CHAPTER NINETEEN
In the recording studio the following morning John and Janice were putting the finishing touches on the duet they had recorded with the Travelers Band when the phone in the mixing room began to ring. Toby reached over and picked it up. He listened for a minute then replaced the receiver. He leaned forward and flipped a switch on the console. "John, Danny Floyd committed suicide after killing another inmate in his cell last night. I just heard it from his lawyer, Jeremiah Lake! Said it was a clear cut case."
John backed up and took a seat on a four legged stool. He leaned forward and placed his face in his hands. He sat in silence for a few minutes, as if in prayer. In a bit he looked up and stared into the middle distance. He said, "Maybe I should have stayed in Wimberley..."
"Don't be ridiculous, John," Janice said, placing her hand in the middle of his shoulders at the base of his neck. "That wouldn't have saved him."
"Might have," John replied looking up at her. "He was a troubled young man. That's for sure," he added. "Well, I guess I'd better arrange the funeral. He has no one that I know of."
"John, I don't think that's your concern," Jake said, laying his drum sticks aside and coming over to John.
"Someone has to do it, Jake. I don't mind," he added, then walked to the door and out.
With Jeremiah Lake's assistance Danny's body was released to a funeral home. It was the same one John had used for his mother's funeral, nearly two years earlier.
John and Judy, along with the band members and Janice stood around a freshly mounded grave. All bowed their head and prayed in silence for the dead. As they prayed, waited and whispered to each other a pickup bearing the name of the cemetery pulled up and stopped. Two men got out, walked to the back, removed a polished black granite headstone and carried it to the head of the grave. Within minutes they had it erected and had left.
The mourners all gathered around the ornate headstone and stared with pleasure and surprise. In the background of the stone a man with a guitar was engraved in gold, as was
DANNY JUSTINE FLOYD
1983 - 2005
LOST JUST BEYOND THE CURVE
After studying the headstone for a few silent moments, Judy looked at her husband and asked, "Why beside your parents, John?"
"So I'll never forget his pain," John replied.
"You are a good man, John Travis," she replied seriously, taking him into her arms and kissing his lips lovingly.
John looked down at her when the kiss broke. His was a look of adoration. "You make me everything I am, Judy," he said softly. "Without you I would be nothing. You know I ain't real smart."
Judy's eyes told him the feeling was mutual. "I'm starving," she said, tugging on his arm. "Let's go get something to eat."
"I know a place I've been meaning to stop and check out," he replied remembering the truck stop restaurant along the side of the highway he had noticed several times in the past.
"Ya'll want to go eat lunch with mean' ol' Judy," John asked the rest of the band, then laughed at his joke. They all looked at each other, then shook their heads and laughed, "We'll be fine with a break from your love struck, but grouchy ol' lovebird," Janice laughed, then took Jake's arm and led him to his pickup.
An hour later over the good meal in the truck stop restaurant, they had just finished, John stood and went to the bathroom. Since being shot, when he had to go, he had to go right then!
He had just vanished at the far end of the restaurant when Pam came to the table with a large friendly smile. No trace of her personal problems showed on her face. She may have looked a little tired around the eyes, but other than that she was happy and in a good mood. Josh had been feeling better, for a change; his radiation treatment was killing him faster than the spread of the cancer in his tiny, frail body. But he was a trooper and a fighter; unlike his dead father. Josh made Pam beam with pride for his courage and strength.
"Excuse me," she said shyly, "but is that the country singer, John Travis?"
"It is," Judy replied. "I'm his wife Judy."
"Do you think he would sign an autograph for my son? He is a real big fan. I hate to impose..."
"I'd be willing to bet money he would," Judy interrupted, then smiled. “Knowing John," she went on, "I'd be willing to bet he'd like to meet your son in person. He just loves meeting people. He considers everyone his extended family. Especially kids," Judy explained.
"Really? How sweet," Pam replied.
"The man is a Saint," Judy assured her. "When you get to know him better, you'll know I speak the truth, too. Have a seat and I'll tell you anything you want to know."
