A/N: Thank you Emily, Lucie, Hattie and Steph who've made me happy and written – or have offered (: to write my birthday fiction, so I couldn't think of a better way to say thank you other than write you all a little special something! So Thank you guys! Much love is in this ficlet (:
Disclaimers: The mighty boosh and all it's affiliated characters belong to Julian Barratt, Noel Fielding, BB3 and Baby cow productions, Emily Lucie, Steph and Hattie belong to themselves, and the same goes for Bill Bailey.
I hope you like guys; the next chapter will be up soon!
Emily studied the postcard that had fallen through her door and landed lazily on the 'welcome' mat. Her brother hadn't been in contact with her for almost 10 years, well since he'd dropped out of school and began working at a zoo, and now he'd sent her a postcard with his address and where bouts.
"How strange." Emily mumbled throwing the postcard onto the key bowl that was situated by the door and held the keys to the flat and Stephs car keys.
"What?" Steph asked, looking up from her laptop momentarily to her flatmate.
"Well, you know Howard don't you?" Emily asked, slapping Stephs bare feet off the sofa and sitting down.
"Well no, but I know ofhim, why?" Steph replied, grumbling as she moved her body around and plonking her feet on the coffee table, kicking the TV mag on the floor.
"He's just sent me a postcard from London."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. With his address on and what not." Emily replied, reaching for the remote and flicking through the channels mumbling 'shit, shit, more shit and shit' under her breath.
"Oh leave that on!" Steph shouted, pointing at the TV, flapping her arms in excitement.
"The news?" Emily asked confused.
"No down a channel!" Steph exclaimed.
"Oh, Bill Bailey?"
"Yeah, he's funny." Steph said, almost childlike and she began to type speedily to someone she was talking to on MSN.
Lucie slouched in her house, throwing her handbag and keys on the floor; she shuffled into the living room and slumped down on the sofa – exhausted.
She didn't understand how her brother managed to run a shop, her newly opened baby-grow business was going great, but all the customers - it was just too much for her. She looked at the phone lying on the table and reached for it, dialling the London area code and a phone number after it, she needed a good conversation and Hattie was the only person she wanted to talk to. Her mood needed a lift.
Hattie danced around her bedroom, IAMX booming through the speakers on her computer, MySpace taking up her internet explorer page. Her windows were wide open; the London air blowing through her windows. She didn't hear her mother shout her. Once, twice, three times, four times.
"HARRIET!" a voice screeched over 'President' Hattie jumped and turned her speakers right down and sheepishly walked to the top of the stairs.
"Yes?" She asked her voice innocent.
"Don't you answer to your name when you are shouted?!" her mother asked, holding the phone out, Hattie sighed and ran down the stairs to grab the phone.
Her mum just sighed and walked away, singing along to the song that was playing on radio one.
"Hello?"
"Heya, Hattie its Lucie." Lucie spoke from the other end. Hattie smiled.
"Hello! How're you and how's the business? Booming I suppose?"
"Booming a little too well, I'm knackered, how Vince manages to run his shop I don't know."
"Maybe he has help? And bedsides you're getting business and that's good! Moneys darling! We should go on holiday together wouldn't that be great?"
"Oh, if I went on holiday I wouldn't come home, although I'm going to have to have a break – If I see another baby grow this week then I'll scream."
"Well you know, you're always welcome to crash here."
"Thank you Hattie but I was thinking about seeing if Naboo had any spare rooms available, I've gotta come away from here."
"Oh, if you like I can pop down and have a couple of words with him!" Hattie said, grabbing her hoodie off the back of her door.
"Would you? It's just my phone bill…."
"Of course I will, right then I'll be off now!"
"Now?"
"Yeah, the sooner the better, bye bye!" Hattie pressed 'end' on the hand held device and rushed out the door, shouting something to her mother about 'going to the shops, back later'. She pulled her iPod out her bag and selected, artists, IAMX and continued her binge, bopping her way down the road and onto a passing bus, paying her fair and watching as each stop went by – purposefully going past her stop by two and then getting off and walking the half mile back to the Nabootique.
Emily had the post card in her hand again and was studying it – again, ignoring the giggles that where emitting from Steph as Bill talked about 'acts of god'.
"Maybe I should go and see him." She said, not expecting a reply.
"Yeah, you should." Steph said, not tearing her eyes from the telly but acknowledging her nonetheless.
"Maybe we can catch a train."
"Whoa, where did we come from?" Steph asked, looking at Emily.
"It's in London."
"Oh really! Well then you should definitely go, and I should definitely go with you – for safety and what not, London's a bad place, lots of bad people I don't want you to get hurt!" Steph said, closing her laptop and rushing to the door for her shoes.
"Whoa there, speedy Gonzales! We're not going now!"
"Yes we are, c'mon it'll be great and a nice surprise for Howard!"
"I suppose."
"Yes!" Shouted Steph, throwing a pair of converse at Emily.
"We need to pack an over night bag though…" Emily began pointing to her bedroom with her thumbs.
"We're going to London, we can get new stuff."
"Alright then, where's all this money coming from?" Emily asked, Steph just reached into her pocket and pulled out a credit card, smiling.
