A Story in Tribute to Neil Diamond

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I recently learned the sad news that Neil Diamond has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s and will no longer be touring.  I never had the chance to see him live, but as a child, I used to listen to his live album, Hot August Nights, quite a lot.

Sometimes referred to as the “Jewish Elvis”, Neil’s voice is a beautiful combination of power and soothing smoothness.  In light of his recent diagnosis and as a sort of tribute to him, I am posting an excerpt from my second novel, Red, White & Blues:  Book Two that mentions Neil as the Jewish Elvis.

Lucas had turned forty at the end of October.  Because of his work schedule, he and Julie didn’t really celebrate other than to spend an evening with Mike and Sarah, Wes and Sandy.

An old friend of Julie’s calls one day to catch up.  She and her husband had moved from Boulder Creek, where she, Julie and Sandy had grown up, to a small mountain town in southern California called Idyllwild.  She invites Julie and Lucas to come up for a long weekend.  To Julie, it seems like a good way to have a belated celebration for Lucas’s fortieth, so she accepts.

The seven-hour drive seemed even longer as the last part of it climbed up the mountainside until it leveled out and dropped down into the small town.

Julie spreads the directions out on her lap as Lucas comes up to a stop sign.  A series of turns brings them up to a rustic cabin nestled in the big ponderosa pine trees.  The front door opens and Martha, Julie’s friend, comes bounding out, an Irish setter following close behind.

“You made it!” Martha cries over the dog’s enthusiastic barking.  “Ellie!  Shush!”

Julie hugs her friend.  “It’s been so long!  Since my wedding, right?”

“Yes!  The first one!  Come in!” she says, pulling away.

Lucas grabs the bags from the backseat of Julie’s old Cutlass Supreme.  The car had been a bitch to maneuver up the mountainside.  He would have preferred to have taken his truck, but he had left it in case Wes needed it.

“This is so cute,” Julie says of the cabin’s interior. She follows Martha on a short tour of the rooms and then they step out onto a deck that overlooks the trees.  Bird feeders are attached to the deck railing and crafty squirrels scamper quickly away from them.

“Damn squirrels!”  Martha cries.  “They steal all the bird seed!”

Lucas goes over to the railing, looks down below, and then back up to take in the view.

“You must be Lucas,” Martha says, stepping forward.  “I’m Martha.  I’m so glad that you two could come!”

Lucas takes her extended hand.  “Yah.  It’s nice up here.”

Martha turns back to Julie, her hand still in his.  “You didn’t say how gorgeous he was!”

Julie smiles.  “Thought I’d surprise you.”

Lucas follows them back inside where Martha brews a pot of coffee while she and Julie reminisce and catch up on old acquaintances, one of which is Sandy Porter-Meyers.

“Now what’s going on with Sandy?  I heard about Pete, of course…” Martha says.

“She’s remarried.  Her husband, Wes, is Lucas’ partner.  They own a landscaping business.”

“Isn’t that something!”

“And she’s a grandmother,” Julie says.  “Can you believe that?”

“How old is her son?  What’s his name again?”

“Jimmy.  He’s only twenty, but he got his girlfriend pregnant, married her and now they have a baby girl.”

“Shit!  That’s, well, not really unbelievable, but…”

“Nothing surprises us with Sandy, right, baby?” Julie says, taking Lucas’ hand and drawing him nearer.

“Lyle will be home soon,” Martha says of her husband.  “He’s cutting out early so we can go to dinner.  You’d never guess, but there’s the best Chinese restaurant up here.”

Not accustomed to socializing with people he doesn’t know, Lucas appears reserved.  At dinner, he opens up a bit more, but feels awkward making small talk.  He tries to fade into the background, content to drink his beers and listen to the others talk, but Lyle misreads him and tires to draw him into their conversation.

“So, Lucas,” he says.  “You know there’s a lot of Native American history up here.”

Martha raises her eyebrows at her husband from across the table.

“Oh, yah?”

“Yes.  There’s a legend from the Cahuilla Indians.  Their fallen chief, Tahquitz, was possessed by evil spirits, which caused him to kill his sweetheart.  They chanted over his body and it began to glow like fire.  Suddenly, he rose and settled on Tahquitz Rock.  Apparently, they believe that he is trapped inside the rock with a rattlesnake and a condor.  Whenever there’s an earthquake, it’s really Tahquitz shaking things up instead.”

