Sweet Children Come Out And Play
Little Bits And Pieces
“Wait just a second. I’ll write the guys a note! So they know we weren’t kidnapped or something stupid…you know, that Tre would make up, but then really call the police because he thought it was funny.” Brites grabbed a notebook. As she opened it, she started cracking up in the middle of the kitchen.
Richelle, “Hey, he’s not that stupid.” But then a smile cracked her face.
“Not that,” Brites said.
“What is it?” Delphine took the paper. She read, “’Green Day.’ Oh, this is Billie’s writing from last week when we where having that pot fest. I remember now. Green Day. I still like that,” she smiled.
Richelle looked over her shoulder and shrugged. “Yeah, that was fun. It probably killed off half the brain cells in my head, but what the hell.”
“They’ve got to go sometime!” Brites laughed as she tore off a new sheet of lined paper and began scribbling a note, but Delphine was still staring at the paper. Billie Joe had written some other stuff as she remembered and here it was. She read silently to herself,
‘A small cloud has fallen
The white mist hits the ground
My lungs comfort me with joy
Vegging on one detail
The rest just crowds around
My eyes itch of burning red.’
‘This is good. This is really good for Billie being high. I wonder if he remembers it. I better not show Brites and Richelle yet – just in case.’ She folded the paper in half and stuffed it in her back pocket to give to him later.
Brites was just slamming the note onto the small hotel refrigerator with a flower magnet when she came to. Richelle ran into the kitchen again with her purse and they all walked out the door, locking it behind them. They guys had the van so they walked down the streets blindly looking for the so-called stores. It was actually a really “nice” neighborhood; expensive looking. When they found the shops, Richelle started jumping up and down in the air pointing, “I TOLD YOU SO!”
“You are just like Tre!” Delphine sighed.
“I am not!”
“Yes, you are!” Brites said with a puff as if it was obvious.
“I am not THAT demented!”
“Well pretty fucking close! You’re dating Tre. Remember?”
Richelle paused, “Well, ok, you got me there.”
“You know, you’re going to turn into him.”
“Oh, shut up.”
The first shop they went into was Super Silver, a jewelry store. Delphine went straight to the rings. It was not like Super Silver was new. She had been in the ones in Santa Cruz and Capitol tons of times, but the people were always friendly, and she had a growing collection of rings on her fingers – three from the their other stores. She had one with a row of sunflowers, one of waves, a twisted one on her pinky, a handmade one from a shop in Santa Cruz which was curly and had a little round acrylic glass stone in the center, a mood ring around her thumb, a Celtic braid, and lastly her class ring. But then she remembered the new ring Billie had given her last week; the beautiful diamond ring – and the only gold ring on her fingers.
“Damn Delphine, you’re kind of full. Do you think you can fit anymore rings in?”
“I think I want to replace the mood ring. It’s pretty old and now that I am a classy married woman, I must look presentable,” she huffed.
“That’s a load of crap,” Brites smiled.
“Well, maybe it is! Still, really, it’s old and scratched and it’s going copper on the edges. So, start looking for a thumb ring.”
“I like this one,” Richelle pointed to a fancy cut ring with a light purple stone.
“I think I want something a little planer to match the others.”
“Doesn’t the ENGADEMENT ring kind of throw that off?”
“Shhh!” Delphine put a finger to her lips.
Then Delphine’s eyes hit on the perfect ring. It was a little thicker than her others, which is good because it was on her thumb, and it had a row of little stars going all the way around it. She picked it up, “Look at this one!”
“Oh, that’s gorgeous,” Brites’ face lit up. Richelle was still busy looking at the sparkly one on her own finger. Delphine tugged off the mood ring and matched the sizes.
“Perfect.”
“Richelle are you almost done?”
“I am still THINKING.”
“Think harder.”
“I can’t!”
“I’m going to pay for mine,” Delphine teased tiptoeing up to the register like Richelle was a little kid who did not want to leave. Four dollars. “We’re leaving now…”
“Ok, ok, I’m coming!”
Finally, they made their way into another store. This one was a very upper class shop right in the middle of the lane filled with tons of dresses. As soon as they walked through the door, every face lit up and all three ran for the wedding dresses. “Man, we could pick one out right here!” Brites said excitedly.
