Lucy - Now Completed!

Part 53 - February 17th 1972

Lucy sat trying to give Mary her bottle as the bus rocked from side to side on the uneven road surface. She sighed deeply and looked over to check on the boys once more. Paul was sat at the far end of the bus with Klaus. They were in deep discussion about asking another guitarist and a drummer to join them. Lucy glanced out of the window. It was pouring with rain, almost dark and they still had another hour before they were due at the hotel in Glasgow. Paul had booked four gigs, two in Glasgow and two in Edinburgh, before they moved on to Newcastle and then worked their way back down the country before arriving home after 14 days of 12 performances. The idea to travel with Paul, bringing their three small children along with them so they could be together had seemed a good one in principal. Now though, she was already beginning to regret it. They'd already done 7 hours in a rickety bus that chugged slowly along and it was only day 1!! It was smelly, cold and uncomfortable! The boys hated being cooped up all the time and Lucy had been forced to put them in a play pen to stop them being hurt as the bus lurched around.

"Lucy love!" Paul called.

She looked up at him and smiled. "Yes?"

"When you've fed Mary, put the kettle on please love?"

Lucy nodded, dreading trying to boil a kettle in the tiny make shift kitchen space that had been installed on the bus. Kitchen wasn't really the right work for it....more just a shelf with an electric kettle, a milk bottle, some tea and a huge container of water. She wanted to go home...the thought of the calm warmth of Cavendish Ave and the children being safely settled in their own beds made her regret her decision to join Paul on the road even more.

They finally arrived at the hotel just after 10 pm. The rain was torrential and they'd been forced to park the bus at the far end of the Hotel car park. Lucy had no choice but to put Mary in her pram, place the boys sat at the foot end of it and trudge in the rainy darkness to the hotel entrance. The concierge helped her take the pram up the steps and she waited with Paul to be allocated their room. Mary was now awake and crying, the boys, upset at being woken up from their sleep as well as cold and wet, were grizzly and bad tempered. After what seemed an age they were finally shown to their room...or rather suite. There was a small living area with a TV, a master bedroom and a smaller bedroom for the children. A cot had been put in the master room for Mary.

Lucy began to deal with the boys, removing their wet clothes and drying them off before putting them in warm pyjamas for the night. After a drink of warm milk she put them to bed, but, disturbed by the new place, they carried on crying and didn't want Lucy to leave them! It was well past midnight when Lucy, exhausted and damp, finally crept from their room and into the master bedroom. Paul was sat up in the bed, note book in hand and writing something down. Mary was thankfully asleep. He looked up as she came in.

"Are they settled now?" he asked.

Lucy nodded, somewhat annoyed to see him warm and settled whilst she'd been dealing with the children virtually single handed! Although longing for a warm shower, she decided she was too tired to be bothered. Instead she stripped off her damp clothes, put a brush through her hair and put on some pyjamas and climbed into bed shivering. She snuggled up to Paul.

"I'm freezing!" she told him, "I got soaked through before! Give me a hug!"

Paul put his arms around her and kissed her on the forehead. "I can think of a way of warming you up!" he whispered suggestively, his hand wandering inside her pyjama top.

"No Paul!" Lucy pushed his hand away, "Don't!"

"You don't mean that!" he chuckled, his hand returning to under her top.