Chapter 14

Lana and Jean Marie watched the two men walk off into the studio, and found themselves sitting in silence. Jean Marie smiled at Lana and asked her if she wanted a drink.

“I’ll just have some soda, if you have any?”

“Sure thing.” Jean Marie got up from the couch and made her way into the kitchen. “Oh – is diet ok?”

“That’s fine.”

“Good – looks like we’re out of the hard stuff.”

Jean Marie returned with a bottle of water for herself, and the soda for Lana. Handing the can to her, she asked “How are you doing, you know – with Terry’s cancer?”

“Thanks for the drink.” Lana took a sip from the can. “It’s pretty hard to think about it.”

“I’m sorry, if you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine with me.”

“No – it’s alright, I don’t mind talking about it. In fact, it’s better I think to talk with people about it. Kind of like free therapy, you know?”

Jean Marie smiled at her. “I just don’t know how I would be handling things, if I was in your place.”

“Well, I don’t even know how I’m doing it, personally. Terry, for all of his faults, is such a sweetheart. I think that no one really knows that side of him, and maybe it’s because of the cancer or maybe because the band broke up.”

“He’s let his guard down?”

“Exactly. I didn’t know him before he started singing for Accelerator. But I do know what his reputation was like, from all the things I’ve heard and read about him.”

“How did you meet?”

“It was fate, I guess. He walked into my bar and ordered a gin and tonic, and when I handed it to him I said ‘There you go, governor,’ just mouthing off at him. And he asked me if I was from England. I laughed – I haven’t even left this country and I’m 37, I told him. We started talking, and he took me out to dinner the next night. I guess he swept me off of my feet.”

“I know what you mean. Charlie, he’s such a charmer when it comes right down to it. All he would do when we first started getting to know each other was go on and on with these ridiculous and hilarious stories about the band. I think that’s how he melted my heart – he’s so good natured and funny.”

Lana touched the thin gold bracelet on her left wrist, and said “Terry gave me this just a couple of days before he found out.”

“What happened? How did he know he had cancer? I mean, what made him go see the doctor?”

“Oh, it was awful. I was staying with him that night. In the middle of the night he sat up in bed, and I heard him making these moaning sounds, and kind of breathing really hard. I turned on the light and he was pale and sweaty, so I called 911. I thought it was a heart attack. The doctor just touched his stomach and Terry doubled over in pain. Then they did an ultrasound and found several tumors.” Lana put her hand to her eyes.

“I’m so sorry, Lana,” Jean Marie said, as she reached over to her, placing her hand on her knee.

“I know. It’s ok. It is just so overwhelming sometimes. I see him on days and he just lies there. The pain must be terrible sometimes, but I guess he loves me too much to show me. He’ll just go off into the study, or say that he’s going to take a bath and stay in the bathroom for an hour.”

Jean Marie got up from her seat and grabbed a box of tissue on top of the mantle. She handed the box to Lana as she sat down next to her.

“He’s a really great guy, huh?” Jean Marie asked.

“He’s just wonderful, you know? I love him.”

“I’m sure you do – you take really good care of him. That’s all he needs from you, you know? To know that you love him.”

Lana nodded in agreement.

“Listen, do you want to go get some ice cream? I am having the worst cravings right now, and could use an excuse to get out of the house for at least a couple of minutes.”

“Sure, ice cream sounds great right now.”

Terry and Charlie pounded out song after song from their glory days together, in Charlie’s studio. They started with some more recent tunes, and found themselves trying to remember the lyrics and melodies to the first songs they ever played together.

Charlie’s hands were developing new calluses from all of the playing. He held his hand up to show Terry. “Look at this? This is ridiculous. Shows how little I am getting to play, nowadays.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I’ve heard you’ve made quite the living recently from all of your collaborations. I told you that I really liked that J.B. Parker tune you made. What was it called?”

“Liked it that much, huh?”

Terry laughed. “Wait, I’m being serious. I did like it. Didn’t it go something like this?” Terry strummed out a slow couple of chords on his guitar, while Charlie listened on. “Is that it?”

“Yeah, you’ve got it. Now, A major. Good. E. Excellent.”

“Thanks, teach. I think I’ve got it now.”

Charlie threw a wadded up napkin at him. “Don’t be so insolent, young man.”

“Come on, Charlie. Sing this one. You got me crying all the time…”

“No, it’s You’ve got me crying all night long, you bad bad girl.”

“Yeah, man!” Terry egged him on, playing a little louder now. “Sing it, pops!”

“You’ve got me crying all night long, you bad bad girl. 
Chord change!
I can’t stand to see you running, leaving my heart on the curb. 
You’re a tear jerker, baby.
Making me cry like I do.
You’re a tear jerker, baby.
Making me cry like do.
I’ve be crying so long, baby,
Like I don’t know what else to do.”

Terry wrapped the song up with a quick bluesy ending. “Marvelous. That’s a great song, Charlie. We need to write something now.”

“Are you serious? You want to lay down a track or two?”

“I don’t know – are all these microphones and recording devices just drawn on the wall or do they really work?”

“I get your point. Well, we’re going to need some refreshments. What do you want? Or, maybe I should say what can you have?”

