Life of Spike Murdoch

Chapter 15 - Karma's A B*tch

After a long day of holding the surfing competition, Kit Wellings, the host of the contest, announced the winners on live television, after many votes were casted to the best performer by the judges. Surprisingly, Roxie came in third place out of everyone of the competitors, with Lenny coming up in second. He knew he was a bit rusty from lack of practice, but he somehow came up to be one of the top players. The judges gave first place to one of the random competitors. Everyone congratulated the winners and runner-ups. Even though she didn't win, Roxie had a blast out in the water. She felt like a young bird again, and it was exhilarating. The same for Lenny, getting back in his usual grove of things out in the water. Truck and TJ clapped for Roxie, giving her a loving hug of congratulatory success.

An hour later, Mr. Wellings searched around the many different tables scattered around the beach to find the second and third place winners, to give them a free dinner meal from one of the popular seafood restaurants near the beach. They were thrilled to try it out, and they all thanked the announcer. It was the least he could do to thank them for participating and coming so close to winning, considering only the first place winner got the money and free night stay on one of the cruises. Mr. Wellings tips them farewell, hoping to see them sometime next year for the next surfing competition.

Later in the evening, the Stonewells, along with Lenny, got fully dressed and headed toward the seafood restaurant. After getting seated and comfortable, they all got to chatting for a while about their lives and telling funny stories they've shared from their youths. Lenny was in the middle of telling the Stonewells one of his funny backstories involving his mother that he just had to share with them.
"Haha, and then she said, 'Why the hell did you put the cork in THERE?!' Gosh, it was sooo funny seeing her reaction!"
Lenny laughed, as Truck was nearly losing his balance in his seat due to how ridiculously funny Lenny's stories were.
"Ahahaha!! Oh, my god, I would've died laughing if I saw that with my own eyes!", cackled Truck.
Roxie rolled her eyes, knowing how immature the story Lenny shared was, but she forcefully smirked, seeing her husband doing many of his deep belly laughs out loud, and that made her smile even more. Seeing Truck laugh out loud really makes her day.

The young bird, TJ, was too focused on listening to the story, as he stuffs his mouth with the delicious sushi rolls and rice balls laid out on the table, nearly hacking a bit from the large quantity of food stuffed in his gullet, but still engorged himself with some of the tastiest fish he had ever consumed. Roxie scolded her son, telling him to slow down and take deep breaths. TJ obliged, of course, wiping his face with a napkin. Lenny laughed, taking notice of the small bird's large appetite.
"Dang, kid, you know how to pack it down, don'cha?", stated Lenny.
"Mm-hmm!", TJ replied, swallowing the rest of his food. "This sushi is so tasty! I never wanna stop eating it! Mom, can we get another plate? PLEASE?!"
TJ begs his mom to order a second helping.
"Haha, now, now, child.", assured Roxie. "You've eaten plenty already. You'll get a stomachache if you continue eating like that. We don't want you feeling ill when we pack up tomorrow morning."
Truck looked over at Roxie, putting his fork down on the table. "Wait, tomorrow? Has it already been a week already?"
"Yeah. Time really flies by when you're having fun, darling."
"Aaaw, shiitake mushrooms! As I was just beginning to enjoy staying here too. Wish we could live here for the rest of our lives. Right next to the beautiful beach with plenty of entertainment, fun and future retirement plans. Anything nicer than the beach we have back at home. Does anyone actually clean up the garbage there? Animals."
Lenny leaned into the conversation. "Well... why don't you?"
Truck raised an eyebrow to Lenny with a cocky smile. "What? Clean up the trash everyone else throws all over the sand? No thanks, partner."
Lenny smirked. "No, not that. I meant moving here. I actually had the same sort of plan once I get enough money saved up in a few more years whenever I find a better replacement for my surf shop back home... whenever that'll happen."
Truck crossed his arms. "If only. After helping Spike's financial aid in getting his own house, we barely had enough to really scrap by. I need to start taking more jobs, other than being a one-man mechanical machine."
"Oh, you're a mechanic? Interesting. I'm sure there's a job-listing somewhere in the ad back at home about-"
"Naaah. I don't care much about working with other people. I always did my own thing without any problem. Ain't gonna change that."
"Huh, really? I'd thought you'd be the type of guy to get along with people on the floor?"
Truck shook his head. "Eh. I like the silence more. Socializing with coworkers just isn't my forte. If I want to socialize with someone, I'd just talk to my wife or child."
Roxie paused, hearing the comment. "Hey, now. I don't care if you hang out with your buddies off the clock, as long as you come back home afterwards. What about your gym friend, Tyrone?"
"Ty? We're cool. What about him, hun?"
"Well, I know you two are close friends as Spike and Remmy are, and I know you still owe him one for taking a literal bullet for you from... HIM."
The big crow grunted in response. "Ugh... yeah..."
Roxie readjusted herself. "Listen. After we get home, make some sort of plan and see how Tyrone is doing. Not through text messages, like you usually do. I don't know him as well as you do outside of being gym buddies, but he seems like a genuinely nice man. Doesn't he get lonely after work? I remember you told me his last girlfriend dumped him for another sucker."