The lost son ~John Frusciante and Josh Klinghoffer

75. Ever wonder if it's all for you

This Friday was Maggie's 17th birthday. She told me that she didn't care about it and she didn't want any gifts but I really wanted to get something special for her.
I visited Matt's store in hopes of finding a guitar for Maggie.

"Hey, man. How you doing?" I greeted my friend as I walked into the store.
He seemed really happy to see me.
"Josh! Hi! I'm great, and how are you? What brings you here? I thought you're very busy."
"I'm doing awesome, thanks. Yeah I'm busy 'cause I'm leaving in less than a month. But I came here to get something for my girlfriend. It's her birthday and I wanna surprise her with something unique."
"What instrument does she play?"
"The guitar. I'm sorry, I'm a dumbass. I should've mentioned it right at the beginning of this conversation."
"Cool, I love chicks who can play the guitar. You're lucky, man."
"Well, plenty of women come here looking for a guitar everyday."
"Yeah, but as a gift for their boyfriends or husbands. I don't know where to look for a girlfriend anymore. Me and my ex-wife met in college and she's the only one I've ever been with."
"Maggie's my neighbor, we met when I moved to my new house. I didn't look for love, I just happened to be at right place at the right time. I'm sure love will come to you when you least expect it."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever, man. Actually, there was a guy here yesterday. He came to sell his dad's guitar. I think I have exactly what you've been looking for."
I followed Matt to the back of the store, wondering what guitar it could be. He smiled as he opened the case, revealing a vintage Martin D15. I couldn't believe my eyes.
"Oh hell yeah, that's exactly what I've been looking for." I said as I examined the guitar carefully.
It was in perfect condition, despite it's age. I looked at Matt before I took the guitar out of the box to get his permission to touch it. He smiled at me and nodded his head.
I sat on a stool and softly strummed the strings. I didn't quite like the sound of it, so I adjusted the pegs.
"Whoa, it sounds awesome. My..." I started to say.
"Yeah, your father has a couple of those. I've checked out his gear on the internet, it's fucking impressive." Matt told me.
"I know, it's his favorite. He actually gave me one when we first met so that I could practice songs off of Shadows."
"Shadows Collide with People, that's such a great album. I remember listening to it when it first came out and thinking it's so awesome. And now it's even more special since I know you."
"Aww, man, I'm gonna blush." I joked.
I played a couple of my songs and I feel in love with this guitar all over again. Lately I've been playing only electric guitars and this experience reminded me where I came from.
I used to spend days locked up in my room, practicing on a crappy Walmart acoustic guitar. My mom would get so mad at me that she would throw plates and other shit she had on hand at me.
I ended up playing for 3 hours straight and I only stopped because Matt told me that it was time to close the store. He also told me that I attracted a lot of new customers. Honestly, I had no idea that there was anyone else besides me in the store. I was lost in the world of music.
I payed for the guitar, giving Matt probably more than it was actually worth and I picked a new strap that I thought would be perfect for Maggie. It was black with red rose design on it.
"I hope your girl's gonna love it." Matt told me.
"Me too. She's not a materialistic person so I think she'd be happy even if I gifted her a half-empty box of chocolates." I said, making Matt giggle.
"Honestly I don't even wanna come home. I've been very depressed lately. My store is the only place where I feel happy." My friend told me as he grabbed his car keys.
"Oh man, that's so sad to hear. I'm so sorry. How about we come to my place and hang out there?" I proposed.
"Aren't you busy tonight? I know you're going back on tour soon." Matt asked.
"No, it's fine, my girlfriend's studying tonight. And I guess I can meet my dad tomorrow." I explained.

*

Me and Matt jammed for a little over an hour and then I showed him the new songs I had been working on.
When I grabbed beers from the fridge, I realized that I hadn't touched a drop of alcohol for months. Prior to meeting Maggie, I used to drown my sorrows and my drinking would sometimes get out of control. But since I met her, I didn't feel the urge to drink anymore.
When I finished the second beer, I was already tipsy.
"And how's your son?" Matt asked me.
"He's an amazing kid, very smart and outgoing. I'm glad he's nothing like me, he's not gonna have a hard time growing up. But man, he said something to me the last time he was at my place... He wants to live with me."
"That kid loves you so much. My children couldn't care less about me. They've got their new dad and they constantly talk about him... I'm sorry, I ramble too much. I think it's gonna be difficult for John to live with you as you travel so much. And what did your ex say?"
"She got pissed. I guess I'm gonna keep taking Johnny to my place every weekend and sometimes I'm gonna pick him up from the kindergarten and we'll go get ice cream or something. You know, sometimes I regret that Lilly and I split up. Maybe if we got counseling, we'd learn to communicate our feelings and needs... I feel so bad for Johnny, having to constantly rotate between two houses."
"And you think that you'd have been happier than you are now?"
"No, certainly not. But Johnny would've had a more stable life..."
"He's gonna thank you for that decision once he grows up. Seriously, Josh, you've got nothing to regret."
"Thanks, Matt. Oh, and thank you once again for the guitar, Maggie's gonna love it. You're the greatest." I told my best friend and gave him a hug.