Memory of a dream – Love against all odds

Memory of a dream – Love against all odds

Memory of a dream is a fictitious story. I would like to thank Christina, Beate and Karolina with all my heart for all their advice and suggestions.
Content:

First encounter
In the company of celebrities
New York
Return to Palm Springs
Jenny back in Germany
Coma
Recovery
Comeback
Pleasures of fatherhood
The heavenly duet
About the author


First encounter

It was a hot summer’s day in August when Tina and Jenny, who had been best friends for a long time, decided to indulge in the new flavors of their favorite ice cream parlor. Francesco, the Italian owner of this cozy café, created new ones every year.
The ice cream parlor was located right at the market square of their small home town in Saxony.
The tiny house with the little fenced in seating area outside was nestled peacefully between the surrounding buildings. Almost as if it wanted to hide the cold treats of the cafe behind its walls.
“You know, Tina, today I was in Barry’s fan chat room again and apparently some American fans have found out about this huge party for him next month. Oh, Tina! What I would give to be at that party!”
Jenny had a dreamy gaze and spooned the whipped cream off her lime and peppermint sundae.
The sun sparkled in her green eyes that adorned her tanned face like two emeralds. Her brown hair was carried on the summer’s breeze that floated lightly along the houses.
“Yes, it would be great to be at Barry’s party, but we don’t stand a chance. Besides, we would have to fly to California for that.”
Tina rubbed her chin thoughtfully. With her fair skin and platinum blonde hair she still looked like a twenty year old, even though she was 28 already.
“I would love to fly to the US. Palm Springs is supposed to be fabulous”, Jenny enthused.
“I wouldn’t mind going there myself. But how do you actually want to get to this party? You can’t just try and get his number, then call and say: Hi, Barry, this is Jenny from Germany! Could my friend and I please come to your party? That’s ridiculous!”
Tina pulled a miserable face and the women burst out laughing, attracting Francesco who popped his head through the door.
Suddenly Jenny said: “I’ve got it! We’ll never find out Barry’s number, that’s for sure. But it must be possible to find out the number of his management somewhere! We’ll just call his manager!”
“Are you crazy? Do you really think he’s going to talk to us? We probably won’t even get past his snobby secretary!” Tina made a disillusioned gesture.
“So what? At least we’ve tried!” Jenny winked at her friend and joyfully put the little decorative mint leaf from her sundae in her mouth.

“Marc Warren Enterprises - Debbie speaking! How can I help you?” The voice of the assistant on the other line sounded snooty.
Jenny and Tina couldn’t believe it. They did it! They had managed to get through after endless, nerve wracking attempts! Tina breathed out audibly and Jenny braved herself and stammered in English into the phone: “My name is Jenny Brückner. I would like to speak to Marc. It is about Barry. My friend and I are huge fans from Germany. We met him and Marc personally at one of Barry’s concerts in London a few years ago. Please, could we talk to Marc?”
Jenny’s heart was beating madly. She almost felt she could hear the echo of her heartbeat rebound from the wall.
The woman at the other end was silent.
“Hello?” Jenny said again.
“I am putting you through”, was the short answer and Jenny was put on hold.

One month later they were ready. Tina and Jenny waited with their suitcases at the side of the road for a taxi to take them to the station. They wanted to take the train to Berlin to catch the flight to Palm Springs.
“I still can’t believe it! We are both really flying to Barry! Isn’t that the craziest thing ever? It was incredibly nice of Marc Warren to invite us both!” Tina squealed with delight.
“We’re not quite there yet, honey! I hope everything is going to be alright. And maybe Barry will actually remember us. The concert in London wasn’t that long ago …”
A loud honking made them both jump. Their taxi was just coming around the corner.

