Chapter 18
He helped them into the minibus, and they settled as the driver took them towards the city but took a road that put them on the New South Head Road, back towards the site of last night’s commentary position. Eventually, they arrived at Watsons Bay, and stopped outside Doyles on the Beach. At first, the friends thought it to be just a fish and chips café, but inside, when they met up with the show director, the Head of Entertainment, and Bluey, they found that it was much more than that.
They had a table that looked up the harbour to the city skyline in the distance. The food was sublime, with Willow being beaten by the size of her ‘surf and turf’ plate, never having so much meat on a plate before, not forgetting the king prawns and the chips she had asked for.
The talk was about last night and the show. Everyone at the station was happy with how it progressed, with a lot of phone-in comments on how friendly the later part was, with interesting conversation, rather than tipsy socialites gibbering. The two-hour show was slated to be repeated in other states during the next month and had already been syndicated to a station in New Zealand.
Of course, they wanted more, only to be reminded that the band were still at school and unable to dash around the world at a moment’s notice. Jill stated that any visit by the full band had to be linked to a tour, or else it wouldn’t be viable. The friends and their mothers listened as the talk flowed to and from, with the upshot being that the station would back a promoter, should one eventuate, with free advertising and a promotional show, filmed by the BBC, in Britain, to be shown a few weeks before any tour.
Lauren was quietly recording the conversation, to be played to Clive and others when they got back to London. Bluey asked the girls if they would have any new material by then. Willow told him that there was already an album that hadn’t been released yet, and that she was thinking about a sequel album to the ‘Journey’ one, that took the newly married girl beyond the wedding and into real life. She didn’t tell them that last night, before she went to sleep, she had written the title of every song in her notebook, all names of various fireworks.
The lunch was a protracted one, with conversation filling the period between the main meal and dessert, which gave Willow stomach space for some tiramisu. The adults drank wine, and the girls had ginger beer. They did find out that Meryn had been offered a new role in a commentary team for the upcoming tennis season, starting with a junior role with the Australian Open. Although it would include a lot of overseas travel, she had taken a few weeks off ‘to consider her options’. Barry was now the ‘King of the Kids’ and there would be clips of him on the rides to prove it.
Jill asked the question about whether showing the full Berlin show was wise, considering that people could have recorded it. She was told that everyone at the fireworks would have left the TV off as they were there, and it was unlikely to affect the sales. When the lunch wound up, the visitors were thanked for their professionalism and friendliness, as well as their honesty and ability to round up so many of the show’s demographic at a moment’s notice.
Barry stayed with the others, to talk about future directions, as the minibus took them back to the hotel. The rooms had been booked until the following morning, so there was no rush to pack. They were all too full to eat, knowing that there was likely to be a snack on the plane. Gina and Willow found an ice-cream shop near the hotel and sat in the shade with ice creams in tubs, as cones would have melted too quickly.
“So, friend. We may have a tour down here in the summer. That would be interesting.”
“Yes, it will. It will longer distances between shows, and there are only a small number of places with a big enough population to play at, if you include New Zealand, so there may be time in between shows to sightsee. I believe that there are big enough sporting venues in each city, so we could be playing outdoors again, and I think the only difference will be that some grounds might be ovals, rather than rectangles. But that’s for others to work out. For us, it’s getting home, sleeping in our own beds, and going to school to start another term. I wonder what the Head will say at assembly?”
“I wonder what the Bishop will want at Easter!”
Back in their rooms, they all packed for the return. It would be the long fourteen-hour trip to Dubai, with a long night, and leaving again for London after two in the afternoon, to arrive, after a seven-hour flight, just three and a half hours after they had taken off. In Dubai, Jill had told them that they would spend the time in the International Lounge, with a café and shower facilities, so to pack something to change into in the carry-on.
They checked out, and a stretch limo took them to the airport, the last gift of a grateful Barry. There, they went through the usual procedure to end up in a lounge, being looked after. Some of the other passengers were businessmen and women going to London to see various companies, and the girls had polite requests for autographs in the new diaries, with nice comments about the show last night. It was certainly a different fan base from the last couple of days. The first flight was, as they had been told, a very long night, as it dark when they took off, arriving as the sun was rising over the desert. They enjoyed a late-night snack, a long sleep, a ‘midnight’ break, more sleep and a very early breakfast as they began the long descent.
