Joe was back to work very jet-lagged.
He started the day
checking online news just to see what he'd missed in the previous 2 weeks. “How
was California?” Quinta asked, Joe cut it short “I preferred Nevada”.
A couple
of hours later he considered if there was any point in continuing his martyrdom.
Still undecided he opted for a coffee. When he got in the kitchen he bumped
into Yuri who smiled at him “You look pretty fucked up”. Joe answered in a
flash “I landed last night flying all the way from San Francisco, how the hell
am I supposed to look like?”. Yuri turned puzzled “how come you didn’t ring
sick?”, Joe looked down on him “I never ring sick, you should know that by now”.
Yuri shook his head in disbelief “And how do you reckon you will enjoy the
concert tonight without any rest?”. Something dawned on Joe “The concert?”.
Yuri retorted “Soundgarden, remember? We bought the tickets 6 months ago…”. “Scheiße,
I’d forgotten about that!”. Yuri left still shaking his head in disbelief.
Joe
used all his resources to finish the working day without damages. Afterwards, he
ran home, changed his clothes and rushed to the O2 to watch Cornell & Co for
the first time in his life. Yuri smiled at him “You made it! I was not so sure
this morning”, Joe fancied himself “People tend to underestimate me”.
When the supporting
band was about to finish an unknown number called. “Who is this?” Joe answered
annoyed. “Luke! Do I need to take a cab?”. Joe didn’t get it “What are you
talking about?”, Luke retorted “Soundgarden! Have they started yet?”. Joe got even
more confused “How do you know I’m here, we haven’t talked in 2 years…”. “Where
else could you possibly be today?”. Luke’s voice sounded so definitive Joe
couldn’t help saying “They will start in 5 minutes, get a taxi, I’ll hold a
standing space for you, we are pretty close to the stage”.
Luke arrived on
time, the 3 of them enjoyed a good but slightly sad concert. However, none of them could
anticipate they would never have a chance to see Cornell again. Joe,
still dizzy from the US trip, couldn’t stop thinking about Luke’s words “Where
else could you possibly be today?”. Was that a good thing? Or just a sign of
predictability?
Very confused he looked at Chris who was saying “My Wave was
written for the first Iraq War: most people don’t look out of their own
garden, we should care instead if we want to make the world a better place”. Cornell
seemed genuinely moved while saying these words.
Joe felt a connection for the
vulnerability shown a by someone always imagined as a happy, successful
superstar. “It’s only you and Eddie left, kick the ghosts away Chris” Joe
sensed Nostalgia for the teen-aging time when he picked the
name Cornell for his email to be.
The concert ended with a strange sadness
and Joe couldn't help but walk back home with a nirvanian sensation not to be the only one…