After they had happily landed at Palm Springs Airport, they called another taxi. They pushed a note with the address Marc had given them into the hands of the taxi driver, an Indian looking fellow who’s English they could barely understand. Through the smoke of the incense sticks he was burning on his dashboard they could see him give an approving nod when he read it.
“Very good area! Lady is rich and famous? Lady is a movie star? Please, may have autograph?”
He bowed and handed them both a pen and a yellowish paper. Tina shrieked happily.
“Can you believe it?” she whispered to Jenny. “Do you think he really thinks we are movie stars? Or is he just making fun of us?”
But the Indian guy kept looking at them with a broad smile and seemed so friendly, they just couldn’t refuse his wish. When he got the signed piece of paper back he kissed the note and cranked the car into first gear with a bang.
The taxi started moving with a jolt, the ash of the incense stick fell to the floor, the Indian guy happily turned up the volume of the radio and with a lot of laughter and talking he drove the women to the address they’d given him in Palm Spring’s ritziest neighborhood.
When they finally arrived at the villa they could already see the festive decorations on the gate to the driveway, where some men had gathered. Jenny and Tina paid the driver, who once again thanked them exuberantly, and stepped onto the pavement.
“Look! Isn’t that Barry?” Jenny sounded shocked. And indeed - their idol was standing outside the gate and was talking to a sturdy guy, who was obviously his body guard. They would have recognized his tall, slim figure with the blond hair and piercing blue eyes anywhere. He looked exactly the same as he did on TV and at his concerts.
An incredible man!
His soft voice floated over to them in the smooth California breeze.
“Hang on, Chuck!” said Barry and turned around. “I think these are my visitors from Germany. Marc, where are you?”
And when he walked over to them with Marc, both women were so overwhelmed, they felt like their heart was about to stop.
“Hello, ladies! I am Barry and this is Marc, my good friend and manager. But you know him already, of course. Welcome to Palm Springs! I hope you had a pleasant flight!” Barry embraced the two women who were speechless with delight.
“Well, I would like to invite you inside. Mark wanted to book you into a hotel, but I thought I would like to get to know my fans that have travelled such a long way! I have arranged for the guesthouse in the garden to be prepared for you. I hope that’s okay?”
“Okay!” Jenny stammered, coming out of her frozen state. “Thank you!”
“Well, you must be Jenny! The woman who managed to even stun Debbie, Marc’s bully of an assistant! And this must be Tina! Welcome again to my humble home!”
The two women were still beaming when the housekeeper led them to the guesthouse.
“This must be a dream!” Tina whispered and pinched herself in the arm. But the pain made it clear that she wasn’t hallucinating and that everything – the flight, the gorgeous villa, the brightly festooned garden, the encounter with Barry, the man they admired so much – was really true.
Two hours later, after Jenny and Tina had a shower and a rest, there was a knock on the door.
Jenny opened the door and looked into Barry’s gleaming eyes.
“Hello ladies!” he exclaimed cheerfully. “Are you ready to see my house now? There will be lunch soon. You must be hungry from your long journey. Gloria has already set the table in the dining room.”
“Gloria?” asked Tina, who had stuck her head out of the door too.
“Yes. Gloria is the good spirit in this house. My housekeeper. I would be lost without her!”
He winked at Tina and laughed. “Come on!”
His house was truly amazing, very bright and contemporary. The kitchen was kept in white and all the cupboards had golden knobs. There was a giant marble kitchen bar that functioned as a room divider. Next to the kitchen the bathroom was located. This was done very tastefully as well. A round spa tub filled a third of the room. The living room felt really cozy in comparison, with lots of old antique mahogany furniture.
The women marveled at everything, but when they came to Barry’s office their eyes nearly popped out. There were golden records and other awards for his work in the music industry everywhere on the walls.
More guestrooms could be found on the second floor, as well as Barry’s bedroom and Marc’s little retreat.
“Oh, Barry, this is amazing. And so much space! Your wife must be very happy to have a housekeeper. It must be almost impossible to run such a large household alone!”
Barry looked to the floor in embarrassment. The smile disappeared from his face.
“I … my wife is gone. To be honest, I would be extremely lonely here, if it wasn’t for Marc and Gloria. She is a true gem. By the way, she makes the best enchiladas in the world!”
He looked up again, lost in thoughts about Gloria’s remarkable cooking skills. “But …what about Linda?” Jenny stammered. “I thought you were married?”
Barry laughed. “Linda? That was over a long time ago. I guess we were never really suited for each other. Now we are only good friends.” He cleared his throat when he noticed the two of them looking at him with big eyes. “But now ladies, let me take you to the dining room. And tonight we’ll have a huge party here with all my friends and business partners. I can’t wait to see their faces when I introduce them to my biggest fans that came all the way from Germany!”
Laughing, he linked arms with them and together they strolled over to the dining room where Gloria was already waiting with steaming dishes.


In the company of celebrities

A charity ball was planned for the next evening in Palm Springs, where Barry was to be the guest of honor.
“Would you like to come along?” he asked Tina and Jenny. They could hardly hide their excitement.
“Really?” Tina said. “But we have nothing to wear …!”
“I’ve already asked Marc to go and get you some evening gowns. He should be back any moment now.”
Barry smiled and the two women looked at each other helplessly.
“I suppose in that case we’ll just have to go”, Jenny finally said. Marc didn’t come back until an hour before they were supposed to leave. He gave Tina a box and winked at her meaningfully.
“Hurry up ladies, or we’ll be late”, Barry said, coming out of his bedroom and buttoning up his jacket. “Marc, you don’t seem to be ready either! Or do you intend to go like that?”
“I definitely have to change, considering what’s in the box. I don’t want to be the ugly duckling tonight!” Marc said and started laughing. After that everything seemed to be happening really fast. Marc had bought elegant black evening dresses for Tina and Jenny, which fit like a glove.
Barry and Marc were simply lost for words when the two women stepped out of the guesthouse. They stood completely in awe with their mouths open.
“Phenomenal!” Marc whispered eventually.
“German women can be sexy too!”, Jenny commented mischievously.
Barry gave a quick nod and added: “Wow, Jenny! I feel like I’ve been struck by lightning! I could marry you right in this instant!”
Jenny looked baffled and didn’t answer. Did she just hear him right?
A limousine took all of them to the ball. When they arrived and got out of the car, everyone was staring at them already. The two women were so nervous you could almost feel it in the air.
A lot of celebrities had come; actors, politicians, singers, and the first one Jenny recognized was Neil. She loved his music too.
“Oh, Tina! Pinch me! All those famous people! I must be dreaming!” Jenny clasped the hand of her friend who was also trembling with anticipation.
“Hey, Barry! Wasn’t that Neil?” Tina asked Barry.
He winked at her and replied: “Neil who? What do you mean? I though you two only loved me?”

Impressum

Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 10.01.2012
ISBN: 978-3-86479-123-9

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