“Probably even better to ask what can’t I have. Nothing too salty, or rich.”

“Hmm. How about some water and bread?” Terry rolled his eyes at this suggestion. “I know! How about some ice cream and root beer?”

“Take it easy there, you’re sounding like a teenage girl now. That sounds great, though.”

“Ok, I’ll be right back.” Charlie hopped out of his stool, and rushed out of the studio, jolting himself by the sudden exposure to sunlight. Covering his eyes, he made his way into the house and announced, “Don’t mind me, ladies. Just getting some provisions.” In his excitement he didn’t notice the lack of a response, as they were out getting their own treats.
He charged his way into the kitchen grabbing glasses, the near empty tub of vanilla ice cream, and two bottles of root beer. Quickly assembling the floats, he then placed them on a tray, and grabbed several water bottles and a bag of unsalted potato chips. “This should do it,” he said to himself. He charged his way back out to the patio and into the studio.

“Ah, looks great, Charlie.”

“Here,” he handed him a float, and set the tray on the floor.

“Where’s the spoon? Or do you have a straw?”

“Oh, damn, I must have forgotten them. Do we need that stuff? Can’t we just sip it?”

“Sure, I’m game if you are.” Terry waited and watched as Charlie tried to take a sip of his float. Charlie’s eyes were wide open as he tried to keep the glass tilted enough to sip some of the root beer, without slamming the ice cream into his face. It was, however, hopeless.

“Great moustache!” Terry shook his head at his poor friend.

“I’ll be right back,” and Charlie went back out to the patio bar, grabbed two straws and some large serving spoons, and presented one of each to Terry.

While eating, they brainstormed about what kind of songs they would like to write. Charlie suggested another blues tune, and Terry requested a rock ballad.

“There aren’t any good rock ballads out there, anymore. At least nothing that gets played on the radio.”

“Well, we can write one up. Why don’t you start playing something, though, and we’ll just see what happens.”

“Ok.” Terry polished off the last bit of foam at the bottom of his glass, set it down and picked up his guitar. He started at first strumming some chords, and then plucked out the notes in the same chords.

“That sounds nice,” Charlie said.

Terry continued playing, feeling inspired, and began to sing a bit to the music.

“Isn’t it enough?
Is it too late, now?
Did I go away too long, and did you find me out?
Isn’t it enough?
Or am I already late?
You slipped away, nothing more I can say
Isn’t it enough?”

“That is a fucking hit, man.” Charlie said.
Terry opened his eyes and smiled at him. “Go get in the fucking sound booth then, you bastard. I don’t have all day.”
Charlie got up and went into the booth.
Terry said to himself, “Oh wait – I do have all day. What am I saying?” Charlie heard this, and laughed.

Out at the ice cream shop, Lana and Jean Marie were making their selections.

“I’ll just have a single scoop of the chocolate, in a cup please.” The clerk behind the counter set to work on her order.

“That’s it?” Jean Marie asked her.

“Yeah, I can’t have too much or I’ll be way too hyper.”

“Oh,” she nodded at this. The clerk handed Lana her cup of chocolate ice cream and a spoon and turned to Jean Marie.

“I’ll have a triple scoop – better make it a banana split – with two scoops of vanilla and one scoop of mint chocolate chip. Extra hot fudge on top, no whipped cream. And three cherries, please.” She felt Lana’s eyes staring at her, and she turned and said “I am eating for two, you know.”

Lana laughed, and said “I know! I’m just surprised! You’re so tiny, and I can’t imagine how all that will fit into tiny you.”

“Well, you won’t have to imagine it in a few minutes. I’ll let you watch!”

“Ok, and maybe you can give me some pointers.”

Jean Marie paid for their ice creams and waited for her banana split. “Pointers on chowing down on some ice cream? Please, I’m a pro.”

“Well, that and eating for two.”

Jean Marie turned completely around and stared at Lana. “You’re joking?”

Lana shook her head. “I just found out two weeks ago.”

“What does Terry think about this? Is he elated?”

“I haven’t decided how to tell him just yet. I want to make sure I’m ok, you know?”

Jean Marie flung her arms open to Lana and gave her a huge hug. Lana had to stoop down a bit to reach Jean Marie’s shoulders, and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you, I needed to tell somebody.”

“Well, it’s wonderful news, and you should be very happy.”

“It’s just such an impossible time, you know? I can’t believe it, still.” She started to cry, and Jean Marie quickly pulled out some napkins from on top of the ice cream counter. “I should get one of those dispensers, you know?” They smiled at this little joke, and Jean Marie’s banana split was presented to her.

“Mmm, yummy! Let’s go sit outside, the air will be good. So, tell me how far along are you?”

“I’m five weeks now.”

“I’ll be four months in two days.”

“Wow! How does it feel?”

“Not too different right now, although I am beginning to feel the first signs of morning sickness. Which, by the way, does not only happen in the morning. I don’t know why they call it that.”

“Maybe it was supposed to be mourning sickness, for the loss of your figure.”

“Too true. I can just imagine how big I’m going to get. Now you – you’re so tall, all that weight can just spread out on you and you’ll still look like a freaking model!”

