Koa went home with his blanket hanging from his mouth like a puppy. The kittens came out from hiding and set to work on chewing their toys. I checked the clock. Still too early to expect Angus. I fixed a simple dinner of buttered noodles and took a hot shower.

Summer be damned, I'm still taking a hot as fuck shower.

I made sure to shave my legs and wore my oversized shirt again. Not that I was getting dolled up for a man, but Angus seemed to like it. And I liked him. 

Toweling my wet hair I combed it through a bit and let it air dry. It would be wild again in an hour's time. My dad had just gotten home and he joined Mum for dinner. "That guy coming over again?" he asked. "That 'Angus' or whatever you call him?"

"Yes," I said. "He's not coming for a while, though."

"Man, he's short. Could use him as a pencil." I ignored his attempts at making jokes. "Needs a haircut, though."

"His hair is beautiful," I said then shut my mouth realising what I just admitted. Mum and Dad looked at me.

"Are you two seeing each other?" Mum asked. Dad looked ready to pop. 

"Maybe..." I muttered. 

"You're seeing him?" Dad asked in disbelief. "Don't you want someone a little taller?"

"A little cleaner?" Mum joined in.

"A little...I don't know...better looking?" I could feel my temper rising. "He's like the ugliest man on the planet!" 

"He's beautiful!" I yelled leaving the dining room. I tore my way into my bedroom and closed the door. My parents simply had no taste in men. Who did my parents like? Mum preferred the likes of a good Christian man and my dad had a burning crush on Elvis Presley. 

Elvis bore a striking resemblance to Dad when he was younger. Not to mention he died. So that ruled him out. 

And good Christian men rubbed me the wrong way. Church hurt me enough as it was, I didn't want to dig myself into a deeper hole. So they were all out.

Looks like Angus McKinnon was my only option. And I wasn't about to complain. 

**********

Just when I was ready to give up waiting, to go to bed under the impression Angus had forgotten or gotten too busy, there was a knock at the door. Mum sat on the couch watching the telly while Dad was snoring in his recliner. 

In nothing but his pants.

Wincing I opened the door and saw Angus McKinnon holding a single flower. "I picked this for ya'," he said. I took it from him and smiled. "Couldn't show up a second time without a gift."

I took the tiny flower. "Thank you, Angus."

"He picked it off your front yard," a voice called from the darkness. Angus closed his eyes and sighed deeply. 

"I told you not to come out till I said so," he called over his shoulder. I squinted to see what was emerging from around the corner in the dark and gasped when I saw four other men.

The four men I'd been missing for so long now.

"I told 'em where I was goin'," Angus explained. "They wanted to come, but they also wanted to surprise you. So I said, 'wait around the corner, an' I'll wave you out'. But Cliff here had other plans."

Cliff laughed to himself. "Sorry, Bon suggested I do it."

"Didn't know Bon was your superior."

Cliff and Bon started laughing to themselves while Angus grew even more annoyed. But I could see the smile slowly inching its way on his face. Malcolm forced his way to the front of the group and picked me up in a hug again. "Jesus, you're a feather. How've ya' been, love?"

"Fine, I've been fine," I insisted. Surely they knew that old song and dance. I stepped aside to let them come in. Phil and I locked eyes and he gave me a small smile before following his friends. 

"Holy hell, it's hot in here," Bon said promptly unbuttoning his shirt. Mum stared at the scene in front of her in shock. Dad snored. Bon turned around and saw Mum. "Hello," he grinned. 

"Who are your friends, Hannah?" Mum asked inspecting the group. She saw Bon with his shirt about to fall off, Cliff with his gloriously long hair, Phil with his tattoos, Malcolm with his beer bottle, and Angus holding my hand. 

Dad snored.

"This is that band I like," I said. "AC/DC..."

Before Mum could respond Bon took his award winning smile to the couch and offered her his hand. "Pleasure meetin' ya'. I'm Bon." She accepted his hand but I'm not sure she was too fond of Bon's style. "Got to know your daughter rather well backstage."

I clenched my flower and Ang's hand tighter as Bon realised what he said. 

"Oh," Mum said looking ready to faint. Cliff stepped up to remedy things. 

"I'm Cliff," he said shaking her hand. His brushed his long hair aside. "I can't stay long, I've got some friends to meet up with. But I wanted to come along for a bit. That alright?"

"Sure," Mum said, not knowing how to throw these men out of her house. Being in her dressing gown only made things worse. She turned the telly off and looked at the others. 

