I've Loved These Days: A Billy Joel Fanfic

Chapter 11 - Piano Man

••••
It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday
And the manager gives me a smile
'Cause he knows that it's me
They've been comin' to see
To forget about life for a while
And the piano it sounds like a carnival
And the microphone smells like a beer
And they sit at the bar
And put bread in my jar
And say man what are you doin' here
••••

Sunday, October 24, 1972
Dear Diary,

I can't believe I've been in L.A. for 6 months, but I'm glad I decided to stay. I think if I had gone back to Long Island I would have regretted it. I ended up only staying with Janice for about 2 weeks before deciding to go move in with Bill. He'd spent a week at the Tropicana hotel and then found a cheap apartment in North Hollywood. The idea of sharing a bed with him was a lot more enticing than staying on Janice's couch.

Overall, things have been good with us. It's not always perfect, but I suppose nothing is. Money was really tight for awhile. Bill had shuffled around with a few shitty gigs before finding a talent agency to help him get better work, which they did at the Executive Room bar. He's been there for a few months now, but he's having to play under a different name so the record company won't find him. So, currently I'm dating Mr. Bill Martin, piano bar crooner extraordinaire. He's been writing songs nonstop, and he's made some good connections and even gotten a few gigs opening for bands at the Troubadour Club, but playing to a bunch of drunks under a fake name certainly isn't what he wants to be doing.

I've been cocktail waitressing, and when we combine my tips with the money he's getting, we're now making enough to move out of this tiny apartment. We found a house to rent over in Malibu, so it's really starting to feel like we're settling in here in California.

xoxo,
Kat

****

I yawned and took a sip of my coffee. It was 9 o'clock in the morning, and I hadn't slept at all. The apartment was an absolute catastrophe with half packed boxes and clutter everywhere. I'd finished work at 2AM, but when I went to pick Billy up from the Executive Room, he was beyond drunk.

Free and limitless drinks at work, combined with an ever growing annoyance at his current music situation was making this a somewhat regular occurrence. I never understood how he did it, but Billy could drink until he couldn't walk straight, and somehow never miss a note in his playing. By the time I had gotten him home last night, he'd ended up passing out on the couch instead of helping with the last of the packing like he'd promised. He was currently still there, snoring up a storm.

"Okay, the bathroom is officially packed," Janice announced as she walked into the kitchen. "What's next?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. Just start throwing everything in boxes. Or throw it in the trash. I don't even care anymore." I took another sip of coffee and tried to force the fog from my brain. Our friend, Rhys, would be arriving any minute with a truck, and there were still so many things to finish packing. "And thank you. Seriously, you're a life saver."

Janice laughed and tucked her chin length waves behind her ears. "It's not a problem. You look like you could use all the help you can get."

"If you think I look bad just wait 'til Bill finally gets up. I'm just exhausted. He's gonna be hung over. Actually, I take that back. He'll probably still be drunk."

"Knock, knock!" The front door creaked opened. "I come bearing a truck and cookies!" Rhys Clark shuffled into the kitchen and placed a paper bag on the table. "Marilyn felt bad for not being able to help, so she baked you guys chocolate chip cookies."