Dreams of Tomorrow

Lya was standing by the water. Her hair floating around her, making it look like a wild mess. Her bright green eyes where shining as fresh tears were making their way down her cheeks, erasing the previous ones.

It was cold and windy in the bay, but she didn’t mind.

She had been walking along the bay for quite a while now. She had cried her eyes out at the same time.

Watching the sea made her feel closer to her mother.

It has already been past a week since she arrived in the bay.

A new wave of emotions crashed on her and she starred crying once again, thinking about the previous night, when Billie Joe and Adrienne had gotten into a fight. Billie Joe had slept on the couch and Lya had crawled into Adie’s bed, pretending she had a nightmare, just so she could comfort the older woman.

She felt bad, as if she had been adding an other weight on the woman’s shoulder, it was already hard for Adie, with BJ on the road and taking care of her two sons.

She felt closer to her somehow.

She could imagine what her own mother had felt like while raising her alone, with the only help from David.
Looking back to her years in France, David had never acted as much of a father, compared to Billie Joe, that is. David had always been devoted to her, only because of Shania. It was his duty, a burden. It wasn’t by choice.

For Billie Joe’s case, it felt different to Lya. Sure, he was acting the way he was because of her mother Shania, but not only for that. He had welcomed her with open arms, his whole family welcomed her as if she was part of it.

Adrienne, she was a strong woman. Any other woman would have probably throw a fit when Billie Joe showed up at the doorway, carrying Lya’s suitcase and telling everyone that Lya would be living with them for an indeterminate period.
But not Adrienne. Adrienne had smiled at her and engulfed her in a big hug, kissing her forehead as if she was her own daughter.

And that’s what Lya needed.

She didn’t needed a father figure that much, she had been used to the fact that she had no father. What was lacking in her life was a mother figure…
And that’s when Billie Joe took all his importance, compared to David.

Billie Joe had a wife, David hadn’t. Billie Joe symbolized something new but yet familiar. David symbolized the past, and the unknown.

Lya’s tears stopped right away.
An epiphany had hit her.

She ran away from the bay and into the streets. She looked around the now familiar streets, looking for something she had spotted a couple of days ago, something that had made her cry. It was a flower shop. No, she didn’t cry because she was a retard. She cried because it brought back memories of when she was still in France. She used to buy flowers for her mother every now and then, way before she entered the hospital.

Lya wiped her cheeks, sniffed and walked into the shop. She shoved her hands deep inside her pockets, trying to find some money. She gathered all the coins on the counter, earning herself an amused glance from the young man who was behind.

She looked up and pushed the money towards him.

“What can I get with that?” she asked, her voice a little hoarse from crying so much, and from the wind.

He would have laughed, if he hadn’t been obvious of her tears strained cheeks and haggard look. He smiled politely at her and starting counting her money.

She didn’t had enough to buy one rose. But because he felt sorry for her, he forget that small fact. He picked out a pink rose and walked back behind the counter. He did what he was supposed to do, with the paper and stuff…

Lya was looking outside of the window once again. Watching the people walking down the street.

“Here you go Miss.” He said.

Her head turned to him, snapping out of her daze.

“Thank you. Have a nice day!” she said, a smile enlightening her face as she took the flower from the counter.

“You too.” He said, smiling as she happily walked out of his store.

**

Lya got off the bus, holding her rose by her side. She hoped Adrienne would like it…
It might look weird to her. But Lya kinda needed that, she needed to have a mother figure in her life. She had chosen Adrienne for that role, she only hoped the woman would accept the task.

Lya hurriedly pushed the code and the doors squeaked opened.

She didn’t even waited for the doors to close behind her as she spotted Billie Joe’s car in the driveway, along with other cars. She almost ran to the front door and opened it as if she had been living here her all life.

She kicked off her shoes, and she rushed to the kitchen, where Adrienne was, along with Billie Joe, Joey, Jakob, Mike and Tré. Jake and Joey were playing together while the guys were sitting by the counter, drinking beers and talking. Adrienne was preparing dinner. She looked slightly better than she was this morning.

Lya skipped in the kitchen, still wearing her black coat, her blue scarf that was hiding half her face and her black gloves.

“Lya, where were you?” asked Adrienne, with a slightly worried tone. Usually, Lya would have been back around 4.30pm. It was getting close to 6pm already.

