Chapter 16
The Monkeemobile pulled up outside the pad and just behind it the two chicks in the VW Bug which had followed them from the Strip. Mike and Micky dived straight out of the car and ran in through the already opened front door to see Davy being held up against the wall his feet off the floor.
“Alan, put him down now!” Mike heard shouted from behind him.
“Guys, guys…you gonna try to give me a hand here? I kinda need some help,” Day shouted at the same time.
“No, Mary, let me deal with this my way,” Alan answered as he was dangling Davy, holding him up by his shoulders. Davy was trying his best to kick the guy, to get him to drop him.
“I haven’t done anything to your wife, I promise,” Davy yelped before he looked at the two identical chicks who were now one either side of Alan. He did a double take. “Please don’t thump me, and don’t mess up my face. Katherine, I thought you were single?” he asked the one in the pant suit.
“There! See, Alan, just like I’ve been trying to convince you all along! It’s Katherine that he’s been seeing. I wouldn’t cheat on you,” the chick in the mini dress shouted, and pulled at the guy’s arms to try to release Davy.
“Katherine, what’s going om here? Who are they and why are you all here? I guess she’s your twin, but I’ve never seen you before.” Davy shouted at Alan, “Will you please let go of me?”
Alan released his grip, causing Davy to fall, Katherine rushing to his side. “Are you okay? I’m sorry about this—my sister’s husband’s a brute. I’ve no idea what she sees in him.”
Alan glared at Mary. “So your sister’s been using our apartment for her hook-ups with this…midget, and the neighbors thought it was you messing me about?”
“Yes, she couldn’t take him to Mom and Dad’s. You know what they’re like, and she did use our spare room. Katherine…you did, didn’t you? You better have not been using our bed.”
“God, Mary what do you take me for? I wouldn’t do that. Your husband’s an idiot—it’s not the first time he’s got us both mixed up. Remember that time he came home drunk and stuck his tongue down my throat? He was like a hoover with all that suction. And squeezing my ass too.”
“Okay! I don’t need to be reminded of that again.” Mary turned from her sister to Alan. “So I hope you believe me now, and can we please go home?”
“Yes, Mary. I’m sorry, I’ll make it up to you,” he replied.
“Good. You’d better do that, and sorry about all this,” Mary said to Mike, Micky, and Pete.
“Don’t worry about me. I’ve got the Bug—you go home with him and calm him down,” Katherine ordered Mary as she gave Alan a death glare.
Mary mouthed thank you and forced Alan out of the front door. Katherine turned to Davy. “Sorry about that. Alan gets a bit hot-headed at times. At least he didn’t hit you.” She pulled Davy close and kissed him, to which be soon responded.
No one noticed the blonde chick in just Davy’s robe come down the spiral staircase, just as Davy was getting reacquainted with Katherine.
“Can someone please tell me what on earth’s going on here? David, who are all these people and who is she?” the chick screamed and pointed at Katherine.
“Marsha…I can explain. Just give me a minute. Katherine, please, I think it’s best if you leave.” Davy stared over at her and the door in a startled outburst.
“Who’s Marsha? I’m Martha and I think I’m gonna be leaving too.” She pulled Davy in front of her and slapped his face hard, leaving a stinging handprint.
Katherine went up to her, ignoring Davy. “I’m sorry. I had no idea he was here with someone. I’m supposed to be his girlfriend. He was seeing me before he left to go to England.”
“He told me he was single and lived in a Malibu beach pad on his own—successful lead singer in his own band, he said too! How many more lies have you been feeding me?” She gave Davy’s other cheek a slap.
“Well he doesn’t live here alone, and he certainly isn’t the lead singer in our band, because I am.” Micky stood forward proudly, stating the last fact.
“Okay…and a little cutie too.” Martha came up to Micky and stroked his cheek. “You single?”
“No sorry, I’ve got a girlfriend and we’re very happy together, but thanks for noticing me,” Micky answered with a grin and stared straight at Davy.