A saleswoman walked over to the three punk girls. She was dressed a little preppy but was interestingly very nice, “Can I help you?”
“She’s getting married in two weeks!” Richelle pointed to Delphine.
“We were just going to look around,” Delphine smiled.
“Great. I’ll leave you to it. If you need any help, call me. I’ll go unlock the dressing room.”
Then they all started pulling dresses off the shelves. Brites pushed Delphine into the changing room and they took over the whole back of the store. Delphine tried to put on the first dress in the little dressing room up came out with it half on.
“All right, you guys have to help. It’s too goddamn complicated. We’re sort of hidden by racks so I’ll just get dressed here.” Brites zipped up the back and Delphine did a catwalk down the middle of the store.
“That’s pretty,” Richelle said in awe of all the sparkles. It was a skinny dress with beads sown all over it. The next one she tried was very big and puffy.
“I feel like a princess!”
“It’s sort of Victorian looking. Nice.”
Then Delphine tried on another Victorian looking dress but it was completely black. “I really think this is too Gothic for a wedding,” she laughed. “Though it is pretty cool.”
“Yeah!” Brites clapped.
“Eww, she can’t wear a black wedding dress, BRITES.”
“She could if she wanted to,” Brites stuck her tongue out.
“How about this one?” Delphine slipped out of the black and into another white dress.
About two hours later, Delphine slipped into yet another dress, but this time, she felt something new. She went over and looked in the mirror. “Hey, guys, what about this?”
Brites and Richelle looked over at the same time. “Hey, now that looks pretty good,” Richelle said as Delphine twirled around in a circle. This dress was white, had a mediumly puffy skirt and a simple strapless top.
“That looks gorgeous on you, Del!”
“And it fits perfectly. Oh, and look,” Delphine pulled out the price tag, “It’s only fifty dollars.”
“That sounds good too.”
“I hate to blow fifty bucks right now when we don’t really have any money.”
“But Delphine, this is your wedding. You only get to do it once for real.”
“But do you like the dress?”
“You know, I think I like this one. Yeah. What do you guys think?”
“It’s your choice, but I think I’m liking that one the best.”
“You think I should get it?”
“Well, after we spent the last bazillion hours on this, you better get something. Turn around again.” Delphine did.
“That looks beautiful!”
“I think I might get it. Do you think Billie will like it?”
“I think he’ll love it.”
Delphine paid for the gown and the girls walked out of the store at last. Brites checked her cell phone. “Oh my god, it’s already six.”
“We better get back!” The three girls broke into a run back down the street. When they reached the hotel room and burst through the door, the guys were lazing in the living room.
“Hey! You guys were shopping for a really long time!” Mike walked over and gave Brites a kiss.
The other two were far too lazy for that so Richelle ran over and jumped on top of Tre. “Hey baby!” he laughed. “What’s up?”
“We went shopping.”
“I heard. How much of my money did you spend?”
Richelle hit him in the arm, “None! It’s my money. But look!” she shoved her hand in front of his face with the new ring.
“Wow, that’s pretty.”
“You don’t seem very excited and you’re not looking at the ring!”
“I thought you meant you,” Tre grabbed her and flipped her around on the couch and started kissing her. Richelle was just laughing.
“Will you people get a fucking room!” Brites said.
Delphine went over and sat straight on Billie’s lap and gave him a kiss too. “Oh, so you deliver?” he smiled.
“On special occasions, perhaps.”
“Is this a special occasion?”
“Now Billie, our friends are here.”
“I can take care of that,” Billie waved to everyone, “Um, can you all leave now. We are extremely busy,” he huffed in a serious business tone.
“Not like that, Billie!”
“We are not leaving,” Mike said, “Unless…” he turned to Brites.
“NO!” she said putting her hands on her hips.
~
Delphine stood on the side of the stage as she usually did. It was a great show. A lot of people in the crowd knew Sweet Children and came out to support the band. Billie was always amazed when people knew the band. He loved that. The girls clapped and sang along the entire time while the crowd jumped and the whole thing was always a blast. Delphine was always the one taking pictures. She felt a need to remember every moment of her life if she had a camera in hand, like she would forget everything otherwise. Billie Joe was so gorgeous when he played. At that moment, they were playing 1000 Hours. She loved that song and was amazed every time that he would write something so beautiful and be able to play it in front of crowds. And best of all, she was not the only one to think so.
