80 as in Adrienne Skye, chapter 6
Her mother, Anna Skye, was leaning against a wall across the alley with a cancer stick in her hand. Her head was down and that's when Adie noticed two things.
One was that for some reason her mother's hair seemed different. Her usually dirty blonde hair with highlights seemed almost gray. Almost like she was so stressed out that her hair was portraying her emotions welled up inside.
The thing that drew her attention the firmest was what she saw on her mother's neck. Now that her hair was down and covering her face, Adie could see a tattoo on her neck. It almost looked like a name that read: *BJ*.
"Mom," Adie called, "are you okay?" She walked over to join her mother who was now sitting on the ground.
" I just don't understand it. Why after all this time?" her mother yelled into the alley.
"What is it? Is it Nate? Mom, you know how Nate is. He'll go to college, he's just got to get some stuff out of his system," Adie was saying, while at the same time trying to believe it to.
"It's not Nate. It's his father. Every time I look at him I see his father. Plus the fact that he's acting more and more like him everyday. I saw your dad's picture this morning and I just lost it," she cried, there was now a steady stream of hot tears flowing down her face.
There was an unknown magazine that Adie didn't notice until her mother began to cry. Sitting by her feet was a Rolling Stone magazine.
On the cover were assorted pictures of Billie Joe Armstrong. There were pictures of him from childhood to his current age. At the top of the page was a banner announcing his 34th birthday. In the middle was a huge picture of Billie with his wife Adrienne and two sons, Jakob and Joey.
"Where's the picture mom? At least let me know what he looks like," Adrienne was almost begging now.
"Child, you know what he looks like. You've known for a long time. You just don't know him. Answer this for me, what is the name of your favorite band?"
"You know that one mom. Green Day of all the bands on my top list," Adie almost laughed. What did this have to do with her father?
"What is the name of the lead singer?"
"Billie Joe. It says right here mom," Adie answered, pointing to the magazine.
"Now go look at Nate. After this I think you'll understand. You always had a way of comparing people's faces. Go on now, I'll be fine. Maybe I'll even go on that walk," she said, dusting herself off and rising to leave.
"Mom, Nate went to work. How am I suppose to understand if he isn't here to help me? Not that he helps much when he is here."
" He never stays at work long. He'll be home soon. Bedsides it'll give you time to think this all over and understand," she smiled, walking out of the alley in the direction of the bay.
"Damn. Am I the only one who doesn't know who my dad is?" Adie asked the empty alley.
She looked down at the Rolling Stone magazine. Looking into Billie's face she searched for an answer to this riddle. Usually music always gave her some kind of answer in life. And it would again. Adie just didn't know it yet.
Adie walked into the house and was surprised to find the house quiet. Usually the sound of Brad bopping around was heard, but he was at work. The sound of her mother singing in the kitchen, she was on her walk. Almost always Nate was doing something that involved being noisy. That only left Adie alone in the house.
"This will give me a great chance to practice on my guitar," Adie said to the empty silence.
Usually she was told to either be quieter or shut up entirely. This was a welcome thought. She ran up to her room and picked up the beautiful guitar. It wasn't the best thing in the world, but it played well enough.
Adie had taken the liberty of decorating it with random stickers. There was a fist that stood for Green Day and a sticker that read ' how much will you risk for freedom? ' There were more, but the one that she was most proud of was the one about Brad. It had his name written in the middle with a cross running through it. Under it read 'I'm not anti-American, I'm anti-Brad.
Looking around to make sure she was alone, Adie sat down to play her prized guitar. She played 'Time of Your Life' since it seemed the day had become so confusing.
As she finished up playing the final cord, Adie heard the door slam. Only her brother slammed the door like that, which ment that Adie could check out his face and figure out what her mom was up to.
"I'm sorry to say this, but Nate I have to look at your ugly face," Adie said in a mocking horrified tone. She was trying hard to hold back her laughter.
"You ask to do stuff really nice. So maybe after I drink a beer you can look at my handsome face," Nate yelled back at her. "That's a pretty big maybe though."
"I guess that's as good as it gets," she sighed.
"Where's all the beer?" Nate yelled from the kitchen a moment later.
"Mom took the last one. And no, you can't yell at her because she's still on her walk," Adie said boredly.
"You ask her about dear old Dad?" Nate asked, a piece of pizza stuffed in his mouth reducing in to mumblings.
"Yeah, she was really teary about it. She'd seen a picture of him in this Rolling Stone magazine. She just told me to look at it and compare the cover to you or something. I didn't really get it," she mumbled, taking a piece of pizza out of Nate's hands.
"Let me see that," Nate said seriously, reaching for the magazine.
He studied the cover for a tense moment. His face contorted from a serious grim look to a smart aleck smile. Almost as if saying he knew something that she didn't.
"Take a look at this and tell me what you see," Nate explained, putting the magazine next to his face.
This was once of Adie's talents. She could compare people's faces so well that if a son and father looked nothing alike, she could spot a similarity. Even if it were the small curve of the eyes to how his nostrils flared when he was angry.
Adie picked out the best picture of Billie on the page and focused on it. Then she carefully looked at her brother.
As she stared between the two she noticed small things about both of them that were the same. Nate had the same curve of a nose as the singer. His hair in a mess of blonde was remarkably the same, even if it wasn't black. His smile was the same puckered up look as his also. The most amazing was his eyes.
