"'Ey Micky, we've got time tonight and we're going to dinnah. Coming?" Davy asked after Micky had opened the door to his hotel room.
"Sure, why not?" Micky replied. He was in a pretty good mood, why not enjoy himself?
A few minutes later he met the others in the hall. Besides himself and the other Monkees, three other people had decided to join.
Micky inwardly groaned when he saw that they'd invited Jenny but decided that he wouldn't ruin the evening or let her ruin his.
Sarah had also come along. She was Davy's latest girl, and she worked on the crew. She and Jenny were friends and she had fallen for Davy (and he for her) several hours ago.
The third person was Lou, also a crew member whom Mike and Peter chatted with often. He was in his mid thirties, making him the geezer of the group, but he had a good sense of humor and was experienced - having been a crew member on many concerts throughout his life.
The restaurant they headed off to was nice but not overly expensive. They found a large table easily that had enough space for the seven of them, and crowded into it.
Micky wondered off-hand if Davy had manipulated it some how because he ended up sitting between Jenny and Sarah.
The conversation at the table flowed smoothly by the time the food had been ordered, but Micky noticed it was also separating.
Davy and Sarah - still in love - were involved with each other in more ways then most. Mike and Peter were chatting with Lou on some technical aspects.
That left Micky with Jenny. To his surprise, she didn't start up a conversation, so he decided to start one up.
"That lasagna you ordered sounds delicious," he commented, blurting out the first thing he could think of and wondering if he sounded like a babbling idiot.
Jenny nodded. "Yeah," she replied with a grin. "That's why I ordered it. What did you get?"
Micky thought a moment. "Chicken," he remembered a moment later.
There was silence for a bit and Micky wondered what to say. Would he spend the rest of the night in complete silence??? He racked his brain.
"How long have you known each other?" Jenny spoke up before his brain could respond. He looked at her blankly. "Mike, Davy, and Peter, I mean," she clarified.
Micky frowned in thought. "Hmm," he thought. "Lemme think. I think Tom's about nine now and we met about a year before that, so...ten years," he finally concluded. Then the realization hit him. "Man, ten years," he thought aloud. "That's a long time."
"It sure is," Jenny commented. "Any regrets?"
"About living with them for 10 years? No, I don't think so."
The waiter interrupted the conversations just then to serve the food. All were silent for a few moments as they dug in.
"Man, this is good," Lou commented, breaking the silence. He himself had ordered a burger, and he chomped into the greasy, cheezy, hunk of meat with a vigor.
Mike nodded his agreement but didn't comment because his mouth was full of the fried chicken he'd ordered.
"I'll tell you what's good," Davy informed them all as he paused between bites. "Having the night off for a change." The others nodded and voiced their agreement.
"I'll drink to that," Peter grinned, gulping his glass soda with a smile.
"Is the music business what you thought it would be?" Sarah asked softly. There was a pause.
"I didn't think it would be so much work," Davy replied after a moment.
"Me either," Micky confessed. "But at the same time it's fun." He grinned. "I didn't think that was possible."
"I guess it's what I expected," Mike replied after a moment of silence. "A lot of work but a lot of fun, too."
"I don't know what I think," Peter said, realizing that all eyes were on him. "I don't know what I expected, so I don't know if it lives up to it or not." The others laughed.
"Do you think you'll beat out the Kings?" Jenny asked.
"Kings?" Davy asked. "What Kings? Elvis?"
"No, man," Jenny replied, giggling. "I meant the Beatles."
"Oh," Davy replied. The others laughed.
"Well I ain't gettin' m'hopes up," Mike replied with a stern look.
"Me either," Peter said, and Micky nodded, agreeing.
"Maybe," Davy commented, and the rest of the group turned to look at him. "I mean, why not?" he defended himself. "We're good, you know. People like us. And our first song is up to numbah three."
"Two," Micky corrected.
"Two?" Davy repeated. "You're joking."
