TWO

Dixie and JJ and Carl were hammering it down the A1. Carl was sleeping in the back before the partition where their gear slept too. Dixie and JJ were singing the end medley of Abbey Road with every bass lick, guitar crunch and drum fill. When it was appropriate, they hit two-part harmonies, and though they were not perfect, they were pretty good all the same. JJ was driving and Dixie was hitting the glove compartment and being careful not to hit too near the cupholder which held a now-cold black coffee from the services. When it got to the drum solo in ‘The End’ where Ringo goes mental, Dixie gave it his best shot even though Carl was the drummer.

JJ indicated and turned off the A1 and a few roundabouts and suburban streets later they were outside Carl’s house. It was 2.40am and a damp fog clung to the yellow light from the streetlamps.
"You keep him talking" said Dixie to JJ before leaping out of the van and going around to the back and JJ was shaking Carl awake. A few minutes later, Carl was blinking on the kerb watching the van drive off and couldn’t understand why, next to him in a neat pile by his feet, were all his drums and cymbals. They always kept all of their gear in the van in a locked garage at JJ’s house.