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Sam and Friends BookJanicePepper
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Summary: A nice little Floyd/Janice songfic that takes place in the Muppets Take Manhattan movie.
Manhattan, August 6, 1984
"Looks like as good a place as any." Floyd said as they came upon a typical busy street corner in New York City.
"Fer sure." Janice agreed with an easy shrug.
"OK, same as last time, right?" Floyd said to the rest of the members of Electric Mayhem.
"Right." said Dr. Teeth. "I look out for the fuzz and if I see 'em comin', I do this number." Dr. Teeth flapped his arms wildly.
"Uh, yeah, keep it subtle, man." said Floyd, knowing the word 'sublte' probably wasn't in Teeth's vocabulary. "Zoot, you come in on cue this time. Don't fall asleep like last time, a'ight?"
"Aw, man, I was tired." Zoot protested.
"Animal," Floyd continued. "If you get confused, just look over at me." Animal grunted and nodded in understanding. "And Janice, you just do what you do best, babe." He winked at her. She gave him one of those smiles that always made his heart do backflips. "And everyone remember, the fuzz shows up, we scatter to the four winds. They can't catch all of us." They got in their places. Dr. Teeth scouted for a good look out spot. Zoot took a spot on a nearby stoop. Animal crouched by him. Floyd laid his hat on the sidewalk and readied his guitar. Janice took a deep breath and a few warm up stretches, tambourine in hand. "How do you think these New Yorkers feel about a certain Jersey boy?" Floyd asked her.
"Like, go for it!" She started tapping out the rhythm she knew Floyd was thinking of and Floyd touched his fingers to the strings and sang as Janice danced.
In the day we sweat it out on the streets of a runaway American dream
At night we ride through mansions of glory in suicide machines
Sprung from cages on Highway 9
Chrome wheeled, fuel injected
And steppin' out over the line
Baby this town rips the bones from your back
It's a death trap, it's a suicide rap
We gotta get out while we're young
Cuz tramps like us, Baby we were born to run!
A few appreciative passers by tossed some coins in Floyd's cap. He would thank them with a brief nod and keep singing. Panhandling wasn't exactly legal in New York. Not that this was begging. This was performance. And if some charitable person decided to show their appreciation for the arts by tossing them a few coins, well, what harm was done? And anyway, this was only temporary, just until Kermit could sell the show. At least, that's what Floyd told himself every morning when he dragged himself out of his locker to the bus station men's room. Floyd smiled a bit when he remembered Janice joking about wanting to switch with anyone who had a jacuzzi. He was satisfied with his locker. It was right next to hers.
Janice continued to whirl like a dervish, beating her tambourine. Floyd watched Janice twirl, her long blonde hair whipping about. She deserved better than this. She was every bit the musician he was. She could sing and play guitar fantastically. Not for a girl, but for anybody. And here she was, reduced to dancing like a gypsy for a few pennies. They had found they got more donations when Janice danced than when she played guitar. It wasn't fair. Life wasn't fair.
Floyd had to take that back. Life could be pretty decent sometimes. Getting into college on a music scholarship had been pretty amazing. Finding Janice was even more amazing. She wasn't like other girls. Floyd would have gone nuts with a girl as clingy as Piggy or Camilla. Janice was independent. A free spirit.
He'd never forget the first time he saw her. She was driving a motorcycle down the main drag of the campus, seeming to be looking for something. It was the first time he had seen a girl driving a motorcycle instead of riding the pillion. He trotted to keep up with her. There was something about her he wanted to keep in his vision for a while. The whippy blonde hair, the full lips, the delicate, tan frame. He smiled at her, and joy of joys she smiled back. She even opened her mouth to say something, but Floyd never heard it. A bicycle rack jumped in front of him and tripped him.
OK, so maybe the bicycle rack had been there all along and Floyd just didn't notice it. Didn't change the fact that he was lying face down on the pavement thinking Aw, man, she saw that and I look like a complete dork! Someone was turning him over. The burning pain in his nose was dimmed as he looked up and saw an angel looking down on him. "Like, are you OK?" she asked.
"Are you an angel?" he asked. She laughed. Oh, Lord, kill me now!
"Oh, wow, you're so funny!" she said. She pulled a cloth out of her pocket. "But, you're like, bleeding, OK? So pinch your nose with this and it will all be totally cosmic, OK?" Her way of speaking was different from anyone he had ever heard. And he liked it. And she didn't scream or get upset or anything over the blood. Just totally cool. She helped him stand up. "Where you goin', handsome? Maybe I can give you a lift."
Did she just call him 'handsome'? Did that mean he had a shot with her? "Wawence Haw." Bloody nose made him talk like Tweety Bird on New Year's Day.
"Do you mean Laurence Hall?" He nodded. "Oh, wow, like, that's where I'm going! Isn't this a total cosmic coinkydink?" He nodded. "Can you tell me where it is?"
"Down the wode." He snorted. "Couple bwocks. It's onna weft."
"Super. Hop on my bike, um, what's your name?"
"Fwoyd."
"Freud? Like that wigged out psychiatry dude?"
"No, Fwoyd."
"Oh, Floyd!" she said. "Totally easy to remember. Pink Floyd is one of my fav bands." It was one of his too. "I'm Janice, like Joplin only I spell it with a soft c and a silent e. Come on, let's go." He got on the pillion seat and hung on. Wild ride. He found himself speeding down the road with his arms wrapped around a very attractive girl. It turned out they both had the same music theory class together.
In the modern world, Floyd played the second stanza and wondered if Janice would notice the tiny change he made in the lyrics.
Janice let me in, I wanna be your friend
I want to guard your dreams and visions
Just wrap your legs round these velvet rims
And strap your hands across my engines
Together we could break this trap
We'll run till we drop, baby we'll never go back
Will you walk with me out on the wire
Cuz baby I'm just a scared and lonely rider
But I gotta find out how it feels
I want to know if love is wild
Girl, I want to know if love is real
Floyd had always prided himself in being cool and unruffled. But this chick, she had a way of getting under his skin without even trying. That's what made Janice so cool. She wasn't trying too hard. Nor was she playing hard to get. She was so open, so accepting of him as a friend. He wanted more than friendship with her, but didn't dare ask for too much too soon. He worked on staying calm around her. Her friendly manner helped him get over his initial tongue-tiedness quickly. She lived by herself in a walk-up studio apartment. She joked that it was so small the roaches were hunchbacked. Floyd himself shared a dorm room with Teeth, Zoot and Animal. It was bigger than Janice's walk-up, but three roommates made it seem smaller. She had an impressive collection of vinyl records. Almost as big as his own. She was the first girl he ever met who knew exactly what he was talking about when he talked about guitars. Most girls Floyd had tried to strike up a conversation with wouldn't know a Telecaster from a Stratacaster. Janice did.