Peter shook his head. "Nope. It's moved up a spot in the last week. And I don't think it's going to stop any time soon."
"There, see what I mean? We're doing it, man," Davy pointed out. Everyone laughed.
The rest of the meal went well, and after dinner, Davy proposed that they go out to a movie.
There was then a disagreement about which movie to see. Davy wanted to see a romantic movie with Sarah. Mick and Peter objected, Micky because he didn't want to get stuck next to Jenny and didn't like that style much anyway, Peter because romantic movies would make him depressed.
Mike, Lou, and Peter suggested an action flick, but the girls objected and Micky was inclined to agree with them.
Lou bought a paper from a newstand and they all began to peruse the listings. Micky spotted a movie he thought looked good right away.
"'Tomb Raiders from Outer Space'," he read. "Man, that sounds good."
Davy made a face. Peter laughed at Davy's face.
"Why don't we split up?" Lou suggested pragmatically. "Then we can see what we want." The others agreed quickly. No one wanted to get stuck seeing a movie they didn't want to see.
"Well, we'll go see that one," Davy decided, pointing towards the romantic movie. Behind him, Sarah nodded.
"I'll go see that action flick," Mike decided.
"So will I," Lou replied, and Peter decided to join them.
"And I'm gonna see 'Tomb Raiders'," Micky decided. No one was surprised.
"I think I will, too," Jenny decided.
"You must be joking," Davy told her, astonished.
"Nope. It looks good. Better than any of the others, anyway," she replied. Davy shook his head in disbelief.
"Okay," Mike told them all. "We all get out with in a half hour of each other so we'll meet back here when we're done."
The others nodded and the group separated.
Davy and Sarah's movie got out first, and they came outside. The weather was warm, and they stood up against the building.
"Want a soda?" Davy asked. "There's a gas station ovah there." He pointed across the street.
"Sure," she replied. "Just get me a Coke, okay?" Davy nodded and crossed the street, humming the movie's theme music to himself.
While he was across the street, Mike, Peter, and Lou came out of their movie. When he heard where Davy had gone, Peter volunteered to get the others a soda.
Peter entered the gas station store and scanned the area, looking for Davy. He spotted him near the back, trying to decide on a soda.
"Hey Davy," Peter greeted as he stepped up behind him. "How was your movie?"
"Okay," he replied. He was holding a Coke in one hand and looking over the soda selection.
Peter reached past Davy and grabbed two Cokes and a Pepsi. "Can't decide?" he asked causually.
Davy shook his head and finally grabbed another Coke. Together, the two headed for the counter. "I nevah would 'ave expected Jenny to like that type o' movie," Davy commented as he placed his 2 Cokes on the counter.
Peter chuckled. "Plan working well then, I guess?" he asked. Davy shrugged. He paid for the two Cokes and stepped aside as Peter placed his three on the counter.
"Do you think 'e knows?" Davy wondered aloud. Peter smiled as he handed the cashier the money.
"Davy, I think he'd have to be blind if he didn't. He knows when he's being fixed up," Peter replied sensibly as the two left the store and crossed the street.
"So what did you guys think of the movie?" Davy asked as he handed Sarah her soda.
"It was good," Mike commented.
"Could've been better," Lou added, taking his Coke.
"Ok, but there wasn't much of a plot," Peter continued. Mike and Lou nodded in agreement.
"When does 'Tomb Raiders' get out? Lou wondered, looking at his watch.
"Two minutes," Mike replied, and Lou nodded.
Three minutes later, a crowd that included Micky and Jenny emerged from the theater. Davy smiled, pleased, when he saw that they were involved in a vibrant conversation.
"How was the movie?" Lou asked. Micky grinned.
"Great," he replied, and started in on a description of some of the movie's best scenes.
"What did you think?" Peter asked Jenny as the group turned to walk towards the hotel.
"I think it was great," she replied with a smile and glanced towards Micky. "He obviously loved it," she added.
Peter nodded, chuckling to himself.
Back to part eight
On to part ten
