Part Three
3a
Two days later
"What's up with Mike?" Micky asked one morning at breakfast. Mike
was still upstairs or so
Micky thought. Otherwise he wouldn't have asked the question.
"What do you mean?" Davy asked.
"He has been acting strange the last few days," Peter said.
"How so?" Davy asked.
"He actually stays home," Micky said.
"What's so strange about that?"
"He hasn't been to see Ellen in a few days and she hasn't called,"
Micky explained.
"Do you think they had a fight?" Davy asked.
"I hope not," Peter said. "I really liked having her around. She
was a good influence on Mike."
The conversation continued with much speculation as to what had
happened.
Mike watched them from the top of the stairs. They probably thought
he was still asleep or
something. The truth was he hadn't slept much in the past two nights and
when he did sleep, he
dreamed about things he shouldn't. He dreamed about blood and war and
death and a love strong
enough to survive for all time.
He missed Ellen. Two days and he felt like his whole world was
falling apart. He hadn't meant
to hurt her, he just wanted her to understand how he felt. Maybe he had
gone about it the wrong way,
but it had helped him understand his dreams.
He hadn't told Micky, Peter, and Davy what had happened and they
hadn't asked. Still, they
knew something was wrong. He knew he should probably tell them. After
all, if it hadn't been for them
he and Ellen wouldn't have dated at all.
It seemed so stupid to throw away four wonderful months because of
some bad dreams.
Downstairs, the conversation had turned to other areas of his
relationship with Ellen.
"Do you think they, uh, ever, well, you know?" Peter asked,
blushing. Micky and Davy giggled,
which made Peter blush even more.
"Not that it's any of your business, but yes, we did," Mike said,
joining them in the kitchen.
"How did you-" Micky started to say.
"I heard the entire conversation," Mike said. "I was listening from
the top of the stairs. You
should be more careful next time."
Peter blushed again, Micky stammered out and apology, and Davy
decided maybe it would be
best if he went somewhere else for a while. Mike didn't try to stop him.
There would be time later to
talk.
When Micky finished eating he decided he needed to do some things
in town and Davy was still
down at the beach, so Peter and Mike were left alone.
"Hey Mike?"
"What, Peter?"
"Davy didn't mean what he said."
Mike didn't say anything at first. He had enough to worry about
without Davy causing more
problems. Davy did have an annoying habit of getting on his nerves and
some of the things he'd said
earlier would not help matters any. Just because girls usually feel for
Davy was no reason for him to
worry. Okay, so maybe he was a little worried. After all, until a week
ago, things had been great
between him and Ellen. Now everything was different. "Davy doesn't
always think before he says
something," Mike said.
"Mike, what happened with Ellen?" Peter asked. "Did you have a
fight?"
"Not exactly," Mike said. He really didn't want to talk about what
had happened, but he felt
that perhaps Peter might be able to understand better than Micky or
Davy.
"Then what did happen?" Peter asked.
That was it. Mike just couldn't take it anymore. "Damn it, Peter,
do you have to be so nosy? If
I had wanted you to know what happened, I would have told you."
Peter just sat there, stunned. He knew Mike had a temper. After
all, he had known Mike longer
than the others. Still, it had hurt when Mike yelled at him. "I'm
sorry," he said, trying to hold back the
tears. "I was just worried about you." Unable to hold back his tears any
longer, Peter left the table and
went upstairs to the bedroom.
"Damn," Mike muttered to himself as he watched Peter run away. He
hadn't meant to hurt
Peter. He just didn't want to hear anymore questions or have Peter feel
sorry for him because of what
had happened with Ellen. Peter hadn't meant to make him mad, he was just
trying to be a good friend.
This was turning out to be the worst week of his life.
A few hours later.
Davy had returned from the beach, but he was avoiding Mike, who was
sitting on the couch
playing his guitar. Peter had come downstairs and was fixing himself a
sandwich. He had apologized to
Mike about making him mad and Mike in turn had somewhat explained what
had happened with Ellen.
Things had calmed down considerably.
Micky returned around noon. "Hey guys, mail's here. Mostly bills.
Who do we know in San
Francisco?"
"Maybe it's just another bill," Peter said.
"I don't think so," Mike said, taking the letter from Micky. "It's
from the Shady Palms Country
Club. Maybe it's a job."
"A job? We haven't worked in weeks," Micky said with barely
contained excitement.
"Open it," Peter said.
"Yeah, open it," Davy said.
"Okay, okay, everybody calm down," Mike said. He opened the letter
and read it to himself.
"What is it?" Micky asked.
"Is it a job?" Peter asked hopefully.