She even wrote songs and music. She suggested they write a song together. Floyd had written some lyrics since the day he met her. Lyrics about a free spirited girl with hair like a golden wind and a smile like an angel's. Lyrics about how being close to her made him feel all warm and wobbly. Lyrics about how he wanted to protect her, be her knight in shining armor, even though he knew deep down she was fully capable of protecting herself. Lyrics about how he felt both scared and happy at the same time when he was with her. Lyrics he would never show to anyone else.
The one thing Janice loved almost as much as her guitar was her motorcycle. Floyd wondered at first if it was odd looking to have a girl drive while the guy sat on the back and held on. After a while, he stopped caring. It was kind of fun to go racing the wind astride a vibrating chunk of metal, his arms wrapped around a beautiful girl. There was one thing that concerned him, though.
"You really should wear a helmet on that thing." He told her once when they were at a Harley Davidson shop.
"Helmets muss up my hair." she said as she tried to select a new fuel pump.
"Rather have your hair mussed up than your brains." he said. "Sides, mussed hair is kinda cute. Looks like you just got out of bed."
"Rilly." she laughed. "You're so funny, Floyd."
"If I buy you one, will you wear it?"
"Floyd, don't waste your cash on me."
"Really, I mean it. Pick one out. It's yours."
She picked out a hot pink one. It didn't cost quite as much as the others, but was a little more than he was expecting. Weeks later, he found it was money well spent.
Saturday morning (noon, actually), Floyd was awoken from a sound sleep by the phone. When it was clear none of his roomies was going to get it, Floyd rolled out of bed, stepped over strewn clothes, pizza boxes and Zoot to get to the phone. Why hadn't the person given up yet? "H'lo?" he said drowsily as he picked up.
"Floyd?" It was Janice.
"Oh! Uh, good morning, Janice." He was awake now.
"It's half past noon."
"Oh. Well, good afternoon, then."
"Floyd? I need to ask a favor."
"Shoot, babe!" He'd do anything for her.
"Your friend Dr. Teeth has a car, right?"
"Yeah, if you wanna call it that." Actually, it was a heap of metal barely held together with duct tape.
"Can you come pick me up? I'm at Roseland Hospital."
Why was she at a hospital? "Janice? Are you OK?"
"I'm cool, Floyd. I just need a ride home."
"Sit tight, babe! I'll be right there!" He hung up and went to wake up Dr. Teeth. "Teeth! Teeth! Wake up, man!" he yelled, shaking him.
"I swear officer!" Teeth mumbled. "That's not even my duck!"
"Teeth, get up."
"Don' wanna."
"Teeth! Teeth!" nothing. "Levi!"
That got him. "Floyd, I told you, never call me that!"
"Listen man, I gotta borrow your car. Janice is in the hospital."
"What's she doing at the hospital?"
"Auditioning for a part on St. Elseware. What do you think, man?"
"Alright, alright, chill, bro." Teeth said as he sat up. He picked up the keys on the nightstand. "Here ya go. Do me a favor and fill her up, OK?"
"OK." Floyd started to leave.
"One more thing Floyd."
"What?" Couldn't Teeth see he needed to go to Janice now?
"Might be a good idea to put some pants on, boy."
Floyd looked down. All he was wearing was the Kiss logo boxers he slept in. "Oh, uh, yeah. Thanks for catching that for me, Teeth."
"Anytime, man." Teeth said, going back to bed. "Just don't trip over Zoot on your way out."
At the hospital, one of the nurses led him to her in one of the examining rooms. She had some scrapes and her right wrist was bound with a canvas bandage. He embraced her, just so glad she was alright. She was hugging back. "I'm sorry." she said.
"About what?" he asked, barely above a whisper. She was here. What was there to be sorry for?
"That helmet you bought me- totally trashed. Bummer, huh?"
"Janice, a 'bummer' would be if those brains got trashed." He laid a hand on her head, touching the whippy blonde hair. "Instead of in that pretty head where they belong." She smiled at him and touched his hand, bringing it to her cheek. For the first time, he harbored hope that she might care for him as he did for her. "So, um, what happened?"
"I just went out for some milk and was on my way back home when I got sideswiped by a car." she said. "My bike's gonna need repairs. The milk was totally splattered. I tried to use my arm to break my fall. Instinct, I guess. Fractured my wrist. Guess it'll be a while before I can play guitar."
Impulsively, he kissed her bandaged wrist, as if willing it to be better. "I'll buy you another carton of milk." he promised. "I gotta get gas for Teeth's car anyway."
"Um, I don't get milk from gas stations." she said. "There's this organic foods store I go to. It's called Organic Palace"
"Alright." he said with a smile. "We'll go there, then." Nothing was too good for her.
They were in the dairy aisle of the Organic Palace when it happened. They heard the same song Floyd was playing in present day being piped in overhead.
"Wow, I totally dig Bruce Springsteen!" said Janice.
"He's the Boss for a reason." Floyd agreed.
"I love this song." She was tapping a foot and nodding her head.
"Wanna dance?"
"Fer sure!"
They probably looked a little nuts dancing in the dairy aisle to piped Springsteen, but they didn't care. He took her by the waist and twirled her around. He had almost lost her today, but here she was. Then he did something he knew he would never regret. He held her close and kissed her gently. She didn't fight it. In fact, she returned it. Floyd felt like he could die happy, but never so much wanted to live. "I love you, Janice." He whispered to her.
"I love you too, Floyd."
"Look, Statler!" said some old geezer. "Two hippies in love!"
"Take my advice, young man!" said the other geezer. "Don't buy the milk! The cow is free!" The two geezers laughed. Floyd was all too glad to get away from them.
Zoot recognized his cue and played the sax solo as Janice swayed madly. Floyd allowed himself a moment to appreciate the sight, then finished the song.
Beyond the Palace hemi-powered drones scream down the boulevard
The girls comb their hair in rearview mirrors
And the boys try to look so hard
The amusement park rises bold and stark
Kids are huddled on the beach in a mist
I wanna die with you Janice on the streets tonight
In an everlasting kiss
The highway's jammed with broken heroes on a last chance power drive
Everybody's out on the run tonight
But there's no place to hide
Together Janice, we'll live with the sadness
I'll love you with all the madness in my soul
Someday girl, I don't know when
We're gonna get to that place
Where we really want to go
And we'll walk in the sun
But till then, tramps like us,
Baby we were born to run!
