Becoming

The Duellists

In the morning, Dave and Tamar had a good laugh when Sue and Becky both knocked on their door, as well as Bruce's and Steve's doors, sheepishly asking for help in getting Ade and Nicko up and moving. Dave let the girls know that this wasn't unusual for the two men, and that they normally just roused them enough to walk, still sleeping, to the bus. Bruce took charge of Nicko and Dave handled Ade, getting the two men into footie shorts and trainers, then guided them to the bus and into their bunks.

Becky just sighed and carried Nicko's bag down along with her own, while Sue grabbed Ade's bag. Steve took Dave's bag along with his own, while Kim took Bruce's, leaving Lorraine and Tamar to carry only their own bags. Becky, Kim, and Sue loaded the car and Becky slid behind the wheel, Kim sat in front to navigate, and Sue sprawled in the back seat to nap as she'd take the second leg of the drive.

Tamar, sipping from a styrofoam cup of her anti-nausea herbal tea and nibbling a cracker, settled into a seat in the front section of the bus, then quirked a brow when she noticed Lorraine sit across from her, also nibbling a cracker. Lorraine noticed the look and gave Tamar a small nod and a smile. Tamar smiled back.

"I've got a special herbal tea my doctor recommended," Tamar told Lorraine softly. "You're welcome to have some if you'd like. I've found it very helpful."

"I'll try anything at this point," Lorraine said gratefully. "I'm just praying for a smooth flight home again."

"You and me both," Tamar said with a faint grin.

"Steve?" Lorraine said as her husband finished stowing his and Dave's bags and climbed aboard. "Will you be a dear and bring me a cup of hot water? Tamar's got a tea blend she thinks I might like."

"Of course, love," Steve said. He went to the kitchenette, filled the kettle and started it heating, then ducked into the sleeping area to grab a couple of the tiny in-bunk rubbish bins, from his bunk and from Dave's. He saw Bruce and Dave working together to get Nicko into his upper bunk, while Ade had already crawled into his bunk. Then he poured a cup of hot water for Lorraine and brought it and the bins up front.

Lorraine had moved across to sit beside Tamar and laughed at the sight of the two little bins. "Thanks, love," she said, giving Steve a kiss as she took the cup and one of the bins.

Tamar opened the packet containing her herbal teabag and dropped it into Lorraine's cup, then grinned as Steve handed her a bin as well. "Thank you, Steve."

"You're welcome... I thought if the roads were bad or whatever, you might need 'em, yeah?" Steve said. "Lorraine said she, erm, had some trouble on the flight over. Turbulence, yeah?"

Dave emerged from the bunk area, walking forward as he called, "Harry, the bin's gone missing from my bunk, I wanted..."

"Beat you to it, mate," Steve said with a chuckle. "You were too busy sorting Ade and Nicko to see me take it. I was getting mine in case Lorraine needed it and figured I'd go ahead and grab yours for Tamar."

"Oh, all right, then," Dave said. And then what Steve said sank in and he smiled. "And congratulations, you two."

"Thanks," the couple chorused.

Fortunately for everyone involved, the trip to the next venue went smoothly, with Nicko joining Becky and her friends in her car when they pulled into a service plaza for a pit stop once he'd woken up. Bruce decided to ride with the girls as well, but Ade remained on the bus. Steve and Lorraine moved to the back lounge for some quiet time after a while, leaving Tamar, Dave, and Ade with the front section to themselves.

Dave took advantage of the absence of the rest of the members of the band and quietly asked, "Ade, are you willing to be my best man at the wedding? Believe me, I understand if you don't think you can do it, but I figure the other blokes might wonder if it's not you, since they know we've been mates since school. If you'd rather not, I'll ask Harry since he's the boss and all that, yeah?"