Chapter 56
“How the hell can you eat that shit?” he teased. “It’s dripping in grease! It’s disgusting!”
John watched in horror as Gennie liberally doused her dinner with vinegar. It had been her idea to go out for fish and chips. He was tired and wanted to order room service, but they compromised and settled on the pub across the street from the hotel. The thought of devouring the meal that had just been set in front of her made him sick. He wouldn’t touch the stuff.
His disgust urged her to mock him by smiling devilishly as she took an enormous bite. “Mmmm… grease,” she taunted.
He shook his head as he bit into his turkey sandwich. “That’s gonna kill ya, you know.”
She just laughed; his attitude wasn’t going to stop her from eating one of her favorite things in the world. “And nothing you do is bad for you, of course.”
His guilty smile was evident through the bottom of his now empty pint glass. “Of course not. I’m the perfect picture of health.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” she retorted with a roll of the eyes.
“Whatever.” He pushed back his chair and got up from his seat. “I’m getting another. You want one?”
Gen nodded and he casually strolled up to the bar, returning with a pitcher this time. He topped off her glass and filled his own. “So, Gen, I hate to bring up a buzzkill subject, but have you decided how long you’re gonna stay? I’m here another week and I’d like you to stay with me.” He sighed emphatically, “Not that you get to see much of me.”
“No, you’re right. I don’t get to see much of you. I’d like to, but you know I’ve gotta go back to work. I’ve got a couple more days then I’ve gotta leave.”
“But you’re leaving, right? The job, I mean.”
“Yeah, but I can’t just walk out on ‘em though. You know that.”
“Aw, Gen..”
“No. Look, the sooner I get back, the sooner I can move, you know. I’ve got a lot of stuff to do to get ready for that. The least of which is putting in my final two weeks at work.” She popped a vinegary dripping French fry in her mouth. “You’re so busy here anyway, you’ll barely miss me.”
He gave her a sad, disappointed look, but he knew she was right. It was really selfish of him to expect her to stay just so he could see her for a few minutes a day. He was really happy that things were going so well for the band here, but it was a shame that it came at the expense of what would’ve been a really great getaway for the both of them.
“So how’s your sandwich? Close enough to home for you?”
He rolled his eyes at her. “Shut up,” he said teasingly. “And, no, it’s not like home at all. They put all kinds of weird shit on this thing.” He eyed his sandwich suspiciously, but took another bite anyway.
“It’s not like home cause you’re not at home, dude. Things are different here. I’ll tell ya where you should go if you want to feel like you’re home. There’s this Mexican restaurant by Trafalgar Square that’s really good, and it feels like home.” She giggled. “As odd as that sounds, it’s true! It’s really good Tex-Mex just like home. And,” she smiled, holding up her near empty glass, “free refills! And they have iced tea too! You know how I can’t get enough of that.”
He downed the last of his pint and groaned frustratedly. “We’re going there tomorrow then. I miss home.”
“Ok, deal. Sounds good to me.” She refilled both their glasses and decided to go for one more pitcher before they called it an evening. They were having fun- he made a pretty good drinking buddy. Granted, he was no Stacey, but he’d do. Taking the empty with her, she returned to the bartender to request another. Business was picking up and they were shorthanded this evening, so she took a seat at the bar and waited for her turn at the bar keep.
“Um, excuse me. Ma’am?”
Gen turned her head to see a young woman sitting at the corner of the bar, eyeing her quizzically. She seemed a little surprised to be the one she was talking to. Leaning her direction so she could be heard over the din, she pointed at herself. “Me?”
“Yeah, um,” the girl stuttered uncomfortably, “I really hate to bother you, and I know this sounds stupid, but is that,” she cocked her head subtly in the direction of their table, “Is that guy you’re with in a band?”
Gen felt a blush rise in her cheeks. “Yeah,” she answered simply, not knowing how much to divulge.
“Are they, um, on tour here right now?”
She nodded. “You know him?” At the same moment the bartender approached to fill the pitcher.
“Well,” the girl turned slightly in her chair to get a better look, “Is his name John?”
Gennie grinned. It was fun watching this girl try to acquire her information without getting too excited about who she’d just accidentally happened upon. “Yeah.”
“Oh my God,” she said very calmly. “Is that really John Rzeznik?”
A burst of laughter escaped from Gen’s lungs. “It is! You do know him!”
“Um, yeah, I have all his… their albums. I’m sort of a fan, I guess.”
“Cool!” She took the refilled pitcher and turned back toward the table. “C’mon, I’ll introduce you. You can sit with us, have a drink!”
“Look, I don’t want to bother you. I know you’re eating.”
“No, no… we’re done with dinner. We’re just sittin’ around drinkin’ now.” She held up the pitcher as illustration. Holding out her hand, she introduced herself, “My name’s Gennie. Nice to meet you.”
“Hi Gennie, my name’s Steph. And this is too cool of you!”
Gen shrugged, “Eh, no problem.”