They landed after five in the morning and were due to leave after two that afternoon. They took their carry-on luggage to the first-class transit lounge, where there were comfortable seats, air-conditioning, showers, and a view out over the airport. They all took showers and came out in new outfits for the trip to London, having learned a lot on the way out. They all sat in the comfortable chairs and spoke about the trip. Jill and Lauren were upbeat about the whole thing. The pre-fireworks show looked good, the fireworks were fun, with the overall show coming out as positive. The talk about the tour was something that had been hoped for, without any real thought that it could happen.
Wendy and Maisie had enjoyed a great holiday, in a place they never thought that they’d see, had met a lot of nice people, and had a great deal of pride in how their daughters had behaved. Jill asked the girls about the interview with the reporter. Gina laughed.
“He tried to get us off-balance by insulting us, and ended up telling us that he had to do a lot more research before he wrote anything. All he had heard was the school orchestra album and the Berlin show. He thought that we were selling ourselves short with the rock.”
They ate lunch and then prepared for the next leg of the trip. They would be landing before six, that same day, and it would be dark by then, but over six hours would have the sun shining on the wings. They had time to watch a movie, and eat a good dinner, before the descent started. They were coming home and looking forward to sleeping in the apartments that night.
They were met by Ashley, with a limo waiting outside and sporting a bandage around his head. Wendy hugged him.
“What on earth happened to you? I can’t leave you alone for a couple of days and you’re injured. Does it hurt?”
“Not as much as my pride, darling. Let’s get heading home and I’ll tell you about it.”
They had hugs with Jill and Lauren, who had called for an Uber to take them to their homes and went out to the waiting limo.
On the way, Wendy touched his arm.
“Now, you bad boy, tell all!”
“Well, I had a nice couple of days going to see a couple of movies I wanted to see. I decided that I wanted to see the fireworks along the Thames. I had originally thought about going to Trafalgar Square but ended up on the Embankment; just the right time and place to be involved in a battle between two warring street gangs. I only had a money belt with some cash, and a wallet with a twenty-pound note, in case I was robbed. I was trying to get out from the melee when the boys in blue arrived, not in the mood to be nice. I copped a baton to the head, and woke up in a van, heading for Charing Cross police station.”
“Why didn’t you tell them who you were?”
“They wouldn’t listen. A lot of the protesters looked just like me and only a few had whatever tribal outfits they usually wear. It took until morning before I was allowed a phone call, and I called Carlo to ask Ted to come down and vouch for me. They didn’t even let me out for that and just showed him my mug shot!”
“That would be difficult, seeing that you look like a serial killer on your passport.”
“Thank you, my darling, I love you too. Anyway, he confirmed what I had told them, and they allowed someone to look at my head and dress it. He took me to the apartment, where I’ve been living on paracetamol before coming to pick you up.”
“Have you kept the mug shot? It would make a great Christmas card for your parents.”
“Who stole my loving wife and sent me this comedian? I didn’t even get to see the fireworks.”
Willow grinned.
“But you did see stars, Dad, didn’t you?”
“Not you as well. What happened on your trip that sent you here with such cheerfulness? There I am, injured and hurting, and all I get is jokes. It’s enough to take all the fun out of being a loving husband and father.”
“It’s OK, Dad. We’re just happy to be home and to see you alive and mostly well. We had a big few days. Your wife went off and got pissed in wineries while Gina and I saved one career, while destroying another, and hosted fifty teenagers in a funfair. We also made a two-hour TV show and then spent over five hours as hosts for the Sydney Harbour fireworks. Nothing out of the ordinary, for us.”
He smiled, for the first time in a couple of days.
“That’s something you’ll have to expand on when we drive home. We’ll leave when you all wake up in the morning, so you have a day at home before you start school, and we go back to work.”
When they arrived at the apartment, it was a bit like coming home for Willow, to be able to snuggle with City Shaun tonight and have time for herself. Ted came out of the restaurant as they were unloading the bags.
“Welcome home, International Ladies of Mystery. I suppose that you’ve been told about my mission of mercy, saving Ashley from the dark cells of the local plod? He certainly saw in the New Year in an interesting place, not usually seen by us pillars of society.”
“It’s all right, Ted. They’ve already given me heaps on the drive here. I’m genuinely sorry for myself, but I will rise above this!”
He put his fist up in the air and staggered a bit. Wendy took his arm.
“Come on, Sir Knight, let’s get you upstairs, unless you want to stay down here, and we’ll join you for something to eat.”
“I’ll sit with Ted and wait for you, darling. Just one climb up the stairs will be enough for today.”
