“Are you sure you can afford it, Justin?” Maggie said in a low voice.
Justin laughed.
“I’ve been doing quite well. You don’t have to worry about that. I thought you might like to have the Weaver. It has a completely different sound from your Gibson.”
Maggie put her arms around Justin’s neck and kissed him.
“Thank you, my love.”
She was obviously touched by his generous gift.
“Can I play it too, Mama?” Jake wanted to know.
“Of course, sweetheart.”
“What about us?” Gabe wanted to know.
“I’ve been keeping most of my instruments at Ray’s while I was away,” Justin said. “I have a Les Paul you can play Gabe, and there is a violin that Belle can use too if she wants. Now let’s hit the road, I thought that we could stop at Muir Beach, Muir Woods and Mt. Tam before we go to Ray’s.”
Justin shook Randy’s hand and Randy thanked him for his business, and then they all went outside and got into the van. They had to drive a little out of the way to get to Muir Beach, but Justin had a reason for going there. He knew that Maggie was a big fan of Janis Joplin so when they got out of the van at the beach he whispered in her ear that this was where Janis’ ashes had been strewn after she had died. Maggie felt tears come to her eyes as she remembered the intensity with which Janis had performed her songs.
“What’s the matter, Mama?” Belle asked.
“Nothing dear, Justin just told me that this was one of Janis Joplin’s favorite spots.”
Belle and Jake didn’t really know what she was talking about, but Zak had been working on exposing Gabe to classic rock and roll, so he knew some of Janis’ songs.
“She was a great singer, wasn’t she Mom?” Gabe asked.
“Yes, she was, Gabe. It’s too bad that she passed away so young, but we will always remember her by her music.”
Justin put his arms around Maggie and gave her a hug and then they all walked back to the car together. Justin then drove them to Muir Woods which was on the slope of Mt. Tamalpais. Maggie and the kids were amazed by the enormous coast redwoods. Justin explained that they were among the tallest trees in the world and that some of them were approximately a thousand years old. Justin parked the van in the lot and then escorted them along the Main Trail which crossed a series of wooden bridges under the towering redwoods. The older children wanted to hike the entire six mile trail, but Jake was getting tired, so Maggie and Justin decided it was time to go back to the car.
“I think we have time to drive up to Mt. Tam, Maggie. It really has the best view of the area.”
“O.k. Justin,” Maggie said as she reached into the bag of snacks and handed them out to the kids in the back seat.
“I’m thirsty Mama,” Jake said, so she handed him a juice box.
Justin drove the van up the long ascent until they got to a parking lot that was about a quarter-mile from the top of the mountain. They walked up the steep and rocky path to the summit where they could see a 360-degree panorama of San Francisco spread out below them. Maggie looked at the rugged terrain and she could see why earthquakes were so common in this area.
“Were you here for the Loma Prieta earthquake, Justin?” she asked.
“No, luckily I was on tour with the band. It must have been scary, the devastation was incredible.”
“I’m not sure I could live here knowing that the big earthquake could happen at any moment.”
Justin looked at her seriously and said “If you stay here, you just have to make sure that you’re prepared in case something happens.”
He looked down at Jake and noticed that he was listening intently to them.
“It’s o.k., nothing will happen while you’re here,” he said.
Jake didn’t look completely convinced. He took Justin’s hand and held it tightly while they walked down the steep path to the car.
Maggie could tell that the kids were tired by the time they got to the car. They began the drive to Mill Valley, and Jake was asleep within ten minutes after leaving the parking lot. The other kids gradually fell asleep too.
Justin reached over and took Maggie’s hand as he drove down the road towards the town. They were grateful for some peace and quiet, even if it was only temporary.
Suddenly, Maggie let go of Justin’s hand and pulled out a piece of paper and a pen from her back pack and started scribbling.
“What are you doing, Maggie?” Justin asked.
“I had an idea for a poem,” and Maggie furrowed her brow in concentration.
Justin remained quiet until she stopped writing.
“Will you read it to me, Maggie?”
“It’s only a first draft, I have to work on it some more.”
He waited in silence, until she gave in.
“O.k.,” she paused for a minute and then cleared her throat.
“It’s called ‘Hikers’,” she said.
She waited another minute and then slowly started to read her poem to Justin.
“We take the longer route,
the gradual rise
through hushed pines
voices low in the heightened quiet.
As the path steepens and narrows,
conversation ceases.
My footsteps echo yours
ascending through
looming black boulders.
We stop on the ledge,
sneakers skidding
across the crumbling rock.
Above the tree line
but just below the peak.
Consider how the earth is shaped
by irresistible and inevitable forces.
Hold ourselves in exquisite
anticipation.”
Justin thought about it for a minute or two.
“I like it, Maggie. Is it a metaphor for sex?” he asked.
Maggie laughed. “Everything is a metaphor for sex with you, Justin.”
Justin laughed too, waking the kids in the back seat.
“I didn’t know that you wrote poetry.”
