Reunion (The Monkees Family Vol. 3)

Chapter 65

After long and thoughtful consideration, Micky and Gabby decided that the best place to stage the confrontation or meeting with Davy – Micky thought of it as a confrontation, whereas Gabby referred to it as the meeting – was at their home.  It was private, it was their home ground, and it meant that Davy had to humble himself enough to come all the way in to the belly of the beast.  It made Micky sick to think of Davy stepping foot into their home, but Gabby insisted.  She said to do this kind of a meeting in a public place was unthinkable, even just from a standpoint of Micky and Davy being celebrities.  The chances were too great that word could leak out to the tabloids. 

Another mitigating factor was the fact that Davy was bringing Della along with him, and Gabby wanted to welcome Della into their home.  She considered Della family and did not want to ostracize her just because of Davy's transgressions.  She had heard through the family grapevine that Della had been raped and about how Davy had been stalwart in helping her rebound from the trauma.  She also knew likewise of Della's unflagging loyalty to Davy despite his betrayal of her with Wendy's boyfriend Dave.  She admired how Della saw it as an opportunity to get Davy to finally admit he had hit bottom and turn his life around, and realized that in a strange way one could draw a straight line between the two events – the affair with Dave and Della's rape – and the salvation of Davy's soul and the reason why he was now ready to make his amends to her and Micky.  Gabby felt that together, Della and Davy made one whole excellent person, or more like one and a half, and she wanted to express her esteem for Della regardless of how she felt about Davy.

Micky insisted that they not invite them for a meal.  He said he just absolutely could not stomach trying to eat while his emotions would be in such turmoil.  He still had not overcome his tendency to withhold food when he was feeling upset or anxious.  Gabby countered that as a Jew it was blasphemy not to offer guests something to eat when you have them over to your home.  So they compromised and Gabby decided she would serve afternoon tea, which she thought Della would get a kick out of as a novelty and quaint custom of Britain, and no one would notice that Micky wasn't really eating anything.  He could sip from a teacup or just hold it in his hand.

Della and Davy arrived at four o'clock on Saturday, another strategic choice that would give both Gabby and Micky another day to recover their emotions before returning to work on Monday.  Della preceded Davy into the house and both Micky and Gabby hugged her with warm greetings.  As Davy entered, Micky obviated the need for Davy to decide how to handle the awkwardness of the moment by thrusting his hand out and saying "Hi, Davy, glad you could come over to see us."  A startled Davy took Micky's hand automatically and shook it mechanically.  Gabby looked at Della with silent inquiry, wondering what form of greeting she thought was appropriate, and Della just nodded her head, so Gabby approached Davy carefully, as one would a skittish woodland creature, and hugged him gently, saying "Hi, Davy.  Thanks for coming.  Come on in."  Davy's posture was stiff and unsure, but he let one hand rest lightly on Gabby's back for a moment before he stepped back and said "Hi, Gabby.  Thanks for 'aving us."

They gathered in the room that British people referred to as the lounge and Americans referred to as the living room, where a fire was burning in the fireplace and a low table had been set with various tea accoutrements, including a teapot, cups, sandwiches, scones, two kinds of cake and some tiny pastries. 

Gabby gestured for everyone to sit down.  She blushed and said "I will admit right off the top that I still don't know how to cook and I had this whole lot delivered earlier in the day."

Everyone laughed and the tension was somewhat broken.  As teacups, plates and food were distributed, chit chat ensued with Gabby taking the lead, inquiring about their trip over from the States, where they were staying, and what their itinerary for their trip was to include.  Della did most of the talking, though Davy did pipe up to fill in the details about their plans for him to introduce Della to his various relatives and tick off the towns and villages in which they lived.