Or maybe a contest?" Davy asked.
"This is very interesting," Mike said.
"What is?" Micky asked.
"This stamp," Mike said. "It's a peace symbol. See?" He passed the
envelope around.
"Groovy," Micky said. "What did the letter say?"
"It says that Mr. Richards, owner of the Shady Palms Country Club,
wishes to hire us for a one
week engagement at the club, room and board provided and he'll pay us
$1000. He needs us there
tomorrow at 4:30."
"Wow, a $1000, that's enough money to pay the rent and have lots of
money left over," Micky
said. "This could be the big break."
"We already have the rent money," Mike said. "This means we get
$250 a piece. That's a lot
of money."
But no one heard him. They were already upstairs packing.
Mike couldn't sleep that night. He was thinking about what he could
do with $250. He could
afford to take Ellen out to a nice restaurant for once. Or maybe he
could buy her a nice present to
show her that he was sorry for the way he had acted earlier. He hadn't
meant to upset her, he just
wanted her to believe.
He knew if he didn't get to sleep soon he would never get up in
time in the morning. They had to
leave early so they could get to San Francisco in plenty of time. This
job could be the beginning of big
things for them and he wanted Ellen to be with him, but he hadn't told
her they were going. Maybe the
time apart would be good for them. He finally drifted off to sleep and
begin to dream.
He was in a small cabin. The only light was from a lantern hanging
on the wall. He paced nervously
around the small room. He stopped in front of a door. He wanted to go
in, but he wasn't sure if he
should. He could hear crying and muffled voices on the other side. He
wanted to go in and be with his
wife. The first pains had come early that morning and now it was near
midnight and still the child had
not come. Something was wrong, he knew that much although no one had
told him. The child was in
danger. He could sense it.
The door opened and the doctor came out. "How is she?" he asked the
doctor.
"Not good," the doctor said. "The baby is in the wrong position.
She's bleeding badly. I'm
afraid we may lose them both. You have to prepare yourself for that
possibility."
From the other side of the door there came and agonized scream and
a loud voice demanded,
"Doc, get in here now."
The doctor went back in the room. He tried to follow, but the
doctor wouldn't let him. He tried
to wait patiently, but it was hard. He didn't want her or the baby to
die. She was the only woman he
had ever loved. They had met as children and he had loved her then. They
had married as soon as she
was old enough. That had only been two years ago. Now he might lose her
and their child. he prayed.
Suddenly he heard the faint sound of a baby crying.
Ten long minutes later the doctor reemerged from the room, wiping
his bloody hands on a
towel. "It was difficult, but you have a healthy son. He has a good set
of lungs, too. Your wife is doing
good, too, although she will need to rest for a long time. I'll be
checking in on her everyday."
He was so happy he wanted to scream. He shook the doctor's hand,
not caring that it was
bloody. "Thank you doc," he said. "May I go see them now?"
The doctor's face became sad. "There was another baby," he said. "A
little girl. She didn't live
but about a minute or two. I'm sorry, there was nothing that could be
done. At least you have a healthy
son and there will more children later. I can notify Mr. Peterson if you
want me to."
"Yes, please do that," he said. Mr. Peterson was the mortician in
town. They could bury the
baby in the family plot next to his father and his baby brother. He
remember when his brother had
died, how devastated his mother had been. She hadn't wanted to get out
of bed for weeks. He didn't
want the same thing to happen to Julie.
"I'll stop by in the morning, Marc," the doctor said. "Tell Julie
to take it easy, please. Be
grateful, you have a healthy son."
"Thanks, doc. See you tomorrow."
The doctor left and he went in to see his wife. She was sleeping,
but she did not look
completely relaxed. She was probably still in pain from the delivery.
"Does she know?" he asked the
woman in the room. It was his sister, Angela.
"She knows about the boy, she saw him. We didn't tell her about the
girl. She passed out when
she delivered her. Would you like to see your son?"
"Yes," he said and she handed him a small bundle. He looked down at
the tiny face of his son
and he was filled with hope.
"He looks like you did when you were a baby," Angela said. "You had
just a bit of dark hair
like him."
"He's perfect," Marc said. The baby began to fuss and he handed him
back to Angela. "I want
to see the other one before Mr. Peterson gets here."
She laid the baby in the cradle and picked up the other baby. She
handed it to him and he
looked at her. She was perfect, beautiful just like Julie. Why hadn't
she been allowed to live? It just
wasn't fair. He wanted to cry, but didn't want Angela to think him weak.
Still, looking down into the
face of his dead daughter, he couldn't hold back the tears. "It's not
fair," he said.