Richelle, “Hey, he’s not that stupid.” But then a smile cracked her face.
“Not that,” Brites said.
“What is it?” Delphine took the paper. She read, “’Green Day.’ Oh, this is Billie’s writing from last week when we where having that pot fest. I remember now. Green Day. I still like that,” she smiled.
Richelle looked over her shoulder and shrugged. “Yeah, that was fun. It probably killed off half the brain cells in my head, but what the hell.”
“They’ve got to go sometime!” Brites laughed as she tore off a new sheet of lined paper and began scribbling a note, but Delphine was still staring at the paper. Billie Joe had written some other stuff as she remembered and here it was. She read silently to herself,
‘A small cloud has fallen
The white mist hits the ground
My lungs comfort me with joy
Vegging on one detail
The rest just crowds around
My eyes itch of burning red.’
‘This is good. This is really good for Billie being high. I wonder if he remembers it. I better not show Brites and Richelle yet – just in case.’ She folded the paper in half and stuffed it in her back pocket to give to him later.
Brites was just slamming the note onto the small hotel refrigerator with a flower magnet when she came to. Richelle ran into the kitchen again with her purse and they all walked out the door, locking it behind them. They guys had the van so they walked down the streets blindly looking for the so-called stores. It was actually a really “nice” neighborhood; expensive looking. When they found the shops, Richelle started jumping up and down in the air pointing, “I TOLD YOU SO!”
“You are just like Tre!” Delphine sighed.
“I am not!”
“Yes, you are!” Brites said with a puff as if it was obvious.
“I am not THAT demented!”
“Well pretty fucking close! You’re dating Tre. Remember?”
Richelle paused, “Well, ok, you got me there.”
“You know, you’re going to turn into him.”
“Oh, shut up.”
The first shop they went into was Super Silver, a jewelry store. Delphine went straight to the rings. It was not like Super Silver was new. She had been in the ones in Santa Cruz and Capitol tons of times, but the people were always friendly, and she had a growing collection of rings on her fingers – three from the their other stores. She had one with a row of sunflowers, one of waves, a twisted one on her pinky, a handmade one from a shop in Santa Cruz which was curly and had a little round acrylic glass stone in the center, a mood ring around her thumb, a Celtic braid, and lastly her class ring. But then she remembered the new ring Billie had given her last week; the beautiful diamond ring – and the only gold ring on her fingers.
“Damn Delphine, you’re kind of full. Do you think you can fit anymore rings in?”
“I think I want to replace the mood ring. It’s pretty old and now that I am a classy married woman, I must look presentable,” she huffed.
“That’s a load of crap,” Brites smiled.
“Well, maybe it is! Still, really, it’s old and scratched and it’s going copper on the edges. So, start looking for a thumb ring.”
“I like this one,” Richelle pointed to a fancy cut ring with a light purple stone.
“I think I want something a little planer to match the others.”
“Doesn’t the ENGADEMENT ring kind of throw that off?”
“Shhh!” Delphine put a finger to her lips.
Then Delphine’s eyes hit on the perfect ring. It was a little thicker than her others, which is good because it was on her thumb, and it had a row of little stars going all the way around it. She picked it up, “Look at this one!”
“Oh, that’s gorgeous,” Brites’ face lit up. Richelle was still busy looking at the sparkly one on her own finger. Delphine tugged off the mood ring and matched the sizes.
“Perfect.”
“Richelle are you almost done?”
“I am still THINKING.”
“Think harder.”
“I can’t!”
“I’m going to pay for mine,” Delphine teased tiptoeing up to the register like Richelle was a little kid who did not want to leave. Four dollars. “We’re leaving now…”
“Ok, ok, I’m coming!”
Finally, they made their way into another store. This one was a very upper class shop right in the middle of the lane filled with tons of dresses. As soon as they walked through the door, every face lit up and all three ran for the wedding dresses. “Man, we could pick one out right here!” Brites said excitedly.
A saleswoman walked over to the three punk girls. She was dressed a little preppy but was interestingly very nice, “Can I help you?”
