Author's note: as I will be very busy next week, I'll post two chapters in a row, so you guys don't have to wait too long for the next one.
Chapter 23
A few hours later, Mike is finally out of the hospital again. A nurse has given him his jeans back, which have dried in the time he was in there. But as his shirt and boots are still lying somewhere on the beach, he exits the hospital clad only in his dark jeans. Barefoot he walks up the footpath and hails a cab. He then tells the driver to take him to the beach behind all the pubs. Minutes later the driver announces that they have arrived. Mike hands him a twenty dollar bill and exits the cab. After a short walk he sees his boots and shirt just where he left them. He slips into his boots and puts the shirt on after dusting some sand off of it. Then he makes his way back to the pub where his three mates are waiting for him.
As he enters the pub through the backdoor its already 20:00 hrs, so he has one hour left before the gig. To calm his racing heart, Mike goes to the bar and orders a beer. When the bartender hands him his drink, his three mates turn up, clapping him heartily on his back. Al, Craig and Billy order a beer too. As Craig takes out his wallet, Mike stops him with a hand on his arm. "This goes on my tab guys. So keep your cash stashed." With grateful smiles they take their beers and the four of them take a seat around a small table, settling down in the confortable leather chairs. Mike leans back and gulps his beer down in nearly one go. His mates watch him astonished. Al asks "Thirsty mate?" Setting his glass down, Mike turns to his friends "You can say that. This was just what I needed now."
Craig observes his mate a bit more closely and sees something that looks like an injection mark. Curious he points with his finger to Mike's right hand "Something you like to tell us Mike?" Looking from one mate to the next and back, Mike sighs audibly and wipes with a hand over his sweaty face. Reluctantly he retells the story of what happended on the beach and afterwards. His mates listen intently and gaze at him shocked. Billy speaks up for them "Pfft. You are lucky to be still alive mate. Those little buggers can kill a man easily." Aware of how lucky he really was, Mike replies "Believe me, I know how damn lucky I am." Drinking the last of his beer, he gets up and over to the bar. He orders another round for him and his mates.
With the beers between both hands, Mike makes his way back over. Settling the glasses down, he is about to drink from his second beer, when he sees out of the corner of his eye, as two people he knows, enter the bar. Mike excuses himself and with the beer still in hand, walks over to them. With a broad smile on his face, he greets Sarah and Zac. Sarah hugs him and gives him a peck on his cheek. "Thanks for inviting us, Mike. That is really kind of you." Still smiling, he answers "You're more then welcome Sarah. By the way, how is the girl, Laurie?" Sarah looks into his hopeful face and says "She is doing okay. Tomorrow she will be released, but she still has to rest at home. But thanks to you and your quick actions today, she won't suffer any longterm damage."
Reliefed to hear this, Mike is about to say something else to her, when his whole crew enters the pub. Charge, 2Dads and Spider lead the rowdy bunch inside and collide with the solid form of their captain, who is still standing near the entrance while talking with Sarah. Mike looks to them and seeing that they are already a bit inabriated, he means "Watch out where you are going, guys. Or next time, if you run me over, you'll be on bilge scrubbing duties for a month. Understood?" Ashamed they all lower their heads and nod in unison, knowing full well that their CO means those words he just uttered. Mike adds with a slight smile "Now scurry of to a table and behave yourselves." With a chorus of "Aye, Sir!" the Hammersley crew members walk past him and his female companion and look for a big table that will hold all of them.
Turning back to Sarah, Mike apologizes for his crew. Sarah shakes her head "No need to apologize Mike. Nothing happened. So if I'm allowed to, I'll join the rowdy bunch of your crew. They seem to be all very nice." Mike nods "They are nice. So go ahead and join them and enjoy the evening Sarah." Sarah thanks Mike again for the invitation and taking Zac by the hand, goes over to join his crew at their table. She is instantly welcomed and is directly caught up in a conversation with Nav and Bomber. Zac is fascinated by a story that Charge is telling him. Their dog Chico, the German Shepherd, is still sitting at Mike's side, showing no inidication of leaving at any time soon.
Knowing that it will be a few minutes more till Kate arrives, Mike kneels down and starts crawling the big dog behind its ears. Chico wiggles his tail, showing he feels content. He even starts to lick Mike's face, showering him with sloppy dog kisses. Right at that moment Kate walks into the bar. When she sees Mike with the shepherd, she starts to laugh. Startled Mike looks up, wiping his face off with his shirt sleeve. Not able to get up, because of Chico, Mike hopes that Kate will join him. She does so and is welcomed by Chico with a hearty bark, a kind of hello. Kate smiles "Seems you have made a new friend, Sir. Where did you meet him?" In a few short sentences Mike explains to her, how he made the dog's acquaintance and therefore it's owners too.
Kate listens to every word he says, while crawling the dog under his chin. Mike suggests then "How about we go over to the crew and you can get to know her?" At Kate's nod, Mike gets to his feet and helps her up too. Looking to the dog, he puts his head sideways and says with a smile "Come on Chico." With another bark, the dog follows Mike and Kate. Once at the crew's table, he introduces Kate and Sarah to one another and excuses himself then. He rejoins his mates at the bar, finishes his beer and after a short talk about how to get things going, they move over to the stage, which is still covered in darkness. There they all take their places. Al sits at the drums, Billy is at the keyboard and Craig and Mike on the guitars. To be able to move around more freely, Mike uses a head-set. He clips the other part of the mircrofone to the waistband of his jeans in the back.