The first weekend in May, GG had recording time booked at Roamin' River studios and she told her mom that she also wanted to do a little shopping for some summer things in Nashville. They flew to the city on Sunday afternoon and she spent the following morning in the studio, laying down two voice tracks each on three new songs she had written. She wasn't thrilled with the sound of any of the three. It was hugely depressing that her writing was going downhill. But she never had any real time for it since her mom booked her constantly.

In the first four months of the year, a total of one hundred twenty one days, she had done performances on eighty-three nights. Another twenty-nine had been spent traveling either on airplanes or her bus. That meant that she had only had nine days off this year. It was just too much and she was tired and frustrated.

After the recording session, she had made her way to the accounting office and asked the girl there an important question.

"Hi. Can you tell me how much money I have coming to me right now?"

"Sure I can GG."

Giselle watched as the girl clicked keys on her PC and waited for the screen to change. Then she looked up and smiled brightly.

"It looks like your current royalties balance is just over ninety three thousand eight hundred dollars. Would you like a check?"

She was flabbergasted. She had no idea she had that kind of money. But now she wondered about other things.

"How often do you normally do checks for us?"

"Well, we send out the balance every quarter. But whenever your mother is here, she'll usually get a smaller check ... maybe five or ten thousand for current expenses."

"When will this quarter's check go out?"

"Oh, not until after the end of June. That's when the quarter ends."

"So all of this is for ... lets see ... April?"

"Yeah, pretty much. I mean some of it may have been from residuals from March, but you usually earn about a hundred thousand a month in royalties."

"Holy shit!"

The comment slipped out and her face went red. But the other girl just smiled at her.

"I know what you mean. It's a lot of money but I'm sure it doesn't even touch what you earn on tour. That's where the real money is, they say. I don't know about that. So do you want a check?"

"Yes ... yes I do. Can I get like twenty thousand dollars? I think I might buy a car or something."

"What kind?"

"What?"

"What kind of car? Twenty won't buy much."

"You're kiddin'."

"No. My boyfriend sells cars. A Mini-Cooper will cost between twenty-five and forty thousand. But they're so cute."

That hit a nerve. She might be able to pull this off.

"Your boyfriend sells cars? Do you think he'd come over here and get me to go buy a car from him?"

"Are you kiddin'? He is such a huge fan of yours. And he loves to sell cars. You want me to call him?"

GG was nodding before the girl even finished her question. She watched as the secretary dialed the phone and chatted briefly with someone on the other end of the line.

"He said that he would be thrilled, but only if you'll sign an autograph for him to put in his office."

"Sure. How long will it take for him to get here?"

"He was leavin' when we got off the phone, so about fifteen minutes. Do you have another appointment this afternoon or something?"

"No..."

She wondered if she could trust this girl not to turn her in to her mom. She wanted so badly to have a friend. She just decided to risk it.

"Look, can I tell you something in confidence?"

"Of course you can. I really feel like I work for the artists here, you know?"

"My mom drives me crazy with controlling my life. I mean, I'm nineteen years old and I can't do anything without her looking over my shoulder. I just want to do this without her knowing anything about it."

The office girl was cute, her bobbed reddish chestnut hair bounced as she shook her head from side to side, her arm going up in a pledge motion.

"She won't hear about it from me."

"Good. She didn't know how long it was going to take in the studio today, so she won't be back until after two. So that gives me maybe three hours of free time."

"Okay. Well, it shouldn't take long with Dale. That's my boyfriend. His dad is the BMW dealer; and the Ford dealer; and something else. I think maybe like Kia or something like that."

"You said a Mini-Cooper? I know what that is. I've seen pictures of them and you're right they are so cute. What about those?"

"They're made by BMW. Dale can get you one of those."

"Can I do that in an hour or hour and a half?"

"Sure. I would think you could."

"Well ... I don't even know your name, I'm sorry."

"Oh, I'm Helen, but my friends call me Hank. I know, it's crazy where they got Hank outta Helen. I was named for my Grandma."

"Well ... Hank, would you, after I buy a car, would you like to get some lunch with me?"

"Seriously? I'd love it!"

As she stood there looking at what must be hundreds of cars, GG realized that she had never been to an auto dealership before. And it was far worse than being a kid in a candy store. On the ride from the studio, she had told Dale that she really wanted a Mini-Cooper. That declaration was followed by a dozen questions like, convertible or coupe, what color, equipment? In the fifteen minutes ride, he had narrowed down just what he would show her in order to stay within her time constraints. And she had made his day when she personalized and autographed a glossy photo of her on stage with her band.

They walked down a row of Mini convertibles, which is exactly what she had said she, preferred. And without really looking at any others, she was totally taken with one. It was perfect. The gunmetal blue and dark blue suede top and matching leather interior couldn't have been prettier to her.

