Memory of a Dream 2 - I Don't Want to Walk Without You

Content:
Las Vegas
Beautiful Germany
Welcome home
Edna and Esther
Visit of the parents-in-law


Memory of a Dream II is a fictitious story.


What happened in the first part:

After Jenny had gotten married to Barry, the young woman from Germany had had difficulties adapting herself to the daily routine of celebrities. With the birth of her son Joseph, she noticed what it meant to be alone. Being the wife of a world star demanded a great deal of her – but Jenny believed with all her heart in their love and that this love could overcome any pain.


Las Vegas

Jenny, Tina and Joseph drove back to the MGM Grand Hotel and were waiting there for their two men to arrive. Meanwhile, little Joseph had gotten very tired and the women quickly put him to bed. Jenny read him a bedtime story and it did not take long for the boy to gently drop off.
Finally, Tina said good bye and headed off to her suite. After her friend left, Jenny stretched herself out on the couch noticing that the flight had been more exhausting than she thought. She awoke when Barry softly kissed her on the forehead. He knelt in front of her and placed his head on her stomach. “I still can’t believe that we are expecting twins! There was a time when I didn’t even think I would ever have any children – and soon there will be three!” Jenny stroked his head. “And yet it is true! Shortly, you will be having three children!”
Barry lifted his head and looked Jenny straight in the eye and it almost seemed as if tears of happiness reflected from them.
“I love you!” she whispered. He returned her words and pressed her hand tightly just as if he was afraid of losing her.
She sat up, took his head in both her hands and gave him an intense and long-lasting kiss – and afterwards some more.
The next morning, they both woke up when small Joseph hulked up like a wild animal and jumped on their bed. Of course, they did not mind. Together they toyed around and had, as always, much fun. But lost in thoughts, Jenny was hoping that the twins in her belly would be a bit calmer than their lively son.
From time to time, Jenny worried about how to manage all three of them and the difficulties that lay ahead and so she finally said: “Barry, as soon as it is about time, I have to find a babysitter! I doubt that I can handle all of them on my own.”
“Don’t worry, darling! Certainly, we will engage a nanny! As we already know, Joseph needs a watchdog all day long!” Barry started to laugh heartily and caught the little rascal, who was about to take a run-up towards his daddy. Barry nudged his nose and said: “Are you all right, buddy?” Then, he asked Jenny: “Honey, do your parents know about the twins, yet?”
“No. In fact, I wanted to tell them the big news in person…”
“What’s that? You want to go back to Germany?”
“Yeah, come on, let’s just fly over there!”
Barry got hold of Jenny and told her that it wasn’t that easy. “I can’t fly just like that to Germany! It is impossible!”
“Why is that so difficult? Could you please explain that to me? Only because you are a celebrity? I have never heard anything that stupid in my life!” She was angry and went to the bathroom.
After a little while, she had calmed down and came back to talk to Barry who was getting Joseph dressed. “Can we talk?”
“Yes, just a moment, please! I just want to finish this little fellow here!”
“Barry, nobody has to know that we are flying to Germany if you don’t want anyone to know. But at the end of the day, you married a German woman who once in a while wants to go home. My parents and friends still live there. Or do you reckon I have no longing for them?”
“Of course not, honey, I completely agree with you. It is just all happening so fast…”
“But we shouldn’t put it off for too long either, because of my pregnancy. Or did this already slip your mind?”
Barry looked up and grinned at her. “No, Madam. It did not slip my mind.”
Jenny huddled against him and beamed at him amorously. “Saxony is a beautiful country with such wonderful people! You have to see it for yourself! I could show you so many things in Germany. And besides, you have never been to East Germany, only to West Germany. Why not?”