"What's not fair?" a male voice asked.
Mike opened his eyes and looked around. Peter was standing beside
his bed. It was light
outside and judging by the three empty beds everybody was awake. "Sorry,
just talking in my sleep I guess," Mike said. "What time is it?"
"It's 9:00. Micky and Davy are already downstairs getting ready to
go."
"Okay. I'll be done in a few minutes."
"You had a bad dream, didn't you?" Peter asked.
Mike didn't say anything, just nodded.
"I thought so," Peter said. "It's nothing to worry about. Everybody
has bad dreams from time
to time."
"Not like these, Pete," Mike said. "I've never had dreams like
these. They're so real."
"Do you want to talk about them?"
"No, not right now. Maybe later."
"I understand," Peter said and went downstairs, leaving Mike alone
to prepare for the day
ahead.
Another dream, but this one was different. It was the same people,
but this time he had names. He knew he had to write down as much as he
could remember to tell Ana. She would ask specific questions and he
wanted to be able answer them. He found a piece of paper and a pencil
and wrote down the information. He took a shower and dressed all the
while wondering how Ellen was holding up.
End 3a
3b
Ellen stared at the phone and wished for the millionth time that it
would ring. Every time someone had called she had hoped it would be
Mike. And every time she had been crushed when it wasn't him. Why didn't
he call? Didn't he realize how much they needed each other? She'd had
three days to think about what he had told her and while she still
didn't totally believe, she knew he believed. Still, she couldn't help
but wonder if it could be true. There was something familiar about the
way he touched her, the way he kissed her, how she felt when they made
love. She had never felt like that with anyone before, so alive, so
free. No one but Mike. And Robert. She had felt that way with him, but
she told herself it was because that had been the first time. It was
supposed to feel that way. The past was past. She couldn't change it.
Should she call him? Would he even want to talk to her? He had seemed
pretty upset when he left. Still, it had been three days. Maybe things
had calmed down. She missed him and wanted to see him again. She wanted
to assure him that everything was okay, that she still loved him. They
could work out whatever the problem might be.
The phone rang.
End Part 3b.
Part 3c
They arrived in San Francisco at 4:00 and went to the Shady Palms
Country Club to meet Mr. Richards and find out their schedule. Mr.
Richards, a distinguished looking gentleman in his mid forties, told
them they would play for an hour each night for five nights at eight
o'clock and on the dance Saturday night, which was scheduled for 8:30
until midnight. They would also get an extra $500 dollars for that. He
had already arranged for them to stay at the hotel next door and they
were free to enjoy the club until it was time for them to set up that
evening. He was even paying for room service.
"Thank you, Mr. Richards," Mike said. "This is very generous of you.
Why did you pick us?"
"I've always had a good ear for music. My bother heard your act one
day, he told me about it and I decided to check it out for myself. I
loved it and I think the younger members will love it, too. See you back
here at 7:30."
"Yes, sir, Mr. Richards."
"Very good," he said. "I'll see you then." He shook their hands and
left.
"I like him," Davy said.
"There's got to be a catch somewhere," Mike said. "$1500 for so little
work. That's $375 a piece."
"Don't worry about it, Mike," Micky said. "We need the money and maybe
Mr. Richards will recommend us to his friends."
"Let's go to the hotel," Peter said. "I want rest before we have to
play tonight."
"Pete, you slept most of the way here," Micky said. "How could you
possibly be tired?"
"I wasn't asleep," Peter said. "It's hard to sleep in a car, especially
the way you drive."
"I'm not a bad driver," Micky said. "I didn't see you volunteering to
drive."
"Mike wouldn't let me," Peter said.
"Let's not start fighting," Mike said. "Let's just go to the hotel and
put our stuff away and then we can have a look around."
"I hope there are lots of pretty girls here," Davy said as they entered
the hotel lobby.
"Is that all you think about?" Mike asked.
"What else is there?"
"You're hopeless."
From the couch in the corner, the girl watched them. She already knew
this was the band that would be playing at Shady Palms. Her mother was
Mr. Richards' secretary and had helped make the arrangements. They were
a nice looking bunch of guys, especially the tall one with the hat. He
was obviously the leader. She liked men with a take charge attitude. She
would definitely have to see them at the club tonight. Things could get
very interesting. Maybe the summer wouldn't be a total waste after all.
The short one had noticed her and was trying to get her attention. She
laughed at his attempts to flirt with her from a distance, but she was
concentrating on someone else.
"Come on, Davy," the tall one said.
"But Mike, there's a girl over there. I think she likes me."
"Maybe she'll still be here in a few minutes. Right now we have other
things to do."