“I just don’t want stretch marks.”

“Sorry, I don’t think you can prevent them really.”

Lana looked at her half eaten ice cream, and glanced at the banana split in front of her. “Well, in that case, do you mind?” She held her spoon up to Jean Marie, who said “By all means, dig in girl.”

They finished up the banana split, while watching people go by through the strip mall. They saw a woman with triplets go by, pushing all three in a specially made stroller.

“That’s a handful, I bet,” Jean Marie said.

“No kidding. Can you imagine the diaper bill?”

“Can you imagine the feeding?”

“Or the birth?”

“The pregnancy?”

“Ouch.”

“Triple ouch, I’d say.” Jean Marie scooped up some last bits of fudge sauce from the dish, and finishing this then threw her spoon in. “I’m full now!”

“Me too. What do you want to do? Should we head home?”

“Nah, they’re going to be playing in that studio all night long I bet. Want to go shopping for some maternity clothes?”

“You think I should?”

“You’re what, five weeks now? I think you could handle a top or maybe even just some shorts, or something.”

“Well, maybe I’ll just help you pick stuff out.”

“That’d be great – all Charlie ever does is pick out the shirts with horizontal stripes, or the culottes.”

Lana scrunched her nose up, “I guess he must have had a stylist all these years, helping him!”

“I know – but now I have a new shopping buddy!”

Looking at her, Lana reached out and patted Jean Marie’s hand. “Me too. Thank you so much for this. I think I really needed to talk to someone, and you’ve been very nice to me. You hardly know me!”

“Well I know you now, right? Come on, before I lose this sugar high.”

Chapter 13

Wednesday morning Charlie woke up as Jean Marie got out of bed. He laid there, listening to her turn on the shower spout, humming to herself like she normally did. He called out to her from the bed.

“Jeanie! I told you that Terry was coming over today, right?”

She poked her head from around the corner of the bathroom wall. “Yes, you remembered to tell me. That’s why I’m up this early, you fool.”

“What? What time is it?”

Jean Marie pointed at the bed side table, and Charlie turned to look at the alarm clock on it. “Six forty five! Jesus! I haven’t been up this early in ages.” He threw his head back into the pillows out of disgust.

“Too bad!” Jean Marie shouted from the bathroom. “Now you can get up and help me clean the house before your buddy gets here.”

Charlie thought about this for a few seconds, and waited for her to get comfortably lathered up in the shower. He got out of bed and snuck into the bathroom and ran his fingers on the shower door, to make them look like a spider.

“I’m going to get you, my pretty!”

“Ah! Charlie! Don’t scare me!”

He opened the door and entered the shower with her. “Now I can make sure that my back gets properly scrubbed, madam!”

Charlie called Terry’s house when he was dry and dressed from the shower. Only after several rings did he realize that he was calling them at 7:15 in the morning. Happily, Lana answered, assured him that he did not wake them up from a sound sleep, and told him to expect them around 11:30.

Charlie reported this news to Jean Marie, who was starting to make the bed.

“Here, let me get my side,” he said, walking over to the opposite side from her.

“Thank you. Well, since we have several hours, maybe we should go out to breakfast then?”

“Sounds like a splendid idea to me.”

They finished putting away various clothes from their room, and Charlie opened a window to air out the bathroom. Then they hopped into the car and drove off to a friendly diner.

The diner, Kelly’s Place, was practically empty of any other customers when they arrived. The only other people in the dining room were two old men, eating at the bar, and a woman with her two young children, a boy and a girl, both with bright red curly hair. The waitress quickly walked up to Charlie and Jean Marie, holding a pot of coffee at her hip like it were a gun, and asked them how many people were in their party.

“Just two,” Jean Marie answered.

“Great,” the waitress said, grabbing two menus before swiftly turning around and marching up to a booth table. She slapped the menus down on the place settings, asked “Coffee?” to both of them. Charlie raised his hand, and Jean Marie turned her mug over.

While they looked at their menus, Jean Marie said, “I was thinking about the studio this morning.”

“At least one of us can think straight before 9 am,” Charlie said from behind his menu.

“Oh, stop whining. Anyway, I was thinking that you and Terry should hang out in there for a while, and I can talk to his girlfriend. Maybe she and I can go out shopping for some maternity clothes while you boys work?”

“That’s funny – that was exactly what I thought you could do, too.” Charlie said this innocently enough, but it struck a nerve in Jean Marie.

“What is that supposed to mean?” She put her menu down and looked at him.

“Huh?” He looked over the menu to see that she was staring directly at him, and he put it down as well. “What’s the matter?” He leaned over to her, across the table.

“What is that supposed to mean, ‘that’s what I thought you could do’? You think you can plan my day out for me just because you’re having a friend over?”

Charlie was confused. “Jeanie? What’s wrong? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean anything by it.”

“Yeah, right. You think you can just have someone over and forget about me? Or do you think you need to plan my day out for me, because I just stay at home all day and pick up after you? I need to have someone to play with, too?” She turned her head towards the window, but Charlie could see that she was crying.

