Chapter 20
Mike woke up a little disorientated. He knew he wasn’t in his bed at the pad, but it didn’t feel like the bedroom at the apartment where they’d been staying for over a week now. The sun was coming in through the window at a different angle, which was on the other side of the room, and the bed felt huge, but one thing reassured him—Pete was asleep in his arms. That was the only thing that mattered. His world was perfect.
The comfort of the warm body beside him was all he needed right then. The world outside and the rest of the day could wait. The two of them together here was all he wanted…well, apart from the john. He pulled one arm from under Pete and moved slowly, swinging his legs off the side of the bed. He went to the bathroom and put on one of the robes that was hanging up in there.
He decided to have a look around the suite. There was a lounge with a piano. He’d try not to let Pete see that. They’d already eaten the snacks and chocolate that they’d found in the mini bar, and Mike had persuaded Pete to have some champagne. Why not? We’re not paying for it, so might as well take full benefit of the room.
He found the room service menu, looked through and chose what to order for breakfast. Now what would Pete like? He phoned and asked for coffee, herbal tea, waffles, maple syrup, bacon, eggs and fruit. If they didn’t eat everything, they could take the fruit home. Breakfast soon arrived on a trolley with a few morning newspapers.
Pete woke up just after the waiter left. “Ooh, something smells nice,” he said, as he started to sit up.
“I thought I’d order breakfast, and plenty too. After last night, I’ve got quite an appetite. You hungry, too?” Mike asked, putting some waffles on a plate and pouring some syrup over them. Pete started to get up. “Stay there. I’ll bring it over, and there’s tea too.”
“You’re spoiling me, Michael. Thank you.”
Mike brought over the drinks, then helped himself to waffles, syrup and bacon, also bringing over the plates of toast and egg and placing them all on the bed.
“It’s like a picnic! Scrambled, fried and boiled eggs—couldn’t you decide how you wanted them?”
“Nah, I forgot and just asked for eggs, so at least they gave us a good choice.” Mike picked up a fork and fed some of Pete’s waffle to him, then had a forkful himself.
“Could get used to this,” Pete said, picking up a banana to chop and add to his plate.
“Might as well make the most of it. We deserve this, a break from the madness.”
“I wonder if Micky’s spoiling Gemma like this.” Pete laughed.
“Knowing him, it’ll be the other way round. Do all the rooms come with free room service? If not, they might have to go down to the buffet.” Mike took some strawberries and fed Pete one.
“What kind of room are they in? I know this suite was booked for Susan’s parents. They said I could use it as a thank-you, and it came with more benefits than the room that Susan was going to stay in.”
“Ah, okay…you think she was gonna ask you to share her room?”
“I don’t want to even think about that, Michael. It had twin beds, but it turned out better and to our benefit too. If you wanna find out where Micky is, I’m sure reception would tell you.”
They finished their breakfast and were dressed just as there came a knock at their room door. Mike went to see who it was, finding Micky outside.
“Hey, can I come in? Wow, look at the size of this room! Ours was like a broom cupboard compared to this—how’d you two get so lucky?”
“Got it thanks to Susan’s parents leaving and giving Pete the keys, so how could we say no?” Mike laughed. “You checked out, then?”
“Yeah.” Micky threw his bag on the bed and looked around. “Wow, jacuzzi bath and separate shower.” He winked at Mike. “You two leaving all this food? Why not ask for a doggy bag? I would.” Micky took a banana. “We ate in the buffet, because we would’ve had to pay for room service.”
“I bet you ate enough though,” Mike answered. “And I bet you’re taking home your leftovers?”
“Sure am. That’s why I filled my plate and went back a second time. I’m not stupid, you know. Could take some for Davy? Go on, at least put the fruit in a bag. Use mine.” Micky passed Mike his to fill.
“Help yourself to what you want, Mick. We’re checking out soon, aren’t we, Mike? Remember we’re meeting the kids—it’s the band competition, and we promised to go with them for support,” Pete reminded Micky.
Mike and Pete went to the reception desk to check out. Pete had to wait a few minutes while the receptionist looked for an envelope that had been left for him, which he took and put in his bag.
Mike dropped Micky and Pete off at the theater where the event was taking place. “Good luck, and if you want a ride back, just call me or get a cab back to the club. I can’t stay. I’m sorry, but I think things are gonna be busy today.”
“No worries. See you later.” Pete reached over and squeezed Mike’s hand, not risking too much intimacy in a public place. “Bye, Michael.”
Micky had already found the band when Pete got in. Paul’s sister was there with them, but looked a little bored with the waiting around. “There’s fifteen bands in all, and we’re next to last. The second group’s just started.” James pointed at the stage. There was quite a large crowd watching and the judges had a table set up near the front.
“Near the end’s a good thing. You’ll stick in their mind more, and you get to see what your competition is like, so you can try and do better than them,” Micky said to the kids.