He was explaining that this particular one was an "S" model with a turbocharger and all sorts of extras for handling and performance. And the sticker was forty thousand plus dollars. But Dale was quick to tell her that he could make her a real deal on it. He was carrying a pad of paper in his hand and took out a pen and made a few calculations before smiling at her what that deal was.

"I can sell it to you for thirty-five thousand, and have you driving out the door in twenty minutes in it. What do you say to that?"

She was more excited than she could ever remember being. She clapped her hands together and bounced up and down on the balls of her feet.

"I say, I'll take it. Hank said I just needed to call her and she'd transfer the money to you for the car. Can we do that?"

Within less than half an hour, she was driving the little blue convertible back to the studio to pick up her new friend. She was so excited to have her first car that she had kissed Dale on his cheek as he was showing her how to operate all the goodies she now owned. Then he had given her simple instruction on how to get back to the Roamin' River studios.

They were having lunch in a pleasant cafe called Sebastian's Depot. The walls were dark and cool and the atmosphere was relaxing. The girls had a corner table away from the street that provided them with some privacy as they both talked eighteen to the dozen. They found that even though each was at a different place in life, they shared many experiences and qualities.

As they ate and continued to compare notes, Hank told GG that she totally understood the bossy mother as she had one also. In fact, she had moved out when she and her mom had argued about her intended major in college.

"I've never wanted to do anything but be a writer for movies or television. She just harped on the fact that I'd never be able to get a job in that field. She was convinced that the only thing I should consider was nursing or being an elementary school teacher. Yuck! I could never be a nurse. I'm too open to suggestion. I'd have everything my patients had, including accidents!"

"What about teaching?"

"I have a sister who is a teacher. Fourth grade. She says that most days she comes home and tells her husband to just shoot her!"

"My situation isn't that bad. No, what I mean is that it's not bad that way. I want to go to school, but my mother won't let me. I want a boyfriend, but she won't let me do that either. And otherwise all I really want to do is write songs for other people to sing. But she says the money is in performing. But I don't like doing that. The first dozen or so times I had to go on stage, I threw up before. I still get butterflies. I'm a very private person. I just want to be left alone most of the time. Have a few friends who are really close. You know?"

"You sound like you already went to school. I mean, you talk like you're educated."

"Oh, I've had tutors and home schooling until I thought I'd puke. I haven't been in a classroom though since I was seven, I think. And I have shows about all the time. For one period this year, I did a performance every night for twenty straight days. I've been off exactly nine days so far this year. When I say that, I mean off with nothing to do but sleep late, no traveling, no studio work, no performances or guest spots. I'm just about done."

"So why don't you take a few weeks off and go somewhere and just have fun?"

"I'll tell you what, I pay you five thousand dollars to arrange that with my mother!"

They were laughing like a couple of adolescents sharing a huge secret. GG loved the way it felt too. She needed this and wanted more.

"I'll tell you a secret Hank. I've considered having a breakdown. The problem is though that in order for it to be really believable, I'd have to do it on stage and it would be really embarrassing and my fans would be cheated. I don't want either of those things to happen."

"So have you thought about just gettin' in your car, now that you have one and driving off? You could get a check and cash it and haul ass."

A sudden rush of adrenalin hit her and she felt almost shaky with excitement. Would people know her by sight if it weren't associated with a show? Could she get away with it?

"But my mom would call the police and think I'd been kidnapped."

"You could call her in the morning and tell her that you just had to do it. You could tell her that you didn't know exactly where you were or for sure how you had gotten there. Tell her that you remembered being on the bus or train. It would be sorta like combining the breakdown with an escape."

"But she'd have my phone traced."

"Buy a disposable cell phone. Or buy two. Call her once and throw it away so if won't be tracked to where you are."

Giselle was almost frightened by the prospect that this might just be the idea she had been looking for. Now if she had a way to get away, she had no excuse for not doing it. Did she have the courage?"

"You right. I'm going to do it. But I'll need your help. If I give you the money, will you buy two throw away cell phones for me. That way, I won't be recognized. And if they ever figure out it was you, then you can just say I asked you to do an errand for me and that you had no idea what I was planning. And of course, I'll need some money."

"Okay. Let's go back to the office and get you a check, maybe five thousand. Better yet, five one thousand-dollar checks. Then we'll go to five different branch banks and cash them. That way, no one will be tipped off. After you cash the first check, I'll buy the phones while you're cashing the second and then you can bring me back to my office so I won't be missing. That might not look too good. And I'll give you my cell number so if you need someone inside for info, you can call me. I swear, I won't tell anyone. Not even Dale."