A few passers by applauded. The musicians bowed. "Like, thank you so much!" said Janice as Floyd took a spot on the fringe of the crowd. "Let me introduce you to the Amazing Animal!" Animal approached Janice at the sound of his name.
"Hi people!" Animal growled as the small crowd stared in amazement.
"What is it?" a few people murmured. "A dog? A monkey?"
Janice gave Animal the tambourine. "Animal?" she asked "How many fingers?" She held up three. Animal looked at her, then glanced at Floyd, who gave him a subtle nod. Animal smacked himself on the head with the tambourine three times, once for each nod Floyd gave. "Animal, what day of the month is it?" They were careful to only put this question in the act early in the month so as not to confuse Animal too much. As it was, it the 6th. Floyd gave six subtle nods, each signaling animal to whack himself with the tambourine. The crowd applauded. "Animal, what time is it?" Floyd gave his watch a quick look. Almost four. He subtly nodded four times. Animal whacked himself with the tambourine each time. Just then, the bells of St. Patrick rang four times. More enthusiastic applause. Someone put a whole dollar in Floyd's hat.
The trained Animal act had been Janice's idea. She said she got the idea from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Floyd never read it, though he had seen the Lon Chaney film. He was loathe to admit it, but Janice was more well read than him. The biggest book he ever read was the instruction manual that came with his amps, and he only broke down and read that after nearly getting electrocuted.
He remembered their college days again. He had talked Dr. Teeth into letting her join the band. They really could use another guitarist. Dr. Teeth said he'd let her audition. Floyd remembering wanting to impress her at the audition. He persuaded his friends to help him clean up the not too neat (actually very messy) dorm room they shared. He tried to convince Zoot to take down the poster he had of a bikini girl holding a sax, but no dice. Animal saved them some time by eating most of the garbage lying around. Janice brought her guitar to the dorm room and performed "I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends." She was a Beatles fan too. He listened in complete awe. Zoot and Teeth seemed impressed. Animal coughed up a half digested pizza box. Floyd was mortified, but Janice seemed not to mind too much. "So, how was that?" she asked.
"Let me confer with my associates." said Teeth, signaling for everyone to join a huddle. "The gal knows how to use that guitar." Teeth whispered. "And she can sing."
"Yeah, but Floyd's dating her." said Zoot. "Bandcest, man, not a good idea."
"Look, we'll keep our personal lives off the stage, I promise." said Floyd. "Give her a fair chance. She deserves it."
"Woman!" said Animal for the third time since he saw her.
"Yes, Animal." Floyd said patiently. "She's a woman." My God, she's a woman!
"Well, it's like this." said Teeth. "I've been talkin' to this frog by the name of Kermit who says he's writing a musical and wants to know if we'd be interested in providing the tunes. She helps us impress the frog, she's in."
"Woman!" Animal shouted again, running up to Janice.
"Animal, heel!" Floyd commanded. Animal obeyed. Floyd had him fairly well trained. "Uh, sorry about that, Janice."
"Like, no problem." she said. "Should I let him sniff my hand or something?"
"Rub the back of his head." Floyd suggested. "He likes that." She did so, causing Animal to thump his leg against the floor.
"Woman!" he muttered.
"Wanna come take him for a walk with me?" Floyd asked.
"Fer sure."
"Animal, get your leash." Animal fetched the chain and Floyd clipped it on his collar.
"She's perfect!" Floyd told Teeth later that night. "She's nice, and cool, and funny. She plays guitar like no one's business. We like the same bands. She's smart, thinks for herself. We've got the same outlook on life, you know, just take it as it comes."
"Yeah, I noticed." said Teeth. "She's just like you, only a girl."
"She ain't no girl, Teeth." said Floyd. "She's a lady."
She wasn't exactly like him. It would've been boring if she was, he decided. She was more into reading than he was. She was also into organic food and was a vegetarian. "I'm on a sea food diet myself." Floyd told her. "I see food, I eat it." She had once convinced him to eat a tofu burger, and he had to admit, it wasn't bad.
Necessity had forced her to compromise her food preferences lately. She couldn't get organic on the streets of New York, but she still insisted on no meat.
"I'll stick with the fries, thanks." she said once after he offered her half his cheeseburger at a fast food stand.
"You've been losing weight, hon." he told her. "I don't want you getting sick."
"Floyd, meat is more likely to make you sick."
"C'mon, babe, one bite?"
"Floyd, you do what you think is right, but no meat is touching my lips. Think for a minute, hon. How would Camilla feel about one of us nibbling on one of her relatives? How would you feel?"
"Actually, I got a few relatives I wouldn't mind seeing battered and fried extra crispy."
"Floyd, I know you like to make pork chop jokes with Piggy, but you don't really want someone to send her to the sausage factory, do you?"
Floyd had to think about this a moment. "Nah." he finally decided. "Not even the pig deserves that. But, Janice, this is beef. We don't know any cows."
"I went to high school with one."
"You went to high school with a cow?"
"Well, heifer is a better word. They don't call themselves cows until they're full grown. Her name was Gladys. She was head of the drama club and wanted to do something in children's television. Bit of a drama queen, but rather nice." She swirled a fry in ketchup. "I joined band, but, like, high school band wasn't what I thought it would be. There was no place for a guitar, so I played glockenspiel."
"Glocken which?"
"Glockenspiel. It's sorta like a xylophone, only it's metal and you carry it." She smiled. "So, now you know my secret. I'm a former band geek."
In the present day, Animal did more "tricks" for the crowd. There was applause and a few spectators dropped donations in Floyd's hat. Floyd suspected Animal was getting tired of doing tricks and signaled this to Janice. She caught on. Tired Animal was a cranky Animal, and a cranky Animal was not something they wanted to deal with. "You've been a terrific audience!" Janice said, taking her bow. "Let's give a final hand to the Amazing Animal!" Animal took a bow and went back to crouching on the stoop.
"OK, anyone got any requests?" Floyd asked the spectators. Nothing brought in donations faster than a request.
"We wanna see the girl dance some more!" a man shouted. A few other men agreed enthusiastically. Floyd sighed. All they wanted was eye candy.
"Let's give 'em what they want." Janice said cheerfully, taking up her tambourine. "Floyd, play a flamenco for me. I think they'd like that."
Yeah, I bet they would. Floyd played a flamenco tune on his guitar while Janice shimmied and spun to the music.
Floyd almost didn't see Dr. Teeth flapping his arms. "Cheese it, the cops!" Zoot said, grabbing his sax and running.
"Bye bye!" said Animal, running the other way.
Floyd stooped to grab the hat full of donations. He was going to take the money and run when he looked up to see Janice running, one of the cops hot on her heels. He never knew where that burst of speed came from. He suddenly found himself running down the street, Janice's wrist clutched in one hand, the hat full of money in the other and his guitar strapped across his back. The cop was chasing them, demanding they stop. No chance of that.
