Good Man

On the road again
Like a band of gypsies we go down the highway
We're the best of friends
Insisting that the world keep turning our way
And our way, is on the road again



When TBC had arrived to Los Angeles the night before, they checked into the Chateau Marmont where they had made reservations for one of the three-bedroom poolside bungalows before they had even left on this road trip of theirs. After check-in and getting to the bungalow, they each showered off the blah that comes from traveling so long; a sort of refresher. Once showered, shaved and dressed, they made their way to the hotel's lobby where they grabbed some dinner at Bar Marmont, and afterward requested a chauffeur-driven car to take them barhopping.

They didn't stay out too long however due in part to general exhaustion from a day of traveling and full stomachs from their late dinner. When they returned to their bungalow, Tre and Caroline even went to their own rooms to sleep; the first time doing so since they started sleeping together almost a week before.

The next morning they had breakfast brought to them via room service and ate together on the patio, enjoying the warm southern California air, with the temperature already climbing into the low 70s. After showering and changing they used the chauffeur-driven car service again to take them to Ocean Way Studios to meet up with Butch so they could do lay down a new song for their new album. They had already been playing with it in the morning before leaving the hotel so they new exactly what they wanted to get done that day. They broke for dinner around six, heading to Cafe Sole where they enjoyed some good food and conversation with their co-producer.

After dinner they headed out to the Whiskey A Go Go to watch Caroline's former band with its new line-up performing. It was a surreal experience for the ex-frontwoman but she was fine with it. Her place wasn't with Dave and Nef anymore. They had their new bassist Keith and new frontwoman Eve.

And Caroline had Billie Joe and Tre now.

Everyone was moving on.

And it was fun to be a part of the audience for a band she knew and not in the band for once. What was even better was no one bothering to bug them because of who they were while they enjoyed the show. Afterward, sure, that was another story. The members of TBC and The Sinners all headed out together, hitting up club after club, getting utterly shitfaced in the process and having an overall great time until last call at two in the morning. They parted ways after that and the members of TBC had no recollection of returning to the bungalow when they woke the following morning, which was Saturday, the 18th.

When they finally came to and showered, they made their way to Ocean Way again, slightly hungover from the night before. Chinese was delivered for lunch around two by a Mexican which caused some amusement for the bandmates as they ate then went back to work on the track they were laying down. Dinner at Spago that night was followed by a night in at the bungalow.

They had done all they had planned on doing at Ocean Way over the last two days and planned on leaving early the next morning to head home to the Bay Area, which is exactly what they did.

Billie Joe handled the check-out at the front desk while Caroline and Tre went to get the Prius they rented back from the Valet.

By ten o'clock they were on the road and heading north up on the 101 and eventually branching off onto Highway 1 to drive up along the coastline to take in and enjoy the gorgeous views of the Pacific Ocean to their left.

Five and a half hours outside of Los Angeles, they came upon Big Sur and decided to park and head down to the beach and walk around for a while. Tre rolled up his pant legs and walked into the water while Billie Joe sat down in the sand with his knees pulled up to his chest and his head tilted back as he looked upward with his eyes closed, reveling in the warm sun on his face and the cool ocean breeze rustling through his bleached blonde hair; a color he dyed it in the bathroom of the Rose Vine Inn, early in the morning before they left Kansas six days before. Caroline, meanwhile, was scouring the water's edge for pieces of sea glass and when she found a piece that tickled her pickle, she picked it up and placed it inside and empty water bottle she was carrying around.

After about a half hour to forty-five minutes later, they headed back up to their car and hit the road once again only to stop for a late lunch/early dinner at Round Table Pizza in Marina, California after not even a full hour of driving.

The monotony of traveling was finally grating on their nerves once they were headed north on Highway 1 again, unable to wait for the trip to come to an end so that they could walk into their homes, see their families they'd been away from for the last two weeks and sleep in their own beds.

