Johnny

A few weeks have passed since Johnny met Cia's parents and he's still smiling when he thinks about how well that dinner went. He likes Cia's parents, especially her father with whom he can talk about the climbing competitions he watched in the garage when his father's gang was over and a competition was on.

It brings back some memories, though, some sad memories. Back then, Johnny somehow didn't grasp where his father's business could bring them. Yes, he knew the cops could arrest them and that they could end up in prison, but it didn't make sense. He didn't think it could actually happen.

And then it did, and now he knows better.

So does his father and the gang. Which is good.

It's still sad that his father is in prison, but he'll be out one day.

Hopefully, it won't take too long.

Their lawyer is confident.

So he should be confident, too, but his father did escape from prison before and the sentence hasn't been passed yet, so…

Johnny shakes his head, trying to push these thoughts away.

There's nothing he can do about that now.

Besides, he has something else to do now, and that's the work in the garage.

And after that he has something special planned for Cia for tonight, something he wanted to do and maybe should have done a while ago, but now after meeting her parents he finally feels confident enough for it.

Or close enough to feeling confident.

But it feels right now.

Tonight, he'll invite Cia to a picnic under the stars. Which means they'll have to drive a bit out of the city so all the lighting wouldn't interfere with the starlight, but that's okay. Although he isn't looking forward to the drive because he for sure is going to be nervous. But that's okay. He'll manage somehow.

Plus there are still a few things he needs to make this perfect.

And it has to be perfect.

One of the things is a cloud-free night sky. That's why he wants to do it today. The weather report promised a clear night sky.

Another thing is the copy of his album he managed to get earlier today - a week before the official release-party from the label. He lets his hand slide into the pocket of his jacket, feeling for the CD-case.

Then just some minor things needed for the picnic, like food and drinks and a blanket.

He's fine with lowering his sights on picnic-stuff, even the night sky if he has to. If it should rain despite anything, they could have their picnic in the truck. Or eat at home. Although he'd prefer the night sky.

But the one thing he really, really needs is his album.

He'll let his music play in the background when he and Cia have their picnic on the bed of his truck and then he'll give Cia the CD cover with the booklet and ask her to read the dedication.

For everyone who has a place in my heart and for the one who owns this heart.

And when she looks up, he'll look deeply into her eyes and tell her these three little, but so very important words.

I love you!

His heart skips a beat when he thinks about actually saying those words, but it's okay.

He can do this.

He wants to do this!

With a determined look he enters the garage, looking forward to a day full of hard work.

It'll keep him busy, although he's pretty sure he'll go over his plans for tonight over and over again in his head.

And so he does. Every few minutes he lets his hand slide into his pocket to make sure the copy of his album is still there.

At some point, he takes off his jacket so he can't do that any longer.

It doesn't really work because he gets up at least twice within thirty minutes to make sure the copy is still there in the pocket of his jacket.

At least no one else is working at the garage at the moment, so no one can ask questions because this weird behavior would for sure raise some questions.

Johnny sighs.

Maybe if he takes the copy out of his pocket and actually look at it, maybe even read the dedication in the booklet would stop him from running to his jacket so often.

So he produces the album, opens the cover and takes the booklet out.

He smiles when he reads the dedication, although yes, it does make his heart beat faster in his chest and he can feel the nervousness rise in his body, but it's not threatening.

Okay, not much.

"Hey, is that your album?" a voice asks and Johnny jumps, almost letting cover and booklet fall.

He turns his head to face Meena, a bit surprised by the fact that she's standing that close to him and he didn't even hear her.

"Oh, sorry!" she quickly says, putting her ears over her face and lowering her eyes to the ground. "I-I didn't mean to startle you."

Her behavior makes the alarm bells ring in his head.

Yes, Meena is way more confident now, but she still has her moments when she simply shrinks into herself, her shyness getting the best of her.

"No, no, it's okay!" he says quickly. "I'm just a little jumpy today, that's all."

He smiles at her, hoping it will make her open up again.

It works a little because she removes her ears from her face a little, but not much. And she keeps her eyes lowered to the ground.

"Okay," she replies, her voice barely more than a whisper.

Johnny takes a step closer to her and gently places a hand on her shoulder.

"Meena, it's fine," he says. "Really."

