The Past Recedes

Chapter 14

"He's coming, Josh was just going to heat up a frozen dinner and watch the Dodgers game on TV", said John.

"He lives with his parents?", asked Nika.

"Yeah, he lives with his parents in the Valley. He can't afford his own place yet, if he makes more money he wants to get his own place and a new car", said John.

An hour later the family was in the rental car headed towards the Valley. The ever-present LA traffic was strong as ever while John Sr. tried not to lose it while traffic inched forward. "Josh is a life-long Angeleno, he'll understand", said John.

They finally arrived at Josh's parents' house in the Valley as Josh waited outside for them. He was dressed as usual in baggy black sweatpants, long black t -shirt and a dark blue beanie atop his longish brown hair. He made sure the front door was locked before he got in the backseat of the car. "Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Frusciante. Thanks for the invite, I was just going to nuke a frozen dinner and watch the Dodgers", he said.

"I used to be an old-school Dodgers fan, never got a chance to see them at Ebbets Field. Maybe we can catch a game at the stadium, the Mets are on their West Coast road trip and they're playing LA next week", said John Sr.

"Awesome, I'm going to listen to KLAC and see if I can win tickets in the contest. I won tickets last month, but they were nosebleed seats against the Marlins", said Josh, making a face.

"What are the Dodgers?", asked Nika.

Josh tried not to laugh, seeing she was serious. "Uh, they're a baseball team, the other LA team is the Angels. I'm a Dodgers fan, they're my National League team. The New York Yankees are my American League team, since my family is originally from New York. I'm trying to win tickets by listening to KLAC, the radio station which broadcasts Dodgers games", he explained.

"Sports are dumb, they're a waste of time", said Nika dubiously.

"I love watching sports, I love baseball and basketball. I can't play them, though, I'm too skinny", he joked.

"I hated gym class in high school and have never played or watched sports, the other guys are all big Lakers fans. That's the basketball team", said John.

"Yeah, no one roots for the Clippers", said Josh.

"What's wrong with the Clippers?", asked Nika.

"They're the other LA basketball team, they really suck. The Lakers are much better", said Josh.

"When are you coming over?", asked John.

"Maybe tomorrow, Bob might want to rehearse. We're working on some songs too, I got all these ideas bouncing around in my head", said Josh.

"Same here, I'm always coming up with songs and ideas. I might put out a solo album since they're not songs that fit the band's music", said John.

"Cool, like electronic stuff?", asked Josh.

"I've been messing around with different keyboards, I'm learning to play by ear", said John.

"Same here, I'm playing piano by ear. I want to get better, I'm taking a mail order course on how to read music. Makes it easier to compose", said Josh.

Nika listened to their conversation and was intrigued. She knew that her father played guitar but also found out he played keyboards, and wanted to hear his new music. She wondered if her father could read music and if she could teach him. "So Nika, how did you like our videos?", asked John.

"I liked the video for Scar Tissue, but why were you all dirty?", she asked.

"It's the concept, where we're all bloody and battered but we're still standing. It was Anthony's idea, since we went through a rough time but got through. But it's a metaphor, that's the same desert where we filmed Give It Away in the early 90's", John explained.