The women carried their luggage up to the apartments, had a comfort stop, and then went back down to join Ashley and the other two couples for a meal. Over the course of the dinner, the others were treated to a potted version of their time in Australia. Even though they had a lot of sleep in the plane, the effect of night falling was enough to send them all for some more slumber after dessert.
After breakfast in the restaurant, the girls waited by the door as Wendy, Ashley, and Maisie went off to get the cars. They loaded the luggage in the cars, now a lot lighter as they were leaving things behind, and then said cheerio. The friends had a hug before getting in to go home. Maisie followed Wendy out of London, with Ashley helping with instructions until they reached the motorway north. Willow sat in the back seat, eyes shut and dreaming about being on tour, and playing Sydney with her new friends in the front row.
It was nice to arrive at their house, but a little odd as well. They hadn’t been here since the last day of the school term, and so much had happened since. She had her bags to take up to her room and unpack, she had the pile of awards to take in, and she needed to have a look at her laptop, so put it on to charge.
First was unpacking and putting the clean things away, putting the dirty in for the laundry, and adding any souvenirs to the top of her desk. She hung her Luna Park lanyard with her Abbey Road and tour ones and then stripped off to shower and wash her hair with her own shampoo and conditioner.
By the time she had dressed, the laptop was fully charged, and she grabbed her notebook and went downstairs to the kitchen, joining her parents. When she turned the computer on, she saw that she had emails.
There was one from Peter, congratulating the band on all the new awards they had gained and wishing them a good festive season, as well as saying that the next statement would be later, as the label and his office would be closed until the second week of January. Willow composed one to him, asking him to send a box of the gold medallions and a stack of posters to Evelyn, the President of the Summer Rose Fan Club in Australia, and gave her address and email address. After she had sent that, she sent an email to Evelyn to tell her that they were back home. She hinted that there had been talk about a tour in the middle of the year, and asked if she knew of any other Summer Rose Fan Clubs in Australia.
Before she sent it, she noticed one from Jill dated before the trip, which had attachments. When she looked, it had some photos taken at the award presentation, with a nice one of her with her awards, as well as one of the whole band. She saved all the photos to a separate file and then added the two to the draft, adding the note of what the awards were, and that there would be a package from her manager late in the month. After she had sent it, she showed the photos to Wendy, who got her to email them to her so that she can get them printed at work and laminated. The one of the whole band would look good, she said, on the wall in the apartment.
Wendy had taken pictures of them in their finery and said that she would get them printed and buy frames, as they showed the Rose family looking like royalty. After that, Willow looked at a lot of other emails, mostly from the band, wishing her and Gina a good trip. To save time, she went into Word and wrote a precis of what had happened, transferring her phone pictures to a separate file, and adding a few to a group email, then copying and pasting the message. She also sent the same message and photos to her grandmother, after thanking her for the Christmas card that had been opened by her mother, just ten minutes before.
There was one that she hadn’t opened, and that was from Wilhelm. She hoped it wasn’t bad news and was pleasantly surprised that it was a statement of accounts for the end of the year for the two syndicates. The Summer Love had received a payment from the estate agent, with the fourth quarter lease payment from the Coventry property and also the Leicester property, while the Legs syndicate had received the lease payments from both tenants at Small Heath for the full year to come. Wilhelm said that he would wait a while before requesting any top-up from the band. He had a note on the end, thanking all the band for their messages of support for Jacob, and for the awards that Herb and Nancy had left with Racheal.
They had lunch, and Willow asked her father if they could go to the studio to add the new awards to the display. She wanted the four Double Platinum to go under the new sign. The two of them did that while Wendy started to work on the laundry.
At the Leicester site, it looked forlorn without the bustle of industry. Willow opened the gate so Ashley could drive in. They took the awards and his toolbox through to the studio and set to work making a new set of hanging hooks. The Gold for the Berlin DVD went with the other ones, along with her composing Platinum, and the four doubles were hung under the sign.
When they had done that, they went through to the control room and switched on the lights for the studio. They could see a couple of the chairs, with two microphones, and an acoustic guitar on the floor. They went into the studio to tidy up. Willow picked up the new Martin and placed it in its case, while Ashley took the chairs down to the end near the sliding door. Willow then found the dustpan and brush that they had brought and swept up the remnants of drugs that must have been scattered in the rest room when Wilhelm had found Jacob high, which led to the rest of it.
“Can we drop the guitar with Racheal, please, Dad. It needs to be kept safe for Jacob.”
