Revealing Kane

Epilogue

32 YEARS LATER - JUNE 20, 2024

Today is John Taylor's 64th birthday. My birthday. I wake on my day with a nagging ache in my mouth. Not three days earlier, I had a tooth abstracted, and it is aching something terrible. I sigh in annoyance, knowing I will have to take some sort of painkiller so I can enjoy the day. I don't like taking anything that alters my body.

I roll over in bed, looking at my nightstand. There stands the bottle of paracetamol and a glass of water awaiting me. I didn't put them there last night. I turn to look at the other side of the bed and find it empty. Wifey is already up for the day, probably gabbling with one of her friends in the States.

With another sigh, I sit up and swing my legs over the edge of the bed. I quickly down two pills and the glass of water, willing them to work fast. As I get to my feet, I see movement in the corridor. A flash of pink silk and blonde hair. What is she up to?

She's still just as busy as I am. She's always cooking some project, doing something new, even as she gets older. And I love her for it. Her work makes me proud, even if it once sort of bothered me. It makes her who she is. And I can't see myself ever living without her.

Recently, we packed up our LA home, which we had lived in for 25 years, and moved to our English Manor House in South Wraxall. It has been a dizzying and slightly scary move to England. I thought I would always live in LA. But now, as I get older, the long days lost traveling between home and the band have worn me out. I need to be closer to the band with less time traveling, other than when we go on tour.

As I amble into the bathroom, I hear my mobile phone start ringing. I know my phone will be an almost unstop noise machine today, so I ignore it. Just as I start to pee, the phone goes again. Maybe I should turn off the ringer, but then I might miss the calls and texts I want to see.

I brush my teeth and hair and splash some cold water on my face. I'll shower in a bit, but I'm curious as to who has contacted me already this morning.

I go to my phone lying on its charger on the nightstand. I wake its screen as I pick it up. Several texts await me. I open the messaging app and see whose messages await.

First up is my daughter Atlanta, born one month after I came out of rehab. I have been sober every single day since entering Sierra Tuscon in late January of 1992, and I am proud of my recovery. Atlanta left a voice memo, and I smile as I listen to her birthday wishes for me. There's also a text from my son Jack and his wife and kids. I'm a grandfather! I hope to see them both soon, but they are busy with their own lives and are still in the States.

Texts, emails, and voicemails fill my phone. It will take me all day to get through them all. I reckon it's a blessing to receive so much love. But I'm mostly happy to be home alone with my wife. We have plans to be pampered together at a nearby spa. It will be wonderful. I just need to get ready.

I shower and shave, dressing somewhat nicely for the day. I wonder how the wife has dressed? Maybe she hasn't yet, but I have no idea since I haven't laid eyes on her yet this morning.

"John?" I hear and smile.

The wife. I love her like mad and am glad we will be alone all day. Just the two of us to do as we please for the most part.

"There you are," she says.

When she enters the bedroom, I stare at her, mesmerized by her beauty. She still has on her long pink silk kimono robe I bought her years ago, and she looks fabulous in it. Her long blonde hair is braided in two loose braids, one lying on each shoulder. She's pretty as a blonde, but I miss her brunette sometimes. Either way, she's still gorgeous.