"Oh no, I can't sit down and visit," Pam said, a look of fear entering her eyes. "The boss is a tyrant!" She rolled her eyes for emphasis.
"I've known a few like that," Judy empathized.
They both laughed. Pam's a little less comfortable sounding than Judy's.
"I'd better keep moving, Hon, or the Dragon'll get me!" Pam said, then moved away to her other tables.
A short while later Judy looked up and realized that several people were watching her closely. She became self-conscious and a little nervous. She was glad John was the star and not her. She didn't like being watched. John, however, seemed to thrive on it. Not because he was a showman, but because he enjoyed making and seeing people happy. She began to fiddle with her food, moving it around here and there on her plate. She just knew the people were watching her eat. She became impatient for John to return and remove the spotlight from her.
She was still looking at the table, rearranging everything on it when John returned. He stood for a moment watching her, then smiled with tenderness. "You ready, Sweetie?" he asked, then smiled and winked at her.
"Heck yeah," she replied immediately. "Where's Pam?"
"Pam?" he asked confused. "Who's Pam?"
"The waitress. She wanted an autograph for her son. I think a lot of other people do too," she added looking around at the people staring at them.
John turned and looked around the place. Seeing all the people looking at him, he spread his arms wide and took a bow. "What?" he asked, straightening and smiling large.
Everyone in the restaurant stood and began clapping. He bowed again, then looked down at Judy and smiled. He said, "My fans..."
"God love 'em," Judy replied with a smile.
Pam came to the table after seeing John's return. She stood in front of him nervously and stared at him raptly.
"What? Do I have egg on my face or something?" he asked, with a wide smile.
"Mister Travis," Pam started nervously.
"John will do, Miss?"
"Jenkins, Pam Jenkins," Pam said shyly.
"What can I do for you, Miss Jenkins?"
"Would you mind signing an autograph for my son, Josh?"
"It'd be my pleasure," John replied patting his shirt pocket for an ink pen and a piece of paper.
Pam, seeing his predicament, handed him her order pad and ink pen. She smiled as he signed his autograph and handed the pad and pen back to her. "To bad he's not here," John said. "I'd like to meet him."
"Thank you, John, I know Josh will love this," Pam said with tears in her eyes. "You see, Josh is in the children’s cancer ward at Children's Mercy Hospital. He has cancer."
"Oh, no!" John sighed sadly. "Can I go see him, Pam? He'd like that better than a piece of paper with my signature on it, I think."
"I get off in about an hour," Pam said wiping her tears. "I'd be happy to take you."
"We'll be back in an hour, then," John promised. "I'll call the band, too. If that's okay."
"Well, yeah," she replied nervously, looking all around the restaurant. She saw her brother-in-law glaring at her. Then saw the line of hopeful fans waiting to meet John Travis and maybe get a signature of their own.
John shook hands, signed autographs and exchanged words and kisses with the women and children, and handshakes with the men as he and Judy made their way out of the restaurant.
He opened the driver'
s door of the pickup and Judy was sliding across the seat when he happened to glance up and through the front window of the restaurant. What he saw ran his blood hot instantly. Pam, in tears, stood under the pointing angry finger of a glaring, red faced man. "I'll be right back," John said. He closed the door of the pickup and went back inside the restaurant.
When John came through the door he heard the man say loudly, "This is not an autograph session, Pam! This is my restaurant! We serve food here to our customers. After they pay, I don't care what they do! As long as they eat, then leave! So, are we straight on that, missy?"
John came up beside Pam and the angry owner of the truck stop restaurant. "Is there a problem here, Pam?" he asked innocently.
"No," Pam replied, beginning to cry harder.
"I don't appreciate some hot shot super star using my restaurant for an autographing session..."
"You seem to have a serious emotional problem, Mister!" John stated calmly. His words and tone made the man take a step back and glare once again at Pam.