“Well, I guess because of your currency. And furthermore, the GDR didn’t allow many artists from the ‘hostile West’ to perform anyway!”
“All right, Barry! Then we have a deal: You will give three or four concerts in Germany and I will visit all of my friends!”
Barry seemed to be quite interested in the idea and said he only needed to talk to Marc first. He rushed off as quickly as only a puff of air was left behind. Likewise, Jenny took the boy along with her and set out with him for Barry’s friend and manager, as she wanted to know each and every detail herself.
At first, Marc did not know what to say. “I am not sure if it will all work out on such short notice – but it is worth a try.”
Barry only had one more concert in Las Vegas and Jenny decided to fly back with the others the next day. Tina asked Jenny whether she wanted to go for a short stroll through downtown Las Vegas, but Jenny made her understand that it wasn’t that easy with Joseph. However, she wanted as well to ramble about the city with her friend and thus asked Barry to watch the boy.
He agreed but requested their return not later than 6 p.m. for he still had to prepare his performance. The two ladies got dressed and left. Everywhere were people, music and flashing lights. Tina and Jenny were genuinely thrilled by its brightness and glamour. They felt as if plunging into a dream world – and indeed it was. Fascinated by the colorful and well-stocked shop windows, the two women could not stop marveling at the variety presented. After a while, they stopped in front of a designer shop und finally decided to have a look inside. The range of clothes was beyond imagination. They bought many things and certainly thought about their men as well. Jenny purchased for Barry a light blue blazer accompanied by some elegant black pants. “Gosh, wearing this with a black turtleneck will show off his steel-blue eyes!”
Tina bought a dark-blue suit and a white shirt for Marc which was embroidered with golden silk. After they found what they were looking for, they went to the register in order to pay. When Jenny handed Barry’s American Express to the saleswoman she froze the moment she saw the name on the card.
“Is there a problem?” Jenny eventually asked.
With a little hesitation, the woman asked Jenny for her driver’s license, which she handed to her instantly. After the short moment of confusion, the saleswoman was relieved and asked Jenny low-voiced: “Could you please tell me how Barry is offstage?”
“He is as good a husband and father as anyone else.” More than that didn’t escape Jenny’s lips as she was not willing to share any her private life with a total stranger and thus the two ladies hurried out of the shop. “You know, Tina, I will never get used to those questions! Wherever you go – in all places always the same questions! It drives me crazy! Our private life has nothing to do with anyone apart from us, has it?”
“You are right … but back in those times when you sat in front of your computer screen chatting with fans you were likewise grateful for every detail about Barry – you were just the same as these people nowadays.”
“Yes, I guess you are right – still it’s annoying.”
They went to a café and ordered each a big bowl of ice cream with plenty of whipped cream. With relish they nibbled every bite of it. Afterwards, they wandered back to the hotel where Barry was already awaiting Jenny eagerly. By the time the door opened, he dashed at her and shouted with joy: “We will leave in fourteen days for Germany! I will have four gigs there!”
“Excuse me? Say that again!”
“Take a seat! Yes, it is true! At first, we didn’t think that it would work out so quickly but apparently Germany is looking forward to me. Marc phoned up our former concert promoter and Mr. Jansch confirmed that he would deal with everything.”