“We can do that by looping through Coventry on the way back. I was given a shopping list, so we can stop at the supermarket on the way as well. This was a sad state of affairs.”
“It was, Dad. At least he was caught before he was totally lost. We had a couple at the fireworks commentary. They were well lost, hardly able to string two words together without falling about giggling. They ended up falling asleep by eleven and had to be carried away because we were tripping over them. Evelyn’s friend told us that they were a pair of gay, failed, uni students and wouldn’t be remembered by Easter. Rather a sobering thought.”
“That’s not something that you told us yesterday.”
“Well, there are some things for friends to know, and other things to share with my Dad. Did you get to keep the mug shot?”
He pulled his wallet out and extracted a very small picture with him in front of a height scale, with a nasty red lump on his head.
“This is strictly between us, love. Take it as a warning to be very careful where you go, and to take notice of the people around you. If I had not been so keen to look along the river, I may have extracted myself from the area before the fight started.”
“Already do that, Dad. One of the hazards of being a girl. I’ll put this rubbish in the bin, and we can head off. It looks like nobody has been here since Jacob and Anita. I suppose that the place will get more work during the year. Thank you for helping put up the awards.”
“Only too happy to be part of what you do, my daughter. Those walls are testaments to your skill and hard work.”
They turned things off and locked up, driving into Coventry to stock up the fridge and larder at home. When they pulled up in the farmyard, it seemed quiet until Racheal opened the door and beckoned them in.
“Hello, Racheal, Happy New Year. I’ve got a new guitar that Jacob left in the studio. How’s my favourite goddaughter?”
“Hello, Willow and Ashley. I hear that you’ve been on a quick trip to Australia. Herb told me when he came to drop off all those awards. Rebeccah is doing fine, and asleep at the moment. Come on in for a cuppa and I’ll tell you the saga of the Hikers.”
After looking at the sleeping baby, they sat at the kitchen table.
“So, Rach. What’s this about the Hikers? Nothing too serious, I hope.”
“You know that they had a tour of Spain. Well, that was going well until Alex scored some drugs. You knew that he was into weed and stuff. The problem was that what he had bought wasn’t as good as it should have been. Mixed with soap powder or something, they say. He ended up in hospital with twenty grammes still in a bag in his pocket. He’s still in Spain, but under police guard. Of course, the tour was ruined. Rick said that the boys tried to carry on without him but were so bad they got booed. He’s out in the fields on a tractor at the moment and thinking hard about what he wants to do in life. Be a pop star or a farmer. I know the money is chalk and cheese, but I know what I’d like him to do. We have enough to buffer us for a good five years, so we could be up to full output by then, so could be comfortable. I suppose that he may be asked to sing in another band, but I’m not holding my breath.”
“Look, Rach. If you ever need help, just ask. We had a windfall from our European week, so I have some extra on hand. I know that Jacob also got a big payout, so your father may be able to help as well.”
“He’s already told me that he would loan me some of Jacob’s money, with a view to Jacob writing it off when he’s better. Mind you, I believe that my brother isn’t taking his confinement very well. It’s certainly not voluntary, but Dad has put his foot down. That trouble with our cousin, getting caught smoking pot, and then OD’ing on heroin isn’t a good look for a fourteen-year-old ‘A’ student. From what I’ve been told by Rick, Anita and Alex are not in their own parent’s good books either. What happened with your head, Ashley?”
“Would you believe that I was hit by a policeman’s baton, while being thought to be a protester on the Embankment on New Year’s Eve.”
“You were there! I saw that on the TV news on New Year’s day. Did they say sorry and take you to hospital?”
“No, they threw me in a van and took me to the nick where I spent the night in a cell.”
“They did let you out, though?”
“Eventually. I heard the fireworks but didn’t see them, which was why I was there.”
“You poor thing. Maybe next year. You may even be down under with Willow and see Sydney. That would have been loud.”
“It was spectacular, Rach, and well worth the trip, although it was work for Gina and I as we were co-hosting the TV show for about five hours.”
They said that they had shopping to take home, so gave Racheal a hug and left. On the short trip home, Ashley was quiet. Willow put her hand on his arm.
“It’s all right, Dad. I have no intention of getting caught up with drugs, not even wearing nicotine patches. I have far too much respect for my family and my body to go down that hole.”
“How many times have you been told that you can read minds, great one?”
“Too many times, Dad, too many times.”
Marianne Gregory © 2025