They went down the hallway that led to the elevator.
So his name was Mike. Nice name, simple, easy to remember. And that
accent. He sounded like somebody out of a western or something. She
liked westerns.
******************************************
"I think that girl downstairs was interested," Davy said as they were
getting settled in their room. They had been given a suite, two rooms
connected through the bathroom. There were two beds in each room. There
had been much discussion on who got which room and they had decided to
shoot for it. Davy and Micky got one room while Mike and Peter got the
other.
"Davy, if your ego gets any bigger you won't be able to fit through the
door," Micky said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Davy asked.
"It means if you meet a girl, don't bring her here," Mike said. "I
don't want anybody causing any trouble while we're here. Understood?"
"Yes, Daddy," Micky said. "No girls."
"I'm not here to meet girls," Peter said.
"Maybe that girl is still downstairs," Davy said. "I'm going to go
see."
"I'll go with you," Micky said. He and Davy left.
"I'm going to get something to eat," Peter said.
"Pete, you can just call room service," Mike said.
"I want to get something from the club. And then I guess I'll look
around and find something to do."
"Do you want me to come with you?"
"No, I'll be okay by myself. I'll find Micky and Davy and ask them to
come with me. I'll see you later."
"Be careful," Mike said.
"I will," Peter said and left.
"He sure was in a hurry to get out of here," Mike said to himself. "And
he didn't want me to go with him. He's up to something, I know it. What
is it?" Mike sat down on the bed and looked around the room. He was
alone in a strange city. His friends were off doing stuff and he was
left with nobody to talk to. "That's it. He wants me to call Ellen." He
picked up the phone and begin to dial her number.
Behind him he heard the door open and figured it was just Micky or Davy
coming back to ask him if he wanted to go somewhere with them. Except
they didn't wear perfume and he could smell it. "Hi, Mike," a very
familiar voice said.
He hung up the phone and turned around. They had been set up. Again. He
didn't say anything, didn't know what to say. Beautiful, she was so
beautiful. The dress was new, a little low cut on top, short skirt. That
was the new style. He liked it. It looked good on her. He'd give
anything to see her out of it. The perfume was new, too. She had done
this for him, the new dress, the new perfume, coming all the way here.
That meant something. Finally, he found his voice. "I've missed you,
Ellen."
End Part Three
Part Four
"I've missed you so much," he whispered as he held her close to
him. "These last few days
have been terrible."
"I missed you, too," she said. It felt so good to have him hold her
again. "I'm sorry for the way
I acted."
"I shouldn't have gotten so upset with you," he said. "I just
wanted you to believe me."
She didn't say anything, didn't really know what to say. She'd had
a dream herself the night
before. It had been so real but still she didn't feel ready to tell him
about it. Later, maybe, but now was
not the right time.
She started to say something, but he stopped her with a kiss, a
deep, hungry kiss that she didn't
want to end. She kissed him back with the same hungry passion. Nothing
else mattered except this
moment.
It ended all too soon. "How did you know I was here?" he asked.
"Peter called me," she said. "He told me where you were going and
hinted that it would be a
nice surprise if I decided to visit."
"Remind me to thank him later," he said and kissed her again, a
little slower and sweeter, but
just as passionate. He'd never wanted anything as much as he wanted her
then. His searching fingers
quickly found the zipper on her dress. He started to unzip it when the
sound of footsteps in the hallway
stopped him. He pulled away from her. "Maybe we shouldn't do this," he
said. "What if they come
back and catch us?"
"They won't be back anytime soon," Ellen said. "Peter assured me
that we would have a few
hours to ourselves. He's going to keep Micky and Davy occupied. We have
nothing to worry about."
Then, with a smile he would always remember, she kissed him and began to
unbutton his shirt. "I
suggest you finish what you started," she said.
He was happy to oblige.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the hotel Davy was trying to find the girl
again, but she seemed to
have disappeared. "I think I'll go back to the room and help Mike
unpack," he said to Micky and
Peter.
"I'll go with you," Micky said. "It's boring down here."
"No!" Peter said. "You can't go to the room. You have to stay here
for a little while longer."
"Why?" Micky asked.
"Yeah, why can't we go back to the room?" Davy asked.
"Uh, because Mike doesn't need any help unpacking. Well, he's not
unpacking. He's doing
something else, maybe, but he doesn't need any help," Peter said. "He's
not alone."
"Peter, is there something you and Mike forgot to tell us?" Micky
asked.
"Mike didn't know about it. It was all my idea," Peter said.
"What was your idea?" Davy asked.
"I invited Ellen to the hotel so she and Mike could work things
out. I thought it needed to be
done."