They managed to outdistance them for a while when they came to a fence. Floyd climbed it and jumped. He turned to see Janice climbing the fence. She got to the top and hesitated. He could hear the cops coming. "Jump!" he called to her, holding out his arms. She did, and he caught her. He started to run when she stopped to pick up something. Oh, yeah, the money. He almost forgot. They started running. It was harder now. They were no longer on pavement but surrounded by trees and brush.
Floyd found a clearing surrounded by bushes where they could rest a while. "Think we lost 'em." he said, trying to bring his breath down to normal.
"Fer sure." Janice panted as she leaned back against a tree. She was breathing pretty hard. Floyd never realized until just now what a physical toll dancing had on Janice. She always looked so fluid and graceful, Floyd never thought of it as tiring. Follow it with a hundred meter dash and hurdling a fence and you had one exhausted little lady.
"Hey, you alright?" he asked her. She smiled weakly and nodded. "You stay here, I'm gonna go find us some water or something." Floyd took a handful of quarters from the hat, just in case he couldn't find anything free.
Floyd found they were on the fringe of Central Park. There was the odd water fountain. Good for a few sips, if you didn't mind the water being warm. He needed something he could bring back to Janice. He found a soda machine that sold generic sodas for a quarter a piece. Floyd bought a cola, took a pull and returned to the clearing.
She had fallen asleep. He didn't think he had been gone that long. Surrounded by foliage, she looked like an enchanted princess. Well, there was only one way to wake an enchanted princess. He knelt down next to her and kissed her gently. She awoke and smiled at him. "Um, here, drink this." He said, giving her the soda. "It'll perk ya up."
"Thanks, Floyd." She sat up and drank some. "So, like, what about your plan to scatter to the four winds?"
Floyd looked away. "You, you needed me." he said.
She touched his arm. "I always need you, Floyd." she said, giving him back the soda. He took it and had a small sip.
"You don't always need me." he said. "You're good at handling yourself, babe." She just smiled at him and started taking off her sandals. "Those aren't good for running in, are they?"
"Not really." she said, cracking her toes.
"Let me get that for you." he offered, taking her foot and massaging it.
Janice relaxed at his touch. "Give you one year to stop that." she sighed.
"And then you'll want me to do the other one." he said. "Here, take another drink." He handed her the soda. He rolled his thumbs against her instep and let his fingers press into the sole. He worked his way up. He felt a blister forming on her pinky toe. Walking around from one audition to another plus dancing for donations was taking a toll on her feet. "I think you need some new shoes." he told her.
"Mmm...we need the cash for like, food and stuff." she said distractedly.
"It's not going to stay summer forever." he told her. "Once it starts getting cold, you'll need something better than sandals. Boots maybe. I've heard New York winters are pretty cold."
"Kermit will have the show sold by then." She flexed her foot. "Mmm...get the ankle, would you sweetie?"
He gently rotated the ankle. "You got that much confidence in him?"
"Don't you?" She took another sip of soda and passed the can back to him. "It's a great show. Someone's totally gonna love it. I mean, they've got this one new show out on Broadway that's all about singing and dancing cats! Like, can you believe it?"
"Singing and dancing cats?" Floyd couldn't believe it.
"Fer sure!"
"Well, if someone wants to do a show about singing and dancing cats," Floyd reasoned. "someone must want to do a show about a pig and a frog and a bear and a dog and a chicken and...what exactly is Gonzo, anyway?"
"Like, who knows?" Janice shrugged. "Do my other foot, hon?"
He switched feet in his lap and started rubbing the other one. "How'd that job interview go last night? I was asleep before you came back."
Janice gave an exasperated sigh. "Like, when that dude gave me his card and told me to come to his club for a job, I thought maybe he needed a waitress or a taxi dancer like in that Pat Benatar video. Oh, he wanted a dancer alright, but not a taxi dancer."
"Oh. That kinda club, huh?"
"Fer sure. He, like, tried to feed me some junk about it all being artistic or whatever." She lay back and relaxed. "I'll tell you all about it later. I so totally chewed him out. Right now, hon, I need my tootsies rubbed."
He massaged her foot and thought back on the time they all decided they were going to shoot for the stars. They were taking the show Kermit wrote to Broadway. The question was, How to get there? Dr. Teeth's old heap wouldn't make it through the Holland Tunnel. He wound up selling it, but didn't get much for it. Janice surprised Floyd by coming up to him, kissing him and putting a bus ticket in his hand.
"What's this?" he asked.
"Rilly!" she laughed, seeing the answer as so obvious. "It's your ticket to New York! I got one too." She showed him her ticket and crossed her fingers. "Here's hoping we get seated together."
"Where'd you get them?" he asked.
"Well, from the bus station, silly!" she smiled. "Where else?"
"No, I mean, where'd you get the money?"
"Baby, don't worry about it." She kissed him. "Now, I gotta go pack."
"Y'know, we don't really need tickets." he said. "You and me could just get on the back of your bike and ride there."
"No we couldn't." she said quickly, trying to leave.
"Why not?" he asked. "I know it would be a long drive, but...."
"I sold the bike." she said. "That's where I got the money."
"But, Janice, you didn't need to." She loved that bike.
"Look, the trip is really too long to make on a motorcycle and I've got some cash left over. We might need it."
"Janice," he sighed. "You didn't need to do that. I coulda pawned my guitar."
"You'll need that guitar for auditions." she told him. She kissed him again. "Now go pack. The bus leaves early tomorrow morning."
In the modern day, Floyd laid Janice's feet aside and took something from his pocket. "Here, you're probably hungry." It was a packet of peanut butter crackers.
"Where'd you get this?" she asked.
"I swallowed my pride yesterday and did some panhandling in the terminal." Pride was easy to swallow when you were desperate. "This one lady gave me some crackers. Guess she was afraid if she gave me money I'd spend it on booze or something. Go on, I'll bet you worked up an appetite."
"Floyd, they're yours. I won't take them from you."
"You're not taking them, I'm giving them."
"We'll share them." she decided. "There's six in here. Three for me, three for you."
Floyd was starting to feel a little hungry, so he agreed.
They ate together and rested in their private thicket on the edge of Central Park. Janice had tucked her head against Floyd's shoulder. From the rhythm of her breath, he had guessed she was asleep again. He decided he could use a nap himself. Even the ground was better to sleep on than the interior of a metal locker. As he started to drift off, he remembered what had happened while they were running from the police. It was a fact that Floyd would take comfort in whenever he wondered what Janice's true feelings for him were.