“He told me I could spend the night so I could save my airline hotel allowance. Can anyone recommend a decent hotel around here and call me a cab? I’m going to get dressed and don’t bother following or talking to me again.” She scowled right in Davy’s face.
“I’ll come up and help you with anything you need. I can’t believe what you’ve done. We’re through, Davy, and I never wanna see you again. You don’t need to call a cab—I’ll drop you off at a hotel.” Katherine told her.
Martha thanked Katherine and they both went upstairs to the bedroom together.
“You sure messed up there, Davy.” Mike laughed. “Where did you meet her? Wait. I’ve guessed. She was one of the stewardesses on your flight home, wasn’t she?”
“Yeah, she was. Come on, Mike, I’m sure you’d do the same if you were in my position! She couldn’t stop flirting with me. It was hard to resist her. I mean, you can’t miss that figure of hers.” Davy went over to the mirror to check his face. “She bloody well scratched me with her ring—look, it’s bleeding.” He pointed to a small graze on his cheek, picking up a Kleenex to wipe it.
“Something like this was bound to happen one day, Davy. Having so many dates with that many chicks was an accident waiting to happen,” Mike replied.
“I’m just making the best of what I was given. I can’t see myself settling down with one bird for a good while. You and Pete are getting to be like an old married couple, having quiet nights in. Come on, guys, you’re still young—get out and enjoy yourself.”
“Davy, I’m happy with how me and Mike are. I like spending time in together.”
“Come on, Pete, you’ve never been with a chick, so you can’t really comment. Micky, you know what I mean. I know you’re happy with Gemma right now, but a guy needs something to fall back on. I know some chicks that would date any of the three of you.” Davy sighed and shook his head.
“Well, Pete’s got a date with an eighteen-year-old on Friday, if you must know.” Micky couldn’t resist telling Davy the news.
Pete was gonna answer, but they heard the two girls coming down the stairs. Martha was in her uniform and fully made up. She was about five foot ten in her heels. She came and stood beside Davy and looked down at him, then thrust a piece of paper at him.
“Here, take your number back. I don’t need it. I knew I should’ve gone off with that older guy, but you just had that twinkle in your eye. At least I can look up to him—no offense, but your height… Well, you’re still a kid. I need a real man who knows exactly how to treat and look after a woman in every area.” She laughed. “At least I didn’t become another notch on your single bed post.”
“Are you ready to go?” Katherine asked her. “Davy, I wouldn’t bother trying to contact me again, and by the way, you have met Mary before—you were drunk and tried chatting her up, remember? She turned you down! We met the next date and I took advantage of you offering me a second chance.”
Martha was looking through her purse and showed Katherine a piece of paper. “You know this place? The guy said he’d be at this club tonight, and he said to meet up if I wanted, asked me to bring a friend for his brother too—you up for it?”
“Yeah, why not? Bye, Davy, I need a real man not a boy. Either of you two single?” Katherine asked Pete and Mike and winked at them.
“No,” they both answered in unison, shaking their heads.
“Okay, never mind. It’s your loss. You have a good life, Davy, and look after yourself. You know what, it’s a shame Alan didn’t hit you—you would’ve deserved it. Come on, Martha, let’s go.” She put her arm in Martha’s and they both left the pad.
Davy didn’t know what to say, He looked in shock. Micky went up and slapped him on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, I bet you’ll have forgotten about this by tomorrow and got another date lined up.”
“I’m sorry, guys, I didn’t mean for that to happen. I didn’t expect anyone to disturb us, but at least I won’t bump into Martha again. She lives in New York—she changed flights with another stewardess, and I wasn’t planning on seeing Katherine again.” He went to put the tea kettle on. “Thanks for coming to help with that guy, though.”
“No problem, Davy, you know we’ve all been busy working while you took off home…did you know that Alan guy was after your blood?” Mike asked him.
“I heard that someone was after me, but I really did have a family issue. My sister’s having a baby—she wanted to tell all the family together. We had a great party, and I caught up with some old friends. It was a good week.”
“You should really think about how you treat girls, Davy,” Pete added before Davy could say anything else. “What would you say if you knew another guy was treating one of your sisters like you do chicks? What would you do? How would you react to him?”