“One of the bands has been disqualified! Because the lead singer was small, they thought they could pass him off for eighteen or under, and turned out he was twenty-two! We had to show proof of our ages before they gave us our time slot,” James said to them.
“Alice thought changing into a minidress and putting on some makeup might help, but I’m not so sure. We don’t need her looking older than she is. The bands all have to be eighteen or younger,” Paul added.
“You need to concentrate on the music. Don’t be concerned about how you look. Watch the judges—they’re mainly making notes, and they want to hear how you sound,” Pete stated.
“The lead singer of that group’s cute, though, and there’s not many girls around here. I think I’ve only seen two more all morning. Don’t some realize it’s a good way to meet more guys? Paul, I need to learn an instrument,” Alice mentioned before she went over to talk to a guy from another band.
“Sorry about that. She isn’t into this for the same reasons as us. It’s a little embarrassing being her brother at times. She gets bored easily, and can be very flirty,” Paul said to them.
The others settled and watched the other bands as they played their sets. There were quite a few different styles of music, R&B, country, folk and rock and roll… A girl even did opera, and a guy and chick danced together and did a duet. The judges were frantically writing notes and conferring with one another.
“Go on—you’re next. I don’t think you’ve got too much to worry about. At least you aren’t repeating any songs. We heard Johnny Be Good three times in a row, and only one of the singers got the lyrics right.” Micky pushed James and the others up to the side of the stage.
“Next group please,” one of the judges shouted and they all took their places and started up their first number. Alice had a powerful voice on her, edgy and rocky, and she stood out.
“She’s good. They’re good,” Pete said, grasping Micky’s arm nervously.
“Pete, you’re not up there performing, so why you nervous? Don’t worry about them. We’ve done all we can to help them out. Paul’s a much better drummer after my help and advice.”
“Sorry, Micky. I’m just hoping they do well. I feel responsible for them. I suggested they did this competition, built their hopes up… The judges are writing quite a few notes about them.” Pete seemed to be trying to convince himself that he wasn’t scared for them.
“You can loosen the grip on my arm a little. You’re holding on a bit tight.”
“Ooh, I’m sorry, Micky.” Pete quickly let go and put his hand down by his side. “I didn’t realize her voice is quite powerful.”
“Yeah, she’s got a big pair of…lungs.” Micky laughed. “We’d sound good together, and she sure can shake her maracas and ass. She could stand in for Davy if he goes away again.”
“Maybe best not to let her too near Davy, but then again, she’s as flirty as him! Imagine them together—they’d be a match for each other, don’t you think?”
“Pete, I don’t want to think of them together. She’s definitely the female version of him. Oooh, they’re going into the classical rock mix now, your song.” Micky saw Pete pay more attention to them.
Both Micky and Pete were speechless watching them. They started off playing quietly, deep concentration on all the boys faces, Paul drumming gently, then suddenly getting faster and louder. The judges actually looked up and watched them. One dropped his pen and was open-mouthed. Alice now had a tambourine with her maracas.
Other groups seemed to be watching them, surprised at what they were hearing. Apart from the music, no one made a sound. The guys ended the song with a loud Eastern-sounding guitar solo and a roaring drum crescendo, then nothing but perfect silence as the guys finished and took a bow.
Pete had been watching James’ fingers carefully and was smiling widely. “Wow, Mick, it’s better than I ever imagined! What do you think?” he asked. “I wish Mike was here to see this.” He then seemed a little disappointed after that comment.
“Pete, I bet he’d be so proud of you. We could play something like that! It was like something out of a movie. You ought to write something for an orchestra. You’d be so good at that.”
“No way, Micky, I couldn’t do that. I’m nowhere good enough to compose for an orchestra. You know how long it takes me to write a song. My notation book’s got lots of unfinished music and lyric. Mike’s a much better songwriter than me.”
“Don’t put yourself down,” Micky answered.
The band came down to sit beside them, all lookingd nervous, Alice wasn’t with the boys, preferring to stay backstage.
“What did you think? Was it okay?” James asked the two of them. “Do you think we did enough?”
“You were brilliant, the best so far. Look at this next act.” Pete pointed at the stage. “They’ve no chance of competing with what you did up there! You really were the best of the competition, and I’m not saying that because I’m biased.”
The last band finished and the judges disappeared for a while. About twenty minutes later they returned and all the groups were advised to get ready for the results to be announced. A table was set up on stage with three trophies and one of the judges came up to a microphone.
The third and second-place bands were announced and they went up to receive their trophies. The four kids looked at one another, resigned to the thought all was lost. “In first place, therefore the winners, are the Harrisons!”
The boys jumped up and started hugging each other.
“We did it, guys! We won!” Paul exclaimed.