And what utter bliss it was when they did in fact arrive back to the Bay Area, rolling along I-880 and heading up into the Berkeley Hills where Caroline lived to drop her off first.

Billie Joe, who had been driving, turned the ignition to the Prius off and and climbed out to help Caroline get her suitcase out of the trunk as Tre climbed out as well and joined the other two as she headed inside her house.

Within the confines of the Pritchard residence, the sounds of children's laughter mixed with the smells of chocolate chips baking in the oven.

"Oh my god, are those cookies I smell?" Caroline called out as Billie Joe dropped her suitcase on the foyer for her while she moved right toward the kitchen.

In the kitchen stood Mike's sister Myla pulling one batch of chocolate chip cookies out and adding another batch in. Myla instantly beamed as she stood up straight and noticed her sister-in-law.

"Oh, hey, I didn't hear the three of you come in." Myla walked around the kitchen island and grabbed Caroline up in a big hug. "So how was the road trip? Get a lot of pictures to show me and crazy stories to tell?"

"Something like that," Caroline commented, a little distracted by the baking going on. "It's almost eight at night. How come you're being Suzie Homemaker in my kitchen and baking cookies now?"

Myla chuckled. "I got bored," she answered. "I was doing some laundry and Chloe was so cute, wanting to help me fold her little undies. So, anyway, we were doing that and then Stelly just came home about a half hour before you did from her mom's house and took the twins upstairs to bath for me. So, I thought I'd make some cookies for Stelly and Mikey's lunches tomorrow."

"Aww," Caroline practically cooed. "How come I never thought to do that?"

"Because you're just not as awesome as me."

"Hey, My," Tre greeted Mike's sister as he finally entered the kitchen. He hugged her and sniffed the aroma the cookies gave off. "Smells good."

The interactions carried on for a short while longer, but Tre and Billie Joe eventually had to bid adieu to Caroline, Myla and the kids who were scattered throughout the house; Chloe and Mikey in their rooms, while Estelle was pulling the twins out of the bathtub and drying them off.

As Caroline led the guys to the door to say goodbye, Tre lingered behind and when they were sure no one was paying attention, he grabbed her hand, gave it a squeeze and kissed her gently on the lips.

"I'll call you tomorrow," he spoke quietly before releasing her hand and walking away.



It wasn't as if Caroline had a stomach full of butterflies fluttering about as if she were a school girl with a crush, but for the first time since losing Mike, she finally felt the excitement again of having love at her fingertips. What made it easier was that she and Tre had danced this dance before, so they were familiar with all the steps, even if they were a bit rusty.

She went to bed that night, after Myla had left to return to her own home and after Estelle had helped her put the kids to sleep. She was so tired that she gave her stepdaughter a kiss on the forehead and asked her to shut off all the lights before the teenager went to bed herself. Sauntering into her bedroom, Caroline stood and stared at everything in the room, falling at once upon Mike's urn next to her bed.

She sighed.

But this was no sigh of sadness or grief or disappointment.

She was merely content with seeing his urn.

It might be seen as if that were morbid, but it was a sense of familiarity for her. Yes, Mike was dead and gone almost three years and, yes, his death would always be hard to think about, but she was finally accepting he was never coming back and she couldn't live with the what ifs anymore.

As painful as it may be, she knew he was a part of her past now.

He could never be her future but she also knew he would always be with her; in spirit, in the lives of her children, and some day, a long ways from now, in the lives of her grandchildren. His legacy would carry on in those of their children.

Right now, though, things were changing.

She was finding a new place for herself in the world; as a musician, a friend, a mother and a lover.

New responsibilities and new opportunities had presented themselves and she was more than willing to take them all on.

And whatever would happen with Tre, she was also more than willing to see it through to whatever extent, except for one thing. Whatever did happen, she knew she would still keep to the promise she made herself after Mike had died. She would never marry again. Mike would be the only husband she would ever have.

But unlike what she previously doubted, she would definitely love again.



We're back in the Barrio
And to you and me, that's jingle town