Too Fast For Love

Chapter 12 - On With the Show / Part 4

“No, it's Nikki,” the stranger says with a cautious smile.

Tommy blinks his eyes, trying to make sense of the person standing in front of him. He looks just like…… just his hair, it’s jet black and teased. “I… I’m sorry. I thought you were someone else.”

“Are you OK, man?”

“Do you have a brother named Frankie?”

“No, but I used to go by Frank. I changed my name recently. Um, but I just moved here about a month ago and changed my name within the first few days. Maybe you’ve been up in Seattle where I came from? I don't remember you, but I'm not always with it.”

“No. I…. I think that I might need to sit down,” Tommy says, spying a bench nearby.

“Need me to get you a drink or something. There’s a store right there,” Nikki says, pointing down the block, noticing the kid looks pale.

“No! I mean, no thanks. No, um, don’t go anywhere. I-- oh my god. You just look so much like someone I used to know,” Tommy says. He’s not sure what’s going on. This could be Frankie’s twin. Frankie has a twin, and he plays bass too? Frankie never mentioned family. But if this guy gets up and goes into the store for a drink, he’s going to disappear. This must be a dream. He doesn’t want him to disappear. Please let this be Frankie, somehow. I want more time with you. Don’t wake me up - Tommy sits with his head in hands, fighting tears.

“Hey...kid. Are you OK there?” Nikki asks.

Tommy’s mind comes back into the realm of reality. He knows he’s not dreaming, yet this guy is still here. He’s real. Tommy can’t help but ask, “Do you have a twin?”

“Not that I know of,” Nikki chuckles. “But, knowing my parents, it wouldn’t shock me if I did, and we were separated. I had a little sister who disappeared.”

“What?” Tommy says, now very interested in why this guy has to say.

“Well, it was because she was severely handicapped. My dad left us, and my mom couldn’t handle her specific needs. I never found out where my mom took her to, and I never saw her again. I was like 2 or 3 when it happened.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

“It’s OK. I’m determined to find her someday. Her name is Suzie.”

Tommy backs up on the bench away from Nikki. “OK, what the hell is going on. Who are you?”

Nikki furrows his brow. “Told you my name is Nikki. I don’t know what else you mean. I just was interested in buying your bass.”

“Can you give me a minute. I think I’m losing my mind. This is crazy. Maybe those brownies at my friend’s house last night were laced with more than just pot,” Tommy says, holding his head.

“Are you sure you don’t need a drink, man? You look a little pale. I’m not sure what you’re thinking, but I swear I’m not punking you or anything. God, I just need a bass back in my hands. I came here to try to get into the music scene. I just have a lot of ideas and dreams, and well, I need a bass. I loved my Thunderbird. It just felt so right in my hands. Yours look just like mine did; well except not broken.”

“It’s not mine. I play drums. It belonged to my friend Frankie. We were going to start a band together. We had big ideas. Frankie always dreamed big,” Tommy says, his eyes starting to flood with tears.

“I take it something happened to your friend?” Nikki asks.

Tommy nods his head. “He died in my arms….. He saved my life. It would have been me. He was my best friend. My only true friend,” Tommy reveals, never before uttering details about Frankie’s death to anyone, as well as the devotion that he felt for him.