What She's Doing Now (Sequel to The Great Pretenders)

So Much Like My Dad

By George Strait

  She says she's gonna leave me, momma.
Nothing on God's green Earth would make her stay.
I can't live without her, momma,
But this time you can't kiss the hurt away.

But if I'm so much like my dad,
There must have been times you felt her way.
So tell me word for word what he said that always made you stay.

Brian dialed Zoey's number and waited through 5 long rings holding his before she finally answered. She didn't have a show that night so likely he was sleeping but he needed to hear her voice

"Hey Bri," she answered tiredly. "what's wrong?"

He opened his mouth but no sound would come out.

"Brian?" she called. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he managed "I just....needed to hear your voice."

"What's wrong?" she repeated her question, her voice stronger and less sleepy.

"Lucy is leaving."

"She's leaving? Where is she going?"

"Home I guess. She's taking Charlie with her."

"Why? What happened? Tell me everything, Brian."

He sighed "We had an interview with a damn radio station and apparently some paps took pics of us after our golf game yesterday. Lucy and Matt were walking side by side and...."

"And they took pics of them," she finished his sentence, remembering all too well the ways the paparazzi stalked people.

"Yeah," Brian replied "And they asked him about it...and Matt...denied it."

"Denied what?" Zoey asked confused "Did they ask if Charlie was his daughter?"

"No, they asked if we was having an affair with Lucy."

"Then I don't understand? Was he just mad because they implied that he was cheating on Val?" she asked.

Silence came from the other end of the phone.

"Oh shit, Bri, did they find out he cheated on Val with Lucy?" she asked "Please tell me they didn't find out he cheat ed on Val with Lucy."

"No they didn't. But it shouldn't matter if they did. He and Val are separated, remember?" Brian reminded her.

"That doesn't give him license to screw someone else that fast," she huffed.

"You know Lucy isn't just someone else."

Zoey considered "Okay I'll give you that but that doesn't explain why she's leaving. Lucy has to know that he couldn't just come out and admit it like that."

"He hurt Charlie's feelings by saying she was just his high school friend's kid."

"Oh Matty you dickhead," she said roughly "What the hell? I'm sure Charlie is devastated."

"She took it..." he wanted to say wrong in Matt's defense but that would be a lie. Matt had done wrong. "hard."

"Then that makes sense why Lucy is leaving."

"What do we do, Zoey?" Brian pleaded "I hate to see that kid hurt...and Matt too. How do we fix it?"

Zoey sighed "We don't. We just have to hope they work it out."

Brian rubbed his eyes. He was mentally and physically drained. "I miss you. Are you meeting us in Grand Prairie?"

"I hope so. I may have to fly back to LA for some promotional stuff for New Politics."