On a Wicked Night - Glenn Danzig & Maria Brink

The Present

Glenn stirred in bed in his shallow sleep, vaguely aware of the sound of rain hitting the glass of the window by his bed side. Rain? That didn't add up. It was winter time in New Jersey. They were in the middle of a blizzard. Why would there be rain? He blinked his eyes open as he heard a faint rumble of thunder. His brows furrowed as he sat up and looked towards the window but it was too dark to see outside. But the rain...he definitely heard the rain. And...the gentle hissing of a cymbal. Then came the rhythmic bass line with the tickling of a few piano keys. He knew that song. It was so familiar. Then the voice came...a voice he'd know anywhere. One of the voices he sang to when he was finding his own.

Glenn reached over to the nightstand and clicked on the light. He scanned the room but he was seemingly alone. Then he realized the voice was coming from the hallway. That voice he knew so well.

Glenn swung his legs over the side of the bed and his bare feet met the cold floorboards. His jaw clenched at the sensation but he padded forward, down the hallway, following the cool, mellow baritone that had helped shape his musical direction. He squinted in the dark hallway when he noticed a dim light coming from Maria's boudoir...or her art and music studio. Glenn felt his breath hitch in his throat and his chest tighten. The light was on. Had she come home? Glenn swallowed thickly as he pushed the door open gently. Disappointment and bewilderment met him at once.

There sitting on Maria's pink chaise sat a lean, lanky form. A mane of brown curls tumbled down in front of his face as leaned forward, an elbow resting on the knee of the blue jeans bell bottomed legs, his arm held up at a right angle and in between his index and middle finger was a lit cigarette. He tapped his heel in time to the music the white upright piano played. But, no one was playing the piano...the keys seemed to press themselves down as the man vaguely conducted with his cigarette. And he sang, "Girl, ya gotta love your man...Girl, ya gotta love your man...Take him by the hand...Make him understand....The world on you depends, our life will never end....Gotta love your man, yeah..."

The man flipped his brown curls back and turned, his crystal blue eyes met Glenn and a shrewd smile appeared on his full lips.

"...Jim?" Glenn asked bewildered.

"Sorry I'm not as good looking as the last one," Jim responded before he brought his cigarette to his lips and gave it a puff before flicking it away. The cigarette dissipated in thin air. Jim grinned, "Marilyn sure is something, isn't she?"

"I....I thought that was just a dream..." Glenn stammered for a moment. But no...it hadn't been. He could still smell the hint of Chanel Number 5 that had graced her skin. Glenn sighed as he eyed Jim warily, "What are you here for? To show me more of my past?"

"Well...technically no but technically yes. I'm here for the present really, but we can also call it the not so distant past. I'm here to go over what happened earlier today," Jim explained as he stood from the chaise.

"Can you show me Maria? Bring me to her?" Glenn asked. If Jim was a spirit with supernatural powers surely he could do that. He could bring Glenn to Maria...or better yet bring her home to him. He could apologize to her properly and they could sweep it all under the rug and everything could be good as new...right?

"'fraid not," Jim responded with a knowing sympathetic smile, "That's not how this works. I'm not here for her...I'm here for you. You lost your way, my friend. She didn't. Maria's always known who she was and what she wanted but you...what do you want?"

"Fuck!" Glenn shouted, exasperated, but Jim stood calmly looking back at him, "God...I know... I KNOW I fucked up so just...just fucking bring her here so I can tell her that!"

"I'm afraid you might not have learned your lesson, Glenn," Jim responded, a look of sympathy in his eyes, "You took her for granted. You're still taking her for granted. You think you can just tell her you're sorry and suddenly everything will be okay."