When he told her to jump, she trusted him to catch her.
Manhattan, August 6, 1984
"Looks like as good a place as any." Floyd said as they came upon a typical busy street corner in New York City.
"Fer sure." Janice agreed with an easy shrug.
"OK, same as last time, right?" Floyd said to the rest of the members of Electric Mayhem.
"Right." said Dr. Teeth. "I look out for the fuzz and if I see 'em comin', I do this number." Dr. Teeth flapped his arms wildly.
"Uh, yeah, keep it subtle, man." said Floyd, knowing the word 'sublte' probably wasn't in Teeth's vocabulary. "Zoot, you come in on cue this time. Don't fall asleep like last time, a'ight?"
"Aw, man, I was tired." Zoot protested.
"Animal," Floyd continued. "If you get confused, just look over at me." Animal grunted and nodded in understanding. "And Janice, you just do what you do best, babe." He winked at her. She gave him one of those smiles that always made his heart do backflips. "And everyone remember, the fuzz shows up, we scatter to the four winds. They can't catch all of us." They got in their places. Dr. Teeth scouted for a good look out spot. Zoot took a spot on a nearby stoop. Animal crouched by him. Floyd laid his hat on the sidewalk and readied his guitar. Janice took a deep breath and a few warm up stretches, tambourine in hand. "How do you think these New Yorkers feel about a certain Jersey boy?" Floyd asked her.
"Like, go for it!" She started tapping out the rhythm she knew Floyd was thinking of and Floyd touched his fingers to the strings and sang as Janice danced.
In the day we sweat it out on the streets of a runaway American dream
At night we ride through mansions of glory in suicide machines
Sprung from cages on Highway 9
Chrome wheeled, fuel injected
And steppin' out over the line
Baby this town rips the bones from your back
It's a death trap, it's a suicide rap
We gotta get out while we're young
Cuz tramps like us, Baby we were born to run!
A few appreciative passers by tossed some coins in Floyd's cap. He would thank them with a brief nod and keep singing. Panhandling wasn't exactly legal in New York. Not that this was begging. This was performance. And if some charitable person decided to show their appreciation for the arts by tossing them a few coins, well, what harm was done? And anyway, this was only temporary, just until Kermit could sell the show. At least, that's what Floyd told himself every morning when he dragged himself out of his locker to the bus station men's room. Floyd smiled a bit when he remembered Janice joking about wanting to switch with anyone who had a jacuzzi. He was satisfied with his locker. It was right next to hers.
Janice continued to whirl like a dervish, beating her tambourine. Floyd watched Janice twirl, her long blonde hair whipping about. She deserved better than this. She was every bit the musician he was. She could sing and play guitar fantastically. Not for a girl, but for anybody. And here she was, reduced to dancing like a gypsy for a few pennies. They had found they got more donations when Janice danced than when she played guitar. It wasn't fair. Life wasn't fair.
Floyd had to take that back. Life could be pretty decent sometimes. Getting into college on a music scholarship had been pretty amazing. Finding Janice was even more amazing. She wasn't like other girls. Floyd would have gone nuts with a girl as clingy as Piggy or Camilla. Janice was independent. A free spirit.
He'd never forget the first time he saw her. She was driving a motorcycle down the main drag of the campus, seeming to be looking for something. It was the first time he had seen a girl driving a motorcycle instead of riding the pillion. He trotted to keep up with her. There was something about her he wanted to keep in his vision for a while. The whippy blonde hair, the full lips, the delicate, tan frame. He smiled at her, and joy of joys she smiled back. She even opened her mouth to say something, but Floyd never heard it. A bicycle rack jumped in front of him and tripped him.
OK, so maybe the bicycle rack had been there all along and Floyd just didn't notice it. Didn't change the fact that he was lying face down on the pavement thinking Aw, man, she saw that and I look like a complete dork! Someone was turning him over. The burning pain in his nose was dimmed as he looked up and saw an angel looking down on him. "Like, are you OK?" she asked.
"Are you an angel?" he asked. She laughed. Oh, Lord, kill me now!
"Oh, wow, you're so funny!" she said. She pulled a cloth out of her pocket. "But, you're like, bleeding, OK? So pinch your nose with this and it will all be totally cosmic, OK?" Her way of speaking was different from anyone he had ever heard. And he liked it. And she didn't scream or get upset or anything over the blood. Just totally cool. She helped him stand up. "Where you goin', handsome? Maybe I can give you a lift."
Did she just call him 'handsome'? Did that mean he had a shot with her? "Wawence Haw." Bloody nose made him talk like Tweety Bird on New Year's Day.
"Do you mean Laurence Hall?" He nodded. "Oh, wow, like, that's where I'm going! Isn't this a total cosmic coinkydink?" He nodded. "Can you tell me where it is?"
"Down the wode." He snorted. "Couple bwocks. It's onna weft."
"Super. Hop on my bike, um, what's your name?"
"Fwoyd."
"Freud? Like that wigged out psychiatry dude?"
"No, Fwoyd."
"Oh, Floyd!" she said. "Totally easy to remember. Pink Floyd is one of my fav bands." It was one of his too. "I'm Janice, like Joplin only I spell it with a soft c and a silent e. Come on, let's go." He got on the pillion seat and hung on. Wild ride. He found himself speeding down the road with his arms wrapped around a very attractive girl. It turned out they both had the same music theory class together.
In the modern world, Floyd played the second stanza and wondered if Janice would notice the tiny change he made in the lyrics.
Janice let me in, I wanna be your friend
I want to guard your dreams and visions
Just wrap your legs round these velvet rims
And strap your hands across my engines
Together we could break this trap
We'll run till we drop, baby we'll never go back
Will you walk with me out on the wire
Cuz baby I'm just a scared and lonely rider
But I gotta find out how it feels
I want to know if love is wild
Girl, I want to know if love is real
Floyd had always prided himself in being cool and unruffled. But this chick, she had a way of getting under his skin without even trying. That's what made Janice so cool. She wasn't trying too hard. Nor was she playing hard to get. She was so open, so accepting of him as a friend. He wanted more than friendship with her, but didn't dare ask for too much too soon. He worked on staying calm around her. Her friendly manner helped him get over his initial tongue-tiedness quickly. She lived by herself in a walk-up studio apartment. She joked that it was so small the roaches were hunchbacked. Floyd himself shared a dorm room with Teeth, Zoot and Animal. It was bigger than Janice's walk-up, but three roommates made it seem smaller. She had an impressive collection of vinyl records. Almost as big as his own. She was the first girl he ever met who knew exactly what he was talking about when he talked about guitars. Most girls Floyd had tried to strike up a conversation with wouldn't know a Telecaster from a Stratacaster. Janice did.
