The Past Recedes

Chapter 26

"This is just like the desert where we shot the videos for Give It Away and Scar Tissue, I think we did our best videos in the desert", said John.

"Except this isn't a wilderness desert, this is more like a zoo. I used to think deserts were ugly until we moved to Palm Springs. I can no longer tolerate the cold", said Maria. The older woman wore a long dark blue Paisley skirt and a white silk blouse with a large white Edwardian picture hat atop her coiled smooth brown hair. John thought it looked familiar but he couldn't quite place where he had seen her outfit.

"Dad, there's a lot of habitats here. There's biomes of different regions here, desert regions", said Nika.

"I see, that makes sense. Do you want to go on the train first", asked John.

Nika was appalled at the idea of riding the train with a bunch of little kids. "I don't want to", she said with a frown.

"We'll see how many people are on board", said John reassuringly.

The desert botanical gardens were half-full with families enjoying the desert flora on a bright sunny day under the brilliant blue Coachella sun. John saw Nika breath an audible sigh of relief when she saw there only a few families with kids on the train which would go around the gardens. John was glad for one of the few times in his life that he was short since he was able to easily squeeze into the tiny train car. "If Josh was here, he'd be all squashed. But he's skinny and flexible as Gumby", he chuckled.

"He's Dad's friend, he comes over to the house a lot", Nika explained.

"Oh, is he in your band?", asked Maria.

"No, his band opened up for us. He's my musical partner, he plays all these instruments and he's a great singer and songwriter. He's only 19, but a better musician than many older guys", said John.

"Oh, he sounds like a wonderful young man. Maybe one day you can bring him over for a visit", said Maria.

"And he can drive, he just bought a new Volvo and he's so proud of it. His old truck was a piece of junk he bought from an ad in the newspaper", said John.

"I'm sure he is proud of it, since his truck sounded very old. But I would like to meet him, and your bandmates. I like meeting new people", said Maria.

"Pepere says that's because you like cooking for people, Grandmere", said Nika.

"He's right, I love cooking for people. But I do want to meet your bandmates and friends, John. You're part of the family now", said Maria.

John blushed. "Thank you, Maria. My family is very small, I'm an only child", he said.

"I have three sisters and a brother, I'm the third sister. We all have our spouses and children, Tessa lives in Japan with Jack and daughters and Olivia, Natalie and Alex still live in England. Olivia lives in Yorkshire and Natalie and Alex in Manchester", said Maria.

"I love England, we always play London of course but we've also played Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, and Newcastle, among other places. Would you and Pierre like tickets to our next show in LA? I could get you headphones if you prefer", said John.

"That would be lovely, I quite like some of your songs, the ballads", said Maria.

"Sure, I'll put you on the guestlist", said John.

An attendant made sure the doors of the train were closed before the train pulled away from the station. The miniature train made its slow, leisurely way around the perimeter of the garden as people took pictures. Nika pointed out the animals while Maria took pictures with a small Kodak. "I've always loved photography since I was a child, my sisters and I loved taking photos of our family", she said.