“Bethany went into labor early. She’s fine. Ali sent a message and a photo of the baby. She’s beautiful. Remind me to send it to you.” Bristol’s stomach dropped when she thought how perfect the Harts were. Ali had everything. A music career, a beautiful wife, and three daughters. She could walk down the street without people rushing her to get a photo or a piece of her clothing. She must have frowned.

“Honey, I know it’s been a long tour.”

Bristol rubbed her face. “I feel like I’ve aged so much the last eighteen months.”

“It’ll be over soon. Now tell me about your outing. It sounds like it went well.”

“Lizzy went to the hospital to get a hydration IV and somehow started talking to a nurse from the children’s wing whose sister was there performing for sick kids.”

“Well, that’s a coincidence.”

“Get this. She was playing one of my songs.”

“Stop it. Really?”

“Yeah, so Lizzy recorded it, showed me, and the rest is history. She’s really good. You should look her up. Her name is Annie Foster.”

“Oh, is she the one you did a duet with last night? I saw something on Instagram, but it was only a flash. I’ll look her up now. Meanwhile, try to get some rest before you go onstage. You look really tired, baby.”

Bristol knew that when her mother told her she looked tired, she was being kind. Annette, her makeup artist, would have her hands full tonight getting her ready for the show. At least she could sleep on the bus tomorrow. This was routine for her. She’d push herself hard until she hit a wall and then slept for twelve hours straight. “I promise to rest after tonight.”

“Be safe, and we’ll see you soon. Just be strong and know that you’ll be done soon, and then you can take off as much time as you want.”

Bristol had it in her mind that this was the last tour but hadn’t shared that idea with anybody other than Lizzy. She also knew that she talked a lot of shit when she was burned out, but this was different. She felt like she was drowning, and it wasn’t getting any better. “Thanks, Mom. I’ll see you soon.”

“Let me know if you need me. I’ll be on the first plane out.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”