She even wrote songs and music. She suggested they write a song together. Floyd had written some lyrics since the day he met her. Lyrics about a free spirited girl with hair like a golden wind and a smile like an angel's. Lyrics about how being close to her made him feel all warm and wobbly. Lyrics about how he wanted to protect her, be her knight in shining armor, even though he knew deep down she was fully capable of protecting herself. Lyrics about how he felt both scared and happy at the same time when he was with her. Lyrics he would never show to anyone else.
The one thing Janice loved almost as much as her guitar was her motorcycle. Floyd wondered at first if it was odd looking to have a girl drive while the guy sat on the back and held on. After a while, he stopped caring. It was kind of fun to go racing the wind astride a vibrating chunk of metal, his arms wrapped around a beautiful girl. There was one thing that concerned him, though.
"You really should wear a helmet on that thing." He told her once when they were at a Harley Davidson shop.
"Helmets muss up my hair." she said as she tried to select a new fuel pump.
"Rather have your hair mussed up than your brains." he said. "Sides, mussed hair is kinda cute. Looks like you just got out of bed."
"Rilly." she laughed. "You're so funny, Floyd."
"If I buy you one, will you wear it?"
"Floyd, don't waste your cash on me."
"Really, I mean it. Pick one out. It's yours."
She picked out a hot pink one. It didn't cost quite as much as the others, but was a little more than he was expecting. Weeks later, he found it was money well spent.
Saturday morning (noon, actually), Floyd was awoken from a sound sleep by the phone. When it was clear none of his roomies was going to get it, Floyd rolled out of bed, stepped over strewn clothes, pizza boxes and Zoot to get to the phone. Why hadn't the person given up yet? "H'lo?" he said drowsily as he picked up.
"Floyd?" It was Janice.
"Oh! Uh, good morning, Janice." He was awake now.
"It's half past noon."
"Oh. Well, good afternoon, then."
"Floyd? I need to ask a favor."
"Shoot, babe!" He'd do anything for her.
"Your friend Dr. Teeth has a car, right?"
"Yeah, if you wanna call it that." Actually, it was a heap of metal barely held together with duct tape.
"Can you come pick me up? I'm at Roseland Hospital."
Why was she at a hospital? "Janice? Are you OK?"
"I'm cool, Floyd. I just need a ride home."
"Sit tight, babe! I'll be right there!" He hung up and went to wake up Dr. Teeth. "Teeth! Teeth! Wake up, man!" he yelled, shaking him.
"I swear officer!" Teeth mumbled. "That's not even my duck!"
"Teeth, get up."
"Don' wanna."
"Teeth! Teeth!" nothing. "Levi!"
That got him. "Floyd, I told you, never call me that!"
"Listen man, I gotta borrow your car. Janice is in the hospital."
"What's she doing at the hospital?"
"Auditioning for a part on St. Elseware. What do you think, man?"
"Alright, alright, chill, bro." Teeth said as he sat up. He picked up the keys on the nightstand. "Here ya go. Do me a favor and fill her up, OK?"
"OK." Floyd started to leave.
"One more thing Floyd."
"What?" Couldn't Teeth see he needed to go to Janice now?
"Might be a good idea to put some pants on, boy."
Floyd looked down. All he was wearing was the Kiss logo boxers he slept in. "Oh, uh, yeah. Thanks for catching that for me, Teeth."
"Anytime, man." Teeth said, going back to bed. "Just don't trip over Zoot on your way out."
At the hospital, one of the nurses led him to her in one of the examining rooms. She had some scrapes and her right wrist was bound with a canvas bandage. He embraced her, just so glad she was alright. She was hugging back. "I'm sorry." she said.
"About what?" he asked, barely above a whisper. She was here. What was there to be sorry for?
"That helmet you bought me- totally trashed. Bummer, huh?"
"Janice, a 'bummer' would be if those brains got trashed." He laid a hand on her head, touching the whippy blonde hair. "Instead of in that pretty head where they belong." She smiled at him and touched his hand, bringing it to her cheek. For the first time, he harbored hope that she might care for him as he did for her. "So, um, what happened?"
"I just went out for some milk and was on my way back home when I got sideswiped by a car." she said. "My bike's gonna need repairs. The milk was totally splattered. I tried to use my arm to break my fall. Instinct, I guess. Fractured my wrist. Guess it'll be a while before I can play guitar."
Impulsively, he kissed her bandaged wrist, as if willing it to be better. "I'll buy you another carton of milk." he promised. "I gotta get gas for Teeth's car anyway."
"Um, I don't get milk from gas stations." she said. "There's this organic foods store I go to. It's called Organic Palace"
"Alright." he said with a smile. "We'll go there, then." Nothing was too good for her.
They were in the dairy aisle of the Organic Palace when it happened. They heard the same song Floyd was playing in present day being piped in overhead.
"Wow, I totally dig Bruce Springsteen!" said Janice.
"He's the Boss for a reason." Floyd agreed.
"I love this song." She was tapping a foot and nodding her head.
"Wanna dance?"
"Fer sure!"
They probably looked a little nuts dancing in the dairy aisle to piped Springsteen, but they didn't care. He took her by the waist and twirled her around. He had almost lost her today, but here she was. Then he did something he knew he would never regret. He held her close and kissed her gently. She didn't fight it. In fact, she returned it. Floyd felt like he could die happy, but never so much wanted to live. "I love you, Janice." He whispered to her.
"I love you too, Floyd."
"Look, Statler!" said some old geezer. "Two hippies in love!"
"Take my advice, young man!" said the other geezer. "Don't buy the milk! The cow is free!" The two geezers laughed. Floyd was all too glad to get away from them.
Zoot recognized his cue and played the sax solo as Janice swayed madly. Floyd allowed himself a moment to appreciate the sight, then finished the song.
Beyond the Palace hemi-powered drones scream down the boulevard
The girls comb their hair in rearview mirrors
And the boys try to look so hard
The amusement park rises bold and stark
Kids are huddled on the beach in a mist
I wanna die with you Janice on the streets tonight
In an everlasting kiss
The highway's jammed with broken heroes on a last chance power drive
Everybody's out on the run tonight
But there's no place to hide
Together Janice, we'll live with the sadness
I'll love you with all the madness in my soul
Someday girl, I don't know when
We're gonna get to that place
Where we really want to go
And we'll walk in the sun
But till then, tramps like us,
Baby we were born to run!
A few passers by applauded. The musicians bowed. "Like, thank you so much!" said Janice as Floyd took a spot on the fringe of the crowd. "Let me introduce you to the Amazing Animal!" Animal approached Janice at the sound of his name.
