The Miraculous Second Life of Blue Eyes

Two days later, the bus broke down and the Triple A guy wasn’t able to come out because “we were just too far away”.

Austin was currently grumbling into the phone to the manager as Alan and Tino were outside. Something had gone wrong with the wheel. It’s not the actual tire, but one of the things that keeps it held in place.

“No one can come? Are you sure? Not for another two days?” Austin asked sadly. I looked up from the couch where I slept (mostly) peacefully. Tino walked out of his bunk, running his hands through his fingers. We were supposed to be at Rock on the Range by tomorrow night!

Jumping off the couch, I somewhat gracefully fell onto the floor next to Tino, yipping at him to let me out. The drummer looked down and I was forced to tilt my head all the way back to look up at him. He knelt down and his big hands rubbed the top of my head affectionately. “Aw, Blue Eyes you want to go out?” He cooed. I licked his palm and he grabbed the leash, attaching it to my little black collar.

I really wanted to see what was going on with the other three people outside!

As I strained against the length of the leash, Tino let me pull him out of the bus. The stairs were steep to a little puppy like me, but I took them one at a time, hopping down to the ground. I ran to Alan and jumped on his knee, trying to see what was going on. Alan stroked my fur before gently pushing me off to continue assessing the wheel part.

“Phil, you’re pretty good with mechanics. Do you think you could repair this?” Aaron asked. Phil looked at the tools laying before him. There didn’t seem to be much hope. Austin came out as I looked towards the door. The man shoved his phone into his pocket before coming to stand by the rest of the band.

“I might be able to fix this if we can get to Home Depot or some other repair store. There should be one around here.” Phil gestured to the small town around him. It wasn’t the largest city we’ve been to, but it did have some stores and other commodities on the street sides.

Alan started searching on his phone, looking at google maps. Cars hummed in the distance, but didn’t go near us. “We can go walk around and look for some parts. According to google maps, there’s a little place just a few streets over.” The ginger pointed out. The leash jerked and swang as the drummer handed it over to the screamer and knelt down next to Phil, helping him take off the broken parts.

Aaron handed the two tools as Phil spun a screwdriver around a nail. The man’s brown eyes scanned Alan and Austin. “If you could get me this little list of things, I should get the wheel well repaired just well enough for us to make it to Rock on the Range. From there, we should be able to get better repairs.” Phil scribbled down a small list on piece of paper and handed it to Alan.

“We’ll be back in a little while.” Austin confirmed and pulled on the leash, dragging me away from the damaged bus and the trio trying to fix it.

I had to basically run to keep up with Austin’s long strides. By the time we rounded the corner, I was panting and wheezing from having to run so much on my short little legs. Alan leaned down, making Austin stop right outside the store. My head drooped, tail hanging low. “Hold on, Blue Eyes in a little tired. You have big steps, Aus.” Alan chuckled.

“Hey, I can’t help it that I’m so tall!” Austin mused.

“Come here, puppy. Come on…” Alan clicked. I lay down on the pavement, protesting any further movement. Austin laughed as I whined and refused to move, despite Alan’s gentle calls.

“She doesn’t want to move, princess.” Austin chuckled. I looked up to see his large hands wrap around my torso and pick me up. He wrapped the leash around one hand and held me under his arm. Normally, I’d want to protest being treated like a small toy, but they were walking and more importantly, I wasn’t! So overall, it wasn’t too bad of a deal!

Alan scratched my head gently as he passed us by, holding the door open. Austin stepped inside the large, air conditioned store. I snuggled into his sweatshirt sleeve, the odors flooding my nose hitting my system. We passed by someone pulling a pudgy bulldog behind their cart. The fat dog trotted behind his owner slowly, making eye contact with me, and wagging his tail. I barked softly as the dog returned the contact.

Austin and Alan slowly wove their way around the store, gradually picking up all the items that Phil would need to put the bus back on the road again. Eventually, Alan ran out of hands and Austin was trying to balance me and the special wrenches that would be needed to screw in the bolts.

