JUNE, 1994, SEATTLE, WA
"IT'S BEEN TWO months! Don't you think he's ready to come home?" Beth asked impatiently as she paced behind Lindy, struggling to keep up with her friend as they walked through the hospital parking lot. She was seriously lagging despite the fact that Lindy was the one who was pregnant. This alone should have made her considerably slower than Beth, but she had something to be excited about that day, something that put energy in her step. That was enough reason to walk with a purpose.
"He said it himself. He's not ready," Lindy explained. Her Converse tennis shoes, which she had begun to struggle tying due to her gradually swelling pregnant belly, were slapping eagerly across the pavement and up to the front hospital doors.
"He's really holding out for you, isn't he?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, he's trying really hard to get better. So you both can be happy."
"I'm hoping that's his end goal."
Together Beth and Lindy entered the hospital, which was naturally filled with its usual hectic happenings. Only this time, stares across the room seemed to linger on Lindy for just a little while longer than normal. Even the most random of strangers paused, their gazes fixed on Lindy's face for even just an extra half-second before they looked away.
"Why the hell are they looking at us?" Beth muttered, moving closer to Lindy's side and speaking out of the corner of her mouth.
"Because people love celebrity drama," Lindy said right back.
It was true. Ever since Kurt and Courtney's divorce had gone public and the news that Kurt was in rehab had spread, people seemed to latch on to any bit of gossip surrounding the Cobains. Not only that, but Courtney's newest record, Live Through This, had made her an immediate success within the music world. When it had been announced that she was divorcing Kurt, people seemed to sympathize with her aptly named album as she lamented the split. That had been part of the deal — Courtney could claim to the press that it was she who had broken the relationship off. It had certainly given her the added publicity.
Her spotlight had only burned brighter when her bassist, Kristen Pfaff, was found dead later that month from a heroin overdose. Her death alone had spurred even more talk about Kurt's decision to seek treatment. There was an indiscreet prying across the nation into the lives of Seattle rockstars as they tried to understand what kind of mark that heroin had left on the territory.
And even more nauseating moment for Lindy had been when a sneaky photographer snapped a picture of her walking into Kurt's rehab center to visit him. MTV had taken advantage of the photograph and shown it on a nightly special, theorizing that Kurt Cobain had an 'interesting new support system.'
Thankfully, Lindy had not been heavily pregnant in the photograph, which helped to keep her and Kurt's baby out of the limelight. It would only be a matter of time before their secret was revealed, especially since public interest in Kurt's recovery had spiked. No one was aware of his failed suicide attempt, but his stint in rehab seemed to rouse enough curiosity in fans about his personal life. Courtney's sudden fame didn't help the situation any further. Now when Lindy visited Kurt, she was surrounded by his handlers so as not to be spied upon.
Lindy assumed straightaway that it would be a long time before media buzz surrounding Kurt would die down. Besides the whispers concerning his health and divorce, everyone was naturally worried about the fate of Nirvana. Krist and Dave had taken a solemn oath not to make any mention of splitting the band until Kurt could be there to do it with them. For anyone who knew the truth about Nirvana's future, a silent countdown was ticking.