The waitress came back to their table and had her tablet and a pen ready. “Are you ready to order?”

Jean Marie was silent, unmoving. Charlie looked at the waitress and said, “I think I’ll just have two eggs and some toast. Honey?”

Without turning her head, she said, “I’ll have some oatmeal and toast.”

The waitress was either playing ignorant to the drama at the table, or didn’t even care to notice what they were doing. She simply responded with “What kind of toast? White, wheat, rye, sour?”

“White,” Jean Marie answered.

“Me, too.”

“Back in a flash,” she said, turning and marching up to the kitchen counter.

“Now, are you going to look at me or just stare at the window all morning?”

“You can’t make me look at you,” she said under her breath.

“Jean Marie,” Charlie said this with a louder voice, trying to sound stern with her.

“Knock this off right now. I don’t know if you’re feeling hormonal or what, but this needs to stop.”

She turned to face him and her eyes were wide and red. Shaking her head, she said, “You can walk home!” She stood up from her seat and left the table. She started to run out of the diner, and left so quickly Charlie couldn’t chase after her in time. He followed her to the door of the restaurant, and watched her get in the car and drive off.

“Wonderful!” He shouted at her, inside the diner. The few people in there turned to look at him. He went back to his table and sat down. Immediately the eggs, oatmeal and toast were brought to him. He said to the waitress, “Can you put the oatmeal and her toast in a box, please? And I’ll take the check.” She swept up the extra food and took it back to her counter.

“Well, I’m eating my breakfast,” he said to himself. Putting a fork full of eggs into his mouth, he looked up and caught the glaring eyes of the red headed children. He bugged his eyes at them, and they quickly turned away.

The box of food and the check was plopped in front of him, and he finished his meal. He tossed some cash on the bill, and walked up to the kitchen counter.
“Do you have a phone book, please?”

The waitress tossed the phone book out on the counter, and said “Pay phone’s around the back.”

Charlie found the number of a taxi cab company and arranged for a ride home.

As the cab eased into the driveway, Charlie was relieved to see the car parked neatly in its place in front of the garage. He paid the fare and walked up to the front door. He stopped for a moment, to brace himself for possible warfare, and opened the door.

“One obstacle down,” he thought, having worried that she would have locked him out in her rage.

He decided against shouting her name, for fear of either making her want to hide or scream back at him. He couldn’t decide which would be worse, so scratched the idea altogether.

Instead, he took off his shoes and quietly made his way through the house. He walked past the dining room, and into the living room. There was no sign that she had been there. In an instant of panic, he ran to the back door to look into the pool. He checked and didn’t see any sign of her in there either. He did notice that the studio door was opened. He walked out to the patio, trying to be quiet so that he could hear if she made a noise.

Entering the studio, he saw her. She was lying face down on the floor, beside the sound booth.

“Darling,” he said, getting down on his knees and crawling beside her.

“Leave me alone!” Her shouts were muffled by the carpet and her crossed arms.

“Shh, shh, come on now,” he moved her hair away, and peered into the darkness where she was hiding her face. “It’s alright now, you can be mad at me. It’s ok.”

“I’m not mad at you, anymore.” Moving to her side, she wiped the tears off of her cheek. “Do you know why I’m so upset?”

“Is this a loaded question? I can just move out of the house if you want me to.”

He made her laugh, but she quickly stopped. “No, I mean it. Do you know why I’m mad?”
Charlie shook his head. “I don’t have anything anymore, except you and this baby!” She broke down into sobs again, and buried her face into her hands.

“Oh, stop. Come on, that’s not true, Jeanie.”

“Yes it is! Don’t patronize me!”

“Ok, sorry.” He sat on his heels and put his hands into his lap. “Tell me why you say that you have nothing.”

“I just,” she wiped her eyes, “I just feel like ever since we got serious, my career got wiped out and took a back seat to yours. And now that I’m pregnant, I just think that this is it for me. I’m gonna be a mom to the baby and a wife to you.”
Charlie was quiet. Knowing better than to interrupt her, he simply nodded along to show that he was listening.

“You know? I don’t have to help you out anymore with your recuperation, thank god. But I don’t have any other clients I’m seeing, and the gym is gone so I can’t bring anyone here.”

“Do you want to have the gym back?”

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous, Charlie. I know how much you love this studio. I wouldn’t do that to you.”

“No, if it made you feel bad, then I don’t want the studio at all. It shouldn’t stay if it makes you upset.”

“Thank you,” she reached out and patted his hand. “But that’s not going to work, cause then I’ll feel guilty for pushing you out.”

Silently Charlie breathed a sigh of relief. “What would help you, then?”

“I think maybe I should get a job working at a gym, someplace. Or maybe in a physical therapist’s office. I don’t want to drive out to people’s houses anymore.”

“That would be a good idea, to get a job somewhere.” He smiled at her, and she smiled back.

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about it. But when you said to me that you thought I would just be all girlie with Terry’s girlfriend today, it just pissed me off.”

“I know, I shouldn’t have said it.”

“I’m just feeling stifled, you know?”

He nodded to her, and moved closer to her side, putting his arm around her shoulders. She laid down and put her head into his lap.

