"Well, I'm ready to see this wonderful city of yours," Ginny said to Mike.
"Ok, I'll be ready in just a minute," Mike replied, "I have to get my wallet and driver's license." As Mike headed toward his room, Ginny sat on the couch and patiently waited. In the meantime, Peter had gotten ready for his date with Penny Purdy. He stepped out of the bathroom and used his fingers to brush the hair out of his eyes.
"My, don't you look handsome!" Ginny exclaimed as she smiled at her eldest son with pride.
"Mom!" Peter said in shock.
"Well, I know you've always been a gentleman, but in this day and age you never know what might happen," Ginny warned.
"I've gotta go. See ya later," Peter said in an exasperated tone. As Peter walked out the door, Mike made his way down the stairs.
"What was that all about?" Mike asked, referring to Peter's reaction to his mom.
"Oh Peter is so shy. He's never been able to talk to me openly about… S-E-X," Ginny reluctantly whispered with a blush. Mike just chuckled.
"I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree," he said.
Once Nick, Chris, and Ann were downstairs, they all got ready to hit the town. Of course, Ann and Chris fought over the front seat, but this was quickly resolved by Mike, who had opened the passenger side door for Ginny. This really ticked off Nick.
"Sure Tex, make sure she sits up front with you," he snarled under his breath. Ginny heard something coming from Nick's mouth, but couldn't make out what it was. She only knew it probably wasn't good.
"What was that smart remark?" Ginny shot back.
"Nothin'," Nick said quietly.
"I heard something. You had better watch your mouth from now on," Ginny warned.
"I didn't say anything!" Nick shouted.
Mike ignored the argument as he pulled out of the driveway and headed down the street. Everyone, except for Nick, was having a great time. Mike was pointing out different spots of interest as Ginny, Ann, and Chris "oohed" and "aahed" over the tall buildings and crowded streets. Suddenly, Mike smelled something burning as smoke arose from the Monkeemobile.
"Aw man, this piece of junk!" Mike scowled. "I'm gonna have to pull it over and put some water in the radiator. Ginny, you and your kids can go across the road to that park and I'll meet ya over there after I get some water in this thing. Here's some money so y'all can get ice cream from the ice cream stand. It's wonderful," Mike suggested.
So, as Mike went to get the water, Ginny and her kids made their way across the street. After convincing Chris that he wasn't about to get a triple scoop of ice cream, Ginny asked Nick what kind of ice cream he wanted.
"I don't want any," Nick replied smugly and stormed off in the other direction. Ginny sighed. She just couldn't figure him out. Then she thought of Peter and how strange he had been acting. Had she done something wrong?
By the time Mike made his way to the park, Ann and Chris had already wolfed down their ice cream and had headed towards the swings. Ginny watched with pride as Chris pushed his younger sister on the swing. She then looked over at Mike, who was making his way across the street. Ginny thought he was awfully handsome with his thick brown hair and dark brown eyes. She felt a little guilty for being attracted to her son’s young friend, so she chalked it up to a "hormonal imbalance." After all, middle aged men were allowed to have their mid-life crisis, why couldn't she. Mike smiled at her as he approached the park, and naturally she smiled back.
"That thing is going to have to sit for awhile and cool down," Mike said referring to the Monkeemobile. "I hope that’s ok."
"That's fine. Here you go," Ginny said as she handed Mike an ice cream cone.
"Chocolate, how'd ya know?" Mike asked.
"You just look like a chocolate kind of person," Ginny replied.
Mike smiled at her comment and then led Ginny over to a park bench. As they sat, Mike tried to think of ways to start a conversation. He suddenly came up with a question, but didn’t want to ask right out. So he found a round about way to start.
"So, if Peter is twenty-four and you are forty that would have made you…" Mike started, as he made it appear as though he was pondering the issue.
"Very young when I had Peter. It's a long story," Ginny said.
"Oh," Mike said. He now felt a little uncomfortable for bringing the subject up.