Jenny looked at Barry’s grinning face and smiled with him – she was happy for him but most of all she was looking forward to returning home and to seeing her parents. Jenny just ordered a bite for dinner as Barry always ate only a salad before going on stage and she was lacking appetite as well due to all the excitement. Joseph had sausages and yoghurt and afterwards she put him to bed. After the young man had fallen asleep, there was a gentle knock on the door and shortly afterwards Tina entered the room.
“What’s wrong?” Jenny asked her friend
“You know what? I would love to see Barry’s concert tonight. Do you think we could find someone at the hotel who could keep an eye on Joseph?”
Jenny picked up the receiver and called reception to ask whether there is any possibility to send someone to her room. The friendly gentleman at the other end of the phone – Mister Miller – affirmed that it was not a problem at all and that he would send somebody right up. Jenny thanked him and hung up. “Tina, get dressed! We can go!”
Tina turned on her heel and went back to her suite in order to get ready. Jenny did likewise. After only few minutes had passed, a kind woman arrived who took care of Joseph while the two friends went out.
Eventually, they went down the stairs but to their utter astonishment the doors to the concert room were already closed. Jenny rushed back to the reception and firmly made her request. Helpful Mister Miller calmed her and told Jenny that there wasn’t any problem as she was Barry’s wife. He called security and asked the colleague to take the two ladies to their seats.
Luckily, there were still seats in the first row and they sat down. They enjoyed the show, which went well – except for some screaming fans. An hour later, the lights came on and everything seemed to be over. Jenny took a deep breath and whispered to Tina: “And tomorrow we will go back to Palm Springs!” A woman seated next to them overheard the conversation and asked if they really lived in Palm Springs. Jenny responded politely: “Yes, we live in Palm Springs!”
“Oh, it must be wonderful to live in Barry’s neighborhood!”
From a seat in the back an almost hysterical woman shouted: “Hey, isn’t that Barry’s German wife?!” Now, everyone stared at Jenny. All of a sudden she felt very uncomfortable and didn’t want anything else but leaving the hall as soon as possible. But the hysterical woman approached Jenny before she could get out and hissed: “You don’t even deserve Barry! You come at the drop of a hat from Germany and take away our boys!”
This was too much to take for Jenny and she slapped the rude woman’s face. “You have no right to judge me like that! And fans like you shouldn’t even be allowed in here as it is you who frighten my husband!” Jenny hurried with Tina towards the exit but before reaching the door she turned around once more and said: “Think about it!”
Outside, Tina started to laugh. “Girl, you showed her the right track! It was about time that these crazy people get off their high horses.”
They both went upstairs to tell Barry and Marc what just had happened but nobody was there yet. Jenny asked the nanny to stay with Joseph a little longer as her husband didn’t answer his phone and she wanted to go and look for him.
So the two friends went downstairs again. On their way to the concert hall they met a nice woman who was apparently a Barry fan herself. She was a pleasant person and the women sat down at the bar together and started an animated conversation. As it turned out, the mysterious woman, called Caroline, was from Palm Springs as well. At the end, they exchanged phone numbers and said good bye.
Not having noticed how fast time had passed, they realized that their conversation endured almost two hours. Hence, they didn’t need to worry looking for their men anymore and went straight back to their rooms. Barry was already in bed, waiting for his wife.
“Where have you been, honey?” he asked surprised.
Jenny told him what had happened and how she had defended herself against that awful woman after the concert.
Barry smirked. “Wow, I didn’t know that you could lose your temper like that!”
Then, a quick smile escaped Jenny’s lips. She punched him playfully and showed him how furious she really could get.