"I'm Ang's brother, Malcolm," Malcolm said holding out his free hand. His bottle was half empty and Mum noticed. "His older brother, make no mistake." He stepped aside so Phil could have a turn. "Phil?"

He offered her his hand and shook it. "'m Phil," he said. 

Dad snored. 

"Sweetie, wake up," Mum said shaking him awake.

"Huh?" he asked coughing. "What?"

"Hannah has company."

"Oh, that Angus guy?"

Mum and I exchanged a look while Malcolm and Angus looked at each other. "Well....there's more..."

Dad opened his eyes and stared at the men in front of him. I wanted the heat to melt me into a puddle so I could slither under the couch. Dad didn't know what to say so Bon offered his hand. "I'm Bon," he repeated, smiling. "Your daughter's been great company in England."

I hid my face in my hand.

**********

Mum and Dad went to their room to gather themselves and properly meet the crew. Malcolm had finished his bottle of beer and politely asked if he could have something from the fridge. He emerged with a Coke bottle. Angus sat at the breakfast bar holding me on his lap. Cliff took the chair next to us. Bon and Phil looked at the sleeping kittens in their cage. "What're their names?" Bon asked. 

"The Siamese is Ivy, the tuxedo is Magnolia," I said. 

"This one looks like a ferret," Bon said pointing at Ivy. "I think it's the ears."

"Surprised to see us?" Malcolm asked drinking his Coke. "Cliff an' I are leavin' early. I've got Linda waitin' an' Cliff's got plans. But the others are free."

"Is Maude here by any chance?" Bon asked. Phil snickered. "Can't hurt to ask."

"No, Maude's not here," I answered smiling. That Bon. I played with Angus' hands sitting on the counter. 

"Had a feelin'. Your folks seem great, we didn't scare 'em off, did we?" he asked. I looked at him, his shirt folded neatly on top of the cat cage. 

"No, of course not."

"Can I get one of those?" he asked pointing at Mal's bottle. 

"Sure."

"Thanks." He helped himself and took a long drink. "Feels like a sauna in here."

"The A/C broke." Bon nodded toward the giant fan in the kitchen. 

"That's why I'm gettin' blown by a fan?" he asked grinning. I was starting to think Bon said this shit on purpose. But I couldn't help but laugh. 

"Yes, Bon. And in my kitchen, too."

He laughed and looked at the kittens again. Cliff stood up. "I think I'd better be off, love," he said. "Gettin' late enough as it is." I stood from Angus' lap and gave him a hug. "Good to see ya'."

"Good to see you too, Cliff," I said escorting him to the door. With one last parting wave, one of our company had left. 

Mum came back out with her dressing gown tied closed. Bon displayed his lovely teeth and she nodded at him. "Were you expecting them all, Hannah?" she asked me pulling more Coke bottles from the fridge. The men all took one. 

"No, they wanted to surprise me." Bon thumbed the kitten's cage. 

"You know you got a ferret in here?" he asked. "The lighter one." Mum looked to where he was pointing. 

"Oh, yeah, Ivy's ears?" Bon nodded. "They're rescue kittens from a shelter, we're not sure who their father is." Bon nodded and watched the kittens sleep. "Someone found them in a box in the street."

"That right?" he asked. "That's a shame."

"So their dad could have had the...." Malcolm pointed at Ivy's ears. Mum shrugged. 

"Kittens from the same litter can have different dads," she explained. "These two might have different dads, but....she's the only one of the litter with the ears. The others were all straight."

"Probably good I'm not a cat," Bon muttered to himself, gently petting their fur. I could see Mum make a face out of the corner of my eye. 

"Magnolia is the only one of the litter who looks like that," Mum explained. "Looks just like their mum."

"So you got the two oddballs?" Bon asked. He grinned. "Beauty."

Malcolm set down his empty Coke bottle. "Alright, I think it's time I headed out," he said offering his hand to Mum again. "Linda my wife's waitin', ya' know? An' she's..." Malcolm coughed, almost unsure of what to say. "Jus'...should get back to her, ya' know?"

"Of course....glad to have you here," Mum said but I wasn't sure if she was telling the truth. Malcolm gave me one last hug and after muttering something to Angus, left. I looked at Angus but he only smiled at me and set me on his lap again. Mum noticed.

"They still here?" Dad called from the hallway.

"Some of them are," Mum called back. Dad came out wearing actual clothes and surveyed the kitchen. He towered over the band. Bon finished his Coke and grabbed a spare one from the counter. Dad probably didn't like that one bit. "One just left."