Adie had always asked why Nate's eyes were such a magnificent green. Her mother had told her that he had his father's eyes. Both beautiful and all knowing eyes, she always said.
One was that for some reason her mother's hair seemed different. Her usually dirty blonde hair with highlights seemed almost gray. Almost like she was so stressed out that her hair was portraying her emotions welled up inside.
The thing that drew her attention the firmest was what she saw on her mother's neck. Now that her hair was down and covering her face, Adie could see a tattoo on her neck. It almost looked like a name that read: *BJ*.
"Mom," Adie called, "are you okay?" She walked over to join her mother who was now sitting on the ground.
" I just don't understand it. Why after all this time?" her mother yelled into the alley.
"What is it? Is it Nate? Mom, you know how Nate is. He'll go to college, he's just got to get some stuff out of his system," Adie was saying, while at the same time trying to believe it to.
"It's not Nate. It's his father. Every time I look at him I see his father. Plus the fact that he's acting more and more like him everyday. I saw your dad's picture this morning and I just lost it," she cried, there was now a steady stream of hot tears flowing down her face.
There was an unknown magazine that Adie didn't notice until her mother began to cry. Sitting by her feet was a Rolling Stone magazine.
On the cover were assorted pictures of Billie Joe Armstrong. There were pictures of him from childhood to his current age. At the top of the page was a banner announcing his 34th birthday. In the middle was a huge picture of Billie with his wife Adrienne and two sons, Jakob and Joey.
"Where's the picture mom? At least let me know what he looks like," Adrienne was almost begging now.
"Child, you know what he looks like. You've known for a long time. You just don't know him. Answer this for me, what is the name of your favorite band?"
"You know that one mom. Green Day of all the bands on my top list," Adie almost laughed. What did this have to do with her father?
"What is the name of the lead singer?"
"Billie Joe. It says right here mom," Adie answered, pointing to the magazine.
"Now go look at Nate. After this I think you'll understand. You always had a way of comparing people's faces. Go on now, I'll be fine. Maybe I'll even go on that walk," she said, dusting herself off and rising to leave.
"Mom, Nate went to work. How am I suppose to understand if he isn't here to help me? Not that he helps much when he is here."
" He never stays at work long. He'll be home soon. Bedsides it'll give you time to think this all over and understand," she smiled, walking out of the alley in the direction of the bay.
"Damn. Am I the only one who doesn't know who my dad is?" Adie asked the empty alley.
She looked down at the Rolling Stone magazine. Looking into Billie's face she searched for an answer to this riddle. Usually music always gave her some kind of answer in life. And it would again. Adie just didn't know it yet.
Adie walked into the house and was surprised to find the house quiet. Usually the sound of Brad bopping around was heard, but he was at work. The sound of her mother singing in the kitchen, she was on her walk. Almost always Nate was doing something that involved being noisy. That only left Adie alone in the house.
"This will give me a great chance to practice on my guitar," Adie said to the empty silence.
Usually she was told to either be quieter or shut up entirely. This was a welcome thought. She ran up to her room and picked up the beautiful guitar. It wasn't the best thing in the world, but it played well enough.
Adie had taken the liberty of decorating it with random stickers. There was a fist that stood for Green Day and a sticker that read ' how much will you risk for freedom? ' There were more, but the one that she was most proud of was the one about Brad. It had his name written in the middle with a cross running through it. Under it read 'I'm not anti-American, I'm anti-Brad.
Looking around to make sure she was alone, Adie sat down to play her prized guitar. She played 'Time of Your Life' since it seemed the day had become so confusing.
As she finished up playing the final cord, Adie heard the door slam. Only her brother slammed the door like that, which ment that Adie could check out his face and figure out what her mom was up to.
"I'm sorry to say this, but Nate I have to look at your ugly face," Adie said in a mocking horrified tone. She was trying hard to hold back her laughter.
"You ask to do stuff really nice. So maybe after I drink a beer you can look at my handsome face," Nate yelled back at her. "That's a pretty big maybe though."
"I guess that's as good as it gets," she sighed.
"Where's all the beer?" Nate yelled from the kitchen a moment later.
"Mom took the last one. And no, you can't yell at her because she's still on her walk," Adie said boredly.
"You ask her about dear old Dad?" Nate asked, a piece of pizza stuffed in his mouth reducing in to mumblings.
"Yeah, she was really teary about it. She'd seen a picture of him in this Rolling Stone magazine. She just told me to look at it and compare the cover to you or something. I didn't really get it," she mumbled, taking a piece of pizza out of Nate's hands.
"Let me see that," Nate said seriously, reaching for the magazine.
He studied the cover for a tense moment. His face contorted from a serious grim look to a smart aleck smile. Almost as if saying he knew something that she didn't.
"Take a look at this and tell me what you see," Nate explained, putting the magazine next to his face.
This was once of Adie's talents. She could compare people's faces so well that if a son and father looked nothing alike, she could spot a similarity. Even if it were the small curve of the eyes to how his nostrils flared when he was angry.
Adie picked out the best picture of Billie on the page and focused on it. Then she carefully looked at her brother.
As she stared between the two she noticed small things about both of them that were the same. Nate had the same curve of a nose as the singer. His hair in a mess of blonde was remarkably the same, even if it wasn't black. His smile was the same puckered up look as his also. The most amazing was his eyes.
Adie had always asked why Nate's eyes were such a magnificent green. Her mother had told her that he had his father's eyes. Both beautiful and all knowing eyes, she always said.
