Kruppo

And he was right. Before I knew it, we had arrived at a neighborhood of houses that were fairly large. Much larger than anything that had been back home. We stopped in front of particularly tall and white house, with a fence going around the entire thing.
We were greeted by a tall, tanned character with graying hair and a huge mustache that seemed to invade his face rather than compliment it. He came at us with the energy of a man who’d never lost his youth. Friendly eyes, warm attitude; this was Brian and Ty’s uncle. They introduced him as Martin.
“It’s great to have you guys up here,” he shook hands with every one of us; his grip was solid. According to Marvin, that was the mark of a real man. A guy who could give a firm shake and look you straight in the eye was a real man.
If that was the case here, then we were in good hands. I immediately found myself liking Ty and Brian’s uncle, who insisted we called him Marty. “Everyone else around here does; you guys might as well join the party.”
We got our bags and filed into the beautiful house; Marty’s wife Megan was polite and quick to show us to our rooms. Jake and I were sent to sleep downstairs in the basement, where there were two couches. The basement was a quiet little area. A flatscreen television was hung on the wall, and there was an Xbox 360 console set up nearby. The rest of the basement had exercise equipment, and a foozeball table.
“I guess this is where their kids hang out.” Jake said first. “Now I kinda just feel guilty.”
We didn’t say anything else; simply went back up the stairs to the main floor. Ty and Brian were given the same room they’d stayed in last time they had been in the house, on the third floor. Jessie and David were given mattresses to sleep out on the back porch.
“Wow,” Jake laughed at Jessie and David as they put their stuff down. “Looks like Palma and I didn’t get the crap end of the stick after all.”
“Screw you, man.” Jake and I both laughed at David, who flipped us off when Marty was busy talking with Ty and Brian.
“Hey, you guys.” Brian called us over, and we all met up in the kitchen with Marty, who was sitting at the head of the table in the room. We all sat down.
For an hour or so, we just talked and had fun goofing off. Marty was a decent man, very much like Jessie’s dad, only even nicer, it would seem. I hadn’t thought that was possible, but it was evident in his friendly-yet-casual demeanor, and his willingness to let others talk his ear off for thirty minutes. How he managed in this way was beyond my comprehension, but it was interesting to see nonetheless.
Finally, Marty wanted to get to the heart of our little trip. “All right,” he began. “So here’s the thing; you guys are gonna play tomorrow night. Just one time, a few songs, nothing big. I wish I could give you more time than that, but I have a few other bands that have been approaching me about playing in the shop for a while now.”
“That’s fine,” I spoke for the rest of the band. “I think we all just appreciate you being kind enough to let us stay here and perform for you.”
“Ah, it’s nothing. These two,” he pointed at Brian and Ty, who both smiled. “They’re great guys. Their cousins? Eh, they’re not as much fun. I’d do anything for Ty and Brian.”
“Yeah, well, we’ll give you a good show tomorrow night.” Brian promised.
“I expect no less.” Marty laughed. He then jumped to his feet. “Well, I suppose you guys are gonna wanna take off and see the sights around here, eh?”
“Well,” Brian said slowly. “What time is it, seven?”
“Seven-thirty!” Megan called from the living room.
“Time to eat,” Jessie chuckled. “Are there any good restaurant around here?”
Ty bit his lip, thinking. “Uh, there’s the California Pizza Kitchen.”
Marty nodded. “Yeah. Great place to go. Tell you what, here,” He reached into his pocket, pulling out a wallet. “I know you boys probably burned up some gas trying to get here. This is on me tonight.”
Ty and Brian both tried to protest simultaneously, but Marty would have none of it. “C’mon,” he said. “You’re not even getting paid for this whole gig thing. Just have a good time while you’re here. It’s the least I can do for you.”
Finally, Brian accepted the cash. “All right then,” Jessie shook Marty’s hand again. “Nice to meet you sir. See you later.”
We all followed him out the door.

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I'm so post-rock I shit sad birds