"Mike?" Davy's voice called to him. Mike didn't turn around. He was sitting on the back steps, looking out at the ocean. It didn't take long for Davy to find him, and he sat down next to him.
"Something wrong?" Davy asked as he sat down next to Mike on the top step.
Mike sighed. "I don't know," he replied with a shrug.
"Something's bothering you," Davy observed. Mike looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Davy shook his head to answer the unspoken question.
"I've just got this, well, this really strong feelin'," Mike replied with some hesitancy. "Never felt it so strong before. Just...I don't know, man, I guess it's doom?" He looked at Davy with a confused expression. "Are you sure you haven't felt anythin'..weird?"
Davy shook his head. "Not a thing, Mike," he replied. "But that doesn't mean you're wrong. Maybe you've got some sort of ability," he theorized. "Maybe you're sensing something that I can't."
Mike looked at him strangely for a moment. A long look. Davy sighed. "Or maybe not," he added quietly. Mike heaved a sigh.
"I know it's strange Davy," he replied. "But I can't shake this feelin'."
"Look," Davy began. "If it makes you feel any bettah, I'll check out Maggie. But if there was anything really bad about 'er, I would 'ave sensed it already. If Micky was in any sort of danger, I would know."
"That's just the thing, though, Dave," Mike said. "It hasn't happened..yet. I just keep feelin' like somethin's gonna happen. "
Davy didn't know what to say to that, so he just remained silent for a while. Mike didn't speak either, and the two of them just looked out at the ocean in silence.
"A week from Thursday," Micky replied, answering Nicole's question. "But I have to confess, something's worrying me."
"Oh?" Peter asked.
"Yeah. I mean, I meant to ask Mike to be my best man, but now I don't know if I should," Micky confessed.
"Why not?" Nicole asked.
"Well, he doesn't seem to be too happy with the whole wedding and everything. I'm afraid that he wouldn't want to, you know?"
"Micky, even so, I'm sure he wouldn't say no," Peter pointed out. "He's still your friend."
Micky nodded. "Yeah, you're right, Pete. I guess I'll ask him later. When he's in a good mood. Maybe tonight at dinner."
That night at six, the six of them piled into the Monkeemobile and Micky drove them to Maggie's house. It was understood that he would drive since he was the only one that knew the way.
The others were impressed, to say the least, with the tall, white, Victorian-style house where Maggie lived. And even more impressed with the butler.
Thomas, of course, didn't want to be held, and struggled out of Nicole's grasp a few times, insisting on rushing ahead. Which he did, until Davy picked him up and explained to him that he had to behave, this was a house with a lot of expensive items that they couldn't pay for if he broke. Thomas just looked at Davy solemnly. Davy wasn't certain if he understood, but Thomas was a bit calmer the rest of the evening.
"So, she's not rich, huh?" Nicole whispered to Mike with a smile on her face. Mike didn't respond.
The butler which greeted them at the door was by now accustomed to Micky, and led them through large hallways to a dining room.
"Miss Blackwood will join you in a moment," he informed them before leaving again.
"Thanks," Micky said to the butler, and then turned to his friends. "So, what do you think?" he asked.
"A butler?" Davy asked.
"Velvet carpeting?" Nicole observed.
"Silver forks and china plates?" Peter asked, noting the tableware.
The only comment from Mike was a low, long whistle that indicated he was impressed. "Comedy's not a career for her, is it?" he asked. Micky smiled.
"Nope," he replied.
"Oh good, you're here," a female voice said from the doorway. "So glad you could come."
Mike turned to see Maggie, a tall, thin, redheaded woman in the corner. A chill went down his spine.
Micky greeted Maggie with a kiss and introduced her to the others. "Of course we came, babe," he replied. "Let me introduce you. This is Peter," he began.
Peter stepped forward and smiled, shaking her hand slightly. "Nice to meet you," he said quietly.
"This is Davy," Micky continued.
Davy stepped forward, and with his usual charm, bowed and kissed her hand with an elegant gesture. "Madame," he greeted her. Maggie was sufficiently charmed.
