Unfortunately another hot day came onto L.A. and everyone was once again doing whatever they could to stay cool, including The Monkees. Micky lay upstairs, trying to fight off a headache, Davy had opened the icebox and sat in front of it, Mike sat at the table and the last member of the group did whatever he could to keep his plant cooled down. He watered it whenever he could and even gave it a small umbrella to shade it from the sun.
"I wonder if heatwaves are one of the signs of The Rapture coming." Davy said half to himself and half to the others.
Before another word could be said someone knocked at their door and both Davy and Peter looked at Mike, expecting him to answer it. Instead, Mike picked up his guitar and pretending not to notice. He was no fool. He knew that the others always made him answer the door and the phone whenever they didn't want to. It was time for them to stop being lazy. Davy saw that Mike wasn't going to move so he closed the icebox and went to the door. He opened it to find Valerie, who was wearing a light purple summer dress with a flower print and holding a purple umbrella that matched her outfit. She looked like quite a dish.
"Hi Valerie." Davy moved aside. "Would you like to come in?"
She stepped inside and saw Peter, who was still looking at Valerie 2. "Hello Peter."
Being the shy soul that he is, he couldn't think of what to say to her. What could he say? Instead he gave her a smile.
Valerie smiled back and walked over to him. "It's nice to see you again."
His smile grew wider, showing his dimple. "It's nice to see you again too, Miss Cartwright."
"What's going on down there?" Micky walked out of the bedroom with sleepy eyes.
"Put your clothes on man!" Mike told him, seeing that Micky was still in his nightgown. "Valerie is here!"
"Valerie the chick, Valerie the plant or a Valerie that I can go on a date with?"
"The first one." Davy was now fanning himself with his hand.
"I'll be right down." Micky rushed into the bedroom again to get dressed.
"Would it be alright if I had a talk with Peter?" Valerie asked Mike.
"That'd be fine. In fact, me, Davy and Micky were just about to go to the store."
"No we weren't." Davy corrected him.
Mike pushed Davy toward the door. "We'll be back soon." Then he called upstairs. "Micky! We're going to the store!"
"WHAT?!" Micky rushed out of the room while trying to put his shirt and pants on at the same time. "We'll roast out there!!"
"I thought that summer was your favorite season."
"It is, except when it's trying to kill me!"
"Stop your whining and get down here. Peter and Valerie need some time alone."
Micky looked at the couple then a knowing grin appeared on his face. "Ohhh, I get it."
Soon the three Monkees were out the door and Peter and Valerie were alone. Besides Valerie 2 of course. Outside the three boys felt the heat hit them. Did the heat from the Sahara Desert decide to vacation in Los Angeles? They all hoped that Valerie and Peter's conversation would end soon when they saw a familiar face. It was Ronnie, and he didn't look too happy, as always.
"What's he doing here?" Micky asked, very upset about this uninvited guest arriving.
"Maybe he's looking for Valerie." Davy tried to shield his eyes from the sun's light.
"We have to do whatever we can to keep him away from the Pad." Mike told them and the two other Monkees nodded in agreement.
Inside Valerie and Peter sat at the table and she placed her umbrella beside her chair. "Peter, you are my dearest friend and I was wondering if you could do something for me."
"What would you like me to do Miss Cartwright?"
Valerie held Peter's hand. "Ronnie has asked me to marry him and I would like you to be the one who gives me away."
Peter was happy for her yet his heart felt like it was breaking in two. He smiled sweetly to hide the pain he was feeling. "Congratulations Miss Cartwright."
"Please, call me Valerie. Will you give me away Peter?"
"I'd love to Miss Cart-, I mean, Valerie."
"Thank you."
Outside Ronnie stopped when he saw an ice-cream cart with a short man behind it. Ronnie looked up at the sky then at the cart. He could use an ice-cream to cool him down, but he needed to find Valerie first. He walked past the cart and Davy pulled off the giant mustache he was wearing when he saw that the plan didn't work. Once again there was a cart in front of Ronnie, except this one sold water and it was Micky this time who was wearing a disguise. Ronnie pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and started to wipe his forehead. The air seemed to get hotter with every passing second. But he couldn't stop, he had to find Valerie. He walked right past.
"He sure is stubborn!" Micky said after Ronnie walked away.
"Like another person I know." Davy said when he walked up to the water cart.
"Come on guys," Mike told them. "We gotta stop him."
There was only one last thing they could do. When Ronnie was about to knock on the door the three musicians grabbed him. Mike holding up the front part and Davy and Micky carrying Ronnie's legs and they were ready to carry him away.
"Put me down you chipmunks!" Ronnie ordered.
"We're not chipmunks, we're Monkees." Davy corrected him.
At that moment Valerie stepped out of the Pad and saw what was happening. The Monkees first looked at Valerie then at each other before they let go of Ronnie, who landed with a loud thud.
After standing up Ronnie dusted himself off. "Monkeys!"
Valerie tried to hold in her giggles then put her arm in his. "Come on Ronnie." Then they walked away together.
Peter walked out of their home and his friends ran to him. "What happened?" Davy asked.
"They're getting married and we're all invited." Peter told them, failing at hiding his sadness.
Micky grabbed one of the water bottles and aimed it at Ronnie's head but Mike grabbed the drummer's arm, preventing him from harming Valerie's boyfriend. Peter looked at the ground before entering the Pad and his band mates decided that he needed some time alone. As the three Monkees drove off in their red GTO Peter sat at the table and watched his plant, who now looked much healthier, then he started to cry.
"Don't get uptight man."
Peter looked around. "Who said that?"
"I did, man."
The Monkee looked at his plant. "You?"
"Of course man, I ain't chopped liver over here."
Peter jumped in fright and fell onto the floor and Valerie 2 just shook his head.
Chapter 3
Chapter 5
Back to Tory's stories
Home