"Hi people!" Animal growled as the small crowd stared in amazement.
"What is it?" a few people murmured. "A dog? A monkey?"
Janice gave Animal the tambourine. "Animal?" she asked "How many fingers?" She held up three. Animal looked at her, then glanced at Floyd, who gave him a subtle nod. Animal smacked himself on the head with the tambourine three times, once for each nod Floyd gave. "Animal, what day of the month is it?" They were careful to only put this question in the act early in the month so as not to confuse Animal too much. As it was, it the 6th. Floyd gave six subtle nods, each signaling animal to whack himself with the tambourine. The crowd applauded. "Animal, what time is it?" Floyd gave his watch a quick look. Almost four. He subtly nodded four times. Animal whacked himself with the tambourine each time. Just then, the bells of St. Patrick rang four times. More enthusiastic applause. Someone put a whole dollar in Floyd's hat.
The trained Animal act had been Janice's idea. She said she got the idea from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Floyd never read it, though he had seen the Lon Chaney film. He was loathe to admit it, but Janice was more well read than him. The biggest book he ever read was the instruction manual that came with his amps, and he only broke down and read that after nearly getting electrocuted.
He remembered their college days again. He had talked Dr. Teeth into letting her join the band. They really could use another guitarist. Dr. Teeth said he'd let her audition. Floyd remembering wanting to impress her at the audition. He persuaded his friends to help him clean up the not too neat (actually very messy) dorm room they shared. He tried to convince Zoot to take down the poster he had of a bikini girl holding a sax, but no dice. Animal saved them some time by eating most of the garbage lying around. Janice brought her guitar to the dorm room and performed "I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends." She was a Beatles fan too. He listened in complete awe. Zoot and Teeth seemed impressed. Animal coughed up a half digested pizza box. Floyd was mortified, but Janice seemed not to mind too much. "So, how was that?" she asked.
"Let me confer with my associates." said Teeth, signaling for everyone to join a huddle. "The gal knows how to use that guitar." Teeth whispered. "And she can sing."
"Yeah, but Floyd's dating her." said Zoot. "Bandcest, man, not a good idea."
"Look, we'll keep our personal lives off the stage, I promise." said Floyd. "Give her a fair chance. She deserves it."
"Woman!" said Animal for the third time since he saw her.
"Yes, Animal." Floyd said patiently. "She's a woman." My God, she's a woman!
"Well, it's like this." said Teeth. "I've been talkin' to this frog by the name of Kermit who says he's writing a musical and wants to know if we'd be interested in providing the tunes. She helps us impress the frog, she's in."
"Woman!" Animal shouted again, running up to Janice.
"Animal, heel!" Floyd commanded. Animal obeyed. Floyd had him fairly well trained. "Uh, sorry about that, Janice."
"Like, no problem." she said. "Should I let him sniff my hand or something?"
"Rub the back of his head." Floyd suggested. "He likes that." She did so, causing Animal to thump his leg against the floor.
"Woman!" he muttered.
"Wanna come take him for a walk with me?" Floyd asked.
"Fer sure."
"Animal, get your leash." Animal fetched the chain and Floyd clipped it on his collar.
"She's perfect!" Floyd told Teeth later that night. "She's nice, and cool, and funny. She plays guitar like no one's business. We like the same bands. She's smart, thinks for herself. We've got the same outlook on life, you know, just take it as it comes."
"Yeah, I noticed." said Teeth. "She's just like you, only a girl."
"She ain't no girl, Teeth." said Floyd. "She's a lady."
She wasn't exactly like him. It would've been boring if she was, he decided. She was more into reading than he was. She was also into organic food and was a vegetarian. "I'm on a sea food diet myself." Floyd told her. "I see food, I eat it." She had once convinced him to eat a tofu burger, and he had to admit, it wasn't bad.
Necessity had forced her to compromise her food preferences lately. She couldn't get organic on the streets of New York, but she still insisted on no meat.
"I'll stick with the fries, thanks." she said once after he offered her half his cheeseburger at a fast food stand.
"You've been losing weight, hon." he told her. "I don't want you getting sick."
"Floyd, meat is more likely to make you sick."
"C'mon, babe, one bite?"
"Floyd, you do what you think is right, but no meat is touching my lips. Think for a minute, hon. How would Camilla feel about one of us nibbling on one of her relatives? How would you feel?"
"Actually, I got a few relatives I wouldn't mind seeing battered and fried extra crispy."
"Floyd, I know you like to make pork chop jokes with Piggy, but you don't really want someone to send her to the sausage factory, do you?"
Floyd had to think about this a moment. "Nah." he finally decided. "Not even the pig deserves that. But, Janice, this is beef. We don't know any cows."
"I went to high school with one."
"You went to high school with a cow?"
"Well, heifer is a better word. They don't call themselves cows until they're full grown. Her name was Gladys. She was head of the drama club and wanted to do something in children's television. Bit of a drama queen, but rather nice." She swirled a fry in ketchup. "I joined band, but, like, high school band wasn't what I thought it would be. There was no place for a guitar, so I played glockenspiel."
"Glocken which?"
"Glockenspiel. It's sorta like a xylophone, only it's metal and you carry it." She smiled. "So, now you know my secret. I'm a former band geek."
In the present day, Animal did more "tricks" for the crowd. There was applause and a few spectators dropped donations in Floyd's hat. Floyd suspected Animal was getting tired of doing tricks and signaled this to Janice. She caught on. Tired Animal was a cranky Animal, and a cranky Animal was not something they wanted to deal with. "You've been a terrific audience!" Janice said, taking her bow. "Let's give a final hand to the Amazing Animal!" Animal took a bow and went back to crouching on the stoop.
"OK, anyone got any requests?" Floyd asked the spectators. Nothing brought in donations faster than a request.
"We wanna see the girl dance some more!" a man shouted. A few other men agreed enthusiastically. Floyd sighed. All they wanted was eye candy.
"Let's give 'em what they want." Janice said cheerfully, taking up her tambourine. "Floyd, play a flamenco for me. I think they'd like that."
Yeah, I bet they would. Floyd played a flamenco tune on his guitar while Janice shimmied and spun to the music.
Floyd almost didn't see Dr. Teeth flapping his arms. "Cheese it, the cops!" Zoot said, grabbing his sax and running.
"Bye bye!" said Animal, running the other way.
Floyd stooped to grab the hat full of donations. He was going to take the money and run when he looked up to see Janice running, one of the cops hot on her heels. He never knew where that burst of speed came from. He suddenly found himself running down the street, Janice's wrist clutched in one hand, the hat full of money in the other and his guitar strapped across his back. The cop was chasing them, demanding they stop. No chance of that.