Austin handed his things to Alan and I looked between the two of them. My gaze at the fancy looking light bulbs was ripped away as I became suddenly airborne. Austin’s hands were around me as I squirmed.

“Hold on a second.” Alan mumbled. I tried to give him my best help-me-what-are-you-doing-am-I-going-to-fall-and-die look of utter panic. All that escaped was a little whimper before I was put snuggly into the hood of Austin’s sweatshirt.

“There you go, puppy!” Alan chuckled, his tattooed fingers tickling under my chin, as puppy owners fondly do to their pets. I remember doing that to Tank.

Tank.

Speaking of which, where was he?

My thoughts were distracted as Austin chuckled and kept on walking. I was the perfect size to fit in his hood, my legs tucked under me, and Alan walking in the rear to make sure I didn’t fall out. I buried my nose into the fabric of Austin’s sweatshirt, inhaling his familiar smell. I closed my eyes and rested my chin on the edge.

The two boys kept on going around the store, picking up assorted items, exchanging them when they realized that they had the wrong ones. I occasionally opened my eyes to see shocked shoppers smile and giggle and point to me when they realized that there was a puppy in the tall man’s hood. A little girl pointed and pulled on her mother’s sleeve, to the point at which the mother awed a little with her daughter.

We went to the checkout lane, waiting behind a tanned man who was buying 2x4’s. Alan reached up, playing with the little scruff of fur around my collar. I licked his fingers, knowing no other way of showing appreciation. He stood on his tippy toes and kissed the side of my face. I woofed happily and boxed his hand with my fluffy paws. He laughed and retreated, setting his collection of stuff down on the counter as the two boys’ turn came to buy their supplies.

“Um, is that a puppy in your hood?” The checkout lady asked Austin. I could feel him chuckle beneath me. He responded with a faint, “Yeah, she’s our new puppy.”

The beeping of the scanner continued as I peered over the screamer’s shoulder. I felt hands reach up and pull me down. I squirmed as I felt myself go upside down for a moment. “Hey!” I barked a little in protest. I was set down on the counter, sitting down immediately and glaring at Austin for pulling me away from my cozy little nook.

“Aw, she’s adorable! What’s her name?” The girl behind the counter squealed. She held out her hand as I butted up against it, scratching behind my ears affectionately.

“Blue Eyes.” Austin responded as they picked up their bags. Alan put me down on the floor, wrapping the loop of the leash around his wrist once again. They said farewell to the lady behind the counter.

We made our way back to the bus, where Phil was happy to see the supplies arrive. It took an hour, but with the newest materials, Phil was able to fix the broken parts and we all boarded the bus again.

Alan volunteered to drive. The behemoth bus slowly rolled to a start, pulling out onto the desolate highway and once again heading towards Rock on the Range.

Tino was busy calling the manager and telling them that we had gotten back on the road again. Phil was constantly staring out the window, worrying that his repairs wouldn’t hold up long enough to get to our destination.

I curled up on the floor next to Tino’s feet, napping peacefully. Austin reappeared from the bunks, taking his sweatshirt off and tossing it onto the bottom bunk, where he slept and went to the back lounge. Getting up I trotted over to where the bunk was and put my paws on the edge, snagging the shoulder. Jumping back, I managed to pull it off and continued to drag it behind me as I made my way back to the front lounge.

Aaron looked up and saw me with Austin’s sweatshirt. The bassist jumped up to stop me, but I was quicker. Using my nose, I pushed the sweatshirt into a bundle on the floor and lay on top of it, looking up to Aaron who was standing over me.

“Austin!” He yelled. Austin’s head reappeared from the back lounge door. He came out and stood next to his bassist friend.

“Do you want her to move or…?” Aaron asked. Austin laughed and knelt down next to me, slowly stroking my head.

“Nah, she likes my sweatshirt. It’s fine.” He laughed.

Another point awarded to the cutest thing on the bus.

Notes