“Sorry, I lost track of the time!” she apologized, her voice half muffled by the scarf. “I got something for you!” she said, taking a step back and holding the rose in front of Adrienne, who looked taken aback. Lya’s reddening cheeks were hidden by the scarf.

“Oh damn, what’s the date today… did I miss something?” mumbled Billie Joe, looking frantically around the kitchen for any hints.

“Oh thank you Lya! That’s so nice of you! Is there any special occasion?” asked Adrienne, taking the rose.

Lya shrugged, pulled at her scarf a little so her mouth could be seen.

“Just ‘cause I felt like it.” She said, shooting her a bright smile. She quickly hugged Adrienne and ran back to the hall, to get out of her coat and so on.

“Call me if you need help with dinner or anything, shout for me! I’ll be in my room.” She exclaimed, disappearing out of sight. “Love ya Mom!”

Both Mike and Tré starred at Adrienne, a puzzled expression on their face as Billie Joe hurriedly got up from his seat, engulfing his wife in a hug as Adie’s eyes filled with tears at Lya’s last words.

**

“Lya, phone!” shouted Billie Joe.

Lya blinked and shuddered. She was dozing off on her bed, trying to read a book. She had failed, too tired to focus. She quickly got out of her room and rushed down the stairs, she skipped on the wooden floor and took the phone from Billie Joe’s hands.

“Allo?” she asked, slightly frowning. Who could be calling her?

“Lya? Hey! How are you?”

Her eyes widened as she recognized the sound of that voice.

“Brian!” she cried, making Billie Joe’s head snap in her direction, frowning. Lya happily walked over to the couch and sat down, still holding the phone to her ear.

“I’ve been all right, much better actually. Thank you for the concern. How about you? Are you all right? What have you been up to? How’s school? How’s Jimmy, Johnny and everyone else?” she asked, shooting questions at him at the speed of light.

Brian chuckled on the other side, a smile on his face at the sound of her voice. It has been two weeks now, he had been dying to hear her voice… He had finally brought up the courage to ask Lya’s grandparents for B’s phone number.

“I’m doing just fine. School wasn’t much interesting before but now it’s just plain boring, I can’t even stop by to your school at lunch or to pick you up in the morning or the afternoon… It’s just plain boring. As far as I know, Jimmy is doing fine, just like the rest of them. Johnny’s been feeling left out I think… No one actually bother to be nice to him now that you’re not around to stand up for him.” He said, not bothering to lie. She needed to know the truth, it wouldn’t do any good to her if he lied. And also, he wanted her to know how it was back in Huntington, he hoped it would make her come back sooner.

“Aww, poor Johnny! Why can’t you guys be nice to him!” muttered Lya, frowning.

“I’m trying to! Actually, when you come to know him, that kid isn’t as bad as he seems… He’s not that annoying ya know. He’s just a kid.” Said Brian, laying down on his bed and starring at the ceiling.

“Well, he’s my age you know. Am I annoying as well?” asked Lya, starting to worry.

Brian just smiled. He had been smiling so much this past minutes, his cheeks were starting to hurt. He wasn’t use to smile so much anymore.

“No, you’re not, Lya. You’re far from annoying, you know. Jimmy can be annoying, Zacky and Justin can be annoying, hell even Val can be annoying. Not you.” He said, grabbing a pillow and hugging it to his chest.

“Thank you Brian! I don’t find you annoying either!” she said. “And thanks for trying to put up with Johnny, he’s my friend as well you know.”

“Yeah, I know. That’s why I’m trying to bear with him.” He whispered, before quickly changing the subject. “So, how’s life in the bay? What do you do since you’re out of school?”

“Well, I walk Joey to school, I help Adie in the house, I hang out with B and his friends, I play with Jakob, go for a walk, pickup Joey from school, read bedtimes stories for the kids. The time flies by. Can you believe it has already been 2 weeks?”

Yeah, believe me or not but I know it’s been 2 weeks. I’m counting the days! That what Brian wanted to say, but instead, that’s what came out of his mouth:

“Only 2 weeks? Damn, can’t wait for the Christmas holidays.”

Lya chuckled.
“I know right? Thanksgiving is next Thursday…” she said.

“Yeah, Mum mentioned it. I get some time off school, so that’s fine with me.” He said.

