“Bristol here we come,” Johnny said, his voice an octave or two higher than normal.
Reaching casually over, Mikee turned the car stereo on. “TUNE!” he said as The Prodigy’s ‘Firestarter’ belted forth.
“Fuck’s sake Mikee,” Johnny said, snapping the stereo off. “You’ll draw attention to us.”
Flicking the stereo back on, he said, “You’ll draw attention to us without the music on.”
“You’ve done this before! But knock it down a couple. My head’s pounding.”
Leaving the site through the designated exit some ten minutes later, their mission of paternity well underway.
“Check your phone and see what the flight times are,” Johnny said as they pulled onto a quiet B- road. Helping himself to an already opened packet of Haribo and relishing the sugar fix, he breathed a sigh of relief as the first part of their crime had gone undetected.
A couple of minutes later, Mikee said, “It’s almost half four now. There’s a flight at just gone six. You could be at the hospital for about eight, D-Mo.”
Danny did not respond. He just sat staring out of the window shaking his head and muttering to himself.
Ninety minutes later and they were at Bristol airport. It was virtually deserted aside from the early morning cleaners and one manned check-in desk.
A few keyboard strokes later and Danny had the necessary tickets in his shaking hand.
“Thanks man. You’re both fuckin’ lifesavers. I owe you. Big time,” Danny said before he hugged Johnny, struggling to stop his scrambled emotions get the better of him.
“Get yourself on that plane. And keep us posted, yeah?” Ruffling Danny’s dark hair, Johnny smiled, and said, “Right. Get gone!”
***
The return journey was made in pretty much total silence as Mikee proceeded to polish off a sizeable McDonald’s breakfast he had insisted that they purchase as soon as they left Bristol.
As the site appeared into view, Johnny breathed out and rubbed a hand over his face.
“Just flash yer pass and stay calm,” Mikee said.
And it was that easy. Showing the AAA passes to the bored security guard, they were through.
Navigating back to the exact same spot, Johnny parked up and started to wipe the cuff of his hoodie round the steering wheel and door handle.
Snapping his fingers and laughing loudly, Mikee said, “Man, you watch way too much tele!”
Pulling out his wallet, and taking out a hundred pounds, Johnny opened the glove compartment and placed the folded notes into a clear CD case.
“You’ll still go to Hell,” Mikee said, with a nod of approval.
Grinning sheepishly, Johnny breathed a huge sigh of relief. “I know. But hopefully I’ll get day-release. And if I can use Danny’s favourite expression, let’s get something to eat. I’m starving.”
“Me too,” Mikee said as he rubbed his stomach, “that Maccies barely touched the sides!”
***
“She’s lovely,” Lara said as she spooned into Jamie.
“Who is?” he mumbled, rubbing sleep away from his eyes.
“Your mom.”
“What bought that on?” Jamie asked, propping himself up on his elbows.
“Oh nothing. I was chatting to her last night whilst you were indulging your star-struck admirers.”
“I hardly left your side,” Jamie said, sensing a hint of jealousy.
“And Johnny. He makes me laugh. He’s good at the grumpy old man routine!”
“Don’t call him old!” Jamie said. “Johnny’s cool.”
“Kinda good looking as well,” Lara teased.
“Haha. I’ll have to watch out then!” Jamie said, then laughing gently, “What did you talk about with my mum?”
Oh, just stuff,” Lara replied breezily.
“What sort of stuff?”
“Girls’ stuff.”
“Be more specific.”
“It’s private,” Lara said, also sitting up, but holding a woollen blanket over her bare shoulders.
“Be like that then,” Jamie harrumphed.
“If you must know, she talked about how proud she is of you both.”
Jamie smiled. And then slowly pushed the blanket away and placed a hand over one of Lara’s already hardening nipples.
***
“IT’S A GIRL!” Mikee shouted, as he read the rest of the text message. “And there’s a picture of them all,” as he held up the phone for all to see.