“I’d wanna kill him, messing my sister around. Well, if they didn’t get a good punch in first—you’ve not met my sisters. They’re scary and can look after themselves,” Davy answered back.
“I’d be the same. You have to look out for them, especially with me being the eldest. Mom would go mad if I didn’t.” Micky decided to add to the conversation.
“Let’s leave it at that. I just think you’ve not met the right person yet, Davy, and when you do, I really hope you’ll see the error of your ways and learn from your past mistakes. Come on, Mike, Micky, let’s get back to the club. We’re supposed to be helping those kids rehearse.”
“You coming with us, Davy?” Mike asked.
“No, it’s okay. Sorry, guys, but I do need to catch up on some sleep. I didn’t get any on the flight back. I’ll see you tomorrow and thanks for coming. I’m grateful for that.”
“You’ve got the pad to yourself, because I’m at Gemma’s tonight. I just need to collect a few things she left in our room. Give me five minutes, Mike, and I’ll be ready to go.”
“Sure, we’ll wait in the car for you, Micky. Davy, let’s just forget about what’s gone on today. It’s a new day tomorrow, the girls will be home in a few days and Pete and I will be back at the pad. Life will hopefully get back to some form of normality,” Mike said as he followed Pete to the car.
About half an hour later, they were all back at the Dive, Micky and Pete joining in with the kids’ music, Mike going upstairs to make a coffee. He found Gemma in the kitchen.
“You don’t mind, do you? Thought I’d make you some dinner. I did cheat and get a few things from the diner, but I’m cooking you some fries to go with the burgers and mac and cheese.”
“Thanks, but I need this first.” Mike said, pouring himself a coffee when the machine was ready.
“Bad day? Listen, if you ever need to talk and get anything out, I’m a good listener. The offer’s always there. I find it helps to get things out in the open.”
“It’s fine, but thank you. You’re a good influence on Mick. I think you’ve changed him for the better. He didn’t follow Davy’s lead, and you seem to have made him grow up.”
“That’s good to hear. I have some friends who I could introduce to Davy, good, settled girls, not teenagers… You think it could help?” Gemma asked.
“I don’t know. He’ll settle when he’s ready, I suppose. Best not to interfere,” Mike replied.
“Why don’t you go downstairs with the others? I’ll give you a shout when the food’s ready. Don’t tell Micky, but I’ve got apple pie and ice cream for dessert.”
Mike was soon sitting down, watching the guys on the stage with James, Jack, and Paul. Pete was playing the keyboard and Micky was shaking Davy’s tambourine. They were sounding much better, Jack was even trying some singing. Not a bad voice.Mike thought.
Pete’s idea of mixing classical music with rock and roll was sounding good. Micky stopped playing and came over to sit with Mike. “They’re doing well, aren’t they? Better than I thought. It’s been great helping them with this project.”
“Yeah, Mick. It’s doing you some good too. You’re changing for the better.”
“Oh, thanks, Dad.” Micky wrapped an arm around Mike and pulled him in for a hug. “You look and feel a little tense though. Aything I can do to help?”
Mike prodded Micky’s chest with a finger. “Hey, you in there, where’ve you hidden our favorite goof Mick and replaced him with a different guy?” He laughed.
“He’s still in there, Mike. Anytime you need him, he’ll be there for you, and anyway I could ask the same about you—where’s big tough Mike gone? I don’t miss him too much, because I kinda like the new version.”
“I guess we’ve both changed for the better, don’t you think?”
“Pete calls you his furry teddy bear, doesn’t he? He’s turning you soft in your old age.” Micky put his hand up and ruffled Mike’s hair. “I miss sharing a room with you, our late-night raps. Davy just talks about birds, girls and more chicks. I’m gonna buy him a new black book for Christmas, but do they make them with enough pages? I wonder if he rates them? You know, marks out of ten.”
“I’ve no idea, but don’t you go telling anyone I’m softening. Yeah, I guess being with Pete has changed me. He makes me happy, and I hope he feels the same way about me.”
