Love can never die

My home away from home

We piled into Jimmy’s car. He grabbed his Les Paul, and his double neck guitar. He allowed me to use his Telecaster guitar again. Jimmy stepped on the gas. The countryside turned into tall buildings. My eyes studied the billboards. “Whoa, most of these are about Led Zeppelin.” Jimmy turned over to me. “Yeah, I guess people like us.” We turned a corner, and the busy streets turned into a quiet street with little stores. There were three other cars in front of a music shop, and we parked behind one. Both of us had guitars as we walked into the store. “Hey man. The guys are downstairs waiting for you.” A man at the counter said to Jimmy. I followed close behind Jimmy. I wasn’t in my time anymore. There were no CDs. There were these amazing vinyl records. I looked around. The shelves were full of Led Zeppelin albums. We walked downstairs, into a basement. I peeked around Jimmy’s shoulder, and saw the band setup.

The amps buzzed, and I was told what the song order was, and that I was going to help Robert sing. I smiled and nodded my head. My fingers found their way to the correct frets. We looked at Robert. “One, two, three.” The band burst out with a chord. We did this a couple more times, and I walked up to the mic. “In the days of my youth, I was told what it means to be a man.” I was harmonizing with Jimmy and Robert. Voice and guitar. “Now I reached that age, I try to do all these things the best I can.” The whole building seemed to shake with soul. “Good times, bad times, you know I’ve had my share. When my woman left home with a brown eyed man, I still don’t seem to care.” We were singing, and playing as one. I felt at home with the band. This was my home away from home.

                                          ***

We returned home at nine. Tomorrow was our last day here at the house. Then we were going on tour. My eyes felt like lead. I couldn’t keep them open. We walked upstairs with our guitars, and put them in their proper place. I fell down on the bed, I couldn’t move a muscle. “What are we going to do about the horses?” I could barely talk. Jimmy laid down next to me. “Bonzo’s wife said she would love to take care of them.” He pulled the covers over us. We both fell into a deep sleep.

The clock chimed through the house. Legs. My legs wouldn’t move. I sat up, and had to physically slide them off the bed. I stood up, but fell to my knees. I crawled over to the dresser, and threw my arms up onto the sides to pull me up. My legs cracked as I stood up, and my knees buckled with each step. I walked outside, and into the barn. Neighs flooded the barn, and I walked over to the grain bucket.