As they approached the table, John reached out and took the pitcher. He smiled at Gen’s new companion. “Cool, you brought company!”
“John,” Gen cheerily introduced him, “I’d like you to meet Steph.” She turned to the dark haired girl beside her, “And Steph, as you know, this is John.”
John stood politely and extended his hand. “It’s nice to meet you Steph.” He moved over and offered his chair to her. “Please, have a seat. Gimme your glass, ya want a refill there?”
Steph nervously sat at the table beside him, unsure of what she should say. So many things drifted in and out of her mind, but none of them lingered long enough for her to grasp it and turn it into words. She finally settled on “It’s really cool to meet you.”
“Steph has all the albums,” Gennie interjected trying to jump-start the conversation between the nervous fan and the suddenly shy rock star.
“You do? Our albums? All of them?”
“I really do!” she replied with a bashful smile.
“Even that crappy first one we did? It totally sucked, y’know.”
“No it didn’t! And yeah, I do have it.” She finally coerced her thoughts into an organized pattern, “And I really want to thank you for writing such beautiful songs. They really mean a lot to me.” She blushed, “I don’t mean on the first album. I mean on the rest of them.” Then realizing that she may have just embarrassed herself, she tried to remedy the situation, “I don’t mean that the first one was bad, but, you know what I mean.”
“Yeah,” he smiled appreciatively, if somewhat embarrassed. “Thanks. That’s really cool.” Taking notice of her lack of an accent, he questioned her. “You’re American. Are you here on vacation?”
“Nope,” she smiled, “I go to school at the university.”
“Wow! That’s impressive. I only went a few blocks to go to college. It would be too amazing to go to a whole other country. England’s pretty cool. You like it here?”
“Yeah, it’s not bad. There’s lots to do and most importantly, it’s far from home!” she grinned.
“So are you going to the show tomorrow?” Gen inquired.
Steph sighed. “You know what? I really wanted to, but before I had a chance to get tickets, I found out they were sold out. The place must be really small or something.”
“Yeah,” John answered regretfully, “it is. But y’know, just a couple weeks ago we were having trouble selling those seats!”
“Oh yeah,” Steph said excitedly, “The single is doing really well over here. My friends at school finally know who you are. They didn’t before, so that’s a good thing, at least. One of the girls in my composition class even got tickets. She didn’t know you till I told her about you.” She sighed again, “I went to buy tickets not long after she went and they were already sold out.”
John smiled eagerly. “You know what, Steph? I can get you tickets if you want ‘em.”
“Are you serious?”
He chuckled. “Of course I am. It’s my show, y’know. I think I can get you in, no problem.”
“That would be… wow… really?”
“Yeah, really!” he giggled. It always made him feel good to be able to do something nice for someone who really appreciated it. He was glad he had this opportunity to make her day. “It’ll be nice to have at least one person who’s happy to see me tomorrow night.”
Steph shot him a confused look.
“The fans in Paris last night were not the most receptive crowd,” Gennie explained.
“No kidding?” she asked. “They didn’t like you there?”
“Oh,” he groaned, recalling a venue only partially filled - a lukewarm attendance of an unenthusiastic audience, “they aren’t into us in France. They had almost no reaction at all. The single’s bombing over there. They say it’s because of the language barrier.” He rolled his eyes. “I think that’s a load of crap, myself. I think they just hate us.”
“The French are idiots then,” Steph teased.
John looked at Gennie with a huge smile on his face. “I think I like her reason better, don’t you?”
Gen just giggled. “Hey, whatever works.”
“Has the rest of the tour been good, though?” she asked. John and Gennie seemed so relaxed and casual, that Steph quickly loosened up and chatted amiably with them. This was not at all what she would have expected from meeting a famous musician.
“Yeah,” he nodded happily. “Things at home were great! And here, well, it’s been really good up to last night. We’re doing really well, in general right now. Once we head off to Italy, the pandemonium starts again.”
“Really?” Steph and Gen asked simultaneously, curious looks on both their faces.
“Yeah,” he mumbled through his laughter. “They’re crazy there. Almost crazier than back in the States, if you can imagine that, Gen.”
Steph turned her attention to Gennie. “So are you here with the band? You’re his girlfriend?”
Gen’s eyes met John’s as she answered proudly. “Uh huh, I am.”
“Do you get to go to all the shows? Cause that would be so amazing!”
“Well, not all of them…”
John quickly cut her off. “Gen’s leaving me in a couple of days to go back home and go to work.” He looked to Steph for some sort of sympathy. “It’s been a point of contention between us. I think she should stay.”
Steph grinned at Gen. She understood the responsibilities of having a job; she had one too. But she couldn’t imagine saying no to this guy with the beautiful sad blue eyes. “Dude, you should totally stay here with him!”
“That’s what I say!” John chimed in.
Gennie blushed and stared up at the ceiling. “If only it were that easy.”
“Eh, your job’s not going anywhere, right?”
“Well, I can’t just quit going and expect to still have a job, though.”