They managed to outdistance them for a while when they came to a fence. Floyd climbed it and jumped. He turned to see Janice climbing the fence. She got to the top and hesitated. He could hear the cops coming. "Jump!" he called to her, holding out his arms. She did, and he caught her. He started to run when she stopped to pick up something. Oh, yeah, the money. He almost forgot. They started running. It was harder now. They were no longer on pavement but surrounded by trees and brush.
Floyd found a clearing surrounded by bushes where they could rest a while. "Think we lost 'em." he said, trying to bring his breath down to normal.
"Fer sure." Janice panted as she leaned back against a tree. She was breathing pretty hard. Floyd never realized until just now what a physical toll dancing had on Janice. She always looked so fluid and graceful, Floyd never thought of it as tiring. Follow it with a hundred meter dash and hurdling a fence and you had one exhausted little lady.
"Hey, you alright?" he asked her. She smiled weakly and nodded. "You stay here, I'm gonna go find us some water or something." Floyd took a handful of quarters from the hat, just in case he couldn't find anything free.
Floyd found they were on the fringe of Central Park. There was the odd water fountain. Good for a few sips, if you didn't mind the water being warm. He needed something he could bring back to Janice. He found a soda machine that sold generic sodas for a quarter a piece. Floyd bought a cola, took a pull and returned to the clearing.
She had fallen asleep. He didn't think he had been gone that long. Surrounded by foliage, she looked like an enchanted princess. Well, there was only one way to wake an enchanted princess. He knelt down next to her and kissed her gently. She awoke and smiled at him. "Um, here, drink this." He said, giving her the soda. "It'll perk ya up."
"Thanks, Floyd." She sat up and drank some. "So, like, what about your plan to scatter to the four winds?"
Floyd looked away. "You, you needed me." he said.
She touched his arm. "I always need you, Floyd." she said, giving him back the soda. He took it and had a small sip.
"You don't always need me." he said. "You're good at handling yourself, babe." She just smiled at him and started taking off her sandals. "Those aren't good for running in, are they?"
"Not really." she said, cracking her toes.
"Let me get that for you." he offered, taking her foot and massaging it.
Janice relaxed at his touch. "Give you one year to stop that." she sighed.
"And then you'll want me to do the other one." he said. "Here, take another drink." He handed her the soda. He rolled his thumbs against her instep and let his fingers press into the sole. He worked his way up. He felt a blister forming on her pinky toe. Walking around from one audition to another plus dancing for donations was taking a toll on her feet. "I think you need some new shoes." he told her.
"Mmm...we need the cash for like, food and stuff." she said distractedly.
"It's not going to stay summer forever." he told her. "Once it starts getting cold, you'll need something better than sandals. Boots maybe. I've heard New York winters are pretty cold."
"Kermit will have the show sold by then." She flexed her foot. "Mmm...get the ankle, would you sweetie?"
He gently rotated the ankle. "You got that much confidence in him?"
"Don't you?" She took another sip of soda and passed the can back to him. "It's a great show. Someone's totally gonna love it. I mean, they've got this one new show out on Broadway that's all about singing and dancing cats! Like, can you believe it?"
"Singing and dancing cats?" Floyd couldn't believe it.
"Fer sure!"
"Well, if someone wants to do a show about singing and dancing cats," Floyd reasoned. "someone must want to do a show about a pig and a frog and a bear and a dog and a chicken and...what exactly is Gonzo, anyway?"
"Like, who knows?" Janice shrugged. "Do my other foot, hon?"
He switched feet in his lap and started rubbing the other one. "How'd that job interview go last night? I was asleep before you came back."
Janice gave an exasperated sigh. "Like, when that dude gave me his card and told me to come to his club for a job, I thought maybe he needed a waitress or a taxi dancer like in that Pat Benatar video. Oh, he wanted a dancer alright, but not a taxi dancer."
"Oh. That kinda club, huh?"
"Fer sure. He, like, tried to feed me some junk about it all being artistic or whatever." She lay back and relaxed. "I'll tell you all about it later. I so totally chewed him out. Right now, hon, I need my tootsies rubbed."
He massaged her foot and thought back on the time they all decided they were going to shoot for the stars. They were taking the show Kermit wrote to Broadway. The question was, How to get there? Dr. Teeth's old heap wouldn't make it through the Holland Tunnel. He wound up selling it, but didn't get much for it. Janice surprised Floyd by coming up to him, kissing him and putting a bus ticket in his hand.
"What's this?" he asked.
"Rilly!" she laughed, seeing the answer as so obvious. "It's your ticket to New York! I got one too." She showed him her ticket and crossed her fingers. "Here's hoping we get seated together."
"Where'd you get them?" he asked.
"Well, from the bus station, silly!" she smiled. "Where else?"
"No, I mean, where'd you get the money?"
"Baby, don't worry about it." She kissed him. "Now, I gotta go pack."
"Y'know, we don't really need tickets." he said. "You and me could just get on the back of your bike and ride there."
"No we couldn't." she said quickly, trying to leave.
"Why not?" he asked. "I know it would be a long drive, but...."
"I sold the bike." she said. "That's where I got the money."
"But, Janice, you didn't need to." She loved that bike.
"Look, the trip is really too long to make on a motorcycle and I've got some cash left over. We might need it."
"Janice," he sighed. "You didn't need to do that. I coulda pawned my guitar."
"You'll need that guitar for auditions." she told him. She kissed him again. "Now go pack. The bus leaves early tomorrow morning."
In the modern day, Floyd laid Janice's feet aside and took something from his pocket. "Here, you're probably hungry." It was a packet of peanut butter crackers.
"Where'd you get this?" she asked.
"I swallowed my pride yesterday and did some panhandling in the terminal." Pride was easy to swallow when you were desperate. "This one lady gave me some crackers. Guess she was afraid if she gave me money I'd spend it on booze or something. Go on, I'll bet you worked up an appetite."
"Floyd, they're yours. I won't take them from you."
"You're not taking them, I'm giving them."
"We'll share them." she decided. "There's six in here. Three for me, three for you."
Floyd was starting to feel a little hungry, so he agreed.
They ate together and rested in their private thicket on the edge of Central Park. Janice had tucked her head against Floyd's shoulder. From the rhythm of her breath, he had guessed she was asleep again. He decided he could use a nap himself. Even the ground was better to sleep on than the interior of a metal locker. As he started to drift off, he remembered what had happened while they were running from the police. It was a fact that Floyd would take comfort in whenever he wondered what Janice's true feelings for him were.
When he told her to jump, she trusted him to catch her.