“I didn’t even think about what you called yourself as a band name,” Pete stated as he and Micky were pulled into a group hug.
“It’s our surname. We couldn’t think of anything else. Come on, guys, we need to get up there.” Jack grabbed his brother’s arm, encouraging the others to go with them.
The band were presented with a large trophy, and a cash prize of two hundred and fifty dollars. The head judge said they’d been most impressed with their original and very different instrumental number. The kids ran back down to join Micky and Pete, hugging them again.
“Thanks! We couldn’t have done it without you guys,” James said, taking Pete’s hand and giving him fifty dollars. “Here. Have a share of the prize money.”
“I can’t take this. No, James, you won the contest.” Pete tried to force James to take the cash back.
“Pete, without your music, we wouldn’t have won. You wrote it. You all helped us so much. You deserve it, so please keep it. We all want you to have it.” The other three nodded in agreement.
Paul and Alice’s dad arrived as they were packing up their instruments. He offered Pete and Micky a ride, stating that he needed to call at the club to see Mike about something. He dropped off the kids on the way.
Paul couldn’t contain his excitement, telling his dad everything about their performance and their shock of winning. Alice seemed to be happier that she’d picked up some phone numbers from some of the guys from the other bands, and even had a date arranged for that night.
Mike was upstairs as Jacob and Christine had got everything in the club ready last night, and Christine had arrived about thirty minutes after Mike got in from the hotel. He sat at the kitchen table with the local papers—there was a story on last night’s mayor’s party in a few of them.
Christine was taking the chairs off the tables as the guys came in. “Mike’s upstairs,” she said, noticing Pete and Micky. She then spotted Paul. “Do you want me to give him a shout?”
“I’ll let him know. I need to go to the bathroom,” Pete said, heading for the door to upstairs. Mike got up and wrapped his arms around him.
“How did things go? How did they place?” he asked Pete.
“They won! They even gave me a share of the prize money. I tried to say no to it.” He took out the cash from his pocket and gave it to Mike. “Here, have it towards any bills or expenses. We all helped them out, right? Paul’s dad’s downstairs. He’s come to see you. I need the john—be back down soon.”
When Mike got to the club, Paul was at the bar, drinking a coffee, and Christine had got one already poured for Mike. They shook hands and Mr. Harrison smiled. “It’s been a good day today. I’m proud of my two kids, of what they achieved, and I know it’s all thanks to you guys.”
“It was our pleasure to help them out. They deserved to win,” Mike said as Pete came and stood with them. “It was more Pete and Micky who helped them, though.”
“Well I’ve noticed a change in the boys over the week, with starting the band. They seemed more focused. It’s been good to see them so much interested in something, and I’m grateful for that, which is why I’m glad to be here, and be the bearer of good news.”
Micky had found Davy, who’d just got there, and they joined the others. “Hey, guys, Micky told me the kids won.”
“I can’t stop long. I’ve got a few other clubs to visit as well. Is the manager around yet?” Mr. Harrison asked.
“No, she’s still on her break, but she already said she’ll be fine with me telling her anything,” Mike replied.
“Okay, fine. The Dive won first place! And here’s the cheque for one thousand dollars”
“Thanks” Mike took the cheque and show’d it to the others, none of them could believe that they’d helped win two things today.
“Wait a minute, there’s the guys I was expecting… You don’t mind a photo for the local papers? It’ll be in tomorrow’s edition.” Mr Harrison beckoned two men over and he and Mike at the front, with the other three behind them, posed for a photo.
“We’ve asked people who we’ve seen leaving the club over the past few weeks for their opinions, and I can say it’s all been good. The food you’ve been serving up recently is popular and well priced. Also the fact there’s a mixture in the styles of music that the bands here play; you cater for all ages and the teen events get the kids’ votes, and the parents’ too—of which you know I’m one—and there were good comments about the open mic night.”
“That’s great to hear. I’m sure Ronnie will be so happy to hear this,” Mike answered.
Mr. Harrison said he’d arranged for the press to come back and take some photos and write a review later in the evening.
“That’s good as we’re playing tonight,” Davy said. “We need to make sure we look our best. You want me to go to the pad and get some outfits? Don’t worry—I know what’s most suitable. I need to sort out my hair too, and I’ll need a shower.”
Davy took the Monkeemobile keys from Mike when they went back to the flat, and he was soon on his way. Pete picked up his bag from where Mike had left it in the living room. “Just remembered that I was passed a letter this morning at the hotel.”
He opened the envelope and passed it to Micky after he briefly read it. “Mike, it’s the licence for the club, signed by the mayor, for the all ages’ evenings and serving food! We did it!”
“That’s good! The girls should be happy. They’re late back, don’t you think?” Mike asked, taking the letter from Micky to look at.
