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11: The Silver Lining 5:00 AM, Friday A caravan of cars drove through the rain, out of the trailer park. A police car led the way, one with Anthony and Flea in it. Marisol’s black Cadillac followed with Scott behind the wheel, Paul beside him, and Adam in the back seat. A second police car drove last as the caboose. John and Chad waved out the rear window at the couple standing out on their porch. Lloyd and Maggie were in one another’s arms, beaming, and the two in the back of the police car grinned. When the couple disappeared from sight, John turned around and settled into his cushion with a sigh. "You boys hungry?" the officer driving asked his passengers. "Hell yeah!" John exclaimed. The officer picked up his radio receiver. "Let’s stop for breakfast at Mama’s Kitchen, folks, over," he spoke into it, holding down a side button. Static. "Ten-four." Shaking his head, the officer pressed the button and said, "Ray, we shouldn’t use police code for now." "We understood that one," Paul’s voice crinkled over the radio. "Stopping to eat sounds good, over." Silence for miles until the radio came to life again. "John Frusciante, can you hear me?" John jumped in his seat. The officer passed him the receiver, which he accepted. "Yeah?" "John," Chad leaned over and pointed to the side button. "Press that when you’re talking." Holding down the button, John repeated himself. "Yeah?" "This is Adam Gaynor. Look at the car in front of you." John leaned into the front seat and saw the dark haired man smiling and waving at him, holding up the radio receiver with his other hand. John watched as Adam pressed his receiver’s button and spoke. "Hi! Um... you know how you were talking about spirits communicating through you?" Adam ran a hand through his hair. "How do they do it? Do you have dreams?" "They just speak through me," John replied, "when I’m receptive." "How do you become receptive?" John sat back in his seat. He pressed the side button and said, "I work to make myself pure." Pause. "Can you," Adam’s staticy voice returned, "can you teach me when we get back?" "Okay." John was about to hand the receiver back when Paul’s voice came over the airway. "Me too?" "And me?" Scott’s question snuck in before John could answer Paul’s. John held the receiver to his mouth. "Okay." The officer accepted the receiver back from John, just as Anthony’s voice crackled over the radio. "Hey, John! Looks like you have a fan club!" John laughed, and Chad joined in. Their sights drifted out the window. "Hey," Chad commented. "It stopped raining." "Hey, everyone!" Adam’s voice came over the airways. "Look to your left! There’s a rainbow!" Indeed there was a rainbow, its soft pastel hues painted across the sky on the horizon. John smiled at it. "What could be better than a rainbow?" ***** Several days later, Lloyd’s wife Maggie went for an MRI. It came back clear. Her brain tumour was gone. The Red Hot Chili Peppers continued their tour with matchbox twenty and Creed. The three bands brought much joy to their fans, just as each band had done from its inception, just as each band always will. THE END |