John leaned over and whispered in Steph’s ear. “Tell her it doesn’t matter.”
Now it was Steph that was blushing. “Um, I hear it doesn’t matter.”
“Well, it does.” Gen giggled. “Don’t believe him for a minute.” She gave Steph a semi-serious look. “My advice to you… Don’t ever let a man lead you astray. They’ll try, but don’t let it happen. Make sure that you’re always responsible for yourself, no matter what he tells you. Cause in the end, you paddle your own boat. The guy just stands at the front and makes you think he’s doing all the work. But we know the truth,” she said with a wink. “Besides,” she grinned, “for the rest of us most days are France. We seldom ever get an Italy!”
John gave her a crooked smile. He admired her gumption to stand up for herself. But he really wished she didn’t feel so strongly that way. As he pondered her words of wisdom to his newfound friend, the electronic chirp of a mobile phone played an old Rolling Stones classic, to which he quickly responded. “Yeah man, whaddaya want?” It was Robby and he was wondering where his buddy had been all this time. “No dude, I got something to eat. I was hungry.” He shrugged and smiled apologetically at his drinking companions. “When? Yeah? What’s going on right now? Well come over here then. No, man, here. There’s someone you should say hi to.” He smiled at Steph. “We’re in the pub across the street. See you in a few.” He quickly disconnected. “Sorry about that guys. I’m gonna have to get going in a minute Steph, I’m really sorry. We’re doing some late night radio show and we’re on in an hour or something. Rob’s meeting me here.”
“Cool. What station? I can go back to my room and give it a listen.”
“Y’know, I don’t know. Rob will. He’s like a genius when it comes to shit like that! I never remember anything.”
“Awww…”
“No seriously, I can’t remember things. My memory sucks.”
Steph grinned. “You drink diet soda, don’t you? Aspartame is really bad for your memory. I just read that in an article from my health class.”
“Really? I do drink diet Coke. Maybe that’s the culprit. Just another thing I oughta quit. But until then, you’ll have to bear with me. You got a piece of paper?”
“No,” Steph replied. “Can you use this beer coaster?”
“Sure. Write down your name and a number where we can reach you if we need to, ok? I’ll have the tickets waiting somewhere for you. There must be a box office or something there, right?”
“I think so.”
“Then that’s probably where they’ll be.”
Steph bummed a pen off someone at a nearby table and wrote out her vital information on the beer mat.
While she was scribbling away, Robby ambled up to their table, Mike in tow. “So,” he said in his normal chipper voice, “is this who you wanted me to meet? Cause I already know this one.” He playfully punched Gennie in the arm.
“Yeah, Mike, Robby, this is Steph. She’s a student at the university. We’re getting her into tomorrows show. Did you know they sold out?”
“Yeah, I did, actually,” he grinned. “Glad we could hook you up!”
Steph held out her hand and with a look of disbelief, shook both Robby and Mike’s hands. “Hi! It’s nice to meet you.” She smiled, suddenly shy and embarrassed all over again. “I was telling John and Gennie what a big fan I am of your band. I have all your albums.”
“Oh man, that’s really cool,” Robby grinned.
“Ever been to one of our shows before, Steph?” Mike asked.
“A couple back home. But never here, of course.”
“Till tomorrow,” he smiled.
“Yep, till tomorrow. I really can’t wait! It’s so nice of you to do this for me! I really appreciate it so much. You guys are too cool!”
“Aw, thanks, Steph.” John got up from his seat and gave her a hug and a kiss. “I’m glad we got to meet you. Give your information to Gen and we’ll get it taken care of. And we’ll see you tomorrow, ok?”
“I’ll be there,” she answered eagerly.
Mike held out his hand again. “Bye, Steph, nice meeting you.”
“Same here.”
Robby gave her a quick pat on the back. “Hope you enjoy the show, kiddo.”
“I will. Hey,” she thankfully remembered the one thing she meant to ask him, “What radio show are you gonna be on? I’m going back home now. I was gonna listen.”
“Xfm. Does that sound right?” He was a little uncertain.
“Yeah. Ok. Cool. Um, see you tomorrow night!”
“Bye,” the three guys called out as they headed out the front door.
“Well, I suppose I should head back to the room. I’m so tired. Funny what a little travel and a lot of beer will do to you,” Gen laughed.
“Dude, thanks so much for introducing me like that. That was so cool! You rock, Gennie!”
“Hey, you’re welcome. Glad I could do it for you.” She turned to leave. “Oh! Where’s that coaster? He’d kill me if I didn’t come back with that.”
Steph handed over the coaster, said her good byes and left the pub with a smile on her face. She found it hard to believe that she’d just sat around chatting and having a pint with John Rzeznik. It wasn’t at all what she would have imagined in her wildest dreams, but it was kind of fun, nonetheless. And he wasn’t the asshole she’d thought he was either, so that was an added bonus. What started out as a shitty day for her had turned out pretty nicely in the end.