It was a miserable day. The clouds were dark and gloomy, rain drops spilling out of them. Haley sighed as she got comfortable on the tour bus that had become home. She tucked her feet underneath her and cuddled up to Mr. Waffles, the stuffed animal that had been her constant companion since birth.

Tucking her feet underneath her, she looked around. Jessica was reading a book and Michelle, head phones on, was beginning to doze off. Gavin, Chris and the other boys were on the other bus as both pulled out headed for the next destination. Haley tugged at her lip. She was anxious, restless. Her eyes kept darting around looking for Lillian. Then it would take a minute and she'd realize there was no Lillian. The child, seemingly like everything else, had been a mere fragment of her sleep induced overactive imagination.

Pulling a blanket over her head, she desperately reached for sleep. Mentally and physically she was exhausted but rest wasn't easy to come by. She hadn't had a full night's sleep since the dream, just quick, agitated catnaps here and there. Part of her was afraid, terrified she'd slip back into the Wizard of Oz like alternate universe while the other half of her tentatively wished for it. Haley didn't know what she wanted but it was crystal clear a peaceful slumber just wasn't in the cards. Sighing, she reached into her bag and pulled out her cell phone. She searched for a random number she hadn't bothered to save. She breathed a huge sigh of relief when she found it, dialing out instantly.

"Hello?"

Haley frowned. Gosh, there was so much background noise.

"I can barely hear you", she said.

"Baby sis, is that you?"

"Yeah, Tay, it's me."

"Hold on…okay is that better?'

"Yeah", Haley said, glad to be able to hear a voice instead of loud music and ruckus. "God, where are you, the OK Corral?"

"Better. I am in Athens, Georgia at the world famous Swinging Donkey."

"Is that a bar?"

"Not just any bar. Chicks around here would give their right arm to be a Donkey."

Haley was suddenly stunned by irony.

"Or a Coyote", she said softly, remembering Taylor's fictional occupation in her dream.

"You mean like Coyote Ugly? Oh hell yeah. I'll make it to the big leagues one day but for now baby steps, little sister. Now what do I owe the pleasure of receiving a phone call from America's rising pop princess?"

"I…I just wanted to talk. Um, Nathan came by a few days ago. Last week actually."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"But let me guess…he's not sitting next to you now, is he?"

"No", Haley said quietly.

"I figured that."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I saw him."

"Who? Nathan?"

"Duh."

"When, Taylor?"

"He came by. He stopped in for a visit right after he left from seeing you."

Haley closed her eyes.

"Did he stay long? How was he? What did he say?"

"Easy with the twenty questions, Hay. Alright, he spent the night…"

"Where? With you?"

Taylor grinned menacingly.

"Does it matter? Obviously he wasn't with you and from what I understand, that's your choice. Why should you care who he spends the night with?"

"Taylor!"

"Okay, okay. Just kidding. Don't get all spazz on me. Anyway, I'm house sitting upstairs from the bar and he crashed on the couch. Before you ask, nothing happened."

Haley rolled her eyes.

"How is he doing? Was he okay?"

"At face value? He's great. Still a little hottie and we had mad fun partying and getting drunk."

"That's nice to know", Haley muttered sarcastically.

"Let me finish, will you? In the words of Napoleon Dynamite, 'Gosh'! But anyway. That was all an act if you ask me. He's hurting Haley. He misses his wife. He's lonely and he's confused and he's scared. Can you blame him? He didn't even have his wedding ring on because he says you weren't wearing yours either."

"I wear it on a chain around my neck. Look, it's complicated. You don't understand…"

"Try me."

Haley sighed.

"I don't know how when I can't even explain it myself. Taylor, I'm happy on this tour. They think I'm good. All of them…Chris and Jess and Gavin and Michelle…the fans. I love it. This is what I want."

"What about Nathan? Do you still love your husband?"

"Of course I do."

"Then maybe you should go back."