“Yeah, I’m sure they’ll be here soon.” Micky went over to Pete. “Thanks for what you did to help us out yesterday. It wasn’t that bad, was it? You and Mike got a good night out of it.” Micky couldn’t resist saying. “You both enjoyed that suite, didn’t you, took as much benefit as possible?”
Mike stopped reading to answer the phone as it rang. “Hi, Ronnie, thought you’d be back by now…that’s no problem….so everything’s okay then? Good.” He looked at Pete who was now by his side. “Okay…nothing to worry about…I’ll explain to him. And we’ll see you tomorrow sometime. I’ve got some news, but it can wait until tomorrow. Bye, Ronnie.”
Mike didn’t give Pete any chance to say anything. “So that was Ronnie. She and Vicky have gone to see her mom and they’re staying overnight. They want to tell her about the pregnancies face to face, and her mom called, wanting to see her, so they thought it was the perfect chance to break the news.”
“Okay, so everything’s fine. Did she mention anything about the doctor’s appointment?”
“No, I forgot to ask, but they’ll be back sometime tomorrow, so I guess we’ll find out then, If it was anything bad, I’m sure they’d have come back earlier to see us. Let’s not worry.”
Micky stood between them. “Yeah, come on guys, let’s go get ready for our gig. It’s been a while since we played, and don’t forget the press are gonna be here too.”
Davy returned with their newer black band shirts. They ran through an hour’s rehearsal and were soon ready for the club to open. Mike was happy with how they sounded and thought the night went well. He noticed photos being taken and the younger pair making the most of the attention.
They had a chat with the journalist afterwards, Micky and Davy taking over most of it, going on about the club winning, that they would be holding teen nights in the future, that the Dive was the place to be seen on the Strip.
Micky and Davy went off with Gemma and Tracy afterwards, Davy to the pad, Micky to Gemma’s. Mike and Jacob finished off in the club whilst upstairs Pete packed their things, ready for leaving the next day. They had a late supper and went to bed, both tired after a long day, falling asleep with Mike the big spoon to Pete snuggled in his arms.
The next morning was quiet. They had a late start, just Mike and Pete starting the day by having a leisurely breakfast, and Mike reading about the club’s win in one of the local papers.
Suddenly they were disturbed by a girl from the club knocking on the kitchen door. “Sorry to disturb you both, but there’s someone downstairs who want to see you… Do you mind? They’re sitting waiting—is that okay?”
“Sure, tell them we’ll be down in a minute. Offer them a drink, thanks, erm…” Mike answered.
“It’s Nancy. I’m new. I only started the other day,” she replied, before leaving them alone.
“Do you think you need me?” Pete asked Mike. “I could make a start on the dishes, and cleaning up the kitchen.”
“Not yet. You’re coming down too.” Mike grasped Pete’s hand, and made him follow him to the club. There were three people at a table. One woman was drinking a coffee, while the other two were reading newspapers. Mike couldn’t see their faces, but he went over to them.
“Hi, I’m Mike, temporary manager here at the Dive. How can I help you?” Mike was looking at the woman he could see when one of the others started to talk.
“Are you one of the band in this photo in the paper? Would you be kind enough to autograph it for me?”
Mike heard some female laughter and pulled the top of the paper down a little. “Ronnie, you’re back! I’m glad to see you, and you look really well.”
Vicky dropped her newspaper and revealed herself.
“So do you, Vicky. Nice haircut.”
Pete stood behind him looking a little shocked. “Why didn’t you call, tell us you’d be here early?” he asked.
“We wanted to surprise you, and, guys, I’d like you to meet my mom.” Ronnie gestured over to the woman opposite them.
“Hello, April Mackenzie. I’ve heard so much about you guys. They were right—two good-looking young men, aren’t you both?” She smiled at the two of them. “Those babies are gonna be adorable. It’s good to meet you.”
“Mom’s staying with us for a while, to help out,” Ronnie said.
“So you already know the club won first place and about the cash prize? We’ve all done our parts to help out,” Mike said indicating the papers.
“Yeah and we’ve already decided to use some of the money to make one of the storerooms into a small kitchen, to keep serving the food. Micky had a great idea there.”
Pete quickly spoke up, trying to change the subject. “So how did the doctor’s appointment go? Is everything okay with your pregnancies?”
“Yeah, but I think you better both sit down,” Vicky said, pulling out a chair. “What the doctor told us came as quite a shock to us. It’s not something we expected, as there’s no history of multiple births in either of our families.”
Mike and Pete stared at each other and then at Vicky and Ronnie. Mike got in first with, “What…?”
“The doctor thought i might expecting twins!” Vicky announced. “So there might be a small chance of three babies! You okay with that?”
“I don’t know what to say to that! You okay, babe?” Mike answered, taking Pete’s hand again and gazing at his slack-jawed expression.
Both of them were wondering what other surprises would be coming next into their usual chaotic lives…