Golden Brown
Texture like sun
Lays me down
With my manchirons
Throughout the night
No need to fight
Never a frown
With Golden Brown
He loved her. It was as simple as that. There was no sole attraction, no kindergarten puppy love, no fourth grade crush. No, no, it could never have been that easy with him. He loved her more than he�d ever loved anyone, or anything. He was ecstatic and gleeful and insane when she was around. He was lovesick and depressed and alone when she wasn�t. And nine times out of ten, she wasn�t. She could�ve been like the other girlfriends; she could�ve flown out every few weekends to be with him. But she didn�t. And she wouldn�t. No matter how much he begged he, she had to refuse. Why? We never found out. We suspected she was cheating on him, but he turned his nose up at the idea. �She wouldn�t.� he�d quietly reply. There was no talking to him anyway when she wasn�t around.
There was one Monday in May when she decided to fly east and see him. The minute she arrived, they disappeared. We didn�t see either of them until that Friday.
They sat in a hotel suite together on the plush bed. He continually stroked her long black hair. The feel of it, of her drove him mad. And he loved it.
�I don�t think your friends like me very much.� She stated.
�Why do you care?�
�I don�t.�
�I didn�t think you would.�
�But every time I come, we never see them.�
�They see me practically everyday.�
�Yes, and-�
�No.�
�Yes, and I�m pretty sure they don�t see you everyday. I�m pretty sure no one really gets to see you until-�
�No. No.�
�Yes.� She nodded.
She softly pushed him until he was lying beneath her. She laid her leg across his stomach and ran her long fingers through his hair. He closed his eyes when she kissed his jaw line, his cheekbone, his eyelid, and the tip of his nose. He raised his lids and looked sultrily up at her. She licked her lips and allowed a hint of a smile to light up her face. He swiftly changed their positions so that he was on top of her, all the while keeping eye contact. He eventually kissed her lips and felt a chuckle rumble through her chest.
Every time just like the last
I�m her ship, ties to the mast
Two distant lands
Takes both my hands
Never a frown
With Golden Brown
That Friday we tried to talk to him, to ask him what was so special about her. To ask him why we never got to talk to her, to ask him why he was so miserable when she wasn�t around. The second we got back to the hotel, he rushed to his room and locked his door. He didn�t talk for a week. I still to this day don�t know how or why Johnny never talked to him. I remember hearing him through the wall separating our rooms, crying, sobbing, every night that first week. We all felt like shit, but none of us knew what to do to help him. That is, until I found her number. I knew I shouldn�t have called but I had to get her back over here. The call went well, despite her discontent with my calling in the first place. She decided to come back in a month. �It�s the best I can do.� She replied when I whined. I told him she�d called when he was out to say she would return in a month. He screamed, mostly at himself and the gods, for being out when she attempted to communicate with him, but for the most part, he dealt with those three weeks as best as he could. When that next Monday came, his face lit up and we got back the man we�d grown to love. Well, at least during the ride to the airport.
They sat on the balcony of another nameless hotel, his hands in hers, somber looks on both their faces.
�Why do you always do this to me?� he begged.
�I don�t do anything. You do this to yourself.�
�No! It�s you! How do you make me feel this way?�
�I�I don�t try.�
�I know you don�t, but you do anyway. And I hate it. I hate it so much.�
�Then why do you put up with me?�
�Because�I can�t imagine myself living any other way. I�d die�without you.�
�No, don�t say that.�
�It�s true. And you know it.�
He grabbed her hands and pulled her to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he held onto her waist. He nipped at her ear as a lonely tear ran down his face and fell onto her shoulder. She felt it and smiled faintly.
Golden Brown
Fine a temptress
Through the ages
She�s heading west
From far away
Stays for a day
Never a frown
With Golden Brown
After she left this time, he seemed to handle himself a little better. He joked with us, he smiled at the cameras, he gave out more autographs. He�d told us she was coming back in two weeks so we figured that was the cause of his good behavior. Those two weeks slipped by faster than any other two weeks of my life. And when she did arrive, they actually talked to the rest of us. At least they did that first day, or as we were to soon discover, that only day.
All six of them sat on various surfaces in a hotel room. Some movie was playing on the television; no one was really paying attention. All eyes and ears were directed at her, who had decided to drop the bomb.
�I can�t do this.� She breathed.
He snapped his head around to look at her, �What.�
�I can�t do this. This. Anymore. It has to stop.�
�What?� He repeated a little louder.
�You! Me! This! It. Has. To. Stop!�
�What!?� He screamed. He jumped up from the floor and slammed the TV off. The other four looked on in awe. �What the fuck do you mean it has to stop! How do you expect me to just stop feeling this way about you? Do you understand that I survive solely on the knowledge that I love you and will eventually see you again? Did you not hear me when I said I�d die without-�
�Yes! I heard you-�
�Then why-�
�But I don�t care!� She interrupted. All hearts stopped beating, all bodies froze, no eyelids dared to blink. And she continued. �I don�t care. And it has to stop.�
She immediately got up and picked up her small suitcase and coat. She marched to the door and all heads but one followed her. She turned to look at him.
�And I�m sorry I had to be the one to stop it.� And with that, she was gone.
The next few weeks, he didn�t even run on autopilot, his performance level was below poor, but no matter how much we begged him to take a break, he refused. Told us the only thing that kept her off his mind was work. We understood but still wanted him to rest. We finally got our wish when we were allowed a free weekend. He did nothing. And when it came time for us to pack up and travel to some new city, we found him lying in a tub of bloody water. We rushed him to the hospital, but it was too late. She�d ruined him for good.
None of us ever imagined that her presence in our lives would boil down to this. But it had, and there was nothing we could do about it now.
Never a frown
With Golden Brown
Never a frown
With Golden Brown
HOME