Communion

Mays always seem to come and go in the blink of an eye. The final count before the dieing Equinox transforms into the eagerly awaited Solstice. The warmths of summer, steadily brought forth with each new day.

Mays always seem to come and go in the blink of an eye. Particularly when there is not that of wedding anniversaries and fortieth Birthdays, all taking place within the confines of one month to worry about; or ponder rather.

This would indeed be a chaotic month. The 4th would play host to a middle-aged Mike Dirnt's Birthday bash. And the 15th, the wedding anniversary of Tre Cool and his faithful loving wife of six years, Rose.

Thankfully, all today would require was a nice 'round trip down to Berkeley's Telegraph Ave. for some gift shopping.

That early morning followed with Tre drowsily clammering upstairs to seek out his wife; whom had disappeared almost expectedly after breakfast.

"Rose hun?!" Tre called, as he sauntered down the upstairs hall. After no reponse, and trotted lazily into the master bedroom. He glanced around the room slowly, lifting his hand up over his shoulder and scratching his back carelessly. "Rose?" he called again, before spotting a closed bathroom door across the grand sized bedroom.

"Hey hun, ah-umm just a second," Rose replied quietly, with a coarse-toned voice.

"Sure," Tre reciprocated with a sly grin, before turning around and realizing his forehead was sweaty, and he felt a slight chill coming on. He brought his arms up to cross over the black logoed white cotton t-shirt adorning his chest and upper body.

The sound of creaking unoiled door hinges filled the room, as Tre turned around to be met with his wife coming out of the bathroom. She wield an upside down toothbrush in her palm, and wiped her mouth carelessly with the back of her hand. "Hey hun, where's Michelle?"

"She's downstairs... Fuck, I feel cold right now," Tre complained.

"You feel cold? It's 80° outside today!" Rose notified, throwing her toothbrush down on their bed before walking into their shared walk-in closet.

"I don't know what it is... I was sweating a lot last night too," Tre mentioned, as he began to watch clothes fly out of the closet in a mess all over the floor.

"I know. I took the duvét off you for awhile last night. You seemed overheated," Rose replied muffledly, as she sulked for a flattering outfit inside her spacious museum of clothing.

"Yeah, it feels kind of like the flu." Tre recognized, with thirty-nine years of knowledge under his belt. His teeth chattered uncontrollably as he placed both hands over opposit arms, trying to warm the outbreak of goosebumps on his cool skin.

Rose promenaded out of the closet in a white laced bra and a pair of mid-cut jeans. She approached her husband with concern, placing the back of her hand on his forehead. "You do feel kinda hot," she admitted.

"I know I'm hot. You don't need to feel, to tell that Rose," Tre grinned and rolled his eyes egotistically.

Rose narrowed her eyes slightly; giving that look, as if to say "right...".

"What?" Tre responded, knowing fully well the look she was giving him. The grin on his face turned once again to a mischievious smile.

"Nothin'..." she sighed. "I think maybe we should stop at the doctor's office on the way into town."

"Hah! Are you kidding? The wait is always like three hours. I feel too shitty to wait around in some damn doctor's office for three hours. Plus we still have to go buy Mike a Birthday present," Tre bellowed, excusing himself from going to the much dreaded doctor.

"Ack, you're so impossible. Fine, if you think you're fine, then let's just go downtown..." Rose muttered, ignoring her husband's use of the word 'Mike'. She picked a white long-sleeved shirt up off the floor and threw it on.

* * *

An hour later, they found themselves parked on the curb outside of Time Zone Vintage on Berkeley's Telegraph Avenue. Rose grabbed up Michelle from the backseat, as Tre went to install her stroller in their SUV's accomadating trunk.

"Did you put money in the meter?" Rose asked Frank, as she leant down and placed her daughter in her readedly assembled stroller.

"No..." Tre said, as he looked over at the meter and shrugged his shoulders. "Come on, let's go."

Rose glanced over at the meter, before returning her glance to her husband. She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Perfect..." she muttered.

"So what do you think we should get Mike?" Tre questioned, ignoring his wife's comment. As mother and father made for the door of this vintage shop with their three year old daughter, they would appear to almosy everyone who sighted them, a normal happy loving family.

Just like Rose had always wished for.

"I don't know. I've been in this store quite a bit over the last few years. They have some really neat stuff," Rose smiled as she pushed her daughter's stroller into the entrance way.

Tre placed a hand on his wife's back as he rubbed his hair-raisingly cool skin with the other. "I haven't been in here much before," he replied as he glanced an overview of the store, seeing racks and racks of clothing.

"Oh, look at this," Rose smiled as she pulled a chiffon silk scarf off of a shelf, letting her fingertips gently graze its softness.

"What is that thing?" Tre asked.

"A scarf..." Rose replied knowingly.

"Cool! Give it here!" Tre yelled, snatching the scarf away from his wife and wrapping it about his body like a throw blanket. "Ahh...oh...silk damn, it's so damn cold."

"Yes it is..." Rose laughed and nodded.

"I'm just going to keep wearing it," Tre announced, turning around to let his gaze fixate on something his wife was holding. "What's that?"

"It's a 1940's hat. It looks like Mike's Minority hat though," Rose giggled.

