you didn’t care what people thought. For some reason, that sold music.

  “Why the mystery? Why not just tell us who you are?”

  Again, she was ready for this one. “Everyone loves a good mystery. Why not give them one?”

  The anchor didn’t seem satisfied with this answer. “Yes, but eventually we want to solve the mystery,” he prodded.

  “Maybe you will,” she answered with a wink.


  “What about the rumors that you’re really British royalty, but can’t reveal your true identity?”

  That question definitely wasn’t on the list.

  “What about it?” She tried to deflect the question. She could feel the sweat rolling down the back of her neck.

  “Is it true?”

  “It could be,” she said coyly. She hoped she sounded more confident than she felt at the moment.

  “What about the rumor that you’re another musician in disguise? Many people say your music style reminds them of Lady Gaga.”

  “Really? You’re asking me if I’m Lady Gaga in disguise?” Duchess threw her head back and laughed. “She’s already in disguise every time she goes on stage. Besides, I’m much more sophisticated than that.” She groaned inwardly, knowing there would probably be a tabloid headline tomorrow about a feud between Duchess and Lady Gaga. Perfect.

  “Is your British accent real?”

  Seriously? Was this guy going to use any more of the questions the PR team spent nights preparing?

  “That information is top secret. I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.” She winked again. The movement suddenly caused a slight shifting feeling on her face. Panic began to take hold as she realized her nose had moved.

  “Was that a threat?”

  Holy cow! This was getting out of control. She needed to finish this interview before her nose fell off in front of all of America.

  She turned to the camera and thought about her fans and what they wanted. They wanted drama, so she would give them drama. Turning back to the anchor, she put on a sickly sweet smile. “Only if you want it to be. I prefer to think of it as a joke, but maybe you Americans don’t have a sense of humor. But then again, maybe it’s just you.”