Looking at his own phone, Jamie read out the full message that they had all just received. ‘Made it back in time for the birth of Dominique Angie Martin. Can’t remember her weight as me heads all done in. Would have named her after you lot if she had been a boy – but she can be little D-Mo! Love you all x PS Can’t believe I’m missing the fucking Stones!!’
As they all looked at the message on their own phones and duly sent texts of congratulations back, Johnny disappeared off to the bar and returned with a bottle of champagne and seven glasses and handed them out to the band, Cally, Lara and Dominic’s latest lady friend.
Eleanor – a stunningly beautiful ‘young’ Stevie Nicks lookalike, who wafted around innocently in a diaphanous flowing dress and bare feet.
Her apparent innocence, however, hadn’t prevented her from sucking Dominic off on one the ancient ley lines that bisects the Glastonbury Tor.
“I don’t normally buy into the champagne lark. But this is a special occasion,” Johnny said, looking decidedly bleary-eyed. “Raise your glasses,” he glanced down, “well, plastic glasses, but you know what I mean. Dan, Dee and Dominique Angie Martin!”
The plastic flutes clinked together with a dull ‘thwok’ and the smiles and bonhomie was notched up yet further.
“She’s lovely,” Johnny said to Dominic as they stood together for a picture as Lara was now brandishing a camera and freely taking snaps.
“I actually like her. A lot,” Dominic replied.
“That’s novel for you,” Johnny said, playfully elbowing Dominic in his ribs.
“HEY! I like em all, but,” he replied indignantly.
“I know what you meant,” Johnny said looking across at Eleanor who appeared to be swapping fashion tips with Lara.
As daylight began to gracefully ebb away to dusk, a charge of expectation coursed across the festival site.
The Rolling Stones were half an hour from playing.
“He’ll be doing a line of Sanatogen to get himself sorted,” Dominic said disingenuously.
“Dominic!” scolded Cally, “that’s the Rolling Stones you’re talking about.”
Dom looked to Johnny for validation.
“Don’t get me involved,” Johnny replied, as he reached for his beer.
“Ready to go and watch them then?” Jamie asked.
“There’s a small cordoned off area we can watch from,” Johnny said. “We all got our passes?”
Eleanor smiled demurely across to Johnny. She really is a vision of loveliness, he thought, mentally blocking the image of her on her knees in the morning dew smoking Dom off.
“I’ve got Danny’s pass if that’s okay,” she said sweetly.
“I’m sure he won’t mind,” Johnny replied, checking himself not to be too captivated by her alluring charms.
“Hang on a sec,” Cally said, “I want to put my wellies on. It looks like rain.”
Leaning on Johnny for support, she slipped out of her cowboy boots and changed into her wellies.
“There. All done! Thank you.”
Johnny discreetly looked her up and down. Wearing a pale blue gardenia print dress, with a cropped faded denim jacket tied round her waist - even with the practical rubber footwear, she looked utterly, delightfully gorgeous, he thought.
Clapping her hands together, Cally said, “I so can’t wait for this. I love them!”
The select entourage headed for the show. Hands held, arms around each other, drinks necked and spirits high.
***
&nb
sp; A barnstorming set from the greatest rock ’n’ roll band in the world.
Simple as that.
The perennial classics were delivered with Devil-may-care abandon before the inevitable rain shower came, drenching the ecstatic masses.
As the greatest of greatest hits set was drawing to a close, Johnny and Cally found that the crowd’s momentum had separated them from the rest of the party.
Closing with the triumphant lilting beauty of ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’ - a myriad of mobile phones captured the moment.
Fireworks blazed and cascaded as the last chord finished and they were swept along with the ebb and flow of the crowd as they headed back to the hospitality area.
Johnny felt a sudden tingle jolt him as Cally grabbed his hand, squeezing it tightly, but slowly rubbing the back of it her with her thumb.
As they reached the exit to the AAA pen, they were ushered swiftly through, still holding hands.
The fireworks continued to blaze overhead, the collective oohs and aahs thick in the air.
Johnny stepped aside from the hospitality-seeking throng and pulled Cally to one side.
