Cacophony

29: f i n a l l y f o r e v e r

On the altar of a sunrise was a wedding in the waves. When you come around you'll make me whole.

October 6th, 1991
Hollywood, CA

"Besides friends, family and loved ones, is this in fact the first public performance?" An MTV reporter was asking Eddie and Chris.
They were at the 5th anniversary party for RIP Magazine along with Pearl Jam and Alice In Chains. There were two other bands there along with the headliner, Spinal Tap.
"It's the first one out of Seattle isn't it?" Ed replied, looking up at Chris.
"It's the first one out of Seattle, yes. We did a few things in Seattle but this is the first one out of city limits." Chris nodded.
"They paid us more money to do this than they were gonna pay The Beatles for a reunion."
Sydney stifled a smirk at Eddie's joke, but Chris went right along with it.
"Yeah, I don't know. I don't have anything else I really need- maybe buy a house or a new skateboard."
"Well maybe it's time to make a list. Why not? There's gotta be a few records you need still." The reporter urged.
"Yeah, well we get those for free so maybe we'll just have to find an organization, you know, a charitable organization to give it to."
The guys exchanged a small smile between them, and the reporter pressed right on.
"Well there are a lot of people looking forward to this. I mean certainly Mother Love Bone had like, a pretty tragic ending, and a lot of people are looking forward to this show. Any particular thoughts about that?"
Instantly Sydney felt a prickle of anger and irritation at the reporter. The way she indirectly and unnecessarily tossed the topic of Andy's death into conversation so casually felt invasive. She could tell that both the guys felt similarly. Eddie's smile tightened and he looked down at the floor, while Chris's expression fell blank. There was an awkward pause, and Sydney resisted the urge to step in and end the interview right then and there. Eventually Chris spoke, but you could tell that he had been caught a little off guard.
"Well I think- I think that uh... personally, I guess, you know, seeing this band might help somebody f-feel... differently about it. Or maybe more uplifted about it if they were- if they were um... upset about how Mother Love Bone ended. But personally, I look at Pearl Jam as being a real inspiring force musically. So I think other people will probably do the same, you know."
He made brief eye contact with Sydney, who offered her husband an encouraging smile before he continued. Leave it to him to find the right words to say in an awkward situation.
"I think for anyone that had to experience that tragedy, everybody has turned around to experience something really inspirational."
Eddie looked up again, a smile spreading over his face as he shyly made eye contact with Chris. Chris mirrored his sheepish grin, and after a moment Eddie said to him quietly,
"I just wanna kiss you."
Without a shred of hesitation, Chris leaned forward and kissed him right on the lips. It was a decent enough kiss to knock the tiara that Eddie was wearing clean off his head before the two embraced, laughing. Sydney's eyes went wide, biting her lip to stop the outburst of laughter that almost escaped. Eddie caught her eye and suddenly pulled away from Chris.
"Ah shit I forgot your wife was here." He lied. "Sorry Sydney."
She only shook her head, smiling.
"Your wife is here?" The reporter asked Chris interestedly. "I didn't know you were married."
"Oh yeah. She's the cute little blondie over there. She's always with us on the road because she doubles as our body guard." He nodded toward her.
"Your body guard? Really?" The reporter laughed.
"Yeah... actually she was our body guard before I married her. She might not look very scary but that's what makes her so, you know, formidable. Her opponents underestimate her which gives her the upper hand to like... beat them up."
Sydney shook her head again, ready for this interview to be over. They were so ridiculous, but she loved that he made her tag along for these interviews. Not only did it make him feel better to have her there during these awkward things, but he always tried to say something dumb that would make her smile. When this reporter was finally finished with them they joined back up with Sydney.
"I never thought that after only two months of marriage you'd cheat on me on television with another man." She told Chris, feigning hurt feelings.
"Sorry, Sydney baby. I won't make it a habit." He smiled, putting an arm around her shoulders.
"And you!" She turned on Eddie. "Does Beth know that you go around kissing married men?"
