Coma 

When Barry didn’t answer his phone Jenny left a message telling him she urgently needed to talk to him and could he please call her back. After that the two women made dinner.

Kerstin bombarded her friend with advice about healthy eating during pregnancy and to prove that healthy food didn’t necessarily mean boring, they tried out a new recipe from a woman’s magazine: fried mackerel with whole wheat pasta and grilled vegetables.

After dinner they made themselves comfortable on the couch with a bowl of ice cream and Kerstin switched on the TV.

But what they found out in the news was unbelievable. Jenny dropped her spoon and jumped up. The world was turning around her and from faraway she could hear the voice of the news person repeating the awful news again. 

The famous American entertainer and musician Barry, who was supposed to start his US tour today, was rushed to a hospital in Palm Springs at 10pm local time last night. He had suffered a heart attack. According to an unknown source he was found unconscious in his bathroom by his housekeeper after she had tried to call him on the phone numerous times. So far his doctors have refused to give any information about the condition of the singer and pianist. 

Jenny’s heart stopped for a split second. Kerstin had jumped off the couch too, taking her friend in her arms.

“I …I … I have to get to him. Immediately.” Jenny stammered.

“Okay, pack your bags. We’re going to the airport. You are leaving on the next plane to Palm Springs and I will look after everything here. I’ll call your parents tomorrow. We can do this!”

Kerstin switched off the TV and pushed Jenny out of the room.

After a seemingly endless flight Jenny arrived in Palm Springs. She immediately tried to reach Tina and Marc, but no luck. They were probably all in the hospital with Barry. But which hospital would he be in? After all, the city had over a dozen hospitals. Jenny called a cab to get to Barry’s villa.

The door was closed but she could see Gloria working in the garden.

“Gloria!” Jenny kept shouting and waving but Gloria didn’t seem to hear her.

Darn it! What am I to do now? Jenny buried her face in her hands, almost crying.

The taxi! That was the solution! The young woman walked back to the car which still contained her luggage and asked the driver to honk as loud and as long as possible – until Gloria would finally notice them. The cab driver looked at her bewildered but actually started to like the idea of shocking this posh area, where obviously all the wealthy lived, with a little honking performance.

“If that’s what you want Ma’am …Let’s get started!”, he said after thinking for a little while and got behind his wheel. Seconds later the piercing sound of his honking penetrated the idyllic neighborhood. Again and again the taxi driver honked and Jenny went back to the gate to wait for Gloria’s reaction. As anticipated, the housekeeper looked around completely stunned, trying to locate the source of the noise. She recognized Jenny outside the fence and got up.

“Miss Jenny!”, she cried, still running. “Miss Jenny, I am so glad to see you are back!” Gloria opened the gate and rushed towards the young woman. “Miss Jenny, thank God! Mister Barry hasn’t been himself ever since you left. He didn’t want to eat anything and was so sad. He didn’t want to see anybody. He just locked himself in the bathroom with the phone, waiting for your call!”

“Calm down, Gloria!” Jenny took the housekeeper in her arm. “Could you please just help me with my luggage first? I had a long flight and could do with a glass of water!”

“Of course, Miss Jenny! Come in!”