"I met John, my ex-husband, when I was fifteen. When I was a kid, I loved to write. So one summer I took a writer's workshop at the community college. John was my professor although he just barely got out of college himself. I think he was about the same age that Peter is now," Ginny said thoughtfully as she remembered her oldest son's uncanny resemblance to his father. "Anyway, all John had to do was smile once and I was hooked. To make a long story short, we ran into each other at the campus library one day and had a long conversation about Charles Dickens. It was so funny, he had checked out 'A Tale of Two Cities' on the same day I had returned it. From there on, we began to date, secretly, of course. I was fifteen and he was twenty-four, plus John ran the risk of being fired from the university for dating a student."
"Wow, so what happened?" Mike asked with interest, but then added, "If you don’t mind, I mean."
"I don’t mind," Ginny said with a chuckle. "Well, my father found out, that's what happened. He wasn't pleased that I was dating in the first place, but he was furious when he found out that John was nine years older than me. When I refused to stop seeing him, dad kicked me out."
"What did you do?" Mike asked curiously.
"All I could do. I went straight to John and told him what happened. He offered me a place to stay, but I couldn't accept, not unless he agreed to marry me. Back in the forties I would have created a town scandal by living with my boyfriend. It's too bad that it's not taboo these days. The world would be a much better place if there was a little more innocence."
"That makes sense," Mike agreed.
"John and I got married, and two months later I became pregnant. Once I had Peter, my whole life changed. I had to quit school of course, and my friends didn't understand my new life. I felt so left out, like I didn’t belong. At the time though, all I really cared about was my husband and my baby boy. I realize now just how fast I had to grow up," Ginny explained.
"I had to grow up pretty fast myself. My father left when I was young, so I had to help my mom take care of the house. I was constantly doing odd jobs in order to help put food on the table," Mike explained. "Even now, I don't fit in with other guys my age. I've been told I'm too serious and too responsible. It's just what I'm use to."
Suddenly, Ginny began to laugh. Mike was confused. He couldn't figure out what was so funny.
"What? What are you laughing at?" Mike asked.
"You have ice cream in the corner of your mouth. Here, let me get it," Ginny said as she pulled a handkerchief out of her purse. She then dabbed Mike's mouth with the handkerchief and smiled.
"Thanks," Mike said with a blush.
From across the park, Nick happened to spy his mom wiping the ice cream from Mike's face. He saw laughter and how his mom's face lit up as she talked with the young musician. Nick was embarrassed by the sight of his mother acting like a giddy teenager. What made matters worse was that Mike was eating it up. Nick stomped over to where they were and laid right into Mike.
"I thought you had a car to work on," Nick snapped.
"Nicholas Tork! You apologize to Mr. Nesmith this instant!" Ginny demanded.
"No, I want to go back to the apartment. Why should we all be stuck here while Tex shoots the breeze?" Nick yelled.
This time Mike interjected, hoping he could reason with the hostile teen.
"Don't you want to see the rest of the city?" Mike asked.
"No, my brother can show 'us' around," Nick said as he glared at his mother.
"In the car now Nick! You ought to be grateful that I’m too angry to express my disappointment in you right now," Ginny exclaimed in disgust. She then motioned for Chris and Ann to go to the car as well. She then turned to Mike and apologized.
"I'm sorry, I don't know what gets into him," Ginny said regretfully.
"Aw, he's a kid. I understand growing up ain't easy. I was a pretty hostile teen myself," Mike said.
"There is no excuse for it. I raised him better than that," Ginny replied.
"It's ok, really. I forgive him. Besides, it's getting late. We should be getting back," Mike said as he led Ginny to the car.
Later that night after everyone had went to sleep Nick and Peter sat at the kitchen table to talk.
"So, how was the date?" Nick asked his brother curiously.
"Fine, Penny's a nice girl," Peter said with a smile. "How was your evening out?"
"Ok, except does your friend have a habit of flirting?" Nick asked.
"Who, Mike? He's rather shy around girls mostly. Davy and Micky are the outgoing ones," Peter explained.
"I'd just keep my eye on him," Nick warned, "Mom was pulling her young woman trapped in an old woman's body routine again."
"Don't be silly Nick. Mike is too young for mom. I really don’t think you have anything to worry about," Peter said.
"Look, let's just go to bed. We've got a big day tomorrow. Good night Pete," Nick said.
"Good night, Nick," Peter said.