“It’s not that different than writing song lyrics,” she said. “I did study poetry in college, you know.”
“I knew that, but I thought you just read poetry, and I didn’t realize that you were still writing poems.”
“I guess you don’t know everything there is to know about me,” Maggie said and smiled.
“Are we there yet?” Gabe complained.
The kids were obviously starting to get restless. They had been in the car for several hours.
“We’re almost there, it’s only another ten minutes or so,” Justin answered.
Several minutes later, Justin pulled off the road down a long dirt driveway that ran through the woods. After a few minutes, they emerged into a sunny clearing with a house and an outbuilding at one end.
“O.k. kids, we’re here,” said Justin as they parked in the driveway next to several other cars in front of a contemporary house made of redwood clapboards. The kids opened the car doors and got out just as Justin’s friend Ray opened the front door of the house. He walked down to the car and hugged Justin.
“Hey man, good to see you. And this must be Maggie,” Ray said smiling.
“Yes, and this is Gabe, Belle and Jake.” Justin smiled as he introduced the children.
“Well, come inside and meet everyone. We’re just getting some snacks together in the kitchen.”
They followed Ray inside the house which was bright and spacious with its cathedral ceilings, skylights, and floor to ceiling windows. There was a group of about ten people congregated in the kitchen, several women were putting out various cheeses, fruit and crackers on large platters.
“This is my old lady Denise, and our three children Stella, Cassady and Hunter.”
Denise was about thirty-five years old with curly dark hair cascading down to her waist. The three children were approximately the same ages as Maggie’s children.
“Want to go see our pony?” t
he children asked, and then all the kids ran out the sliding back door towards the barn in the back clearing.
Maggie watched them and laughed.
“It certainly doesn’t take long to make friends at that age,” she said.
The other women smiled.
“So is the little boy Jake, your son?” Denise asked Justin.
“Yes,” he answered.
“He’s adorable and he certainly looks like you, Justin.”
The women started carrying the platters out the back door to the deck. Maggie and Justin followed them. Maggie was impressed by the immature redwoods on the property and the magnificent view of Mt. Tamalpais. A couple of attractive women in their twenties were lounging in the hot tub, they said hi and smiled. Maggie noticed that one of them looked at Justin for a long time, but he didn’t say anything to her, instead he sat down in a redwood chair next to Maggie.
“We thought that you and Maggie could take the guest bedroom and the kids could sleep in sleeping bags in the playroom with our kids,” Denise said to Justin.
Justin reached for Maggie’s hand and held it in his.
“Thanks Denise, that would be fine.”
Ray walked over and sat down next to Justin and Maggie.
“We’re planning on doing some playing later, would you like to join us Maggie?”
“I’d like that Ray,” Maggie said. She started feeling more comfortable, happy to be included in their group.
A few more guests arrived, bringing food and beverages. It reminded Maggie of the parties that she and Zak used to have in Louisiana when they were first married. Most of the guests were young and attractive and Maggie remembered a comment that Justin had made a while ago about how there were a lot of beautiful women in California. She had to admit that he was right about that.
Denise called out the back door to tell the children that dinner was ready. They instantly showed up on the deck and she told them to go into the kitchen to wash up. They looked like they were having fun and appeared to have become instantaneous best friends.
After everyone had eaten, the members of Justin’s band all walked over to the recording studio that was in the outbuilding that they had seen when they had first arrived. Justin and Maggie went to the car to get her new mandolin and they joined the other musicians in the studio. Everyone got beers and a few joints were passed around as the musicians tuned their instruments.
Justin pulled his Alembic bass out of its case and showed it to Maggie. It had a gorgeous quilted maple top with a medallion of a skull with a lightning bolt inlaid below the bridge. He plugged the guitar into the amplifier and Maggie noticed that there were blue LED fret markers along the side of the neck.
“I can see why you said this was your favorite bass Justin, it’s absolutely incredible,” she said.
He smiled at her.
“I’d love an electric mandolin with LED fret markers,” she said and they both laughed.
He struck a string with his pick and the sound boomed out loud and resonant. Then he played a series of complicated bass runs. Maggie was impressed.
“I’ve been listening a lot to Jaco Pastorius’ bass playing lately,” Justin explained. “I think he might have been the best bass player that ever lived. It was such a shame that he died so young.”
Maggie agreed with him. Just then the children ran into the studio and Jake stood in front of Justin completely entranced by his bass. Ray finished tuning his Stratocaster and Dave, the rhythm guitarist, played some riffs on his Les Paul. Ray turned towards Maggie and said, “Why don’t you use this mic, Maggie.”
She stepped up to the mic, feeling a little intimidated at the thought of singing with this famous rock band. Justin smiled broadly at her, and suddenly her nervousness evaporated.
“How about if you choose the first song Maggie, since you’re the guest,” Ray said.
“O.k…. I’ve been thinking about Janis all afternoon ever since we stopped at Muir Beach, so I’d like to do a song in her honor. How about ‘Piece of My Heart’?”