"You are my only problem!" the man shouted angrily. "I want you to leave! This is my restaurant and I will run it the way I see fit. You have finished eating, so leave!" he added, turning red again and beginning to breath fast.
John was stunned by the man's animosity toward him. He nodded his understanding and turned to the other customers. "Is this the way you want to be treated by the owner of a restaurant?"
The customers began throwing their napkins, cutlery and enough money on the tables to cover the cost of their meals, then stood and began walking out the door. Before John turned and left, the restaurant was empty.
At the pickup again he was surprised to see Pam come out the door with her face in her hands. She was crying hysterically, her heart and emotions finally reaching the breaking point. Judy slammed out the passenger door and went to her. She took Pam in her arms and began comforting her. "What is it, Pam? What's wrong?" Judy asked, holding the other woman and patting her back tenderly.
"He fired me!" Pam lamented. "Now what will I do? I really need this job. How will I pay my bills?"
"John, did you hear that? That jerk in there fired her!" Judy said angrily. "We got to do something for her!"
"Pam, could you run this restaurant?" he asked thoughtfully.
"Yeah," she said, nodding her head, her eyes red rimmed and streaming.
"Good," John said. He walked to a pay phone on the wall between the restaurant and the truck stop, dropped some coins in it, then began talking for a few minutes while looking all around the area, then hung up and came back to the pickup.
"I just instructed my lawyer to get with our banker and buy this place for you. You can pay us back when you can, okay?" John said closing the door and reaching for the ignition. "Now, let's go see that sick boy of yours. The guys are on the way, too. Here in a week you'll have that restaurant to operate. You'll be responsible. Can you handle it, Pam," he asked, then smiled over at her like a big brother.
She could only nod her head, unable to speak, she was so choked up. "I don't have car," she managed to whisper.
"Don't worry," Judy said, patting Pam's thigh, "we'll take care of it."
Pam cried the rest of the way to the hospital. As they went up to the pediatric ward she managed to get her emotions under control. She was smiling as she led John and Judy onto the children's ward.
Josh lay bald and pale against the Batman pillow case under his tiny face. He appeared to be about nine years old. His eyes were a bright beautiful blue, they were large and round. He was a good looking kid. His eyes grew larger when John stepped into the room behind Judy.
"No way!" Josh exclaimed excitedly, but weakly, seeing John's face. "John Travis!" he exclaimed, then his eyes became glassy. "Maybe I already died!"
"No Sir, Josh," John said, coming over to his bed. "You ain't died yet, Little Man. I'm John Travis. This is my wife Judy and my son, Billy. Your mom told me you'd like to have an autograph from me. I convinced her, quite easily in fact, that a personal visit would mean a lot more to a boy your age, right?"
"Shoot yeah!" Josh said, wiping his eyes on the back of his wrists. "Will you sing some of your songs for me?"
"I sure will," John said patting Josh gently on his narrow, bird like chest. "In fact the boys are on the way with the guitars and drumsticks. We're going to sing all of you some songs..."
"There's a guitar over there in the closet. It's my size, but maybe you can use it," Josh said hopefully.
John looked in the closet and found the small child's guitar. It was small, but it would do. He returned to the bed and took a seat in the chair. In a few minutes he had the guitar in relatively good tune and began to play and sing. Josh beamed, as did John, seeing he was making the dying child happy.
While he sang, John wished he could take the child's illness into himself and defeat it so the child could live a full life.
Unbeknownst to John, Judy, Pam, or Josh, within half an hour news of the concert at the children's hospital was being broadcast across the nation on every news station and paper. Even by word of mouth. John Travis had become a sensation.
When the band arrived there was a huge crowd outside the hospital. Jake, Ross and Dempsey eased their way through to the door, then inside and up to the pediatric ward. They found Josh's room and entered quietly and introduced themselves. Jake immediately started teasing him about staring at his slightly crossed eyes, then emphasized the misalignment sending Josh into gales of childish laughter.