"This is Nicole," Micky went on, and Nicole smiled. "And her son, Thomas," he added, as Thomas waved shyly from his mother's arms. "And this is Mike. Um, Mike?" he asked, noting that Mike seemed to be a little out of it.
Davy, unnoticed behind Mike, jabbed him in the back. Mike was startled enough to be jolted back to reality.
"Oh, sorry," he apologized. "Nice to meet you, Maggie," he added.
"Nice to meet you all," Maggie said. "Dinner will be ready in a few minutes. In the meantime, won't you all join me for some hor's d'oeuvres?"
Fifteen minutes later, the dinner was ready, and everyone sat down to eat. Dinner was lasagna and spaghetti and meatballs, with a salad on the side. Everyone seemed to enjoy it from the moment they took their first bite.
"My compliments to the chef," Peter said, upon taking the first bite of his lasagna.
"I'll be sure to tell him," Maggie replied with a smile.
The conversation at the table turned to the wedding. Maggie explained that she and Micky had decided that the ceremony was to be held at the church of Saint Paul, about an hour from there.
"It's really a delightful little place," she said. "Small yet elegant. Simple, yet beautiful. And the priest who runs the church is a sweet man."
Micky agreed. "We met him yesterday, and he was very nice," he said with a nod.
"Have you decided who you are going to have in the wedding yet?" Nicole asked. Maggie nodded.
"I've called my sisters to be bridesmaids," she replied. "I have three of them. And my sister's little girl is going to be the flower girl."
"Maggie said that Thomas could be the ring bearer if it's alright with his parents," Micky added. "Since she doesn't have any nephews."
Peter and Nicole exchanged glances. "Isn't he a little young for that?" Nicole asked. "He's only two."
"Yes, but he's the only one we have," Maggie pleaded. Nicole looked at Peter and then at Thomas, who was having a lot of fun with his spaghetti.
"I guess," she replied. "I mean, he really can behave when he wants to," she added with a smile.
"Oh, terrific," Micky replied.
"Yes, I really don't know what we'd do without him," Maggie replied.
"Oh yeah, that reminds me," Micky said. "You've decided that your sisters will be the bridesmaids. I have three friends here to be the ushers."
Peter and Davy perked up at the thought of being in the wedding.
"And..well, I was hoping you'd be my best man, Mike," he added with a pleading glance toward Mike.
All eyes turned to Mike. Suddenly the center of attention, he looked around in surprise.
"What do you say, Mike?" he asked. "Will you do it?"
Mike appeared surprised for a moment. For one, long, terrible moment, Micky was afraid he would say no. But then he brightened.
"Sure, Mick," he replied with a smile. "I'm honored."
A little over an hour later, the six piled back into the car and headed home. Thomas was falling asleep in his mother's arms, and Peter and Davy were showing signs of tiredness as well. So Micky drove them all back to the Pad.
Peter and Nicole took Thomas back home and put him to bed. Micky, exhausted after so little sleep the past few days, headed to bed as well. And Mike cornered Davy.
He waited until Peter, Nicole, and Thomas had gone home and Micky was in his bedroom. Davy was watching TV. Mike poured each of them a cup of coffee and sat down next to him.
"Well?" he asked, curious. "Anything?"
"On Maggie?" Davy asked. "Not really." He took a sip of his coffee. "She doesn't seem to be incredibly evil. I get the impression that she's a determined kind of woman, who wants 'er own way. And I get the idea that she doesn't like to take 'no' for an answer. But nothing strange. She's just a normal girl, Mike."
Mike sighed. "Maybe it's just my imagination, then, Davy," he admitted to himself. "Maybe I just don't really want him to move out so I'm makin' up a reason. "
Davy shrugged. Mike took a gulp of the coffee and sighed. "Who knows?" Davy said, taking a sip of his own coffee. "Maybe there's something about 'er that I can't sense. "
"That I am?" Mike snorted into his coffee. "Doubt it," he replied skeptically.
"Don't sell yourself short," Davy replied. "You never know." He stood up and carried his now empty coffee cup into the kitchen, leaving Mike alone with that last thought.
And then they both went to bed. But Mike couldn't sleep for awhile, though he suspected it had nothing to do with the coffee he'd had.
