Friday, 8th May 1981
Smudge gave the tank of the brand new Suzuki GS1100 a final wipe with a polishing cloth then wheeled it out of the workshop and into the showroom, ready for its new owner to pick up on Saturday morning.
"It's all ready, Mr. Richardson," he told John Richardson, proprietor of Richardson's Bikes of Wolverhampton.
"Thanks Smudge. You took it for a test ride?"
"Oh yes. Goes like a dream."
"If you like that sort of thing," Richardson responded.
Smudge laughed. John Richardson was in his late forties and 'old-school' with it. He'd grown up with 'Brit' bikes and if it wasn't British then he wasn't really interested. But this was the nineteen eighties and people wanted Japanese bikes now. So Richardson's Bikes sold mainly Hondas and Suzukis.
"You can knock off early son," Mr. Richardson told Smudge after giving the Suzuki the once over. "I'll close up."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure. Enjoy your Friday night. Just don't be late in the morning."
"Of course not Mr. Richardson."
"You're out with the Wolves tonight I take it?"
"Err, yes," Smudge replied cautiously.
"Prospecting's not easy at first son. It's not meant to be. But stick at it. It'll be worth it."
"Yes Mr. Richardson."
Smudge had worked at the bike shop since leaving school at sixteen. John Richardson had taken him on as an apprentice mechanic and had taught Smudge himself. After four years, Smudge was getting to be pretty decent with a set of spanners. He could have earned more on shift at the tyre factory but working in a motorcycle shop had been his dream. That and being a full patch member of a motorcycle club.
Joining the Wolves hadn't been easy though. They were at the top of the tree when it came to the local clubs and didn't let just anyone in. For a start you needed to own a motorcycle of 750cc or more and that cost money. But the bigger problem for Smudge had been the age requirement. You couldn't prospect for the Wolves until you were twenty and couldn't become a fully patched member until twenty one.
Smudge began prospecting for the Wolves the week he turned twenty. But he'd hung around the club long before his twentieth birthday, making it known he was keen. 'Spannering' in a bike shop had certainly helped his credentials but there was no way of avoiding the process of prospecting for any serious motorcycle club. He was only two months in and he knew he faced at least a year of being tested to see if he had what it takes. But he accepted that as part of the process.
Smudge tidied up the workshop then put on his leather jacket and open faced helmet. He wheeled his CB750 down the alley from the back of the shop and onto the road outside then thumbed the starter. The bike fired up first time. It was May, 1981. The weather was warming up and summer was just around the corner. Smudge let the bike idle for a while before mounting it and heading for home.
Home was a sixties council house which he shared with his mum, Sally. His dad had died when Smudge was fifteen, in an accident at the foundry where he'd worked. It had been a pretty gruesome affair but the compensation they'd received had meant that he and his mum were at least looked after financially. Smudge had needed to step up to become the man of the house though.
After her husband's death, Sally had continued to work as a secretary for a local accountancy firm and when Smudge was nineteen, she'd admitted to him that she'd been seeing the boss of the firm, a guy called David Moss. They wanted to take things a bit more seriously and she asked Smudge for his blessing. David was a bit of a flash geezer. He lived in the posh part of town and drove a new Jag' but you couldn't really fault a guy for that. Besides, his mum was only in her late thirties and he seemed to make her happy so Smudge had told her he was ok with it. She'd started staying at David's place on weekends, leaving on a Friday night and not coming back until Sunday evening. As time went on Smudge got the feeling that his mum was waiting for him to leave home so she could move in with David. It made Smudge feel a bit like he was holding her back.
That Friday, Smudge arrived back in time to catch his mum before she left. She had a sports bag packed with her clothes for the weekend but seemed a bit embarrassed to have been caught by him, probably on account of what she was wearing. Sally had on a very short skirt and a tight top. The outfit was probably better suited to someone a little younger. Not the Sally didn't have the body for it, mind. All his mates had fancied his mum at school and Sally had managed to keep her figure.
"Crikey Mum. You're going to give David a heart attack dressed like that?" Smudge joked.
Sally blushed crimson and tried to change the subject.
"There's bread in the cupboard but I guess you'll be getting fish and chips as it's Friday."
"Aye mum. I reckon."
"I'll be back on Sunday. Will you be ok?"
"Of course. Have fun," Smudge responded. "But mind you, don't bend down in that skirt without checking who's behind you first."
Sally blushed again then headed out of the door. Smudge watched her rear as she walked out. The sight of her short skirt and bare legs didn't so much excite him as remind Smudge of what he'd been missing lately. It had been a couple of months since he'd had any action.
It wasn't that Smudge didn't get lucky from time to time. He was a good looking lad, in a rugged sort of way. Five-eleven, broad shoulders, handsome features. But these days most girls weren't interested in bikers. It was all Duran Duran and Boy George. The few that were interested knew to give prospects a wide berth however. Prospects were at the bottom of the Biker food chain, at the beck and call of the club they were prospecting for. Definitely not boyfriend material! But it would all change when he made 'full patch' Smudge told himself.
He changed out of his work clothes and into his old jeans then sat on the sofa and watched some television until he heard the sound of bikes pulling up outside the house. Crash and Spence were also prospecting for the Wolves and the three of them had gravitated towards each other in adversity.
Smudge switched the telly off, grabbed his jacket then slipped his treasured Wolves denim 'cut' over the top of it. It wasn't the full patch Wolves' 'cut', it just had a bottom rocker on it that denoted he was prospecting for them, but it still meant everything to Smudge. With helmet in hand he went outside to join his mates.
"You ready for another shit night?" Crash asked laughing.
"I guess so," Smudge replied. "But I'll be wanting my fish an' chips first."
The three of them set off for the local 'chippy' before heading on to the Wolves' clubhouse.