Back in Palm Springs, they had been expected by Gloria longingly. “Buenos dias, Miss Jenny and Mister Barry! I hope you had a pleasant flight.”
“Yes, thanks Gloria. Everything was excellent”, Jenny said. “Would you please look after our young one? Thanks!”
By now it was evening but Jenny did not want to put Joseph to bed yet as he always was in high spirits after the flight. After getting changed, she decided to play for a little while with the boy and to bath him later on so that he became tired enough to have a good night sleep.
At last, Joseph fell asleep and she tiptoed off to Barry’s office and asked: “Are you almost done?”
“Yes, darling, I have just finished my work. Let’s go to the living room!”
Gloria had prepared some sandwiches for them and she had even put a bowl of fruit on the kitchen counter. There was a note that read: “For baby very good!” Jenny beamed and thought: How sweet of her!

They both nestled in front of the fireplace, music was playing softly and they chatted about the past few days. Soon, Jenny noticed that she got tired and she took Barry’s hand and murmured gently: “Let’s go to bed!”
They went upstairs and before heading to bed, they checked on Joseph who slept soundly like a little angel.

The next morning, Barry got a call from Marc announcing that the tour in Germany had been planned in the minutest detail. Now it was time to arrange the stage show. Off he went, and for the rest of the day, Barry wasn’t seen outside his office anymore. Everything had to be planned right down to the last detail because Barry was a perfectionist.
Meanwhile, Jenny helped Gloria to do some housework and watch the boy.
Around noon the two women decided to go grocery shopping as Jenny wanted to surprise her husband with a German meal. With encouragement, Gloria exclaimed: “You are a wonderful wife!” They drove to ‘Ralph’s’ and ‘Trader Joe’s’, the two most famous grocery stores in Palm Springs. They placed Joseph in the front of the shopping cart, which he obviously enjoyed.
The stores were huge and it wasn’t difficult to get lost. After a short while, Jenny noticed people whispering behind her back and she asked Gloria whether she realized as well that people were staring at her.
Gloria responded: “It is terrible! People are just awful! But not to worry, Miss Jenny!”
They quickly went to the register to pay their goods and hurried back home. Gloria unpacked the bags and put everything into the fridge while Jenny took care of Joseph. She put him to bed so that he good some rest and hoped for him to fall asleep promptly in order that she arrange the meal. But before she got started, she dropped into Barry’s office to let him know that she had planned a wonderful evening for them.
As happy as he was, he told her that he had already invited Marc for dinner in order to talk about some details of the tour.
“No problem”, said Jenny. “In that case I will call Tina and ask her to come along, so we can all have dinner together.” She went back to the kitchen and gave Gloria some instructions on what to prepare. Once again she returned to Barry’s office and let him know that she needed to go back to the supermarket to buy more meat as what she had already bought wasn’t sufficient for four.
Barry got up and took her hand. “Wait! I will come with you so you don’t have to go alone. After all it was my fault.”
Jenny was baffled because she didn’t think Barry had ever accompanied her to go grocery shopping. Inside the supermarket they were looked at from all directions but no one dared to ask for an autograph. A little taken aback, Jenny was happy about the restraint.
Back at home she asked her husband if he was interested in helping her with the preparations. Barry burst out laughing and said: “Well, I could give it a try …” Jenny jumped at the opportunity, tied an apron around Barry’s waist and put two pieces of meat in front of him on the table.
She asked him to cut them into small square pieces and he followed her instructions without wasting any words of protest. Then, she asked Gloria to take Joseph to the garden and play with him so she could focus on their cooking.
Meanwhile, Barry finished cutting the meat and inquired after more instructions, but as there wasn’t anything else to do for him, Jenny sent him away from the kitchen.
Approximately two hours later, everything was prepared and Jenny went to take a shower. It didn’t take long until Marc and Tina arrived. They sat down on the patio outside enjoying the warm evening sun and listening to Marc’s plans. He told Barry that he would give two concerts in Dresden’s famous Kulturpalast, one in Zwickau’s civic center and last but not least a big concert in Berlin on stage of the popular Waldbühne. And the best thing about it was that already all the tickets had been sold. “At first, I was a little worried because into Berlin Waldbühne fit approximately 22,000 people, but the tickets had been sold in no time!”
After everything had been discussed, Jenny went to the kitchen to warm up her hefty goulash. And because everything had already been prepared, it didn’t take long until dinner was ready. She asked her husband to carry the heavy braising pan outside and put it on the table.
The German meal seemed to be a big success and Gloria even asked for the recipe. Jenny immediately went to the kitchen and noted the ingredients down.

Recipe for German goulash (for 4 persons)
1 kg pork
1 kg mushrooms (ceps or chanterelles)
2 big onions
4 cloves of garlic
4 red peppers
2 yellow peppers
1 pound of potatoes
Salt, pepper, paprika powder and caraway seed

Stir-fry the chopped meat and spice it with seasoning, add onions. Let it simmer for about one hour and while simmering add water. Add the potatoes (chopped into small pieces), sweet peppers and mushrooms. At last add the cut garlic. After 15 minutes the goulash is ready to be served. Enjoy the meal with a glass of zinfandel (red wine).
Enjoy your meal!

After Jenny put Joseph to bed, she rejoined the others who all seemed to have a nice time. She asked about the cause for their jolly and they told her that they just remembered an old story. As it turned out, Marc and Barry had once dined at a restaurant called ‘Europe’ in Los Angeles. Suddenly, a rather heavy woman, apparently a Barry fan, was standing in front of their table. But out of the blue she fainted as soon as she saw Barry. The moment she recovered consciousness, they hurried out of the restaurant.

Barry told them that there were plenty of stories to add,

Impressum

Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 12.01.2012
ISBN: 978-3-86479-148-2

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