She chuckled once again, crossing her legs under her and looking outside the window.

They were both silent for a few seconds. Brian was just happy to hear her breathing on the other side.

“Well, I need to get going Brian, sorry. Thanks for calling though! It was nice hearing your voice!” she said.

Brian blushed at her comment.
“No problem Lya. Get well soon, take care and try to get back here soon.” He said.

“Will do Brian. Take care, all right? Bye.”

“Bye Lya.”

And he hung up, dropping the phone on the floor, his arm dandling in the air as he kept on starring at the ceiling, not able to wipe the smile off his face.

Lya stood up from the couch and handed the phone back to Billie Joe, Tré opened his mouth to ask who it was but Lya beat him to it.

“That was Brian, my best friend. He and Jimmy, my other best friend, came to your show in LA. He was calling to check up on me.” She said, taking a seat between Mike and Billie Joe. “He’s a pretty cool guy.” She said with a small smile.

“Boyfriend?” asked Mike, with a teasing smile. Instead of blushing and denying, like any other girl would have probably done, she just smiled and shook her head.

“No. It’s not like that. Brian is my best mate and my personal juke box. He plays guitar for me when I ask him too.” She explained. “He learned how to play ‘Good Riddance’ just for me.”

Billie Joe slightly frowned while Adie just smiled.

“He sounds like a nice kid.” Said Mike.

“He is.” She replied with a small nod. “Anyway, so when is the next album coming out? I’m dying for some fresh and new Green Day material, you know. It’s about damn time you finish that album.”

“Why don’t you come to the studio with us then?” asked Billie Joe.

“We could use some advice from our biggest fan.” Added Tré.

“I’m not your biggest fan.” She muttered, reaching behind Mike to hit Tré.

Lya got up and went to help Adrienne out with dinner.

**

“CHEESECAKE!” shouted Tré.

“That’s weird… If it’s a cake, shouldn’t it be sweet instead of salty?” asked Lya. “Like, why do you put cheese in a desert?”

All 4 adults started laughing at Lya’s clueless face.

“It’s not real cheese, Lya.” Explained Adrienne, smiling at the young woman who still had a frown on her face as Adie handed her the plate.

Lya took her spoon and took a bit of the cake, looking uncertain.

She swallowed it and her whole face light up.

“Yummy!” she said. “It doesn’t taste like cheese at all!” she explained before taking an other spoonful.

Adrienne smiled fondly at her, while Billie Joe just looked at the people gathered around the table. Jakob was already in bed, and Joey was snoozing on the couch.

Lya was smiling and talking to Tré, pouting every now and then when he, along with Mike, were making fun of her.

Billie Joe knew Lya was far from all right, but she was getting better. He could already see the small changes in her, her wounds were slowly healing. It had been a few days since she came back with a rose for Adrienne and he hadn’t seen tears on her face for 2 whole days, which was a first.

He knew they still had a long way to go, but they were getting there, slowly but surely.

Billie Joe got sight of Adrienne starring at Lya. Adrienne noticed someone looking at her and saw it was her husband. They exchanged a knowing glance and went back to eating their cheesecake.

**

“Mum! Billie Joe on the phone for you!” shouted Lya, running in the laundry room to hand the phone to Adrienne, who was still not used to Lya calling her ‘Mum’.

Lya skipped out of the room, and went back to the kitchen, making sure nothing was burning.

It was getting close to Thanksgiving now. It was Wednesday, her grand parents, along with David would be arriving this evening.

Joey was sitting on the counter, watching the oven.

“What are you doing Joey?” asked Lya, grabbing the bottle of milk from the fridge.

“I’m looking after the cake.” He explained, and he went back to watch the oven like a hawk.

Lya chuckled and poured herself a glass of milk.
“Want some milk Joey?” she asked.

“Yes, please!”

She grabbed another glass from the cupboard and poured some milk in it before handing it to Joey.

“Thank you Lya!” he said.

“You’re welcome buddy!” and she put the milk back in the fridge. She leant against the counter, next to Joey. Joey kept on watching the oven and Lya was looking outside.

The sky was a mix of grey and blue. It was still autumn but you could feel December was near. The temperatures were lower.

“Lya, honey? Billie Joe needs you at the studio, apparently they have trouble with a new song and they need your input.” Adrienne explained.