Putting a hand to her face, he pushed away a tress of her hair, which was now in rain sodden ringlets. Tiny white droplets of styling product were dripping onto her bare shoulders from the ends of her hair. Placing her own hand onto Johnny’s face, they looked at each other unblinkingly.
And then they kissed.
A deep and urgent pent-up kiss. A perfect in the moment kiss.
Separating, Johnny could feel his heartbeat hammering inside his chest as Cally put a hand to her throat and smiled up at him, shivering slightly.
“Thank you,” she said.
Totally lost for words, Johnny leaned forward and kissed her again…
***
“Not a problem as far as I’m concerned,” Johnny said as Dominic stood hand in hand with the bewitching Eleanor. “There’s plenty of room on the coach.”
Jamie had bid Lara and her multiple outfit changes goodbye and seemed particularly deep in thought.
Having successfully aided and abetted his partner in rhythm to attend the birth of his daughter, an unusually jaded Mikee was powering his way through a bacon baguette. Resolutely of the non-vegan variety.
Cally hung back, seemingly now reluctant to be part of the rock’n’roll ensemble.
The coach trundled slowly through the soggy car park, and headed off on the long road home…
Chapter 54
“Oh Dom. It’s lovely. I can’t believe you’ve only lived here a month. It looks exactly like I imagined it would,” Eleanor said as she twirled around in the large front room of Dominic’s newly rented property.
He had taken the house as it had a tanked-out basement that he intended to convert into a home studio, together with a large decked patio that he had designs on kitting out with a hot tub. Electronic gates and the thick dense shrubbery affording him some much-coveted privacy had sealed the £1800-per-month deal. The days of rental payments bouncing were long gone following the album achieving platinum status.
“I love the place,” Dominic said, “And I want you to move in.”
“Seriously?” Eleanor said with a squeal, momentarily losing her dreamy cool.
“Deadly,” Dominic replied.
“I would love to. Totally,” Eleanor said as she flung her arms around Dominic’s neck.
“Let me show you round and tell you all about my plans for the place,” Dominic said as he scooped her up off her feet.
***
“I’ll pick you and Dom up… No problem… Yeah, about midday,” Johnny said.
A visit to the see the first addition to the Lonely Souls family was a top priority, before a couple of weeks’ downtime to prepare for a seven day/five gig whistle-stop tour of Japan.
Hanging up the call, Johnny sat down and looked at his phone and read the same text message repeatedly as he deliberated over his reply – ‘Hi Johnny. So tired after Glastonbury but worth it. Think we need to talk. C xx’
They had shared a tent that evening, although things hadn’t yet moved to the next level – a combination of factors, namely the damp canvas surroundings, but Johnny’s booze intake had again left him somewhat lacking.
When reaching for his cock, Johnny had been met with a shrivelled nub the size of a jeweller’s loupe. He’d switched lanes quickly and hushed whispers of ‘let’s not rush things’ prevented any further humiliations.
A relationship with the boy’s mother was out of the question, he felt, and he had been wrestling with the dilemma since they boarded the coach to depart Glastonbury. It felt like a breach of their trust.
The conversation could not be put off – ‘Hiya Cally, Me too, takes it out of you! I’m going to see Danny & co with the boys. I can see you anytime this week x’
An instantaneous reply – ‘Thanks. Tomorrow. Dukes at 6pm? Xx’
***
“Ah Danny, she’s beautiful so she is,” said Mr Martin Sr, as he held his granddaughter for the first time.
“Oh Dee. I can’t tell you how proud we are,” cooed Mrs Martin. “And she looks just like Danny’s Grandma.”
“Does she?” Dan asked with a quizzical look on his face. “Don’t remember her very much.”
“She’s got her eyes, that’s for sure,” Mrs Martin said, with a beatific smile.
“I’ll just go and fetch us a cup of tea, shall I?” said Mr Martin.
Grabbing his cigarettes, Danny followed his father out of the ward. “Fancy a cig? I’m gasping.”