“Maybe you should take a nap. You don’t need to clean up the house anymore. I can put some crackers and cheese out for you and Lana, and Terry and I can just stay in the studio for a while. Or do you want me to cancel with him?”

“No. They can still come over. Maybe just a quick nap.”

He stood up and helped her on to her feet. “Are you feeling the weight of the baby now?”

“Well, I should be soon. It will be three months come Friday, and I can already see a little bump on my tummy.” Lifting up her shirt, she patted the tiniest hint of a belly to show Charlie.

“Well, there it is!” He patted it, too. “How neat!”

“I love it,” she said, looking down at her belly and at Charlie’s hand.

Terry and Lana arrived a little after 11:30. Lana carried a guitar case in each hand, and Terry had a portfolio tucked under his arm. Charlie answered the door.

“There you are!”

“Hey!” Terry said. He led Lana inside, and Charlie took the cases from her hands.

“I brought one for you and one for me, Charlie.”

“Oh, I have guitars, Terry. I hope it wasn’t any trouble for you.”

“Please, no trouble!” Lana patted Charlie’s shoulder. “I love to see him play.”

“Well, why don’t you follow me and we’ll find Jean Marie and give you both a quick tour.”

Jean Marie was waking up from her nap when she heard the doorbell. She walked down the stairs and saw Lana and Terry in the entryway. “Hello, down there!”

They both looked up and simultaneously said, “Hello!”

“Everyone, this is Jean Marie.”

Continuing down the stairs, she said, “I was getting some beauty sleep.”

“Not that you need it,” Charlie whispered to her.

Lana reached out and shook Jean Marie’s hand. “I’m Lana. It’s great to meet you.”

“Thank you. And you’re the infamous Terry Friedland, I presume?”

“Infamous? That would be fitting.” He walked up and gave Jean Marie a hug. “I’m here to occupy this fellow for a few hours, give you a break.”

“Sounds good to me. Lana, I thought we would just sort of hang around the house, maybe watch TV or a movie. Is that alright?”

“Sure, that’d be great.”

Charlie set down the cases, and said “I’ve got snacks, everyone!” He put his arm around Jean Marie’s shoulders and walked into the living room. “It’s just some crackers, and some cheddar and brie. But, help yourselves.”

Jean Marie offered drinks to the group, and they sat for several minutes on the sofa, making small talk. Finally, Charlie said, “I think it’s time we set off to work. What do you say, Terry?”

“Yes, capital plan Charlie.” He rose up from the couch and kissed Lana on the cheek.

“Let us know if you plan on skinny dipping in the pool later on with us, ok girls?”

“Terry, don’t scare them!” Charlie said. “I told you it would be a secret!”

Lana and Jean Marie laughed, and the two made their way out to the studio, Charlie holding the guitars and Terry with his portfolio.

“What do you have in there anyways, man? Looks like a book!”

“It’s some stuff I’ve been working on. Things get boring, sitting in chemo waiting for the bottle to empty out into you. So I started bringing in some paper, and wrote out some songs.”

“Like 500 songs?”

“Well, more or less,” he winked at Charlie.

“Here it is.” Opening the doors, Charlie let Terry walk in first.

“Wow, it’s like permanent night time in here, man.” Terry took off his sunglasses and let his eyes adjust before walking further in.

“I know – I had the windows darkened so I wouldn’t be tempted to leave my work unfinished. The pool can be really tempting, you know.”

“I bet. Wow, look at this place. This is great!” He walked into the sound booth and looked at all the equipment and instruments. “Oh, we’re going to have fun in here, man.”

“I hope so. Let me see what you have in these things.”

Terry took one of the cases from Charlie, and they both opened them up. In Charlie’s was the Les Paul Standard he had seen Terry play yesterday. In the case Terry opened was a Martin 12-string acoustic guitar. The top was midnight blue, and the fret markers were mother of pearl. “Hello gorgeous,” Terry said to it.

“Wow, you brought the big guns, huh?”

“I thought it would be fun to hear what kind of sound we’d get out of both of these. You got something to play with?” He smiled, seeing Charlie shoot him a dirty look.

“We can share, don’t worry.”

“Well, it is my house…”

Chapter 12

Frank had called Terry up after his visit with Charlie, to tell him that he now knew about Terry’s illness and that he wanted to talk with him, to patch things up. Terry decided to call Charlie and invite him over the next day.
It was a warm Tuesday morning, and Terry had asked his girlfriend Lana to put out some drinks in the study so they could sit and talk in there for a while. She left them a pitcher of lemonade half filled with ice cubes, and a couple of cold beers in a cooler. The room was filled essentially with two overstuffed sofas, a giant oriental rug, and a massive fireplace. There were no windows in this room, so the walls were covered with oversized works of art and tapestries. Recently Terry had his guitars and a television placed in the room, so he could play or watch TV for hours without distraction.

Charlie came over at 11am, and was greeted at the door by Lana. She was tall, no more than a few inches shorter than Terry’s 6’2” frame. Her long black hair was pulled into a braid that hung down to her hips. She wore a dress that looked more like a very long shirt – it was white, with red embroidery at the neck and arms designed to look like flowers and birds. It was very sheer, and you could see her shape beneath it in the sunlight. She hugged Charlie when she met him at the door, and said “I am very, very happy to see you here. I hope you two have a lot of things to talk about.”