"Yeah it does actually," Tre said, a giggle of his own escaping the lips on his noticibly pale face.

"What ever happened to Mike's Minority...erm...Warning era hat? Rose asked with much curiousity. Making herself shudder for even mentioning the name to her husband.

"You know... I don't know..." Tre replied slowly, as he adverted his eyes back around the store again, treasure hunting for something of interest.

"Oh look, a vintage Black Sabbath tee! From the 1970 Paranoid Tour! That was their first tour!" Rose shrieked with excitement.

Tre came trollopping back over to his wife; the chiffon scarf still wrapped about his seemingly low-temperatured body. "Aw, that's a sweet deal. Mike likes Black Sabbath. You should buy him that."

"I think I'm going to," Rose replied, shuddering again at her husband's mention of the infamous bassist's name.

"Cool," Tre nodded, before letting out a big yawn and glancing over at a couple of women in their mid-twenties enter the store. He gave a friendly smile, before returning his gaze back to his wife.

"What do you think of this?" Rose asked, adverting her eyes up from the rack and over to the two women who had just entered the store.

"I don't think Mike would like that," Tre confirmed, as he began to help Rose sort through the clothing.

Rose and Tre went silent as they continued seeking out the perfect gift for a man who can afford it all. Rose tilted her head to the side with discomfort as she began to hear whispers unpleasantly illuminate the store.

"Is that Tre Cool? From Green Day?"

"I don't know... I think, it looks like him. Is that what his wife looks like?"

"Maybe. I haven't seen her all that much before..."

"Me neither."

"He said "Mike", I think that really is Tre Cool..."

"You should talk to him..."

"No. I can't."

"Wow, is that really his wife?"

"It can't be. I'm surprised he would marry her..."

"Yeah, you're right. That can't be his wife..."

Tre leapt his head up, glancing at his wife; he could sense her pain through her glistening emerald eyes. Rose's mouth chattered lightly, as she turned her daughter's stroller around and threw her unpurchased item messily back atop of a rack. She stormed off outside, without a spoken word, and radiating with much apparent anger.

"Rose..." Tre called quietly, he glanced back over at the two women, who had now disguised both their heads behind a clothing rack. Tre shook his head and sighed. He threw off the chiffon scarf he had been wearing, and made off after his wife. "Rose..."

"Let's just go home..." Rose cross-examined, as she stood leant up next to their parked SUV; her hand resting on her daughter's stroller.

"No, Rose..."

"Stop saying my name! Let's just go home!" Rose shouted demandingly. A commonly quiet Michelle began to cry. "Fuck..." Rose whispered near silently under her breath and rolled her eyes; letting droplets of crystal fall down her cheeks.

"Oh great..." Tre sighed as he leant down next to his daughter's stroller. "Michelle, it's okay. Mommy's just a bit upset right now."

"Naaa!" Michelle screamed, her face turned red with despair.

"It's okay," Tre assured his daughter, running his hand over her head, casually messing her neat and tidy hair. "Don't worry..."

"Naaa! Mawmy, go-got screamin', 'n' I don' like," Michelle cried, glancing up at her mother.

Rose sighed, realizing she needed to stop being selfish and console her daughter's insecure nature. "It's okay Bugaboo. Mommy's fine. I'm sorry I scared you," Rose apologized, wiping her eyes, before she leant down and wiped her daughter's tears with the sleeve on her shirt.

"Here," Tre said, offering his wife a hand.

"I'm sorry Frank..." Rose whispered, as she took her husband's forearm and allowed him to pull her up in a stance next to him.

"Hey, don't be sorry. I understand. Some people just think us folk don't have any feelings," Tre grinned, obviously referring to people of the A-lists, B-lists and so forth...

"Yeah..." Rose agreed, and tilted her head down to the ground. "This is why I don't go out much..."

"Yeah, I understand. I'm really sorry Rose. You gotta ignore all of them though. They're just dicks," Tre said, before placing his hand over his mouth like a misbehaven child.

"Hey! No swearing in front of the little one." Rose warned, yet looked at her husband thankfully for his understanding.

"I keep forgetting, sorry hun. It becomes hard to remember when I haven't really been able to parent for so long. I'm like a brand new dad again. So bear with me..." Tre reasoned.

"That's understandable," Rose said, before giving her a husband a soft kiss, right then and there on the visible sidewalk.

"Mmm..."

"You do feel awfully hot," Rose mentioned again, pulling away from Frank's dry lips. She placed her palm on his forehead once again.

"I feel cold..." Tre whined. His eyeballs turning inwardly cross-eyed, as he glanced up at Rose's hand upon his forehead.

"How 'bout I take you home and tuck you into bed?" Rose smiled and brushed her hand over his cheek, still unshaven and natural. Showing off and highlighting the attractive beast of a man he was.

"Nah, you don't have to do that. How 'bout instead, I take both you girls out for a nice luncheon?" Tre suggested, although sick and not feeling much up to it himself.

"I suppose, only if you're up to it though..." Rose sniffled, letting her long lashes waterfall like a black draping willow over her emerald eyes. Tre gave a funny expression to his wife, bringing a smile to a obvious face of visage, and to his daughter, whom was now giggling.

"Of course. I always feel up to treating my special girls to something special..."