"I couldn't control myself." Ed smirked. "He's just too pretty."
"You guys are such idiots." She giggled.
  They didn't have much time to bullshit around with each other before the guys were carted off to another interview, this time with Layne joining the two of them. She found another beer and a small corner somewhat near them, feeling strange. For the first time ever she had come here as Chris's wife instead of Soundgarden's tech. It felt weird.
"You're lookin' rather lost, little lady."
  Sydney jumped a little as Rooster appeared behind her shoulder.
"Hey. I am feeling a little lost, actually. I'm usually working, but tonight I'm just hanging out. I don't know what to do with myself."
"Well that makes two of us. You can stick by me though. Nobody here is trying to shove a camera in my face."
"Thank fuck for that. I know Chris hates it. He always has."
"Don't blame the guy." Rooster agreed, offering her the large flask that he had taken from his jacket.
Sydney accepted, taking a long drink. Almost immediately she regretted it. It was so strong that she had to really concentrate on swallowing it without throwing up. As soon as it was safely down her throat she gave him a look.
"What the hell is that?" She asked.
"Moonshine. Made it myself." He answered, smiling from ear to ear.
"God damn it, dad, you'll go blind drinking that shit."
"It goes down easier the second time around." He assured.
"I highly doubt that." Sydney told him, narrowing her eyes.
"Try it if you don't believe me. Now that you're used to it it's not so bad."
Slowly, not breaking eye contact with the older man she had grown to love, she raised the flask to her lips and took another small sip. It still burned all the way down her throat, giving her the urge to heave right then and there, but she tried to keep her face straight. It only worked for a few seconds. His laugh that was threatening to burst from his chest combined with the harsh liquor caused her to wrinkle her nose.
"Look at you, you're learning. That'll put some hair on your ass." He teased.
"Well in that case, I'll just let you keep this." Sydney cringed, handing the flask back to him.
"I don't think Sydney wants to see your hairy ass, dad." Jerry said, popping up beside them.
"Hey, I said nothin' of the sort to this fine young woman." Rooster argued.
"No I heard you. Unless of course you were talking about Sydney's hairy ass."
"Shut up, Jerry." Sydney giggled, socking him playfully in the arm.
"Ouch! Damn, Mike Tyson, I didn't realize you had an arm on you."
"I haul back line equipment on and off buses for a living. You think I wait on a man to do that shit for me? Nothing would ever get done."
"As a man I find that highly offensive." Jerry said, mocking offense.
"No, she's got a point."
Chris's voice made her turn, and she smiled up into those warm blue eyes that she loved so much. He wrapped an arm around her waist and she leaned her body into his.
"What, you make her do all the heavy lifting?" Jerry teased.
"Yeah. I mean she makes us all look bad when we try so we have to save ourselves from the embarrassment really." Chris explained, his casually sarcastic nature in its truest form.
They all smiled, knowing that Sydney was always taken care of. They guys may tease her to no end and drive her insane with their dry sense of humor, but they loved her. Especially after all they had been through together, they were all very protective of each other.
Before long it was time for Pearl Jam to take the stage, followed by Soundgarden. Their show was raucous, loud, mesmerizing. Chris's throat- lacerating wails coupled with Kim's menacing guitar and Ben and Matt's thundering rhythm seemed to swallow the large room whole. When they finished, the members of Temple of the Dog got up on stage and performed Hunger Strike. Sydney smiled, shaking her head as Eddie tried to tackle Chris, but somehow ended up laying across the back of his shoulders and being spun around in circles. They screamed the chorus wildly while sharing the mic that Chris somehow managed to keep ahold of. When Chris finally let him down, he kept ahold of one of his legs which caused Ed to fall. Ed retaliated by launching at Chris's legs, and then they were both on the ground. It was wild, it was chaos... but to Sydney it was home. There weren't another group of people in the whole world that she would rather watch act like kids in front of nearly four thousand people.
