Chapter 68
It was a dreary February afternoon. Although the streets were dry, it looked like the skies could open up at any minute. Even the forty-degree temperature was a might chilly for the LA area- even in the middle of winter. The weather reminded her of home, and though it wasn’t the harsh climate that John had grown up with in Buffalo, at least it was winter. That was one thing that she missed living here in California. She desperately longed for the drastic seasonal changes that occurred in the Midwest. Here there was little if any hope of seeing any snow and it even made her miss the beauty of the occasional ice storm- not that she missed the subfreezing temperatures, slick streets, or power outages that accompanied them. She had been assured that spring was lovely here, but as far as she was concerned, what really made spring seem so special was that it signaled a rebirth after the dead of winter. How could they appreciate that here where nothing really ever died? The subtle tinges of pale green in the midst of all the gray scenery seemed to spark something magical in people who really knew what winter could look like. Not that an Oklahoma winter was severe at all. They certainly had their fair share of mild days, but at least it got cold enough and bleak enough that everyone genuinely appreciated the advent of spring. Spring in California seemed like it would be more symbolic than sincere; yet another artificial cause for celebration in an overly artificial setting. She knew that if she looked out the window right now and actually saw someone who was courageous enough to brave the ‘bitter weather’ they’d be bundled up in fur coats, heavy boots and gloves. The people here made her laugh. They could be absolutely ridiculous… and they were such babies!
Inside, away from the ‘biting’ cold, the house was quiet and Gennie sat in a chair in the living room watching John sleep. He’d stretched out on the couch after eating a meager lunch of toast- it was all he could keep down. She was relieved that he finally found some peace by mercifully falling asleep after being awake all night with a fever and stuffy head, not to mention coughing. He’d been hit with the same sickness she’d had a few weeks ago, but he’d gotten it much worse and she felt terrible for him. He seemed so miserable, in fact, that while she made a cup of hot tea to go with his toast, she dialed up his sister Gladys to get an old recipe that she recalled him telling her about. Apparently, when one of the Rzeznik children took sick, their mother would whip of a special batch of chicken soup that she promised could cure any ill. Gen thought it seemed like a hopeless effort on her part, seeing as she was no whiz in the kitchen, but seeing John transformed from the healthy robust man he normally was to the pathetically ailing little boy he was today, it made her want to at least try to make him feel better if nothing else. Besides, maybe his mom was right. Maybe this soup did have amazing restorative qualities that no drug store could replicate.
Before she got up to start on this miraculous soup she noticed that he seemed to finally be breathing easily. The cold tablets must have kicked in she figured. The poor guy was positively miserable otherwise. It was hard to believe that just a few short days ago, he looked like the picture of health at the Grammys. But pictures lie and behind the healthy, perfect image was a guy who was so pumped up on cold medicine that he could barely stand up. He wouldn’t listen to anyone around him who told him to stay in bed and watch on TV. He wasn’t about to miss this opportunity to possibly accept one of the small phonograph shaped awards- his first! His only concession was to back out of performing a song that night. He knew there was no way he could fake his way through that.
As much as the guys hated to do it, Mike and Robby were actually pleased that he decided to back down on that issue. Robby had called Gennie and requested her honest opinion. He knew that John wasn’t going to stay home all together, but he needed to know if Gennie thought he could actually sing the song, remember the words and how to play it on his guitar. It broke her heart to tell the truth, but she had to tell him no. She knew that he was pretty loopy on his meds and even though in the past he had probably pulled off entire shows in a much less coherent state, it didn’t seem like a wise move to perform so questionably in such public arena. Both she and Robby were painfully aware of the stinging effect of the press and if he were to get up there in his current state they would have a field day with the rumors. It was something Robby was terribly concerned about. It was press they didn’t need. In the end, the decision was made to talk John into stepping down on this one matter.
As it turned out, as horrible as it was for her to watch him suffering his way though the unbearably long program, and despite the fact that he basically collapsed into the car as they were leaving, she was really glad that he went. Though they didn’t come home with the three trophies they were up for, they did come home with one. And that one award meant the world to him. It made her laugh to think how he even behaved like a little boy by keeping it on the nightstand beside the bed. It was the first thing he saw each morning, and the last thing he saw before he went to sleep. It had some symbolic meaning to him that even she had difficulty understanding. She planned to humor him a little while longer before moving it to the shelf with all the other awards in his studio. Up until this point there seemed to be a concerted effort on his part to keep that segment of his life confined to certain parts of the house. She certainly hoped he didn’t want to make it a permanent fixture in their bedroom. Neither of them wanted to live in a self-congratulatory rock star shrine.
