The Past Recedes

Chapter 29

"You behave with Josh and his parents, the Klinghoffers are very Valley and suburban", said John over the phone.

Nika nodded as she waited anxiously for the sight of Josh's Volvo. "I know, Dad. It's going to be interesting staying with a regular American family", she mused aloud.

"I grew up in a regular American family, sort of. But Steven and Kathleen are good people, I had to convince them that Josh would be all right on tour and they had to sign a contract to give permission", said John.

"Okay, Dad. Oh, I see the car. Bye", she said, hanging up.

Josh parked the Volvo in the driveway and got out, taking her bags and putting them in the trunk. "This is all your stuff? You can borrow books if you want, I have a lot. In a few days, we're going up to Big Sur for a little vacation. It's gorgeous there, it's not hot like southern California. And Monterey is fun, it would've been cool to see Monterey Pop back in the day", he said.

Nika got in the passenger's seat and watched as Josh took out a cigarette from a silver case with a Libra symbol on the lid, lighting it with the car lighter. "That's my new cigarette case, it's so that the cigarettes don't get crushed. It's my astrological sign, Libra", he explained.

"Pepere says astrology is wrong, only God can predict the future", said Nika.

Josh took a drag and exhaled. "Oh, I guess it's a Christian thing. I just dabble in it, I haven't gotten my chart done or anything. Supposedly Libra people are charming, artistic, friendly, indecisive and good-looking. I don't know about the last part", he quipped.

"Why, you aren't ugly. And what about your girlfriend?", she asked.

Josh giggled and blushed. "Uh, we've only been three dates. Maybe after a few more dates, but I really like Ashley. Her friend's band opened up for Bicycle Thief and she's a student at UCLA, she's studying art history. We're actually going on a date tomorrow, I'm going to introduce her to Mom and Dad", he said.

"Okay, I hope they like her", she replied.

Nika hoped Ashley was nice and smart, and wasn't the sort of grownup who thought kids were stupid. The drive from the Hollywood Hills to the valley took over an hour due to the ever-present LA traffic, but it was not unpleasant as Josh had Charlie Parker on the radio and she immediately recognized it. "You mentioned your grandpa likes Charlie Parker and Flea gave me some CDs. He wants to meet your grandpa, he loves talking about jazz. Him and Bob turned me onto different kinds of jazz", he said.

"Pepere is a very smart man, he has a Doctorate in Byzantine history from Cambridge", she said proudly.

"Wow, then I ought to finish reading Gibbon. Do you know any good books on the Byzantines?", he asked.

"John Julian Norwich's trilogy and Pepere's books. His actual name is Pierre Lacroix", she replied.

Josh filed this away for further reference as he turned off the freeway and headed towards his parents' house. The suburban neighborhood was more modest than either her father's in the Hollywood Hills or her grandparents' in Palm Springs. Small 50's style ranch houses had a driveway and lawns out front, the houses painted soft pastel or cream with Spanish-tile roofs, as kids rode bikes and roller skated on the street. "This is the same house where I grew up, it's the only place I've ever lived", said Josh as he parked in the driveway.

Nika accepted his help getting out of the car and looked at the house. The Klinghoffer's house looked like the others on the block, a modest two-story cream ranch house with a Spanish tile roof. "You're staying in the guest room, it's small, though", he said apologetically.

Josh grabbed her bag and led her through the front door where he reached into his pocket for the key. "Mom and Dad are working, Mom's a kindergarten teacher and Dad sells insurance. I'll make lunch", he said.

Nika followed him inside and deduced the house was quite small. A parlor with a TV and coffee table led into a dining room with four chairs adjacent to a kitchen. A stairway led to the second floor as she followed him. "This is my room, and that's my parents' room. This is your room, my grandparents stay here when they visit", said Josh.

"Okay, I'll unpack first", she replied.

"Cool, I'll make lunch. Do you like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches?", he asked.

"I've never had any", she replied.

"Wow, they're awesome. I have them with a glass of milk, what do you normally eat for lunch?", he asked.

"At Dad's house, salad. And with my grandparents, some watercress sandwiches and trifle", said Nika.

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"Uh, okay. That sounds really British, I guess. We could go grocery shopping later", he suggested.

"No, I'm good. I suppose it's good to try different things", she replied with a shrug.

Nika quickly unpacked and went to check out the other rooms. The Klinghoffer's room was very average but she was delighted by Josh's room. The room was cluttered with a massive bookcase taking up one side of the room, guitars and keyboards, and art supplies. More books were piled on the floor and inside grocery bags, while another shelf held albums. A record player and CD player sat atop a shelf while an easel held a half-finished painting of flowers. On the night stand was Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire with a bookmark sticking out, showing he'd read halfway through the mammoth book.

"Nika, lunch is ready", said Josh.

Nika reluctantly went downstairs for lunch. "How do you like Gibbon's book? It took me three weeks to read it", she said.

"It's terrific, I was concerned he'd use old fashioned English but I can read it easily. I can see why the Empire fell, the last Roman emperors were incompetent or worse. It was only a matter of time before the barbarians overran everything", he replied.

"And then the western empire fragmented, until Charlemagne consolidated it. Before that, it must have been scary for everyone", she said.

"Yeah, I would've gone to Ireland and hung out with Mom's family. And here is your first peanut butter and jelly sandwich", he said.

Nika looked dubiously at the sandwich and glass of milk. Josh took a big bite of his sandwich and washed it down with milk as she took a small bite. The sweet and salty taste was quite different but not bad as she slowly ate the sandwich. "It's not bad, but I think jelly has a lot of artificial ingredients", she said.

"Okay, but I grew up eating this and I'm fine. I'm going to be watching the Dodgers game on TV this afternoon, you can look through my books if you want. There's nothing off-limits", he said.

"Thank you", she replied.