“She’s getting married in two weeks!” Richelle pointed to Delphine.
“We were just going to look around,” Delphine smiled.
“Great. I’ll leave you to it. If you need any help, call me. I’ll go unlock the dressing room.”
Then they all started pulling dresses off the shelves. Brites pushed Delphine into the changing room and they took over the whole back of the store. Delphine tried to put on the first dress in the little dressing room up came out with it half on.
“All right, you guys have to help. It’s too goddamn complicated. We’re sort of hidden by racks so I’ll just get dressed here.” Brites zipped up the back and Delphine did a catwalk down the middle of the store.
“That’s pretty,” Richelle said in awe of all the sparkles. It was a skinny dress with beads sown all over it. The next one she tried was very big and puffy.
“I feel like a princess!”
“It’s sort of Victorian looking. Nice.”
Then Delphine tried on another Victorian looking dress but it was completely black. “I really think this is too Gothic for a wedding,” she laughed. “Though it is pretty cool.”
“Yeah!” Brites clapped.
“Eww, she can’t wear a black wedding dress, BRITES.”
“She could if she wanted to,” Brites stuck her tongue out.
“How about this one?” Delphine slipped out of the black and into another white dress.
About two hours later, Delphine slipped into yet another dress, but this time, she felt something new. She went over and looked in the mirror. “Hey, guys, what about this?”
Brites and Richelle looked over at the same time. “Hey, now that looks pretty good,” Richelle said as Delphine twirled around in a circle. This dress was white, had a mediumly puffy skirt and a simple strapless top.
“That looks gorgeous on you, Del!”
“And it fits perfectly. Oh, and look,” Delphine pulled out the price tag, “It’s only fifty dollars.”
“That sounds good too.”
“I hate to blow fifty bucks right now when we don’t really have any money.”
“But Delphine, this is your wedding. You only get to do it once for real.”
“But do you like the dress?”
“You know, I think I like this one. Yeah. What do you guys think?”
“It’s your choice, but I think I’m liking that one the best.”
“You think I should get it?”
“Well, after we spent the last bazillion hours on this, you better get something. Turn around again.” Delphine did.
“That looks beautiful!”
“I think I might get it. Do you think Billie will like it?”
“I think he’ll love it.”
Delphine paid for the gown and the girls walked out of the store at last. Brites checked her cell phone. “Oh my god, it’s already six.”
“We better get back!” The three girls broke into a run back down the street. When they reached the hotel room and burst through the door, the guys were lazing in the living room.
“Hey! You guys were shopping for a really long time!” Mike walked over and gave Brites a kiss.
The other two were far too lazy for that so Richelle ran over and jumped on top of Tre. “Hey baby!” he laughed. “What’s up?”
“We went shopping.”
“I heard. How much of my money did you spend?”
Richelle hit him in the arm, “None! It’s my money. But look!” she shoved her hand in front of his face with the new ring.
“Wow, that’s pretty.”
“You don’t seem very excited and you’re not looking at the ring!”
“I thought you meant you,” Tre grabbed her and flipped her around on the couch and started kissing her. Richelle was just laughing.
“Will you people get a fucking room!” Brites said.
Delphine went over and sat straight on Billie’s lap and gave him a kiss too. “Oh, so you deliver?” he smiled.
“On special occasions, perhaps.”
“Is this a special occasion?”
“Now Billie, our friends are here.”
“I can take care of that,” Billie waved to everyone, “Um, can you all leave now. We are extremely busy,” he huffed in a serious business tone.
“Not like that, Billie!”
“We are not leaving,” Mike said, “Unless…” he turned to Brites.
“NO!” she said putting her hands on her hips.
~
Delphine stood on the side of the stage as she usually did. It was a great show. A lot of people in the crowd knew Sweet Children and came out to support the band. Billie was always amazed when people knew the band. He loved that. The girls clapped and sang along the entire time while the crowd jumped and the whole thing was always a blast. Delphine was always the one taking pictures. She felt a need to remember every moment of her life if she had a camera in hand, like she would forget everything otherwise. Billie Joe was so gorgeous when he played. At that moment, they were playing 1000 Hours. She loved that song and was amazed every time that he would write something so beautiful and be able to play it in front of crowds. And best of all, she was not the only one to think so.