When she was assured that he was resting comfortably, she picked up his empty tea mug and his half eaten plate of toast and headed for her kitchen adventure. Methodically, she pulled ingredients from the fridge and the cabinet. She moved quietly so as not to wake him; she wanted this to be a surprise for him. Anything to make him feel even a little bit better, she thought.
Suddenly, the telephone rang, startling her silent, stealthy moves. She rushed to pick it up before the urgent ringing woke him up. “Hello?” she spoke quietly into the receiver.
“Gladdy tells me he’s sick. You think he’ll live?” asked the unidentified voice on the other end.
“Oh, hi Kate. Yeah, he’ll live. But he feels like hell.”
“So you’re gonna try to make him some of the special Rzeznik cure, are ya?” she chuckled.
“Um, well, that’s what I’m trying to do right now. I’m a lousy cook. I hope I don’t kill him with my cooking!” Gen laughed. “So how was the cruise? Did you just get back?”
“Uh huh. Just a few hours ago. It sure sucks to come back to frigid Buffalo after spending a week in the Caribbean. I would’ve stayed there forever if they’d let me. I’ve only been back, what, four hours now? And already I’m sick to death of the snow again.”
“But at least you have winter. You’d miss it if you didn’t have it,” she smiled recollecting the thoughts that had just passed through her mind a few minutes ago. “All this nice weather in LA gets to be too bland and boring for me.”
Kate laughed at Gen’s reasoning. Evidently, she knew nothing of what winter could really be like. “I’ll trade you any day, Gen! You just come on up to Buffalo and see how long you last before you’re crying for the beach.”
“Whatever,” Gen
replied with a smile in her voice. “So have you heard the latest news?”
“Well, I think so. Most of it anyway. Gladdy was just getting me all caught up with everything I missed. We sure picked a shitty time to go on vacation, y’know.”
“Well, then you know that he got a Grammy.”
“Yeah,” she sighed. “Just one though. I know he had his heart set on all three. So how did the performance go? I haven’t even had time to watch the tape of the show yet.”
“Ah, well, then Gladdy didn’t tell you everything.”
“I guess not. We were only on the phone a few minutes. What happened?”
Gen chuckled, “Well, nothing, actually. They backed out of doing it. He’s just been too sick.”
“Really? It’s that bad?” Kate asked, amazed.
“Yeah. Really. We tried to talk him out of going all together, but he insisted.”
“Well of course he did!” she exclaimed in her brother’s defense. “He wouldn’t have missed it for the world. You should know that, Gen.”
“Oh, I know,” she sighed. “But the whole night I kept worrying that he was gonna pass out, y’know. All the drugs he had in him were making him a little off his game, if you know what I mean. Thank God he was able to pull himself together for the acceptance speech. I don’t think he could’ve done that three times, to be honest.”
“Hmm. I guess I’ll have to watch the tape and see how crappy he looks,” she teased.
“Yeah,” Gen laughed as she continued trying to prepare the soup. “Hey, Kate. Can I use any horseradish in this soup or does it have to be this specific kind that Gladdy mentioned?”
“Nah, any kind’ll do. Geez, you’re really making this stuff, aren’t ya?”
“As we speak!” Gen announced proudly.
“So…” Kate drawled after a brief pause. “How was Valentine’s Day?” She had a hopeful sound in her voice like she was lying in wait for something big.
“Valentine’s Day was a bust for me,” Gen replied suspiciously. She wondered what Kate was leading up to with this.
“You mean you didn’t do anything special?” She sounded genuinely disappointed.
“Well, let’s see. I took him to the doctor. I got his prescription filled. I did some laundry. So, sorry, nothing romantic,” she chuckled.
“But it was your first Valentine’s together. That’s a shame.”
“Oh, well, I did make him some jello in a heart shaped mold. I gave him a card and a picture of us from the first time we went out. Does that count?”
Kate giggled at Gen’s homebound holiday. “That’s real nice, Gen. But what did he get you?”
Gen sighed, but had to laugh. “Kate, honey, I was just grateful that he didn’t puke in the car. It was touch and go there for a while. He didn’t have to get me anything.”
“Oh brother,” she groaned. “He doesn’t get off that easy!”
“I know he had something big planned. A nice dinner or something, but it’ll have to wait for a while. Once he’s feeling better, I’m sure he’ll make it up to me. He can be quite the romantic, you know.”
Kate laughed. “So I’ve heard. Well, listen, I’ve gotta get the kids ready for their baths so I’ll let you get back to your soup making. I hope it does everything it did when we were kids! I know Johnny really believes in it.”
“I’ll keep my
fingers crossed. Bye Kate. Take care.”
Gen disconnected and resumed her cooking duties. Once she had it all together, she sat back for a few hours and read a book while it simmered. She prayed that some kind of miraculous intervention would come into play here. She found it extremely hard to believe that anything she made could make him feel better, much less cure him completely. But there was always hope.