Jerry Cantrell joined them on stage after that for an incredibly moving rendition of Reach Down, which was calmer physically, but much more impactful in a musical sense. It was a song for Andy, who they had all loved, and they did it justice. Alice In Chains took the stage next, and the next few hours were spent hanging out and watching them and Spinal Tap perform. Chris went out on stage quite a few times to sing or play or rough house with someone. The whole event was alcohol infused and loose, and everyone had an absolute blast.
After the show they hung out awhile longer, taking a few photos and drinking more. They all had a strong buzz by the time they headed back to the buses. Most of them crammed into Pearl Jam's bus, which was the largest, and marijuana smoke was thick in the air as they all talked. Sydney eventually broke out the photo album of Polaroids that were developed a couple of months ago after their wedding reception, and everyone was roaring with laughter at some of the photos.
"I knew it was a shit idea to leave disposable cameras at every table for you assholes to do whatever you wanted with." Sydney joked, slipping a picture of Layne, Mike and Stone's bare asses back into the photo album.
"What do you mean? That's quality material there." Layne objected.
Sydney only shook her head. Their wedding had been small, taking place on the third of August at the court house with Chris's family, their band mates, Eddie and Liz. Liz had been Sydney's witness while Chris's brother Peter had been his. The reception that night had been a much larger affair, taking place at their house. There had been a chorus of electric guitars ushering the newly weds into the party by Kim, Jerry and Mike McCready playing the wedding march and sounding like a swarm of agitated angels. The speeches that had been given had been embarrassing, hilarious, and at times emotional. Instead of a first dance, Chris had sung a song for Sydney by one of her old favorites. His soulful rendition of Nat King Cole's A Beautiful Friendship had moved her to tears. Both Andy's and Sydney's father's pictures were present on a special, candlelit alter so that they were still present in the only way that they could be.
Their honeymoon was spent on a trip down to Mexico, mostly inside Cumbres de Monterrey National Park, where they spent long days and nights getting lost in the extensive forests and lakes. They had stayed at local hostels and took local transportation, spending their newly wedded bliss in a very non-traditional sense. Sydney hadn't regretted one second of their marriage so far, and it made her wonder why she had ever doubted him. He was everything, absolutely everything to her. Even better, she knew that he somehow felt the same way about her. They had been through so much and come so far together, and their love was stronger now than it had ever been.
"I still think this one is my favorite." Matt said, passing her a photo of Ben on his knees in front of Chris, who held a Gatorade bottle next to his crotch that was spilling into Ben's mouth.
"Remind me to never invite you guys anywhere ever again." She joked.
They all drank a little longer before eventually going their separate ways to get some sleep before the quick trip home. They didn't have much time before they were to start their tour opening for Guns N' Roses. As Chris was helping her to her truck, she was having trouble walking in a straight line. After her third stumble, he pulled her safely into his arms.
"How much have you had to drink tonight?" He asked, smiling cutely down at her.
"I don't know... I think it was Rooster's moonshine that caught up to me. I swear that man keeps straight battery acid in his flask." She mumbled, causing him to laugh.
"Moonshine huh? Let's get you to bed, you lush." He teased, carrying her the rest of the way back to her truck and opening the back hatch.
The van containing the other members of Soundgarden had headed back to the hotel thanks to Matt staying sober enough to drive. The two of them, however, holed up in the makeshift cot in the back of her pale yellow truck that had been affectionately nicknamed "Sunshine". They exchanged sweet kisses and even sweeter words until they both fell fast asleep around four in the morning.
The last thing Chris remembered was watching Sydney fall asleep using his arm as a pillow, the moonlight through the canopy window casting a haunting glow around his breathtakingly beautiful wife.
"I love you, Mrs. Cornell." He whispered.
She didn't respond, sleeping soundly. He didn't need a response from her to know how much she loved him, too. For the last three years she had loved him unconditionally without even trying, but now it left him speechless that this gorgeous woman was finally his wife. How far they had come... and how far they still had to go. He couldn't wait to grow old with the pretty, drunk blonde that was currently drooling on his bicep as she slept.