“Ah these guys…” she said, shaking her head slowly. “It’s unbelievable…” she added, putting her empty glass in the sink. “You sure you don’t need any help? Will you be all right?” she asked, stopping right before going in the hall.

“I’ll be fine Lya, no worries. You should go before Tré calls us…” Adie said.

“Yeah, yeah…” Lya said, running to the hall. She put on her coat, scarf and boots before walking back to the kitchen. She kissed Joey’s cheek and then hug Adie before putting on her gloves and running out of the door, putting on her bright green beanie/hat.

Lya rushed down the streets, to the bus stop. She had luck on her side as she arrived just in time to hop into the bus. She got off a few minutes later and hurried to the 880studios.

She smiled and waved at the guy at the entrance and rushed to their studio. She swung the door open and Mike rushed to her, engulfing her in a hug.

“They are getting on my nerves, please do something!” he whispered. Lya chuckled, took off her hat and gloves, dropping them on the nearest couch, along with her scarf and coat.

“What’s the problem now?” she asked, knelling besides Billie Joe and looking at the sheets of paper scattered in front of him.

“I don’t know which songs to choose, I have no clue in which orders I should put them… It’s wearing me out.” He muttered.

Tré coughed loudly, catching Lya’s attention.

“I told him we should call it Warning, please make him see reason. Warning suits the album better than Misery.” Said Tré, sipping coffee.

Billie Joe was glaring at Tré.

“Just relax guys!” muttered Lya, “Let me listen to your demos and I’ll give you my opinion, is that all right?” she asked.

They all nodded and ushered her in the other studio. Tré shoved the headphones on her head and Billie Joe pressed play.
They took a seat around her and watched attentively as she was listening to the demos of the next Green Day album.

She tried not to show her emotions and focused on the songs and the lyrics. She wasn’t here to judge, they had asked her for her input. She knew they might not acknowledge her suggestions, but at least she could pretend she had helped them somehow.

She was listening to their demos, Green Day demos. She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs as the first note hit her ears.

She listened quietly.
Once or twice, she couldn’t help but to nod her head along with the music, smiling.

As soon as she removed the headphones, she was surrounded by the 3 men, looking like little kids.

“So?”

“Well, it’s great! It’s different from Nimrod, but I like it! Really. And you used more instruments than just drums, guitars and bass. Seriously, it’s nice! Tré, I think you’re right, Warning sounds like a good name for the record. It’s the title of the 3rd song I heard right?”

Mike nodded.

“You should put it first on the record. That’s my opinion. Other than that, Castaway, Church on Sunday and Deadbeat holiday are awesome as always, I’ve been in love with those songs since I first heard them. Those songs must be on the album… what’s the last song I heard, it had harmonica in it… It was really catchy and went like tada, tada, tadadadada, tadadada…” she tried to mimicked the song.

“Minority?” asked Tré, recognizing the melody.

“Yeah, well, that song… It’s awesome! I just love it.” Gushed Lya. “You guys have talent, and you know it. You should just believe in yourselves and do what you want, songs you like. As long as you like it, your fans definitely will.”

“True, it is different from your previous work, but melodically speaking, I think it’s better, because you try new stuff, so yeah. I freaking approve.” She said, smiling at them.

Turned out they just needed an ego-boost and who else besides their supposedly biggest fan could do that? No one.

The guys went back to work and Lya knelled down in the largest studio, on the carpet, surrounded by Billie Joe’s messy handwriting. She was looking at the lyrics he had started to write. Some weren’t even finished.
She was looking at something that was worth thousands of dollars in her eyes.

To anyone else, it was just a piece of paper with some words and doodles on it. To Lya, it was much more than that, and she felt overwhelmed.
Never in her life had she thought she’d have the chance to meet her favorite band, her hero, let alone listen to their demos and give them her opinion on their work.
It was more than she had ever asked for.

She was beaming.

**

“Huh oh…” mumbled Tré, glancing at his watch. “It’s 6pm already.”

“Fuck!” shouted Billie Joe, slapping his forehead. “We need to get going! Lya, let’s go! We’ll see you guys later!” he said, gathering his stuff.

Lya snapped out of her daze and followed Billie Joe back to the parking lot.

