Deaf & Dumb

Peter Gets a Phone Call

Peter and Rosemary were moving furniture in their new apartment. Peter was given by his aunt a few things for the young couple's first apartment. He finished pushing a couch and a coffee table into place. Rosemary sat down a few of the smaller items, like a lamp and vase. For the past few days she felt weak, and Peter thought it might be best if he did all the hard labor. She refused to make him do all the work so he relented a little and allowed her to help with the smaller stuff.
Stephen hooked Peter up with a job as a session musician until the tour started, and Peter enjoyed the work. It gave them enough money to rent their apartment, and Rosemary's salary got them enough for everything else. They had a fancy red phone that Peter insisted they buy because of, as Rosemary guessed, the television series Batman.
When Rosemary wasn't working she spent most of the day reading. Peter didn't disturb her while she did this most of the time because he figured she wanted to be left alone. Sometimes when he saw that the book was a romance novel and her cheeks were particularly flushed he would creep up beside her and kiss her ever so softly on the cheek. Sometimes she couldn't be disturbed, and she would continue reading. Other times she would kiss him back, and they'd end up on a very lovely note for the night.
Rosemary had of yet told her job that she was pregnant. She was hoping to hide it as long as she could before telling her boss. She wasn't sure how he would react at all. She was very afraid that he would fire her if she told him.
Rosemary let out a sigh as she stared at the living room of her and Peter's apartment. She turned to Peter and smiled. He took her hands and spun her around. She smiled.
Then the phone rang.
Peter groaned and went to answer it.
"Hello?"
"Peter?"
"Who is this?"
"It's Mike. I gotta tell ya. We sold a demo tape, and they want us to record it. Do you want to swing by and record it with us?"
"Which song?" Peter asked.
"Last Train to Clarksville," Mike replied.
Peter was silent. He thought for a moment trying to decide if joining the Monkees for one recording would hurt. He did need to tell them that Rosemary was pregnant and that he promised to tour with Crosby, Stills & Nash.
"I'll be there. What studio do I need to show up at?" Peter asked.
"We're recordin' for Colgem. Just come to the pad and we'll bring ya," Mike said.
Peter wondered for a moment if he could record for them since he was signed to Atlantic as a session musician. He told himself that he was so insignificant that no one would notice.
"When do I need to show up?" Peter asked.
"We're recordin' in a couple of hours, but if you'd like ta show up and hang out for a little while we all'd like to see ya," Mike said.
"Okay. I'll be there soon," Peter said. "I've just got to tell Rosemary where I'm going. I don't want her to worry."
"Okay, babe," Mike said.
Peter hung up the phone. Rosemary was on the couch reading a book. He sat down beside her and tapped her shoulder.
"I've got a recording session in an hour. I'm gonna go to it," Peter said.
Rosemary nodded her head and drew him down to her and kissed him. Peter smiled and kissed her again. He stood up and smiled at her. He left their apartment and started to walk towards the Monkees' pad.
Peter felt a little bad for not telling Rosemary the complete truth, but it was hard explaining things to her sometimes. He repeated himself a lot and his sign language wasn't good enough to explain such complicated thoughts. Peter walked for awhile before he reached the door of the Monkees' pad. Micky answered the door.
Micky smiled widely and dragged Peter into the building.
"The prodigal son returns!" Micky exclaimed as he towed Peter into the room.
Peter smiled sheepishly. Mike was sitting on a stool playing his twelve string guitar. He looked up as Peter got further in the room. He smiled at him.
"How're ya doin'?" Mike asked strumming the guitar.
Peter shrugged. "I'm happy," He said.
"How's Rosemary?" Mike asked.
"She's good. She's been a little weak, but she's been doing well," Peter said.
"Carolina told me Rosemary's
pregnant," Mike said.
Peter nodded his head and shrugged. "That's why we moved in together," Peter said.
"Carolina says she's grateful for that. She likes being able to invite people back to her place midday and not just at night," Mike said.
"You and Carolina..." Peter said slowly.
"He's dating her and it's beautiful," Micky said smiling and racing over to the couch.
Peter looked over at Mike with his eyes wide. "Really?"
Mike nodded and smiled. "She's fantastic," He said.
Peter smiled again. "That's good for the both of you," He said.
The room became silent for a moment. "I'm dating a girl named Lauren," Micky commented just to say something.
"That's nice. Is she pretty?" Peter asked.
Micky nodded his head. "Absolutely gorgeous, let me tell you," Micky said. "Long brown hair, lovely brown eyes, a very sweet smile. We've been dating for a week."
Peter smiled for a moment. "That's sweet," He said.
The room was silent again until the door opened and Davy walked in. He smiled when he saw Peter sitting on the couch. "So you're gonna be recording with us?" He asked.
Peter nodded.
Davy shut the door behind him. Mike looked at his watch. "We aught to get goin' to our session," Mike said.
Mike put his guitar into its case. Micky pocketed his drum sticks. Davy grabbed his tambourine. Peter didn't have his bass with him so he grabbed the one that Davy practiced on.
The Monkees got into the Monkeemobile, and Mike drove them to the recording studio. A man in a suit and short brown hair showed then where to go to record. Peter didn't catch his name, but he seemed like a no-nonsense type of fellow.
"That's Don Kirshner. He told us that Last Train to Clarksville would be big," Mike whispered to Peter. "None of us like him, but he's giving us a chance."
The Monkees walked into the small studio and set up like they always did. Micky got behind the drums. Mike and Peter plugged in their instruments.
"We're gonna do vocals first," Kirshner said through the speakers.
Peter and Mike glanced at eachother. They both did brief stints in recording and they never before were asked to do vocal first. Micky went to the microphone.
"How will I know the beat?" He asked.
"We've got a backing track," Kirshner said. "You'll do fine."
Micky glanced at Peter and shrugged. The track started and Micky sang along. They did a few more takes of Last Train to Clarksville and then went on to other songs. All around Peter thought they did pretty well, though he felt useless throughout the session. After a few hours they were released. Kirshner drew Peter aside.
"Now I haven't met you," He said.
"No, I'm Peter Tork; I play bass," Peter said.
"I'm Don Kirshner," Kirshner said holding out his hand. Peter shook it.
Don Kirshner seemed to Peter to be a daunting fellow. He looked as if he was trying to decide if Peter was worth something. He didn't look too impressed.
"Do you sing?" Kirshner asked.
Peter shook his head. "They don't usually want me to," He said.
"Well, I suppose we'll find something for you to do," Kirshner said walking away.
Peter watched the man walk off then went to join the others feeling puzzled at Kirshner's last comment. Wasn't he going to play bass?