"We'll suffer the consequences later, c'mon!" Steph exclaimed, thrusting the card back into her pocket, grabbing her car keys and her handbag.
"I though we were getting the train?"
"Can't we drive?" Steph asked pleadingly and jumped for joy when Emily nodded, grabbed her bag, the postcard and pushed Steph out the door who'd starting singing 'we're going to London to buy heat magazine.'
Hattie this is a surprise! Long time no see, how're you then?" Vince exclaimed rushing round the counter and pulling Hattie into a huge hug.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Hattie wheezed, unable to breath.
"Oh sorry." Vince said smiling and loosening his grip on his friend.
"No problems, I've got a favour to ask you."
"Yeah?"
"Do you have anywhere for Lucie to stay?"
"Lucie!" Vince shouted happily.
"Where is she?" Vince asked, looking around Hattie and rushing to the door, gripping the frame and hanging out looking all around for his younger sister.
"She's in Wales." Hattie said, killing Vince's excitement.
"Oh."
"But she wants to come down, her new shop is dragging her down and she needs a break."
"She can have my bed; I'll sleep on the sofa or cosy up with Howard!"
"Wont Naboo mind?"
"Nah, he's out on another Shaman stag night."
"Who's getting married?"
"Kirk, to three women."
"Three women?"
"Yeah, the little pimp, anyway Lucie's coming down Have you rung her?"
"She rung me earlier, but I've got no credit just free texts so I'll text her to let her know and I guess she'll be here before you know it, she needs a break." Hattie explained, reaching in her bag and pulling out her phone tapping the keys wildly with her fingers, Vince just watched in awe – he loved watching fast texters.
Lucie grabbed clothes from every hanger, drawer or shelf she could find and thrust them into her suitcase, she pulled brushes, hairspray, and wax off her shelf and flung them in and she practically emptied her whole underwear drawer in the suitcase.
She kept starting at her phone in joy, at her best text she'd received in ages – she was going to London, away from the work, baby grows and she was going to see her Brother, Hattie and Howard and she was excited, she scribbled down a note for her husband and stuck it on the fridge – spelling his name out with the fridge magnets.
She then grabbed her purse of the side and looked at the train timetable that had been thrust in her handbag from previous train rides.
"Well done, we're lost." Emily sighed, as Steph tried to navigate her way around London.
"I've never been here in the car before, London's a busy place!" She shouted, pressing her horn as a ford mondaeo jumped lanes right in front of her. "And it doesn't help when you get twats like this, jumping lanes."
"Steph, just look at your satnav, you've ignored it since we got into London."
"Yes, because about 10 minutes ago it was telling me to drive into a river." Steph shouted, smashing her head on the steering wheel as the green lights turned red plunging them into more traffic.
"And you wanted to go shopping…"
"We'll do that later – on foot, where about is this shop?" Steph asked looking at the postcard in Emily's hand.
"Dalston, I saw a sign about 200 yards back saying it was two miles away."
"Right, did it point where?"
"Yes, turn left at the lights."
"Right you are!" Steph smiled as the lights turned green and she sped off round the corner, glad when she saw that most of the traffic was heading in the opposite direction.
"we're sorry for the delay, but the train to London will be pulling into the station momentarily."
"Finally!" Lucie said, folding her magazine and standing up ready to board the train, it had been 45minutes late and the time was getting ridiculously late – 5:25pm.
"Vince!" Howard shouted, as he ran down the stairs.
"What?" He replied, disgruntled about being taken from his conversation with Hattie.
"You didn't tell me Emily and Steph where coming down."
"I didn't know, why where are they?"
"They've just park-"
"Hey guys!" Steph shouted bursting through the door and running up to Vince giving him a hug – she'd never met him before but she knew from first sight that he was a looker.
"Hey, sis." Howard said, walking up to Emily who just stood in the doorway taking the shop in.
"Hey Howard, been a long time hasn't it?" Emily said smiling, holding her arms out and hugging her Brother.
"Yeah, how're you?"
"Great thanks, you?"
"Yeah, I'm a writer now."
"No he's not." Vince shouted laughing; Howard just turned around and scowled at him.
"Thanks don't worry about him."
"Who is that, as a matter of fact who are all of your friends, introduce me!" Emily said skipping off into the shop and standing around.
"Well this is, Vince. Vince, Emily. Emily, Vince and this is Hattie."
"Hello, there! Oh by the way, this is Steph – everyone Steph, Steph…Everyone!"
"Wotcher." Steph said smiling and diving into conversation with Vince and Hattie who where talking about mouse traps and hats.
"You'll have to excuse the mess, Vince's cousin has been staying and she leave destruction where ever she goes, and we held a birthday party for her and well, we haven't had time to have the place cleaned up."
"Oh well, we can have another party tonight then, like a reunion."
"Well we've got to wait for Lucie."
"Lucie?"
"Vince's sister."
"Oh fantastic more people! I love people." Emily said, and almost as if on queue Lucie knocked on the shops door smiling broadly.
"VINCE!" She shouted happily, dumping her case on the floor and running forwards to her Brother, hugging him.
"Hello Lucie." He smiled, hugging her back, he winked at Emily who smiled broadly and nudged Howard.
"Party time?" she asked.
"Why not."