Ross was so big, Josh believed him to be a giant. Ross told him he was actually the smallest of four brothers and had gotten beat up all the time when he was little. Josh looked up at him in awe of the tales he told of his childhood.
Dempsey sat on the floor and leaned back against the wall. Seeing his intent, Jake began to tap out the drum score on various surfaces within reach. Ross began to strum the rhythm guitar, John the lead guitar and Dempsey thumped out the bass line. They were quickly into full swing of some of John's songs.
While this was going on the hospital staff was setting up a makeshift concert hall for the children. Within half an hour the children were seated, or in their bed listening to John Travis and the Travelers in a live concert, just for them. They were beyond ecstatic.
Sometime later the children were fast asleep in their beds. John sat beside Josh, who was also fast asleep. The children had been quickly exhausted by the excitement of the concert; their frail little bodies fighting desperately for life and losing.
Outside the hospital the crowd waited for John and the Travelers to come out. They wanted to thank them personally for bringing such happiness to these dying children free of charge. It seemed to the nation his humanity knew no bounds.
"John, we'd better go," Judy said softly. "It's getting late. Honey."
"I'm afraid to leave him, Judy," he replied, looking up at her. "What if it was one of our Billys laying there?"
"He'll be fine, John," Judy assured him, glancing over at Pam.
"No he won't," John argued, reminding them that these children were dying.
John shook his head and stood. He leaned over the bed and kissed Josh gently on the forehead. "I won't forget you, Josh Jenkins. I promise!" he said, then stood and turned away.
"John, you'll never know how much this has meant to Josh and the other kids. They're such strong troopers! How can I ever repay you?" Pam asked, her tears beginning to fall once again.
"You already have, Pam," John replied, taking her gently into his arms and kissing her cheek. "If there is anything more I can do. Don't hesitate to call. Maybe you will allow me and the boys to come back, sometime?"
"Oh, you're much too busy traveling all over the world with your music. You don't have time for these kinds of troubles," Pam said seriously.
“These are the kind of troubles that are everyone's concern," John said seriously. "I promise I will bring this to the attention of the country music industry and see if we can help end cancer in children."
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"Can I give you a kiss, John Travis?" Pam asked, her eyes brimming.
"You'll have to ask my wife about that," John said shyly. A friendly kiss was just natural, but when it became something more serious it was a whole different story.
Judy spread her arms in invitation for Pam to hug and kiss her husband. When they parted John asked, "Can we drop you someplace?"
"I'll be fine," Pam replied. "I have no place to be in the morning."
"You have our card. Don't hesitate to use it, Pam," John said. "We'll have good news in a few more days."
Pam impulsively tiptoed and kissed John softly on the lips, then turned to Judy and hugged her tightly around her big belly, then kissed her on the cheek as well. "I will never forget you two!"
"We won't let you," Judy laughed, kissing Pam's cheek.
John was glad to be leaving the hospital. He and Judy walked down the hall to a bank of elevators. John pushed the call button and they stood and waited for the car to arrive.
"Pam sure cries a lot," he said. "But, she has a good reason, too."
"Maybe she'll be alright when we get the restaurant for her."
"What we need to do is save her child," John said staring at Judy seriously. "That would make her smile again."
"We're not Gods, John," Judy said as the doors opened. "We're just two normal people trying to get by. We have problems, too."
"I spent my life sad and mostly poor," he said, holding the door open. It nudged him several times while he waited. He kind of liked the feeling of the insistent door butting into him. "I know what it’s like," he said with a grin.
"What changed?" Judy smiled, watching him play with the door like a child.
"I met you and fell in love," he said seriously. "Now that I know what love is I want to share it with the whole world."
"Well, let's invite Pam and Josh to the Awards Ceremony, then," Judy said, then tugged John from the elevator and back down the hallway toward Josh's room.
"But, I may not win, Judy!" John protested.
"So what? Not everyone gets a chance to be invited to the Country Music Awards!"
"True," John agreed, then gave up fighting Judy's insistent pull.
Just Beyond the Curve Page 37