When Old Friends Get Together

Chapter 7

It was almost midnight when Micky, Peter, and Davy returned to the pad. The porchlight wasn't on, and Micky fumbled for his keys.

"Do you think Mike and Connie are done... you know, whatever they're doing?" asked Davy.

"Sure," Micky said. He smiled and winked at Davy. "If they were only talking."

"What else would they be doing?" asked Peter.

Micky and Davy both looked at him. Davy asked, "Peter, what would you be doing if you were left alone in the house with a beautiful girl like Connie?"

Peter thought for a moment. "Painting her portrait?"

Micky looked at Davy. "Like you said, we're dealing with the characters, not who we really are."

Micky finally got the door open. And they were mildly startled by what they saw.

The lights were on, and Mike sat in the armchair, asleep, his head lolled to one side.

The three Monkees gave each other curious looks and went to their friend. Davy shook Mike's shoulder, waking him.

Mike's eyes opened slowly, and he grunted in protest as his lids fell back into place. Davy shook him again, harder. This time, Mike's eyes flew open, and he looked up, with a hopeful expression on his face. It fell away when he saw who had wakened him. "Oh, it's just you," he groused.

The other three looked slightly offended. "Well, that's a lovely way to greet your friends," Davy said.

"Yeah," Micky said, "who were you expecting- Deborah Walley?"

"I was hoping it was Connie," Mike said.

Micky shrugged. "Close enough."

"How'd it go?" asked Davy.

Mike frowned. "Well, it, uh- It-it went like, uh... Well, it went, let's just put it that way."

Micky looked even more confused than Peter (which, of course, is pretty darned confused). "What are you saying?"

Mike stood up and went into the kitchen. "She's gone."

The other three followed him as closely as if they were dancing with him. "What happened?" asked Davy.

"I told her the truth."

Davy groaned. "Oh, Mike, you should know better than that. When you're trying to get a girl to like you, you should avoid the truth at all costs."

They sat together at the kitchen table. "What exactly did you say?" asked Micky.

"I told her I wanted to stay friends. She said she couldn't do that. So we agreed to go our separate ways.

Peter scratched his head. "I just don't understand. You love Connie, right?"

A hint of a smile crossed Mike's face. "Yeah, I- I guess I do, at that."

"And she's a close friend, right?"

"Yeah."

"And that's why you were afraid to go out with her, right? Cuz you were afraid that, if you broke up, you'd lose your friend?"

"Yeah."

"But..." Peter frowned thoughtfully. "But didn't you just lose her, anyway?"

Mike scoffed. "Yup."

"So why didn't you just go ahead and start going out with her? At least you would've had her for a little longer."

Mike nodded somberly. "You know, Peter, after Connie left, I just sat down and started thinking. And I came up with that same answer."

Peter blinked. "So... I was right?" He grinned. "Huh! I like the way that feels!"

The others shook their heads at him.

Mike leaned his chair back and folded his arms. "No, you're right, Pete. I shouldn't have let her go. Dumbest thing I've ever done."

"Well, call her," Micky said. "Get her back."

"At this time of night?" Mike shook his head. "No, that isn't right. And she leaves tomorrow, so... No, I'll call her up in San Francisco in a few days."

"Sure," Davy said blandly, not really believing him.

Mike rocked his chair forward again and got up, muttering that he was going up to bed. Micky followed him. "Hey, Mike," Micky said at the top of the stairs, "I wanna talk to you for a minute."

Micky followed Mike into the bedroom and shut the door behind him. "Mike, why don't you just try with Connie?"

Mike wrinkled up his face the way he always did when he was annoyed. "I did try. It didn't work out. I told you that."

Micky sighed in exasperation and looked down at the toes of his boots, his hands on his hips. "Mike, you're my pal and all- I mean, we hit it off from the second we met. I think I know you pretty well, but... Man, you just haven't been yourself today."

Mike's frown deepened and he rubbed his tired eyes. It had been a very long, very bad day, and he just wanted to go to sleep and start all over in the morning. "What are you saying, Micky?"

Micky shifted his weight uncomfortably. "It's hard to find the right words." He took a deep breath. "Mike, I think you're acting like a rotten, lily-livered, whiney, bratty, chicken, yellow coward!"

Mike raised his eyebrows slightly. "Updated your dictionary pretty quick, there." He sat on the edge of the bed. "I'll talk to her in a few days." He started pulling off his boots. He was done with the conversation.

"Yeah, all right," Micky sighed. He knew Mike very well. When the stubborn Texan's mind was made up, pushing only irritated him and made him stubborn up even more. Making Mike angry might only push him away from Connie.

Micky turned back to the door, but he just couldn't leave without making one last observation. "You know, Davy is the only guy I know who's more experienced with women than I am. So I feel justified in saying, if you find that one special girl in life, hold onto her. Don't let her go. At least, that's what I intend to do."

"You don't know that Connie is my one special girl," Mike retorted.

"Neither do you," Micky said. "And the way you're going, you never will."

He left Mike sitting on his bed, pondering Micky's observation.

*   *   *

"How is he?" asked Davy when Micky came down.

"Not good," Micky answered.

Micky's expression worried Peter. Micky was the one who always had a ready joke or smile for every situation. For Micky to look and talk sour, things must be very sour, indeed. "Can we help him?"

"Connie's the only thing that'll cure him," Davy said. "We've got to get Mike to go to her."

"Or bring her back to him," Micky said.

"She might come back," Davy said, "if she knew how sorry Mike is."

"One way to find out," Micky said, heading for the phone.

"Mike won't like us butting into his personal life again," Peter warned.

"What's the worst that could happen?" asked Micky.

Davy turned to Peter. "Didn't he say that this morning?"

"This is different," Micky said. "I'm trying a new tactic, something I've never done before."

"What's that?" asked Peter.

"I'mgonna tell her the truth."