“Mike, you can tell he does! You were made for each other. The perfect match. That’s why we helped, gave you the push you needed…otherwise you’d never have got together.”
“You’re never gonna let us forget that, are you?” Mike smiled as Micky shook his head.
“Do you blame me? You owe me.” Micky winked. “You can help me find a decent chick for Davy, someone who can cope with him and tame him… Do you think that a woman like that exists out there?”
“I’ve no idea. Where should we look first?” Mike laughed.
“She’s bound to be somewhere. She could be the female version of him.” Micky said.
The band soon got through some covers and played Pete’s music a few times, when a man came into the club and came over to Paul “Are you all nearly finished?” He turned to the Monkees. “Thanks for helping them out. Paul can’t stop talking about what he’s been doing.”
“No problem. We’re enjoying it too, and they’re playing really well,” Micky said to him.
“I heard them the other evening—I sneaked in when they didn’t know. I didn’t want to embarrass Paul. They sounded good, and it’s good to see them focused on something worthwhile. It’s learning a new skill as well. I know one of you has been teaching them at their school?”
“Yeah, that’ll be Pete over there on the keyboards. He wrote some music for them too.”
“Good. We need to go, kids, your mom and aunt are getting an early dinner ready.”
The guys packed up their instruments and were soon on their way out. Mike came over to Micky and Pete from where he’d been in the office sorting out a alcohol order. “Who was that guy? I’ve seen him here a few times over the past week. He doesn’t look like he’s the type to hang around clubs, don’t you think?”
“It was Paul’s dad. He came to take them home, and he did say he’d come to watch them the other day, so you probably saw him then,” Micky answered.
“I guess so. Come on, we better get things ready for the night. I’ll be glad when Ronnie’s back. It’s been hard work, and long hours, for Pete too, covering for Ronnie and he took extra on as well.”
They had a break for dinner after the kids left and soon got on with the rest of the evening, which went by without any problems.
The next morning, Mike decided to start cleaning up the apartment. They hadn’t really left a mess, but he didn’t want the girls to think they’d been lazy. He took advantage of the girls’ washer and laundered some of his and Pete’s clothes ready to pack for going home.
Micky and Davy arrived back at about half past eleven. They’d been out early to submit the license forms to City Hall, and Mike was hoping things had gone well.
“Well, Davy worked his magic as always, and the receptionist got us in to see the mayor.”
“I got myself a date for tonight with her too—she’s a good-looking bird. I can tell she’ll be up for some fun. She’s coming to pick me up here. She’s got a little sports car, and I bet she’s as racy.”
“Davy, just be careful…remember the trouble last night,” Mike made a point of reminding him.
“Already asked her. She’s an only child and single. I’ve learnt something, you know. Well, we got about ten minutes with the mayor—”
Micky interrupted, taking over. “He’s a decent guy, I’d say. He mentioned that he’d talked to Susan’s dad and offered to help us, but only after our part of the bargain is done: if Susan is happy after Friday night, he’ll sign and approve everything, so you need to make sure Pete’s ready for this.”
“I’ll work on Pete and help him with how to treat a bird. Don’t worry about anything,” Davy added.
“I’ll be there, too, remember, so I can help, and there’s hotel rooms provided for the guest. I found out me and Gemma have been allocated one. S’good for me, but just to warn you, Susan’s family name is on the list for two rooms.”
Mike stepped back, hitting the table. “What, you don’t think she’ll be expecting Pete to stay over—”
Mike was interrupted by the ringing phone. “Hello. Yes, it’s Mike…what…I thought they’d be home tomorrow…how much longer? Okay, thanks for letting me know.”
“What,s happened? Who was that?” Micky asked.
“Ronnie’s dad. The girls won’t be back tomorrow, and he doesn’t know when they will either. He didn’t have much time to say anything as he’s rushing off to go to them.”
Mike now started to worry what was up. Was it a problem with either of the pregnancies? And if there was, how was he going to tell Pete? He already knew Pete would be freaked out if he had to spend a night with Susan. I don’t want to be the bearer of double bad news… What am I gonna do?