Ch. 22

Trina answered the door. She was surprised to see Obie.

She had just finished showering and was drying her hair when she heard the door. She wore her now normal garb of a plain white t-shirt and blue jeans.

“Hey Obie, what’s up?” She asked as she continued to towel dry her hair. Obie stormed in her room.

“Shut the door hon.” He demanded.

Trina gave him a peculiar glance. Like he asked, she promptly shut the door. He appeared to be in a panic. He paced back and forth for several minutes before he uttered a word to her. Every so often he’d look at her trying to read her expression. It was a futile attempt for what her reaction would be after he had told her. He couldn’t figure it out.

‘Maybe this wasn’t a good idea after all.’ He thought.

“Obie, what’s wrong?” She asked him. She now looked concerned.

Her blue eyes were genuine. He thought. Still, he couldn’t get a read on what her reaction would be

‘If Jon knew I was here, he’d kill me.’ Obie thought. ‘Oh well, he’ll have to kill me and deal with the consequences later.” Obie mumbled to himself.

Trina continued to look worried.

“Jon has no voice Trina. He woke up a little while ago and it was gone.” Obie told her pointedly.

Trina looked shocked, but she wasn’t really surprised.

“His laryngitis came back?” she asked.

Obie sat on the bed. Trina sat down next to him.

“It may be more than that. He can’t even speak. Not even whisper.” Obie told her.

Suddenly, the color went from Trina’s face.

“He was fine last night. Aside from having a bad headache.” She told Obie.

“Headache?” Obie asked her.
“Yeah, he seemed stressed about something. It was a tension headache. I have tried massaging his shoulders because he kept rubbing his temples, but it only made things worse.” She told him.

“Worse? How?” Obie asked.

“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “He just couldn’t seem to relax.” She continued.

Obie nodded. “I don’t know what we’re going to do. The guys have a show tonight. Richie was going to do some promo stuff that Heather and Doc planned for the Giants shows, but he’s exhausted. He’s out cold right now on the bed. “

“Did you call the doctor?” Trina asked.

Obie nodded. “Not yet.”

Trina looked down at the floor. She watched her red toenails wiggle with activity.

‘I knew something was wrong. I could feel it. Jon has been nothing but a friend. Time to return the favor.’ She thought as she went into the bathroom. Obie quickly followed her.

Trina put her towel down. She took out her comb that was next to the sink and began to comb her hair. She looked at Obie and smiled at him warmly.

“I’ve got an idea. I’m going to talk to Heather and do the promos with Richie today.”

“Huh?” Obie asked. Trina put her comb down. She took the hair dryer that was on the side of the sink into her hand.

“Yeah. Don’t worry. I’m not going to tell her anything. But I’ve gotta wonder if some people who don’t know who I am are probably all of a sudden wondering why am I suddenly with the band. Time for an official introduction. It’ll be good to promote the stories, Rolling Stone, the Philly Post and Jovi. ” She said to Obie. “I’ll have Heather clear it with Rolling Stone and my bosses at the Post.” She continued.

Obie still didn’t get it. He looked confused. Trina realized that she was jumping ahead of herself and snickered.

“In keeping a spin on the upcoming Giants shows, I can do a joint interview to not only introduce myself and why I’m with the band documenting the tour, but to also explain that unfortunately Jon couldn’t be here to do the interviews due to other commitments pertaining to the Giants show. If I get asked why, I’ll say he just wants to ensure that the Giants shows are the best shows done by the band. Richie could be there on behalf of the band telling everyone what to expect from the concerts.” Trina said.

Obie grinned. “I like it.” However, his grin faded as his thoughts went quickly to this evening’s show.

“What about tonight?” he asked her. “The interviews will take care of the day stuff for awhile, but what about the show?”

Trina looked down in a panic. ‘All of them couldn’t cover Jon’s parts completely for a night. What would they do?’ She thought.

She took a deep breath.

“Pray. Pray that by tonight he can speak. The quicker we can get the doctor, the quicker the doctor can maybe do or give him something that could get him through the show.” She said.

Obie thought about the steroid injections. It angered him to think of Jon repeatedly taking them, but at this point, he may not have a choice.

“Okay, let me go and get the Doctor.” He told her as he gave her a peck on the cheek. Trina smiled.

“What’s that for?” she asked.

“Being a friend.” He said.

She touched his arm. “It’s the least I can do for him. He’s been so great to me in every way. Jon’s more than just my boss; he’s become my friend. This is what friends do.” She told him picking up the dryer. “Now if I don’t dry my hair, throw on some makeup and wake Richie up, we’re all screwed!” she said.
“I’m on it now.” Obie said walking out of the bathroom.
As she dried her hair, she had no idea on how she was not only going to convince Heather about this last minute twist, but to prove to all of them, especially Jon that they could trust her.