Daron's Guitar Chronicles Volume 12

1005 Honey Drip

Honey Drip

I ignored the keyboard the next morning and set about caffeinating myself enough to contemplate going up to the gas station to try to call Ziggy. I didn't even have anything I was burning to say. I just wanted to hear his voice and reassure myself that he was all right.

I started a pot of coffee and while it was brewing I started getting the milk and sugar ready. I put the sugar into the milk in the mug and stirred it.

Claire appeared around the time the pot was almost done. "What are you doing?"

"Pre-dissolving the sugar in the milk so it doesn't just end up sludge in the bottom of the mug."

She frowned. "Can't you do anything the normal way?"

"The normal way doesn't work when you like as much sugar and milk as I do."

She looked into my mug suspiciously. "Hm."

"I can make you some, too. There's plenty of coffee." I assumed Flip would also want some when he got up. The pot finished and I filled the mug the rest of the way with coffee. "Here. Try it and see if you like it."

She took a sip. "Oh, I suppose it is acceptable." She then leaned back against the counter, took a long gulp, and let out a deep, guttural sigh. I hid my smile while I made myself some. "I learned to drink it black so long ago."

"How long?"

"When I was still a teenager. Fifteen or sixteen. I thought it made me seem more grown up. And I was worried about my figure."

"Or your agent was?" I asked, but she didn't reply to that. "I found your old publicity shots."

"Oh, goodness, do I look piggish in them?"

"No! Jeez, no. You're thin as a rail. I meant you didn't need to worry at all."

"Silly boy. If I look thin in the photos it's proof my efforts were paying off." She took another gulp of sugary, lukewarm coffee. "The doctor really did say I should keep up my calorie intake, didn't he?"

"He did. You won't have the energy to fight the disease if you don't."

"Well, then." She handed me her empty mug and I filled it again. "Maybe we should switch from half and half to heavy cream."

"I'll pick some up while I'm out," I said with a nod.

"Going somewhere?"

"I've got to make some calls. I'll head up to the gas station and the store isn't that much farther." I wanted to do it before I ended up too stoned to drive. Even if I didn't partake directly, the contact high was still quite strong for me. "I should at least page Ziggy."

"Have you... heard from him?"

"A couple of 'I love you' pages, but that's it."

"'I love you pages?'"

So I explained our number code system. "911 if it's an emergency. 411 if you need information. 777 for good luck. 747 for 'I'm getting on a plane now.' That kind of thing."

"Clever boys. What's he up to?"

"I don't know. I need to find out." I barreled ahead more blithely than I felt. "If he's not too busy, I want him to come back down here for a visit. I miss him."

"There's really not much room here for him, though," she said with a wrinkled nose. I'd known she would resist the idea, but I guess I'd wanted to be sure.

Flip knocked on the front door and I let him in. "I'm going out to get some milk," I told him. "Want to come?"

"I've got to go out myself," he said. "Gotta gas up Bessie."