It was warmer today. 

Much warmer. Toasty even.

My body still ached but with a painkiller and an allergy pill I managed to drag my arse out of bed to go record shopping. After laying around in our pyjamas for days eating chips and chocolate Maude decided we needed another day out. 

Obviously the record store was first on the agenda. 

Our psyches still slathered in Palace wine and the lips of beautiful men, we could only wear trakkies to the shop. A tinkling bell over the door signalled our presence and the shopkeeper glanced up at us. "Hey, I know you two," she said. 

Her short red hair and brown eyes reminded me of someone....

Bracelets up and down her arms jangled as she organised stacks of vinyls at the front counter. She had to duck to avoid a nearby shelf as she came to where we stood. "You're those girls who came to the studio, aren't you?" 

That's right, Loretta!

"That's us," Maude said offering her hand. Loretta shook it, bracelets ringing. "You're Bon's girl, right?"

"For now," Loretta smiled crossing her arms. "He's a popular guy, ya' know."

We've noticed. I took a quick glance around the shop. Albums on display reached corner to corner. Deep Purple, T-Rex, Earth Wind and Fire, and Robert Johnson were at the front of almost every shelf. Some song I didn't recognise was playing on the turntable. "Hey, I love this band," Maude said. "Talking Heads, right?"

"Yeah, one of my favourites," Loretta said heading back to the counter. "When my boss isn't here I like to play what I want." While Maude asked about the newest upcoming English groups I checked out the rest of the store. 

There was Black Sabbath and Jefferson Airplane. A couple Blondie albums next to a lone ABBA album. A pristine white Velvet Underground copy with a bright yellow banana stood out to me among the rest. One of my absolute favourite albums of all time. I'd have snagged it had I not already owned a copy. 

Now what to buy....

I didn't like to buy albums I hadn't already heard. Usually I preferred knowing exactly what I was getting into before spending money. But since we couldn't spend all day here like I did at home, I made do with inspecting the covers, song titles, and band names. 

Cheap Trick released an album the year before I hadn't heard yet. If I could just find it I'd give it a go. 

Hell of a lot of Supertramp...

Way too many Led Zeppelin....

"Find anything?" Maude asked scaring the shit out of me. I turned around to see her cradling at least ten records in her arms.

"Uh..." I quickly scanned the shelves around me. Standing on my toes I reached up and grabbed "Tommy" by The Who. Words of praise seemed to follow this album wherever it went, it couldn't hurt to try. 

"The Who?" Maude made a face. "If you insist...."

"I do insist," I said pouting. The Who were beasts. Musical beasts who got smacked in the faces with microphones and kept playing like nothing happened. "What'd you get?"

"A bit of Pentangle, bit of Joni Mitchell....oh, and The Sweet!" I marvelled at her newest collection and looked at my pitiful panic pick. 

Where the hell was that Cheap Trick album?

"Hey, the Rolling Stones have some new stuff," Maude said pointing out a shelf dedicated entirely to them. We both took a long look. 

"Meh," we both said and continued on. 

Billie Holiday, Buddy Holly, Little Richard, Led Fucking Zeppelin....

Aha!

I snatched it like it was the last copy in existence. "Heaven Tonight" by Cheap Trick was promised to be their best one yet. And I'd be the judge of that. 

Was two records enough? Or did I need more?

"Hey, get a load of this one," Maude said behind me. I turned and saw her holding a copy of "Powerage". "Look at that cutie on the cover, eh?" I hid my face behind my newest additions. 

He was extremely cute....

Laughing like a maniac Maude put the album back where she found it, behind some others. I waited for her to turn the corner. Taking the album back out, I slipped it in the front. It really didn't belong hidden. Wanting to be extra sure, I flipped through the other displays and if I came across an AC/DC record, casually moved it to the front. 

Just doing my part of the war effort. 

With the whole shop plastered in AC/DC, I decided to make my purchases. "Nice decorating," Loretta said handing me my things. I frowned until she waved her hand around at the clearly biased shop. "Good marketing."

Maude smirked at my throbbing crush. "Sure is. Hannah makes a great cheerleader," she said.

"Not really," I dismissed embarrassed. "More like....a....billboard...."

All three of us laughed. "You two dropping by the studio anytime soon?" Loretta asked leaning on the counter. "It's a great time over there, we just smoke and stuff. Once in a while we'll hear the boys rehearse a song or jam out a blues number. It's great fun."

"That sounds fab, we haven't been over in a while," Maude said. "But I'm not sure the invitation extends to us." She shrugged. "We got lucky once but I'm not sure they'll let us in again."

"Eugh, those guys on the team can be real drags. Any time I walk by they act like I'm disturbing the process when all I'm doing is getting a beer." Loretta inspected her nails. "Some are alright, they talk to ya' like you're one of the band...." She looked at me. "What about you? You're in good with Angus, aren't ya'?"