The band started playing the song and Maggie grabbed the mic, putting every bit of her soul into the song. Everyone was shocked by the raw, bluesy sound of her voice.
“Oh come on, come on, come on, come on.
Didn’t I make you feel
like you were my only man.
Yeah, and didn’t I give you
nearly everything
that a woman possibly can.
Honey, you know I did.”
She sang looking directly at Justin. He felt a thrill course through his body. When she was done, he said, “God, Maggie, that was incredible. You sounded like you were channeling Janis.”
“Mom, we didn’t know you could sing like that,” Gabe said.
“Your mom started off singing rock and roll and she used to sing with the Bayou Blasters, Gabe. But I guess you were too young to remember.”
“How about another Janis tune, Maggie?” Ray asked. “Do you know ‘Ball and Chain’?”
“I think so,” she said and she looked over at Justin and Ray indicating that they should kick off the song.
Maggie screamed and moaned her way through the tune sending shivers up everyone’s spines. When she was finished, Dave the rhythm guitarist said, “Yeah, that’s the way that song should be done. Maggie, your country stuff is good, but you need to start singing rock again.”
Justin leaned over to kiss her and whispered in her ear, “See, that’s what I’ve been telling you.”
The rest of the rehearsal was spent playing some of the band’s classic hits, covers of Dylan songs and obscure blues tunes. Maggie mostly sang harmony, but occasionally they would come up with a song that she could sing lead on, like “Me and Bobby McGee”. The studio gradually filled with onlookers until Maggie started feeling a little claustrophobic. She gave Justin a look and said “I guess I’m done for the night.”
“Yeah, Maggie and I are tired, it’s been a long day,” Justin said.
They gathered up the children and headed over to the house to get them ready for bed. After they settled them in their sleeping bags in the playroom, Maggie and Justin went out on the deck to look at the stars. Ray and Dave came up the back stairs and sat down with them. Ray lit a joint and passed it over to Justin, who then passed it to Dave.
“Maggie, you sounded great tonight. We’re supposed to play at the Oakland Coliseum next weekend. We were wondering if you might like to sit in with us.”
“Wow Ray, thanks. That’s an incredible offer. We were supposed to fly home on Wednesday, but maybe we could stay a couple extra days. What do you think, Justin?” Maggie asked.
“I think that would be cool,” he said smiling.
Maggie suddenly shivered.
“I guess I should have brought my jacket out here, it gets awfully cold at night.”
“It’s probably the fog settling in,” Ray said. “Why don’t you get into the hot tub for a while, Maggie? That should warm you up.”
Maggie noticed there were already a couple young women relaxing in the hot tub. Justin looked at her and smiled.
“C’mon Maggie, let’s get in the hot tub.”
He walked over and sat down on a bench and started disrobing. Ray took Maggie’s hand and led her over to the bench where Justin laughingly started to take her clothes off.
“I don’t know, Justin.”
Maggie looked at the beautiful young women and thought that no one would want to see her naked after having been pregnant with three kids. Ray took his clothes off too and then took Maggie’s hand and helped her step into the tub. Justin jumped in after her. They found some seats and sat down and looked up at the stars. It was an incredible evening. Justin leaned over to kiss her.
“I love you Maggie,” he murmured in her ear. “You are so incredibly beautiful.”
She put her arms around his neck and whispered back, “I love you too, Justin.”
After an hour in the tub, Maggie and Justin started feeling ultimately relax
ed and sleepy. They made their excuses and went into the house to sleep in the guest bedroom. Several hours later, they were awakened by a soft voice outside their door.
“Mommy, Daddy, can I come in?” It was Jake. “I was having a bad dream, I dreamed there was an earthquake. Can I come sleep with you?”
“Sure, son,” Justin said and Jake came into the bedroom and crawled into bed in between Maggie and Justin. Justin put his arm around him and they all fell sound asleep.
.
Chapter 16
The next morning, Justin woke up early. Jake was still sleeping peacefully beside him, but Maggie was gone. Justin got up to use the bathroom and then he went to the kitchen to see if Maggie was there.
He looked out the glass sliding doors and saw her sitting out on the deck. She was bundled up in a sweatshirt and jacket as the morning was cold and foggy. Maggie was holding a pen and was writing in a notebook with a look of intense concentration on her face. Justin slid the door open, startling her for a moment.
“What are you doing, Maggie?”
“I had an idea for a song,” she said.
“Can I see it?” he asked.
“O.k., but it’s not finished yet.”
Justin laughed to himself because according to Maggie her songs were never finished. He took the notebook out of her hands and started reading.
No Forwarding Address
You volunteered to live
Everyone’s fantasies
Living on the beach
In the lap of luxury
No mortgage, no phone,
No responsibilities
Living coast–to-coast
In the land of the free
Touring in the east
Surfing out west
You’re a man of the world
With no forwarding address
You moved forward,
Left your friends behind
They’re cutting their lawns,
You’re cutting out lines
You can’t stop,
You can’t even see the signs
The Sweetest Gift (The Gift) Page 9
