Walk of Shame Read Online Free PDF Page A

said.
    "Wonderful! We'll see you in
about a month."
    "Yes, goodbye."
    "Goodbye."
    I hung up the phone and looked at
Dad. "Looks like you won't have to worry about me for awhile."
    "You're not really going to
do this!" Mom said, immediately knowing what I'd meant.
    "Yeah, I really think I am.
You're the one that always says if your life isn't going the way you want it
to, get up and do something about it. So, this is me doing something about
it."
    She harrumphed and went inside.
    Dad sighed and closed up the
freezer and the grill fridge. "She's not going to come around on
this," he warned before he lifted the freezer to put inside the rig.
    I followed him in. "I know.
She still hasn't come all the way around to my living on the road."
    "I haven't used any of my
vacation time yet, so if you need me, just holler. I've never been to
California, and I wouldn't mind making the trip. And you know Chloe. She'll be
on the plane with me."
    "Thanks, Dad."
    "I just want you to pick out
a good one. I hope they give you good ones to pick through. Despite the fact
that it will all be on TV, you are being given an opportunity. Make the most of
it. But, if your Mr. Right isn't there, then don't try and force it."
    "Yes, Daddy."
    "No. I'm telling you. Those
people running the show might try to push you in a direction. Or try to talk
you into choosing the one they think the fans might like the most. You don't
let them do that. Listen to your heart, then fact check with your brain. Do not
come out of this miserable just because they want ratings."
    "Yes, Daddy."
    "And know going into this,
everyone you know is going to be watching, once they find out it's you. Your
readers are going to be watching. I won't be, because that's just not something
I want to see when it's all said and done-"
    I burst out laughing.
    "But everybody else will.
You be true to you."
    "Yes, Daddy."
    "And stop saying 'yes,
Daddy'. Every time you do that I think you're tuning me out instead of
listening."
    "Okay, Daddy."

Chapter Four
Preparations
    "Good morning,
Princess," Troy said when I opened my fifth wheel door for him.
    I'd received, in one of my many
emails, an introduction to the show's host, Troy. I'd been told that he'd be waiting
for me when I arrived on location.
    He walked in with coffee for himself,
tea for me, and a couple fruit plates.
    I'd gotten to the lot, that
they'd cleared land out on the estate to install, around eleven last night. Security
was expecting me, and had even helped me get the rig backed into the spot where
they wanted me to park. They had a temporary setup for electric and water for
some of the spots, including mine. And now, in the light of day, I saw a spot
to pull up to for emptying wastewater tanks and filling up on propane. These
people were setting up for a small RV invasion.
    We hooked me up, they'd said
goodnight. I opened up my slide-outs and went to bed.
    "Are you the welcome
wagon?" I asked as I gestured at the table to invite him to sit.
    "More like your custody has
been turned over from Elaine to me," he said as he handed me one of the
plastic containers of fresh-cut fruit.
    "Aha."
    "Everyone on the show needs
a point man, someone to go to if there's an issue. I'm yours."
    "To stand between me and the
guys, or me and production?"
    "Both. I am everyone else's
gateway to you."
    "Including camera
crews?"
    "To an extent. I can at
least get them to back off for a minute and stand at a distance while you
compose yourself."
    "So you're the 'host with
the most'?"
    He smiled. "My job is to
help you juggle and navigate what the producers want with what you're trying to
accomplish. They can get so caught up with trying to mold good TV that they
lose sight of the main goal. At the end of the day, they want a marriage to
show off to the world. Despite trying to entertain people while you get there,
they're every bit as invested in finding you a husband as you are. That's why
you have me. You have a measure of latitude in following their