"Cliff left a bit ago," Angus said. "They're a bit busy."

"What did you say your names were again?" Dad asked. 

"I'm Bon, that's Phil," Bon said flashing his smile. I'm not sure if my dad could get past Bon's appearance. But that was rich considering my dad had three tattoos of his own and paraded around in his pants. 

"An' Mal's my brother, the one who just left," Angus explained. Dad's eyes were saucers at the sight of me on his lap, his hands around my waist. To him this looked like an X-rated film. 

"So...you're here for fun, or...." I was surprised to hear Phil speak up this time.

"We're still on tour," he said. "But since we're in the neighbourhood Ang's been stoppin' by."

"What's your band called? AB/CD?"

"AC/DC," Bon said. "An' no, it's not what you think."

Dad didn't ask, but I'm not sure he knew what Bon was talking about. "You have a hotel somewhere?"

"Yeah, mine's down the road a bit, Ang an' Mal took one a bit closer, an' Phil...you got a motel, didn't you?" Phil nodded. "Cliff's stayin' at mine," Bon said. "It's easier to get the same place, like, ya' know? But since we're finishin' up we wanted places closer to our folks' houses, ya' know? So we can jus'....get back to normal livin' as quick as we can, ya' know?" He grinned as wide as ever. 

"You visit a lot of people on tour?"

"Oh yeah, we've got friends everywhere," Bon said. "An' if we know we're stayin' a while we drop in."

Dad stared down at Angus, sizing him up. If he so much as tried anything on him I'd step in. Nobody would hurt these men on my watch. Angus avoided making eye contact and sipped his Coke instead.

"You guys play any music?" Bon asked. "Any records or..." Mum and Dad both looked at me. I was the music collector of the family. 

"I have a few," I said. "The player's in my room."

"I can help ya'," Angus offered. "Never seen your room before." Dad watched us like a hawk as I led my boyfriend to my bedroom. 

To be honest I wasn't thrilled about him seeing the pigsty I rolled around in. He looked so eager and his face brightened up, I didn't want to take that away from him. But I stood my ground. "Uh...Angus?" I whispered. He leaned in close. "Could you wait out here?"

His expression fell. "You don't want me in there?"

"It's not that..." My face burned. "I'll bring out the player and you can take it out, okay?"

"Is it your folks?" he whispered glancing at them. They finally stopped watching us and focused their attention on Bon who was telling them a touring story involving a pair of twins. 

I'm sure they loved that.

"Sort of," I lied. "I...don't want them getting any ideas. They're not in the best mood as it is." Angus nodded. 

"I get it. Strict, right?" I smiled and kissed his cheek before heading into my room, closing the door behind me as much as I could so he couldn't peek in. Grabbing my player I returned to Angus and handed it to him who then took it to our table. I grabbed my box of records and followed him out. 

"There we are," Bon said coming over to us. He flipped through my collection. "Not one Little Richard?" he asked playfully, looking at me. "What gives?"

"I haven't found any yet, give me time!" I admitted. He turned back to the records and pulled out a Blondie album. 

"Think Beth likes this band," he muttered looking it over. Phil and Angus helped themselves to searching through while I and my parents watched. Mum and Dad's eyes were bulging as they saw tons of records they never knew I had. "Ace Frehley?"

"His was the best solo album," I said. Please don't tell Gene I said that...

Phil pulled out my Chuck Berry album. "This is somethin'," he said showing it off. Angus took it and looked it over. 

"I might have this one," he said. "Or one like it, at least." 

"Got any Elvis in there?" Dad asked. 

"Or gospel hymns?" Mum chimed in. I shook my head and looked down at my feet. I didn't have the music they approved of, I only owned the devil's tunes. Bon flipped through my Beatles collection. 

"Someone likes the Beatles, eh?" he smiled. "An' Cheap Trick, we know those guys. Good friends of ours."

Angus found my Ella Fitzgerald album. "Is Louis Armstrong on here too?" he asked flipping it over. 

"Yeah, he plays a few songs," I said. "It's like a two for one deal."

"Now these guys can rock," Bon said pulling out the highly coveted Highway to Hell album. "Great taste, love."

"What kind of music do you listen to?" Dad asked me as he and Mum looked horrified at the cover. 

"Good kinds, that's what," Bon answered. "Song's about tourin' anyway, ya' know? Ask Ang." Everyone looked at Angus and he shyly nodded. 