“Oh, I am sure we will be talking for a while.”

“Follow me, Terry’s in the study right now. I think he’s playing one of his guitars.”

Sure enough, Terry was sitting back into one of the sofas playing one of the electric guitars in his collection. He was shredding some blues riffs, tapping his foot that was propped up on one of the cushions to the beat.

“Charlie!” He motioned to get up when he saw him at the door.

“Don’t bother, keep playing. That sounds like some space-blues or something. What are you playing?”

“Oh, just farting around with this old thing.” He looked down at the guitar. “It’s my 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard. I wouldn’t trade this thing for my right arm, any day.”

“It’s gorgeous. When did you get that thing? I never saw it.”

“Oh, I’ve had it for a while. Bought it in Tennessee when we played there back in 1978. The later versions of this aren’t quite the same; this is a classic. I would never let this baby see the light of day on stage back then. Maybe now I would bring her out, let her sing a bit – show people what she’s made of, you know?”

“Yeah, I can see why you’ve protected it.” Charlie walked over to Terry and took a closer look at the guitar. It’s wood made the guitar look like it was on fire, and hearing the sounds that it produced with Terry’s hands enhanced this image even more in Charlie’s mind.

Charlie sat down on the opposite couch, and eased into the cushions. Terry sat up and laid the guitar on the cushions next to himself. “Do you want something to drink, Charlie? A beer or something?”

“I’ll take a beer. It’s early, but what the heck.”

Terry reached under the table and pulled out the cooler left by Lana. “That’s convenient,” Charlie said, remarking on this.

“Yeah, it’s Lana’s idea. She’s taking real good care of me nowadays.”

“I’m really sorry to hear about your, um, condition, Terry. I guess that’s why I am here. When Frank told me about it, I was just floored. Stomach cancer?”

“Yup. It’s a bitch. Did he tell you that my doctors think I don’t have much time?”

“Yes, it’s just awful.”

“Well, I didn’t invite you here for a pity party, Charlie. You know that.” He handed a can of beer to Charlie, and closed the cooler lid.

“Aren’t you going to have something?”

“I can’t drink alcohol with the cancer. It’s against doctor’s orders, you know. I had surgery last month, and now I’m just waiting, I guess.”

“Wow, I can’t imagine what it must feel like.”

“Let’s change the subject now, ok? I know there are other things we can talk about here. I’ll get us started; how about we talk about how I treated you like shit when you got in the accident?”

“Ok,” Charlie took a sip of the beer and set it down on the floor. “So why did you do it? I heard from Frank that they were freaked about losing all the money from the tour if it didn’t go on, so I get that. But then I hear about you making some big news announcement and come to find out that you are now the lead singer for Accelerator.”

“Yeah, that was a fun day. Well, basically my ego had grown from the tour dates that I did without you. All the fans were crazy, but I thought they were there for me. After I made my decision, and coerced the band to go along with me – that I would be the next Charlie Clark, as it were – I quickly discovered that you were far from forgotten out there.”

“Well, god bless the fans.”

“Yeah, they make an honest person out of you eventually. You know, I would go out there and start singing the songs, and I could just see this glazed look on people’s faces. Even with the new stuff – no one was into it anymore.”

“I heard. Frank said that album sales are down.”

“They’re pitiful, Charlie. Don’t kid yourself – I stopped kidding myself when the label dropped us. My head was so big that that’s what it took for me to get a clue.”

“Hold on. The label dropped us? I mean, Accelerator? That’s unheard of!”

“The hits aren’t hits anymore, man. No one wants to hear it anymore.”

“No, that’s not true. I can go out there and sing our oldest stuff, the crap that came out before anyone had even heard of us, and I get cheers.”

“Well, that’s reassuring for some of us.”

Charlie could see that Terry’s wounds from the unwelcoming response of the audience still stung him. “Sorry. I just can’t believe that they dropped the band. It’s seems so sudden.”

“Nah, it was written on the wall. Frank saw it coming at least, and was giving us warnings. He’d tell us that we’d better churn out a hit or we were toast, and he was right. The thing is, no matter what we would give the fans, they were just not interested anymore. They had fallen under the spell of Charlie Clark!” Terry winked at Charlie.

“Thanks,” Charlie saluted Terry for the compliment. “So, then you found out about the cancer soon after that? What a fun year for you, too.”

“Tell me about it. Yeah, the alcohol, the smoking, and lord knows what else all made my stomach turn into this mass of – well, you know.”

“I bet it was the ‘what else’ that really did it to you. I wonder when the ‘what else’ will catch up with me.”

“Ha, yeah! I was thinking about all the shit we used to get away with back then, the other night. Do you remember when we went on tour with that band from Germany? What were they called?”

“The ones with the leather chaps and spurs? I think they were The Flux, or something like that.”

“Yeah! And we called them The Fucks, and they could never figure that out!”

“Do you remember what happened with their tour bus?”