"Back to what?"

"Haley…"

"Can I tell you something, Taylor? Something serious?"

"Yeah."

"Promise you won't laugh?"

"Cross my heart and hope to die. Now what's up?"

"I had this dream the other night, only it wasn't like a regular dream. It was so long and detailed and crazy and just…I don't know, real. I woke up and I thought I had gone crazy."

"Was it about Nathan?"

"Yes. And you were there and Mom and Dad, his parents, Brooke, Lucas, Jake, Peyton, Karen…"

"Sounds like the whole gang was on board. Tell me, were we all naked?"

Haley scoffed.

"I thought you were going to be serious."

"Okay, okay. Sorry. I just couldn't resist. Now tell me about this dream of yours."

"I was a famous singer in New York…"

"That's original. Proceed."

"I finished this tour and never saw Nathan again. He and Lucas were NBA players and he was engaged to this gorgeous, blonde, mortgage broker named Megan. But when he went to marry her, he couldn't because our annulment never went through. So we went to the Dominican Republic for a quickie divorce but there was a tsunami and we were trapped and we ended up having sex…"

"Good times, not the tsunami, I mean, but the sex."

"Taylor…"

"Sorry. Continue."

"He married Megan and I crashed their wedding because I was pregnant but I never got the chance to tell him because she was pregnant too. Their baby died but our baby lived. I was really depressed during and after the pregnancy and you moved in to help me. But my daughter, Lillian, had to have a bone marrow transplant and Dan Scott was the only daughter. Megan left and Nathan and I were just getting around to being in love again and having a family. Then I woke up…after you married Chris, of course, which still sketches me out but whatever."

"I married the stud you kissed? I can dig being a rocker's wife. I'm feeling the whole Jerry Hall, Courtney Love, Priscilla Presley thing."

"Can you be serious for like one second? I swear you act just like Daddy."

"Hay, what do you want from me? So you have this super weird dream that totally freaks you out? Now you're on edge and your mind is thinking a million thoughts a minute and you're even more confused about Nathan and your marriage. Am I right?"

"Something like that."

"What do you want me to say? Because you already know I feel. I think you should get your man back. You never should have got your little ass on that bus in the first place."

"This is a once and a lifetime opportunity, Taylor. It was my dream…"

"To what? Stop being Tutor Girl? To finally be the popular and the pretty one? Give me a break. Grow up. Yeah, you're a musician and you love it and you're good at it but you're in this more to show up one of those Jenny Jones 'Look At Me Now' episodes. Good grief. Your life wasn't so bad. In fact, it was pretty damned good. Nathan loves you."

"I know…"

"Then you know it might be cool now what you're doing on the road with Michelle Branch and Chris or whoever but take it from experience, Haley bub, sooner or later, the parties just kind of start blending together."

Haley groaned.

"What am I going to do?"

"Whatever you want, sis. It's your life. Right now, you're taking care of you. There's nothing wrong with that but remember, Nathan isn't going to be around waiting forever. You're not there for him so you can't get mad if he starts taking care of himself."

"I don't know what to do anymore. I don't know how to feel. I love him so much but I don't know if I want to be a wife."

"That's your choice, little sis. You do what you do because you're the one that has to live with it. Now I hate to cut this short but I have to go."

"To what? Dancing on a bar?"

"Actually, yes. You sing on stage, I slap on cowboy hat and shake my ass for horny old men. It's a living, right?"

"Yeah. I guess it is."

"We'll talk later and in the meantime, try not to have anymore crazy dreams."

"Tell me about it."

"And Lillian? You actually named your kid, Lillian?"

"I like it. It's pretty."

"It's boring. You need something cool like…like…"

"Jamarah?"

"Yeah. I like that. Much better. But I have to run, Hay. The bar is a calling. We'll talk later, okay?"

Haley took a deep breath and hung up. She turned her attention to the window as the country passed her by. Life was getting stranger and stranger.