"W-well, we're not official or anything," I said. Maude coughed in utter disbelief. You're not serious, her eyes said. You're a pair of leeches, how much more official do you want? "I mean, neither of us made any announcement."

"Ah, you don't need an announcement," Loretta said waving me off. "Just show up often enough, they'll remember you." She laughed. "Better yet, say you're with Bon. You won't even have to bother knocking."

Goodness...

"I wouldn't mind spending a day with Brett, if you wanted to visit your boyfriend," Maude said. "I mean your....pal," she said giggling. 

"Come on over anytime," Loretta said. "Before they finish the album and leave for their tour." My heart ached. The bell over the door tinkled and another customer came in, some young man rushing to the counter to ask about the newest Stones record. "Stones are that way," Loretta said pointing towards the back. "You can check over there, if not I can look in back."

Good luck finding it under my work....

Maude and I, realising Loretta had a business to run, decided to leave for the hotel. She waved a goodbye, her bracelets jingling on her arm. 

**********

I lay there unable to move. Rotting.

After coming back to our hotel we made a bit of lunch and decided to pick some records to listen to. Maude picked her Joni Mitchell album and we brought out the turntable from the closet. When it was my turn I picked "Heaven Tonight". 

This album almost sent me to the hospital with emotional whiplash. 

Don't believe me? 

Listen to "Surrender", then "Heaven Tonight".

And if you're somehow still alive, listen to "High Roller". 

Just as promised, this was their best album yet.

And it left me rotting on the hotel carpet.

Maude watched in amusement as she ate her fruit salad. "You okay down there?"

I think I mumbled something incoherent.

"It's good to see music affecting you so strongly," she said. "What with your Who album I was beginning to think you had lost your taste. Though..." She wiped her mouth. "I can't say Cheap Trick tickles me either..." Setting her bowl aside she stood up and opened the curtains. Bright sunlight filled the cave I had buried myself in and I hissed. "Oh, don't be so dramatic, let's go bird watching."

"I can't move...." I whined.

"Don't make me get the bulldozer..." she warned. I picked my sorry arse up and stumbled after her to the door. 

**********

I was so glad Maude thought to pack sunscreen and I aloe vera. 

My sunburn had healed up some but it was so toasty today I was sure I'd boast another one. Maude, under a pair of binoculars, watched the skies fervently while I lay in the shade of an oak tree. We made it to the park Angus and I visited but from a different side. The duck pond was replaced with picnic tables and a fountain brimming with coins. Aside from the kites the children flew the sky was surprisingly empty. "They know we're here," Maude muttered. "They know we're looking for them..."

"Maybe it's too warm today," I said. "They want to stay inside the nests and watch telly."

"Unless they also own that Cheap Trick album and died from emotion they can't possibly be laying around at home," Maude said over her shoulder. "They're hiding from us." Suddenly a large flock of birds swarmed an abandoned bag of potato chips on a bench. "There, there!" Maude whispered. "Look at them...little crisp fiends....they're beautiful..."

I watched as two birds got into a fist fight over a chip that looked like Tasmania. It shattered into a million pieces and the birds went tumbling. 

My kingdom for a camera....

With the potato chip bag empty and left for the breeze the birds took a dip in the fountain. Maude was absolutely enchanted. 

My attention was quickly diverted by a passing cloud that looked an awful lot like Angus McKinnon. I shook my head. 

Get it together, old girl...

"Wanna look?" Maude asked handing over the binoculars. Up close I could see their bright yellow feathers and vindictive eyes. "I think they're tits."

One bird puffed out its large chest. "You don't say," I muttered. 

"So..." Maude said playing with a blade of grass. "Are you taking Loretta's advice?"

My palms started to sweat and I don't think it was the hot sun. I set the binoculars down. "I...don't know..."

"What are you waiting for?" she asked. "If you just explain who you are he'll vouch for you and eventually they'll just remember." 

"But....but what about you?"

"What about me?"

"Didn't we go on vacation to hang around each other?" I asked. Maude drew a circle around us.

"We're hanging out right now."

"But....but don't you want to see them too? You love that band even more than I do!"

"Look," Maude said. "The attention is flattering but I don't think I can stand much more burger breath and rehearsal sweat two inches from my face. As attractive as it is...." She giggled. "Of course I love those boys but I can take a break. You go see them."

"But...but I don't know how to get there."

"It's called a cab, Hannah Ruth."

"But...." I was running out of excuses. "But...."

"You can do this, Hannah," she said putting an arm around me. "I know you can. "You've done it before in much more challenging conditions. Angus probably wants to see you again just as much." My heart fluttered. 

So did the birds.