Intemperance was only up for one award this time around and it was not for anything off their latest album, Lines On The Map. Since Lines had not been released until late December, nothing on it qualified for this year's Grammy Awards. Instead, the award Intemperance had been nominated for was Best Rock Song By A Duet Or Group for This Life We Live, the ballad about the life of a celebrity that had been one of the hits from their live album of the previous year. Ordinarily, songs from live albums did not qualify for nomination since they were generally re-recorded tunes from previous albums. In the case of This Life, however, it was an original tune that appeared nowhere else and, though never released as a single, it was still receiving extensive airplay from coast to coast.
Of course, the tune didn't have a chance in hell of actually winning the award, not against the likes of The Traveling Wilburys, U2, and, most formidable, the mighty Rolling Stones, but someone had to be there just in case, and, since it was Jake's tune, that someone was Jake — again.
At 7:20 AM, Jake was sitting in the first class departure lounge at DFW. He was dressed in his standard traveling outfit of jeans, baseball cap, and dark sunglasses, and smoking a cigarette. He was debating whether or not to have a bloody Mary before boarding or to wait until he actually got on the plane. He finally decided to go for broke and have the first one now. He could drink all the way home and then catch a nap in his own house before getting up to dress for the ceremony. Sure, he might be a little tired and hung over, but what the hell? You only lived once, right? And this was a mini-vacation away from the tour, wasn't it? Why not enjoy it to the fullest?
Jake walked up to the bar and sat at one of the stools. The bartender was busy mixing up a Bombay martini for a middle-aged businessman in a three-piece suit, so Jake looked up at the television mounted above his head. It was tuned to CNN and the newscaster was giving an update on Manuel Noriega's upcoming preliminary hearing on drug trafficking charges.
"I think you're well and truly fucked, Manny," Jake said to the image of the former Panamanian dictator when it appeared on the screen. "You shouldn't have messed around with the Bush-man."
The Noriega story wrapped up and the newscaster moved onto something else. To Jake's surprise, Mindy Snow's face suddenly appeared on the graphic over her left shoulder.
"In other news today," the newscaster said. "Actress Mindy Snow has filed for divorce from her husband of two years, world renowned movie director Scott Adams Winslow. The papers were filed in Los Angeles late yesterday and cited irreconcilable differences as the grounds. The news of this filing took many Hollywood insiders by surprise as the marriage of these two celebrities always seemed to be one of the more rock-solid pairings in the industry."
"Holy shit," Jake said, his mouth dropping open, his drink forgotten. Mindy had filed for divorce? What did that mean? Did he have anything to do with it?
"Mindy Snow's long-time manager and publicist, Georgette Minden, told CNN that Mindy and Winslow's parting is amicable and mutually agreed-to and that the two will remain friends. Joseph Campbell, Winslow's spokesperson, said very much the same thing, telling CNN that Winslow will always hold a fond place in his heart for Mindy, but that they just can't go on living as man and wife.
"Meanwhile, speculation runs rampant about the possible involvement of Jake Kingsley, lead singer for the death-metal band, Intemperance, in the equation. Jake and Mindy once carried on a turbulent six-month affair that ended among accusations of violence and abuse. Mindy has admitted meeting up with Kingsley in Fiji last year and told the Los Angeles Times that she invited Jake to a New Year's Eve party at the couple's mansion. Just a few weeks ago Mindy attended the opening night of Intemperance's latest concert tour where she was seen cheering him on and locking eyes with him up on the stage while Winslow sat quietly in his seat. When asked about Jake Kingsley's involvement in the divorce filing, both Mindy and Winslow's publicists proclaimed the very idea ridiculous speculation."
"Can I help you, sir?" the bartender asked, distracting Jake from further perusal of the news report.
"Yes," he said. "A bloody Mary. Make it a pale one, my friend."
"You got it," the bartender said. He looked at Jake carefully for a moment, his eyes slowly showing recognition. "Hey," he said. "You're Jake Kingsley, aren't you?"
"Yeah," Jake said, resigned. "I guess I am."
"Son of a bitch," the bartender said. "I'm one of your biggest fans! I was at the show last night! I'm still hungover from it."
"Sorry to hear that," Jake told him.
"No problem, dude. It was a great show. One of your best. Tell me something..."
The bartender asked his requisite questions and Jake gave him the requisite answers. He then signed a piece of paper for the bartender and endured a few more inane questions. By the time the bartender left to go make his drink, the CNN newscaster had moved onto something else — just some little story about Chinese denials of the casualty count in last year's Tiananmen Square massacre.
Fifteen minutes later, Jake boarded his plane, already feeling a decent buzz from the two bloody Marys. The entire flight he wondered about just why Mindy Snow had filed for divorce and whether or not it had anything to do with him.
The awards ceremony actually turned out to be something of a good time. Though Intemperance did not win — the Traveling Wilburys took the category they were nominated for — Jake did have a chance to visit with some of his heroes and major influences in music. Tom Petty, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, and Bob Dylan were all there as part of the Wilburys. Mick Jagger and Keith Richardson were there as part of the Stones. They all greeted and conversed with Jake as an equal among them, sharing anecdotes.
Jake — along with most of the other musicians in his category — consumed a pretty good amount of alcohol during the long, boring, drawn-out ceremony. After saying goodbye to those he'd met in the limo staging area, he headed home, planning on having a few more drinks and then passing out. His flight to San Antonio left at noon the next day and he had a show to do in that city the day after.
Tommy Stoner — the driver of his limo — dropped him off in front of his house at 11:30 that night.
"Have a good night, Jake," he said as Jake climbed out of the door Tommy held open for him. "Sorry you didn't win."
"I'm used to it, Tommy," Jake said, shaking his hand and slipping a fifty dollar bill into his palm. "At least it got me home for the day."
"There is that," Tommy agreed. "Can I help you into your house?" He had picked up that Jake was half a dozen sheets to the wind.