The Devil on Kazoo

28: Epilogue

Bash and Smiley stood at their parents' graves, watching the stone as one might look at the fish in an aquarium; thoughtful, a little in awe, somber.

A battery-powered record player sat in the grass playing an album by The Supremes.

"Mum would've been having a jig about the kitchen with this one," Smiley commented.

Bash put a hand on his shoulder.

Smiley sniffed once and scrubbed a tear from his eye. "Blast it, I miss them so much."

Bash nodded. "I do too, Smiles."

"You think they'd be proud of us?" Smiley's voice was timid as he said this, because he wished, more than anything, that it was true.

Bash took in a long breath, allowing the question to settle deep in his mind.

"You know," he said, "I can't imagine them being anything other than proud of us. Maybe they wouldn't agree with us running an illegal business, but they'd be proud of how we've survived thus far. They'd be proud of the family we've found along the way. They'd be proud of our music and the way we've shared it with people."

Smiley nodded, his shoulders sagging with relief. "Yeah. I think you're right."

They spent the rest of the afternoon at the cemetery, changing out the records when they stopped spinning, and talking about all of the memories they had of their parents.

For so long, they'd tried to bury their sadness along with the caskets beneath their feet, but now that it was all laid out on the surface again, there was a certain alive-ness to the air that hadn't been there before.

And, since Bash had become the legal guardian over all the Crumbs, perhaps relief was what they were actually feeling.

For most of their lives, their two options had been to be sent to an orphanage or roam the streets avoiding the cops.

Now, it felt like new life had begun and they were finally free. Kathy had braved the meeting with her uncle, but it turned out that she didn't even have to see him. Her truant officer, a young agent who had just graduated from university and seemed very excited to "fight for the rights of today's youths", took care of the whole situation.

The Crumbs were officially not criminals (minus the small fact that they were former illegal radio operators, but that was now in the past).

As evening settled, Bash and Smiley packed up their things.

Bash slung his knapsack over his shoulder, a half-grin on his face. "You ready for this?"

Smiley gave an arrogant shrug. "What's the worst he can say? No?"

As the Crumbs had begun playing more shows both on Wolgemoth and at The Snake and Sparrow, they were finding it increasingly overwhelming to find venues, book them, and prepare to play in them.

So Bash and Smiley walked through London, down to Burrell's wharf.

The scent of old money and French perfume met their noses as they made their way down the docks.

An empty space sat where Mad Teddy Radio used to operate.

In the yacht's place stood a lone figure that was all leisure and slack posture.

Greg Whiteman lifted a hand when he saw Smiley and Bash coming toward him.

He called, "When you said you wanted to talk, I thought you'd at least buy me dinner instead of making me wait out here in the cold."

"We like to keep things cryptic," Bash replied, shaking his friend's hand.

Greg looked from one brother to the other, unable to keep the excited curiosity off of his face. "So what's this, then?" he asked.

Bash and Smiley shared a grin.

Bash said, "We need a manager to come aboard Wolgemoth and Sons to deal with our business of being rockstars."

Greg laughed. Bash knew without a doubt that Greg would take him up on the offer and by the smile on his face, he knew he'd been right.

Greg said, "You Crumbs never quit, do you? You're all insane, I'll give you that. And my father always told me not to deal in bad business."

"What do you say?" Smiley asked. "Are we bad business?"

Greg shook his head. He took his time replying until finally, he said, "London won't know what hit her when The Crumbs make their mark on the world."

THE END

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THAT'S ALL, FOLKS! Can you believe we're at the end of the Crumbs' adventures? I had so much fun writing this little story. I am a huge classic rock/60's enthusiast, so this book was like a dream! 

It always blows me away how communities gather over stories like this--tales of love, of sadness, of found family, and mended relationships. I am so grateful for all of you who continue to support my work! THANK YOU FOR READING!

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