“Hmmm,” Lucas mutters, nodding.  “Interesting.”

“What’s your tribe, Lucas?” Lyle asks forking up some steamed rice.

“Ojibwa.”

“He’s from Wisconsin,” Julie adds hastily.

“Ah!  That explains the Midwestern accent,” Lyle says.

“Well,” Martha says, trying to steer the conversation away from Lucas’ ethnicity.  “Do you have any children, Lucas?”

“Two sons.  One is getting married next year.”

“How exciting!  How is Pandora doing, Julie?”

“Really good!  She’s still living with Haven in San Clemente, but I think she’ll come back home after she graduates next year.”  She takes a sip from her wine glass.  “Here’s something crazy:  her boyfriend is Lucas’ nephew!”

They all laugh and then Lyle and Martha tell of their own children, a daughter and two sons, one of which has autism.

“I’m so lucky to have made many dear friends here in town,” Martha says.  “Ross-that’s our autistic son-is staying with a friend while you visit.  The older teens are with Lyle’s sister in Palm Springs.”

“I hope we didn’t out them out,” Julie says.

Lyle laughs.  “Not at all.  They love to get away from us for a few days-even Ross.”  He smiles, takes a sip of water.  “Of course, we like to have him stay in town if we’re not with him.”

After dinner, they head back to the cabin.  Lyle makes a fire while his wife brews coffee.  She brings it out on a tray with mugs, cream and sugar and then asks her husband to put on some music.  Julie has brought some photo albums with pictures of her life, including her two weddings, Pandora and the new house.

“He’s done all the landscaping,” she beams, looking over at Lucas.  She can see that he is uncomfortable.

Lucas smiles slightly and spoons sugar into his coffee.  He recognizes Neil Diamond on the stereo and remembers that one of his old coworkers had told him that Diamond was the Jewish Elvis.  Lucas snickers a little at the thought.

When they finally retire, Julie snuggles up close to him.  The bed is freezing, but Martha had provided them with an electric blanket that is taking its time heating up.

“Thanks for coming,” she says.  “I know this probably isn’t your idea of the best way to spend your fortieth birthday.”  She kisses him.  “I’m sorry, baby.”

“No, it’s okay.  It’s nice.”

“I haven’t seen Martha in…God, twenty-two years?  Can that be right?  She’s a bit of a square, always was.  And Lyle!  He’s pretty nerdy, too.”

“Well, not everyone can be as cool as us, right?”

Julie laughs.  “That’s for sure!”  She snuggles down into the blankets.  “Mmmm.  It’s finally getting warm in here.”

“Yah.  This bed’s pretty small, too.”

“I think it’s a twin,” Julie says, reaching into Lucas’ pajama bottoms. He flinches.  “Sorry!  My hands are still warming up.”

He wraps his arms around her, surrounding her with his heat and smell.  Julie always feels so small and feminine when they make love.  She loves his smooth hard chest, his scars, his deep black eyes, his long dark hair.  He pushes into her and she braces herself against the flimsy headboard as it begins hitting the wall, pounding out a rhythm of their movements.

“Shit,” she breathes, laughing.

As he moves faster, the bed springs join the headboard and Julie is giggling through her moans.  Lucas smiles above her, thrusting ever deeper inside her and as she begins to shudder beneath him, the bed collapses onto the floor with a loud thump.

They lie perfectly still, fighting off their laughter until they hear a door open and then a knock at their own.

“Is everything okay in there?” Martha asks.

Lucas puts a finger to Julie’s lips.  “Yah.  Guess the bed’s not made for two.”

In the morning, they emerge sheepishly to face their hosts.  Martha gives them a knowing look while Lyle chooses to hide behind the local newspaper.

Three days later, with their bags packed and the bed haphazardly put back together, Lucas and Julie say their goodbyes and head back up north.

“I love you,” Julie says, leaning over and kissing his cheek as he navigates the Cutlass Supreme.  “I guess your birthday wasn’t so boring after all!”

Lucas laughs.  “That’s definitely a story for our grandkids!”