“Aw, that’s what I was thinking about, Charlie! That was so brilliant! How did you do that, again?” Terry remembered the story verbatim, but wanted to hear Charlie
tell it with his enthusiasm and excitement, to bring the story to life again for him.

“Well, you remember how they had that narcoleptic bus driver?”

“Gilbert, right?”

“God, I don’t remember his name for Christ’s sake. Ok, Gilbert. Anyway, Gilbert was nodding off in one of the bunks on the bus, during their show, and we were just hanging out back stage, waiting for them to wrap it up so we could hit the road again. I got so bored listening to their crap music. I told Tim I would be right back. I think I said I was going to go take a leak.”

“Yeah, and you were gone for about thirty minutes and Tim was flipping out about it, I remember.”

“Oh, I can imagine how Tim would be pissing himself over that. Well, I got into their bus and I made sure Gilbert was knocked out. I think I put a pillowcase over his eyes, so he wouldn’t wake up or something.”

“Oh, genius my friend. A pillow case?”

“Well, I was probably blasted at the time.”

“Go on.”

“Thank you. Where was I?”

“You had blindfolded poor Gilbert…”

“Yeah, so I got the keys out of his pocket and fired up the truck. I guess I thought the cops had read my mind and were waiting for me or something, so I pulled out of the lot with the headlights off until I was a way down the road.”

“What were you planning on doing, anyway?”

“I hadn’t even thought that far ahead, you know? My big plan was just to get the bus and see what happened. And since nothing was happening I thought, ‘Well, this is boring. I’m just driving a bus right now.’ So then, it happened.”

“Yes?”

“I saw the lights shining down the road, Miss Bunnie’s Ranch House.”

“It was Divine Intervention.”

“Yes, a sure sign from God. So I pulled in and said to the gal at the counter that there was a band of horney men up the road, and how much would it cost for me to take about five gals on a road trip? Well, the big lady of the house didn’t like the idea of her girls leaving the ranch, on business or pleasure.”

“So what did you do?” Terry was loving every moment of the story Charlie was telling, and didn’t want him to pause or stop for breath.

“So, I told her that I was insured, and that if she didn’t believe me she should come along too. And she wasn’t going for that one, either. This next part is really embarrassing, and I should have stopped my little adventure here, but I was so gonzo on this idea of mine… well, anyway, she said that she wanted to see what I had going on in there. And I said, ‘Where, in the bus?’ And she said, ‘No, in THERE,’ and she’s pointing to my willy.”

Terry burst out into laughter. “You never told me about this!”

“Like I just said, for those of us who can pay attention, this was really
embarrassing for me. She made me drop my pants right in front of all the gals at the ranch!”

“Did they laugh too?”

“Oh shut up! No, they didn’t. She told me that she wanted to make sure I was healthy. And she sure as hell took her time, man. Stared at my poor guy for a good 30 seconds it felt like.”

“Did it fall off?”

“I’m going to stop now, if you’re going to be like that, Terry.”

“Oh no! Please, please go on. Just ignore me!”

“Fine. I was given a clean bill of health, and the lady was given a clean two hundred dollars, and off I went back to the club with a bus load of gorgeous women.”

“And I can tell you what happened while you were out.”

“Well, take it away.”

“You left to go take a leak, and the minutes are ticking by. The set is just about to wrap up, and Tim is getting everybody ready to head back onto the bus. So he asks me, ‘Where’s Charlie?’ And I look at him like he’s speaking French. I say, ‘Charlie? Did he leave? I thought he was back here, too?’ And Tim turns white - ghost white, man. He runs off looking for Frank like he’s about to keel over, and he comes back to me with Frank. Frank says to me, ‘Where did Charlie go?’ I said, ‘Look man, I don’t know where he went. Why don’t you go ask Aaron or somebody?’ So they go find Aaron and Twig and some roadies and they’re throwing their hands in the air. Meanwhile, The Fucks have wrapped it up, and are getting ready to leave, when their stage manager starts shouting something in German. Like, ‘Das bus! Das bus!’ And the guy runs up to Frank and says, ‘Where is Gilbert? Where is the bus?’ Frank and Tim just look at each other, and immediately figure out where the bus is and where you are.”

“Well, I was coming right back, you know. The ranch was about thirty minutes up the road from us. It was a quiet ride there, but it went fast on the way back!”

“I bet it did!”

“Aw, nothing disgusting of course. I am a civilized man, after all.”

“Well, it may have gone fast for you, but for those of us waiting on your return, it was like watching paint dry.”

“Is that why I had the audience waiting for me in the parking lot?”

“But, of course.”

“Well, once I got there all the gals are liquored up from the Germans’ stash, Gilbert I think woke up and thought he’d died and gone to heaven, and my arms were sore.”

“Why were your arms sore?”

“Driving that bus! It wasn’t one of those nice limousine numbers that we get nowadays. You actually had to shift the gears and turn that great big wheel with some muscle power.”

“Oh, poor baby!”

“Well, anyway I believe that bringing back the women was a brilliant idea of mine.”
“Yes, you would make a terrific pirate, Sir Clark. In fact, I believe that the booty you brought with you persuaded that band to not file charges against you for stealing their bus.”

