‹ Prequel: Family Reunion
Sequel: Communion

Union

The Momentary Silence

Billie Joe left Rose's house that morning, but not without Mike, who he was feeling quite a bit of anomosity towards at the moment.

Mike looked as fearful as a lost child as he sat on the passenger's side of Billie Joe's Ford Fairlane in silence. He swallowed back a lump in his throat once again, not being able to make eye contact with his smaller friend.

"Okay..." Billie Joe said suddenly, when they were already half way into Berkeley's downtown center. "Man, you were just joking right?"

Mike remained silent for a moment as he tried to select his next words wisely. "I broke up with April for Rose," he said quietly.

"What? You gave up your girlfriend for a woman you can't have?" Billie Joe said, lifting one hand from his steering wheel to scratch his head.

"I want to have her though man. Ever since that day in the hospital, I just can't get her off my fucking mind. She's driving me crazy. It felt so good to hold her hand when she needed me. It almost made me wish she was having my baby," Mike said.

"Oh man, fuck off," Billie Joe said unexpectedly. "Remember how upset you were during the riot in Germany? Remember how hysterical you were over April?"

"Yes, I found April, and discovered she wasn't all I though she was. I just...I'm so fucking in love with your cousin Bill," Mike said as he lowered his head and a tear escaped his eye.

"Oh my God..." Billie sighed.

"Where are we going?" Mike asked, as he quickly wiped up that one tear with the back of his hand.

"Where do you think?"

"You're taking me somewhere and killing me?" Mike chuckled, to relieve stress.

"No," Billie said, rolling his eyes. "We're going to the police station, and we're going to show them those pictures of Sarah."

"Oh..." Mike nodded.

"Yep," Billie grinned.

***

Three months later, Tre was still in cellblock D of North Kern State Prison, living with the man who raped his wife. He had been doing considerably better at containing his own anger though.

"How's your wife man?" Clive said, as he stood next to Tre in the shower room of North Kern.

"Who fucking knows? Most of the time when I call home now, there's no answer," Tre sighed, lathering cheap soap over his body and rinsing it off in the abusively cold water.

Little did Tre realize, Rose has stopped answering her phone due to accessive calls from a head over heels Mike Dirnt.

"Hmm..." Clive said, and he began to rinse his hair.

"Hey Cool..." Snake said mockingly as he walked into the prison's shower room.

"What the fuck do you want Snake?" Tre snapped.

"Nothing... I just wanted to inform you I'm getting out tomorrow, and I think I'm going to pay your pretty little wife a nice little visit," Snake grinned psychotically.

Tre felt like beating the shit out of Snake right now. Yet he knew he had to control himself, if he wanted to get a good behavior status. "Fuck you..." Tre said, as he lowered his head and narrowed his eyes.

"I think you mean, fuck your wife. 'Cause that's what I'm going to do," Snake laughed.

Tre lunged forward, but was grabbed back by Clive. "He's not worth it man. Forget it. Snake fuck off!" Clive shouted.

Tre feeling helplessness, just sighed, and stepped back under the freezing cold faucette, splashing water in his reddened face.

***

Rose had made Billie Joe promise not to tell Frank of her accidental ordeal with Mike, that fateful night. After all, an accident was all it was.

Her mind plagued with the knowledge that Mike was in love with her, brought much discomfort to Rose, who was already burdened with knowing she had slept with someone other than her husband.

Her daughter would be near a child's age, if not a child, by the time Frank got out of prison. This also frequently fogged the young woman's mind, as she struggled to keep herself together as she raised her daughter alone.

Near three months has passed, since that incident between Rose and Mike had occured. Mike was well aware his behavior was utterly outrageous. Yet he persisted, and insisted on calling Rose everyday, many times a day.

Rose stopped answering her phone, because she knew every second time it rang, Mike would be on the other end of the line, insisting he 'just wanted to talk'. Rose didn't feel like talking to him, so constantly day after day, she would blow him off.

As time had progressed and gone by since that drunken night with Mike; Rose was keeping a secret that ate her up inside and she dreaded with her life. Three months without speaking to the blue eyed bassist, and ignoring all his calls and letters, it had finally reached a breaking point for Rose.

***

After that day at the Berkeley Police Department, Mike had returned home with pleased knowledge, that the police were going to look into Sarah's criminal behavior.

He had paced his house for days, thinking about Tre, and most importantly, Tre's wife. He had a guilty conscience about what he had done, yet felt so strongly about Rose it seemed to surpass his conscience entirely.

Three months had gone by, and it was now October. Phoning the drummer's wife for the tenth time today, Mike finally decided to just leave a message on her answering machine.

"Ah, hi Rose...umm...it's Mike again. Look, I know you're avoiding me, and I don't blame you, because I've been acting like a total jackass. I just...I wish we could talk through our problems. I'm really sorry if I've made you feel uncomfortable. Actually, I think it's obvious I have, because you haven't spoken to me in three months and I think..."

"Mike?" Rose said as she picked up her phone in the middle of Mike's recording.

"Oh...hi," Mike said with shock.

"Hi..." Rose said in a soft voice. "You know what Mike, you're right. We need to talk. I have something to tell you, and you obviously have something you need to say to me. So, I think you should come over."

"Okay," Mike said quietly, and with that, he hung up the phone.