Meena raises her gaze and looks at him, finally returning his smile.

She points at the CD in his hand with her trunk.

"Can I have a look?"

"Oh, well, I…" Johnny breaks off, trying to find the right words. He doesn't like that he has to refuse her, but he has to.

He clears his throat. "I'm sorry, Meena," he says. "But I want Cia to be the first to have look at it. I mean she wrote the lyrics and all."

And it's an important part of my plan on telling Cia that I love her, he adds mentally.

"I see," Meena says, still smiling, and her smile doesn't look weak at all, it's just as warm as before. So Johnny thinks she really understands.

"It must be amazing, though," she goes on, "holding your first album in your hands."

"It is!" Johnny says. He gives Meena's shoulder a little pat before he removes his hand. "You'll find out soon enough."

He isn't sure if he's imagining things, but there's something glistening in Meena's eyes, and didn't her smile just turn into a smirk?

"Sooner than you thought, maybe," she says. "I had another interview yesterday, and afterwards a label called telling me they are interested in signing me up for my first album."

"And you only tell me now!?" Johnny calls out. "That's amazing!"

"I know!" Meena laughs. "They even said one 'song' has to be me answering fan questions in my singing voice."

"And you're fine with it?"

Meena laughs a little more before she replies by singing her words, "Are you kidding me? That's my image! I am the always singing talent!"

Now it's Johnny's turn to laugh.

"Good, good," he says. "So what are you doing at the garage today?"

Again, Meena replies by singing. "I thought I could help."

Johnny smirks as an idea forms in his head.

He takes a deep breath and sings. "I could need some help with the lighting."

Meena's eyes widen at his sung reply. Then she twists her mouth, throwing her head back in such an exaggerated way that she can't be serious.

"Copycat!" she sings as she walks past him.

"Copygorilla, if anything!" he sings back before he follows her.

Then they both burst into laughter.

So far, so good, Johnny thinks right before he and Cia settle down on the blanket spread out on the bed of his truck to eat.

"Let me care for some background music," he says before he jumps from the bed and climbs back into the driver seat. He makes sure to roll down the windows so they really can hear the music. He produces the album from his pocket. Taking a deep breath he puts the CD in, hits play and stuffs the CD-case back into his pocket. Then he moves back to the bed of the truck.

He looks down at Cia, sitting there on the blanket.

And he can't help, but think how beautiful she is.

He sits down next to her.

Any moment now he's going to tell her that he loves her. He just needs to hand her the booklet, let her read the dedication and then tell her.

Easy, right?

No reason to be nervous. No reason that his heart is pounding in his chest. No reason to go over three words over and over in his head.

No reason for all three at the same time. And more.

"Hey!" Cia calls out, making him snap out of his thoughts. "Is that your album?"

"Sure is!" he quickly says, not sure if he managed to keep the nervousness out of his voice. If he's not mistaken he did sound a bit high-pitched.

Cia just smiles at him.

He smiles back at her, and then he remembers that he didn't give her the CD-case.

He's about to do exactly that when his phone rings.

"Oh, sorry!" he calls out. "I forgot to turn it off!"

So instead of the CD-case, Johnny produces his phone.

He isn't going to take the call, of course not! He just wants to decline it and turn off his phone.

But when he looks at the caller-ID, he frowns. He doesn't know this number.

"Sorry, I better take this," he says. "I'll keep it short."

"It's fine," Cia says.

Johnny answers the call, and a male voice asks, "Am I talking to Jonathan King?"

"Yes, that's me," Johnny replies.

What this male voice says next, makes Johnny feel like all the strength leaves his body. He grabs his phone even tighter because it feels so heavy all of a sudden, he's afraid he might drop it.

"Thank you," he says when the male voice is done telling him what he needs to know. "I'll be right there."

And with that he ends the call. But it seems like his fingers are moving way too slow and it feels like he's wrapped in some cotton wool or something because he can't hear his music properly any longer. He can't even feel properly any longer.

Has his phone always been this heavy?

But then a word makes it through this cotton wool-feeling.

"Johnny?" Cia asks, and he doesn't miss the concerned ring to her voice.

He looks up, but he can't really see her face. It's just so hard to focus.

"My father," he says and his own voice sounds like someone else is talking, someone far away in the distance. "He had a heart attack."