"Yeah, tourin', yeah," he muttered. "Sharin' a toilet on one bus, ya' know?"

"Doesn't get any better than that," Dad said, unable to take his eyes off Angus' beautiful horns.

"Mind if I play this one?" Bon asked. "Haven't had the chance to really hear it yet." I plugged my record player in and Bon put the record on. It crackled to life, one of the best sounds in the world. Guitars kicked off, Phil's drumming, finally Bon's raunchy voice. He fluffed his hair and grinned. "Not bad..."

"I'm on the highway to hell...."

Dad and Mum both turned to look at me. I shrank in my spot while the boys flew into discussion about the songs and their production. Reminiscing about their longs days in the studio and rehearsing before shows. I didn't join in, but I didn't have to. I enjoyed hearing them talk and watching them light up. Dad excused himself to the living room and Mum went to the kitchen for a glass of water. Bon stood up from the table. "Is there any place I can take a piss?" he asked. 

"Down the hall, first door on your left," I said.

"Thanks, love," he said ruffling my hair before entering the bathroom. Angus asked if he could have a quick smoke outside and he left for the front porch. I sat across from Phil at the table and tapped my fingers. 

"Hannah," he said.

"Philip," I said. 

Mum took her water to the living room. It seemed Phil and I looked everywhere but at each other. He looked a lot better like Angus said. Maybe he considered easing up on the drugs but how do you know for sure without asking? And I didn't want to bring it up. 

"How have you been?" I asked. He shrugged.

"Alright," he said. "Better, I guess. Seein' someone now, guess that keeps me busy."

"That's great!" I said smiling. "I'm happy to hear that."

Aaaaaand back to awkward silence. Dad had a coughing fit from the living room and Mum stirred her ice water. The toilet flushed and the sink started running. Finally Bon came back shaking his wet hands dry. "Much better," he said flicking water at me. "Where'd Ang go?"

"He's out smoking," I said. Phil stood up and went to grab one of the last Cokes on the counter. 

"Ah. Figures. Not sure he's had one since before the show, must be killin' him." Bon sat back down and flipped through more records. "No Little Richard, can't believe it, Han Banan," he muttered. "Out of your mind..."

**********

Phil left about a half hour later saying he wanted to get some sleep. I didn't blame him. I was surprised Angus and Bon were staying up as late as they were. Even Mum and Dad went to bed. Well, Dad fell asleep on his recliner. I put the record player and my collection away as Angus and Bon talked. The Cokes were gone and Angus pulled out a pack of chewing gum for them to share. "Want one?" he asked. 

I took a piece. I hadn't had gum in a long time. It felt a little stale in my hand but I'm not sure the other two minded. "Ya' think any food joints are open?" Bon asked. "Gettin' the munchies."

"Uh...." Angus turned to me. "That one place still open? Ya' know the one downtown? Been a while since we've lived here..."

"The chip shop is," I said. "I don't know if their hours are the same, but they're still in business. The burger place closed down, though."

"It did?" Bon asked. "Fuck, I liked that one. Well, guess if I can't get chips I'll jus' head back...you stayin' here, Ang?" Angus gently squeezed my hand and stood up. 

"I'll come, I need a meal. I wanna say goodbye first," he said. Bon nodded. 

"Been fun," Bon said patting my shoulder and kissing the top of my head. "See you around sometime." He headed for the front door. "Thanks, Hannah's dad, for the warm welcome," he told my sleeping father. Sticking his tongue out at us, he left. Angus held his arms open and I hurried over to hug him. 

Warm and safe, just like always. 

"I'll come back," he said. "As soon as we get another break, I'll come back." I stepped away to look into his eyes. "We're visitin' a lot of old friends this week but I won't forget you, alright?" 

"Sorry about my parents," I said. "They're not used to you, is all."

"Don't worry about it, love." He kissed my nose. "Sleep well, alright?"

"I love you," I whispered looking at him with wide eyes. I had been blessed with very large eyes, may as well make good use of them. 

"Love you too," Angus said before kissing me. Seeing as my parents were in other rooms and asleep, we got a little too into it, losing sense of our surroundings. As Angus gripped the back of my shirt and my breathing hitched we hardly noticed the front door opening. And we didn't notice at all someone standing next to us until he cleared his throat and we jumped apart. 

Bon stood there putting his shirt on. "Forgot this," he said leaving it unbuttoned. He smirked at our display, heading out again. "Wouldn't want the neighbours gettin' the wrong idea."