“Well, it should have. I didn’t get to have any fun with them. I think they thought I was a roadie or something. Just because I drove the bus.”

“It serves you right. It’s your karma.”

Just then, Lana walked into the room. She had a glass of water and her hand cupped several pills. “I’ve got your medicine here, Terry.”

Terry sat upright, and leaned forward, reaching his hands out to take the glass and pills from Lana. “Thanks, darling.” He noticed Charlie staring at this spectacle, and said “Not the kind of pills I was used to taking from the hands of pretty girls, eh Charlie?”

Charlie snapped out of his stupor, and laughed at Terry’s joke. “Yeah, no kidding. What are they for?”

“Pain, mostly. And to help me heal. I already had the chemo, radiation, and all that jazz. Doesn’t do much for the healing process to get zapped by a laser and then have your veins pumped full of nuclear waste. Then you get to vomit until your eyes turn red.”

“Now, I’ve had those pills before,” Charlie joked with him.

“Exactly.” Terry threw the pills into his mouth, tilted back his head and quickly swallowed the water. He handed the glass back to a waiting Lana. “Here you go, nurse.” He patted her behind as she left his side. “I wish she would wear the nurse’s outfit I bought for her. Then the pills would go down a lot easier!” He said it more for Lana to hear than for Charlie.

Lana shouted out loud, as she walked away, “I told you – not when company is visiting!”

Terry wagged his finger at Charlie, and said, “There you go, causing trouble again!”

“Wait a minute. I remember one person who was stinking drunk and decided to go on a rampage with the electric shaver one night.”

“One night – long, long ago! I can’t believe you remember that.”

“How can I forget? I nearly had my eye socket shattered because of you!”

“Oh!” Terry waived off his protests, “It wasn’t that bad!”

“You must be going senile. Don’t you remember, when Aaron woke up and Twig said to him, ‘Something’s different about you. What is it?’ And Aaron is trying to figure out what the hell he’s talking about, and they look over at you and you’re practically pissing your pants, laughing so damn hard.”

“Well, it was fucking hilarious! A man loses his eyebrows overnight, and no one can figure out for the life of them what has gone missing!” Terry threw himself back, propping his head up with his hands.

“Oh, well, then Twig takes that baseball cap off…”

“It was his fault for always wearing that thing right as he got up. He should know better than to just assume that all of his hair would be under it.”

“I think you taught him that lesson.”
Terry sat up again, “Yeah, but do you remember what happened? He takes the hat off to scratch his head, cause he’s thinking so damn hard about Aaron’s face and why it looks different, and Aaron’s eyes go wide like saucers!”
Charlie continued, “And he screams out, ‘Twig! Your fucking hair! You’ve got a strip mowed right down the middle!’”

“And Twig smacked his head and is rubbing his hand all over it, feeling the bald strip there! Oh, it was genius!”

“And then Frank walks by, and he says ‘Did you burn your eyebrows off smoking in bed again, Aaron?’ And they both go running like mad into the toilet to look at the mirror!”

“Oh, I should have checked out of the hotel that same night. Shows how smart I was, sticking around.”

“They knew right away who had done it, too. Moron!”

“Was it that obvious, though? I guess so.”

“It was genius, and stupid, all at once.”

They shared a good laugh for a few seconds, and Terry laid down on the couch. “I’m pretty wiped out, man.”

“Yeah, I know, Terry. I know.” Charlie looked at his watch, and said, “I’m gonna head home now. I need to go check on Jean Marie. She doesn’t like me staying out for too long, now.”

“Why not? Afraid that you’re going to bring some hookers home in her car?”

“No, no that’s not it! She’s, well, pregnant with our baby.”

Terry’s face produced a smile that started as a startled response to Charlie’s admission, and spread into one of pure happiness.

“You’re kidding?”

“I am most certainly not. Although, she could be gaining weight from all the cookies and ice cream she has me buying for her now…”

“Oh, good job Charlie! That’s terrific!” He paused, thinking if he should ask the question that popped into his head. “Um, does Sheila know?”

“No, I haven’t told anyone except family yet. Frank doesn’t even know. I guess you’re the first.”

“Well I certainly won’t tell anyone unless you ask me to. That’s great news, Charlie. Daddy!”

“Thanks. You can throw me a baby shower, since you’re so tickled about it.”
Charlie got up and walked over to Terry.

“No, don’t get up, buddy.” Charlie leaned over and hugged Terry. “I’m going to call you tomorrow.”

“No – I’m going to call you. I heard that you have a recording studio now at the house, and I want to bring some music over.”

“Wonderful,” Charlie stood up. “Just call me and we’ll make a date.”

“Now, don’t just say that to out of pity for me…” Terry winced his eyes suspiciously at him.

“Fine, let’s set a date now. Tomorrow? How’s Wednesday afternoon sound? Bring Lana over, and she can swoon with Jean Marie over the baby stuff.”

“Very well. And I will bring my music and some guitars, and it will be a riotous affair indeed.”

“I will see you on Wednesday!” Charlie saluted Terry, and left the room. Lana showed him to the door and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.