Billie Joe drove off at the speed of light. In the blink of an eye, they were at his house. They ran out of the car and Billie rushed to the door, he swung it open and realized that their guests were already there.

Lya bumped into him.

“Hey, B! Move out of the way!” she muttered, pushing him inside and closing the door behind them. She walked past him and stopped when she saw her grand parents and David in the living room.

“Mamie!” she shouted and ran to her grandmother, not bothering to take off her coat. She hugged her tight and then went to hug her grandfather and her stepfather.

“I’m sorry, I should have been back earlier, but we were too absorbed in work.” Apologized Billie Joe, greeting the guests.

“How is the new album going?” asked David, Lya’s step father.

“It’s going to be awesome.” Said Lya, finally taking off her coat while fighting with her scarf.

“Green Day’s one of the best band in the world, so of course it’ll be great!” she said, hanging her coat and heading back into the dinning room.

Billie Joe looked smug and Adrienne hit his shoulder lightly.
“Be nice.” She whispered.

Lya skipped back in the huge living room that no one used normally. Well, normally she would stay in the kitchen or in the family room that was two steps down from the kitchen.
Sitting in the living room was too formal in a way…

They were all sitting on those couches, far away from one other. She made a face and left, she hurried to the kitchen.

“Mum, can’t we stay here instead… It doesn’t feel right.” She mumbled, scrunching up her nose.

Adrienne gasped and the glass she was holding slipped off her hands, crashing on the floor.

“Ma!” cried Lya, rushing to Adrienne, she grabbed a cloth and starred at Adrienne, worried filling her eyes. “Are you hurt?” she asked, holding Adie’s hand up to her face, scanning for any cuts.

“No, Lya… You just scared me; I had no idea you were there.” She whispered, as tears whelmed in her eyes.

Lya frowned and let go of Adie’s hand.

“Is it because I called you ‘Mum’ again?” she asked, taking a step back.

“Wh-…”

“I noticed you know, how you tense up or get teary eye whenever I call you Mum… Does it bother you?” Lya asked in a whisper. “I can stop if you want, I’m sorry if it bother you… That was never my intention, I thought you wouldn’t mind… I’m sorry really!” she said, tears whelming up.

Adrienne’s eyes widened, and she stepped over the broken glass, reaching out for Lya.

“Is there something wrong?” asked Billie Joe, coming into the kitchen. He looked annoyed, probably because of David’s presence, but as soon as he saw Adrienne pulling Lya against her, his face came from annoyed to worried.

“We’re fine. Woman matters…” said Adrienne, pulling Lya towards the family room, being careful not to trip on the steps.

Lya was hiding her face in her hands as Adrienne sat her down on the couch and Adrienne sat next to her. She gently took her hands off her face and held them on her lap.

Lya kept her head low as Billie Joe decided to clean the floor, still trying to understand what was going on.

“Athalya, look at me honey…” whispered Adrienne, “You misunderstood me Lya, it doesn’t bother me at all! It’s quite the opposite actually…”

Lya looked up slowly, her eyes red.

“Oh Lya, don’t cry! Really, it doesn’t bother me at all!” cried Adrienne, pulling Lya in a tight embrace. “You just took me by surprise, I never thought you’d call me ‘Mum’, and every time you do so, I can’t help but think about Shania. I don’t want to you feel pressured to call me ‘Mum’ just because you live here with us and because we were friends with your mother…” explained Adrienne, rubbing Lya’s back.

“But I’m not!” cried Lya, pulling away from the hug and starring at Adrienne. She wiped her cheeks and then spoke, “Nothing’s pressuring me! I just… I know you’re not my mother! But you act like one to me… and when I see you with Joey and Jake, I feel left out, and I just… You’re the closest thing, I mean, you could be my mother, well…”

“I understand Lya, I’m sorry you misunderstood me honey…” whispered Adrienne.

Both woman starred at each other for what seemed like forever, not noticing that Billie Joe starring at them. It was just them.

Adrienne smiled faintly and Lya just threw her arms around her.

“I love you Mum.” She whispered.

“And I love you too Lya.” Whispered Adrienne, kissing Lya’s temple.

Billie Joe forgot all about the broken glass on the floor and walked out of the kitchen, leaving the 2 girls together…

It was hard enough for him to handle one crying woman, it was beyond his strength to handle 2…