Cacophony

23: t e m p l e o f t h e d o g

I want to show you something, like joy in my heart. Seems I've been living in the temple of the dog.

October, 1990

"Look what Stoney gave me." Sydney giggled as she and Chris settled on the couch for the evening.
When she pulled out a joint, he looked up at her with raised eyebrows.
"Since when did you become such a pot head?" He joked, taking it from her and looking at it.
"It's always been an occasional treat I like to partake in. Wanna smoke it with me?"
He looked down at her sweet face, her hopeful and mischievous smile playing over him. Thinking for a moment, he decided that it wouldn't hurt to cut loose a little bit. He'd been back on the straight and narrow ever since Sydney had returned home, but he had never viewed pot as being a bad thing. It certainly wasn't a substance that he had ever struggled with. Shrugging, he laughed at the way her face lit up with excitement. She pulled a lighter from her pocket and lit the joint, taking a long drag and blowing the smoke up toward the ceiling. Passing it to him, he took a hit. His body relaxed as he exhaled, feeling at ease and happy. It was just the two of them and Bill, just as it should be.
Forty five minutes later, they were in the kitchen. He was teaching her how to make the most superb grilled cheese, and they were laughing so hard that both their sides hurt. Sydney had buttered the bread but then forgot that the butter side was supposed to lay down on the pan, ending up with a weirdly burned mess. He'd been so busy flirting with her that he hadn't noticed until it was too late.
"I love you so much, even though you're a shit cook." He chuckled.
Her laughter erupted from her chest again, filling the room. Chris had always loved Sydney's loud, dorky laugh. She had one of those laughs that made everyone laugh harder at her than at the joke.
"I'm sorry! I was distracted... you know, the facial hair is really working for me."
"Is it?" He asked, his voice low as he turned the burner off and moved the pan to a cool surface.
The atmosphere in the room shifted, lust thickening the air as he pulled her close.
"Mhm." She agreed, looking up at him hungrily.
"Wanna take it for another test drive?" He asked with a smirk.
She wasted no time in agreeing, wrapping her arms around his neck as he lifted her off her feet and sat her on the kitchen counter.

***

A couple of hours later, they were sitting in the basement where they had most of their musical equipment set up. Chris had been messing with the guitar for some time, his notebook showcasing numerous scribbles and crossed out words. He was working on something, and even though it was far from a finished product, Sydney listened closely from where she worked close by. She had her soldering iron out, making middle finger pendants to stay busy, passing time while listening to him create something that she thought was beautiful. Yet again, it didn't seem like a Soundgarden song, and she wondered if it would show up on the album he was working on with Jeff, Stone, Mike and Matt.
"I don't mind... stealing bread..." He sang, plucking at the strings.
She worked quietly, trying to act as if she wasn't listening. Chris worked better that way, without feeling like he had an audience. It used to confuse her as to how he could stand up and deliver explosive performances night after night while on tour, only to become shy and reserved even around his friends when creativity sparked inside of him to write a song. She supposed that the process was different when coming up with new material, compared to delivering already written material to a crowd that was familiar with it. Either way she had no desire to interrupt whatever he was doing.
When she finally gave in and told him that she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer, he tucked her into their bed and then resumed his work in the makeshift studio in the basement. Very quickly she drifted off to sleep with his muffled voice soothing her through the walls.
"I'm going hungry, yeah."