“I will. Thanks son.”
A mixture of pride and frustration bristled through Danny. The birth of his daughter. His parents’ first granddaughter had brought the family closer together than they had been in years.
Offering up both a cigarette and a light to his father, he inhaled deeply.
“This is good. Things are better.”
Mr Martin blew the smoke out of his lungs and let a small satisfied sigh leave his lips. “It is, Danny. Me and your ma are so proud.”
Danny pursed his lips slightly whilst he let his father continue.
“Not just your little ’un. The band. Everything.”
“I spoke to me mam,” Danny said, as he looked fixatedly at the tip of his cig. “She says things have been better.”
Mr Martin closed his eyes and nodded ever so slightly.
Meeting his dad’s rheumy gaze. “You were a cunt. A right fucking cunt. To me. To Mam. I’ve fuckin’ hated you for so long…”
“And I’m sorry. Truly sorry”
“I told her to leave you. Move out. But she wouldn’t.”
“Wha—”
“I wanted her to be happy. And she is now,” Danny said, speaking slowly, enunciating every word. “If you ever lay a finger on her again. Ever throw anything at her again. Harm a hair on her head. I’ll fuckin’ kill you. And you’ll never see your granddaughter again.”
“I won’t Danny, I promise. She’s a good woman. Always was. It was ju—”
“I know why. Doesn’t make it right. But you’ve got a fresh start. A second chance. Don’t fuck it up.”
Bowing his head slightly, Mr Martin put both hands on his son’s shoulders. “Thank you, Danny. I won’t.”
***
“Jamie. It’s me,” Johnny said through the gate intercom.
Like Dominic, Jamie had also sought the sanctuary of a new house away from the intrusions of Manchester. A small rural cottage north of the city centre. The rustic security gates led to a long pebble driveway, meaning the house was totally obscured from the road and most importantly prying lenses.
His need for privacy becoming of paramount importance - having completely stopped going out into Manchester over the past few months.
“I’ll buzz them open. Any company out there today?” Jamie asked.
“All clear,” Johnny said as he nosed his Audi through the slowly opening gates.
Jumping into the passenger seat, shad
es and woollen hat in place as ever, Jamie said, “Right, next stop Dominic’s new place.”
“I haven’t seen it yet. It’s supposed to be quite something.”
“It is. Costing him a fair few quid. But the views from the back are amazing,” Jamie said.
“Never does anything by halves though,” Johnny said. “Pop the postcode in the sat nav for us.”
Half an hour later, they pulled up at Dominic’s ‘House on the Hill’.
“Alright. I’ll be out in a second,” Dominic’s voice crackled through the intercom.
Leaving the front door, Dom kissed Eleanor goodbye and sauntered over to the car without a care in the world.
“You still got company then?” Jamie asked his brother as he adjusted his seatbelt in the rear of the car.
“She’s moved in with me,” Dominic replied matter-of-factly.
“What?” both Jamie and Johnny replied in perfect unison.
“Yeah,” Dom said calmly. “We just clicked at Glasto. Never felt like that before. Just felt right. For the both of us.”
The front of the car remained speechless.
“I’ve had enough of fucking around. And I didn’t do any sniff all weekend either. I feel great.”
“Ahem,” Johnny coughed.
“Well, y’know what I mean. I didn’t do any after I met Eleanor,” Dominic said.
Jamie shook his head slowly. “I hope you know what you’re doing, bro.”
“Don’t worry about me. And we won’t be all over the papers like you and Lara.”
“Fair point,” Jamie replied as he stared out of the window, somewhat taken aback by his brother’s personality makeover.
***
“Look at you! A natural already,” Jamie said as Danny sat by Dee’s hospital bed, his newly born daughter cradled gently in his arms.
“Alright fellas. Brilliant to see ya,” Danny said with a number-one-record-proud look on his face.
“She’s beautiful, really beautiful,” Jamie said, as he gently ran a finger down her three-day old cheek.
The Rock 'N' the Roll. 'N That Page 39
