47
Wednesday, May 14th, 1986, 9:43 A.M.
Along with being apprehensive about the phone call she was about to make to the doctor’s office, Jane couldn’t help but notice what a mess her trailer was in. She stood there and put her hands on her hips as she looked around. She had the usual stuff strewn all over her desk: Fast-food wrappers, styro-foam containers, coffee cups, various pieces of paper with lyrics scribbled all over them. It was quite a sight. The only thing that seemed slightly in order was her cot and her wooden, folding chair that she liked to sit on and play the guitar. She had both her acoustic and her electric Ibanez, along with a small, practice amp located in the trailer.
Spying her cot immediately made her think of the best thing about going out to the trailer. In fact, had it not been for the small task she had to take care of, she probably would have cut a direct path over to it and flopped down for a quick cat-nap.
Instead, she cleared off an area of her desk, stacked up some papers, sat down and grabbed her phone. She punched in the numbers to her doctor’s office on the keypad and waited for the other end to ring. Doctor Stamkos’ receptionist, Miss Carrington, picked up after three rings:
ALEXIS
Hello, Dr. Stamkos’ office,
this is Alexis speaking,
how may I help you?
JANE
Hi, Alexis, this
is Jane Wiedlin.
How are you?
ALEXIS
(thrilled)
Oh, hello, Jane!
How are you?!
Haven’t heard from you
in a while. How’s everything
in the show-business world?
JANE
Oh, pretty good, ya’ know,
can’t complain… Actually,
I love it.. I really do.. We all do.
ALEXIS
Yeah, I’ll bet… I’m sure
a lot of people wish
they were in your
shoes. I know I do.
JANE
Oh, really? You’ve
thought about being
in the entertainment biz?
ALEXIS
Oh, well, not really.
I don’t have any
particular talents. But I
sure think it would be
great to be a part of it.
JANE
Well, it’s not always a
bowl of cherries, I can
assure you. It’s a lot
of hard work sometimes.
ALEXIS
Oh, I’m sure it is. I certainly
don’t want to suggest that
you people don’t work hard,
that’s for sure.
JANE
Oh, yeah, we do…
Most of the time, actually.
ALEXIS
Well, what can we
do for you today, Jane?
JANE
Actually, I’m not sure why
I’m even calling…
It’s not like an emergency
or anything… It’s just that
I’m going on vacation on
Monday and I was hoping I
could squeeze something in
before then.
ALEXIS
(searching)
Well, let’s see…
That might be a tough one…
We’ve been so busy lately…
Let’s see… Oh, gosh, Jane, I don’t
have anything open before then…
Is this something that can
wait until you get back? How
long are you going to be
on vacation?
JANE
Oh, no, no, no, it’s cool,
I can wait… I mean, I’m
gonna be gone for three
weeks, but I can wait.
Really, it’s cool. No problem.
ALEXIS
Are you sure?
JANE
Yes, definitely, I can wait.
No problem at all… I was just
having some headaches
that didn’t seem like.. the normal
headaches, ya’ know?
But they’re nothing severe.
ALEXIS
(sympathetic)
Ohh, I’m sorry to hear that.
Do you want me to make an
appointment now.. before
you leave.. or do you want me
to wait until you come back?
JANE
I can wait till I come back…
I’ll call you when I get back.
ALEXIS
Okay, Jane, whatever
you want. We’ll be
here whenever you’re
ready.. Okay?
JANE
Okay, thanks, Alexis.
You’re the best.
ALEXIS
Alright.. You take
care of yourself.
JANE
Thank you. You too.
ALEXIS
Where are you
going on vacation?
JANE
Hawaii.
ALEXIS
Ohhh, I love Hawaii.
My husband and I
went there a couple
of years ago. It is
absolutely beautiful. Have
you been there before?
JANE
Oh, yeah, quite a few times.
It’s just about my favorite
place in the whole world.
I can’t wait.
ALEXIS
Oh, I’ll bet… Well, you have
a good time, okay…?
And we’ll see you when
you get back, alright?
It was nice to hear from you!
JANE
Ohh, you too…
Thanks, Alexis.
I’ll see you later.
ALEXIS
Bye-bye, sweetie.
JANE
Bye-bye.
Jane hung up the phone and rested her chin in her left palm. Nervously drumming her fingers with her right hand, she remained in deep thought for the next several moments. It was hard for her not to think the worst. “Why does this shit always have to happen to me?” she thought to herself. She couldn’t help but think about the C-word. (no, not that one, ya’ pervert)
She tried to remember if cancer ran in her family. “Wasn’t there an uncle on my Mom’s side?” she thought to herself. Jane blinked her eyes a couple of times and tried to shake it off.
“I’m sick of this shit,” she muttered to herself. “I’m tired of feeling sorry for myself.”
All at once, Jane felt a strange calm run throughout her entire body. It was like a physical and mental epiphany both at the same time. She decided, right then and there, that she was not going to let this bother her. She was going to go on her vacation and not think about it. She convinced herself that it was out of her hands.
Jane stood up, brushed herself off, and walked out of the trailer.
“Today’s going to be a great day,” she proclaimed.