"There goes my chance," Davy said.
"She wouldn't go with you if you were the last man on earth," Micky
told him. "I think that was
a very nice thing you did, Peter. How long until we can go back to the
room?"
"We can go back at 6:00. That will give us some time to plan for
tonight's performance," Peter
said. "I wanted to give them plenty of time to talk."
"And do other things," Davy said.
"Don't you ever think about anything else?" Micky asked.
"Sometimes," Davy replied, "but not much."
"What do we do until six?" Peter asked.
"I'm hungry," Micky said. "Let's go get something to eat."
Just then Davy spotted the girl. "You guys go on, I'll meet you
there. I'm going to go talk to
that girl."
"He's hopeless," Micky said. "Meet us at the restaurant at the
club," he said to Davy as he and
Peter left.
Davy walked up to the girl. " Ello, luv, I'm Davy Jones" he said in
his most charming tone of
voice. "Didn't I see you here earlier today?"
The girl looked at him. "Oh yes, you're in that band that's playing
at the Shady Palms, aren't
you? My mother helped book you. I'm Cyndie. Where's the rest of the
band?"
"They're not here," he said. "It's just you and me. Are you
planning on being at the club tonight
to hear us play?"
"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Cyndie said. "Excuse me, but my mother is expecting me home soon. I'll see
you later."
"Sure thing, luv," he said. "Hope you enjoy the show."
"I'm sure I will," she said and left.
Davy thought.
Back in Mike's room
"Tell me about your dreams," Ellen said as they lay together
afterwards.
"Are you sure you want to know about them?" Mike asked. The last
hour had been pretty
peaceful and he didn't want to ruin it.
"Yes, I want to know about them, please. We shouldn't keep secrets
from each other."
He wanted to ask her then about New York, but knew it still wasn't
the right time. There were
still too many unanswered questions. Did she even realize he knew? Did
she even remember it? "It's
like I told you already, it's us, but it's the Civil War. What else do
you want to know?"
"How many dreams have you had so far?"
"Three. One the night of your birthday, one three nights ago, and
one last night."
"Did anything bad happen in the dreams?" This was important. Her
dream had been painful.
"I told you, I died in the war. Is that bad?" He didn't want to
tell her about the latest dream, the
one about the babies. He didn't know how she would take it.
"Which dream was that?" she asked. She had the feeling there was
something she wasn't telling
him.
"It was the second one. The first one we were children, probably
about eleven years old. I fell
in love with you in that dream."
"What were our names?"
"My name was Marc and your name was Julie."
"That's what I thought."
"Ellen, what did you mean by that? Did you have a dream, too?"
"Yes, I had a dream last night. I didn't want to tell you, that
would make it real. It was so
terrible, Mike. She was such a little thing, our baby. Why didn't she
live?" She couldn't hold back the
tears. Remembering the dream was like living it all over again.
"Ellen, in this dream, was there another baby, a boy, and he
lived?"
"Yes. How did you know?"
"I had the same dream, well sorta. The same situation, but my point
of view."
"Do you think it really happened, we lived then?"
"I don't know, but it feels right. I just wish I knew why it was
happening now."
"I love you, Mike," she said.
"I love you, too," he whispered and softly kissed her.
They drifted back to sleep, safe in each other's arms and that's
how they were when Micky,
Davy, and Peter returned.
End Part Four
Part Five
5a
More people than they expected had turned out to hear them play.
Most of them were teenagers
and young adults there with parents, but there were a few older people
in the audience. Davy
immediately spotted Cyndie, but Cyndie had her eye on Mike, who was
searching the crowd for Ellen.
When he spotted her he almost dropped his guitar. She was wearing the
black dress she had worn on
their first date. She smiled and waved when she saw him. He smiled back
and winked at her. He was
glad they had managed to work things out.
Cyndie, however, failed to notice that Mike didn't want her. She
didn't care. She wanted him
and she always got what she wanted.
They started with their usual songs like Last Train to Clarksville,
Steppin' Stone, She, etc, with
Micky singing most of the songs. Davy sang Daydream Believer and Peter
sang a new song he had
written called For Pete's Sake. The audience really liked it.
Finally, it was Mike's turn. This was going to be the last song of
the evening. "The hour is almost
up," Mike said. "We have time for one more song. This is for a very
special lady and I hope she
understands just how much she means to me. This is a little something I
like to call Sweet Young
Thing."
Afterwards they were at the club restaurant eating when Mr.
Richards came up to their table. "I
just wanted to let you know I enjoyed the show very much and I think the
young people enjoyed it, too.
Cyndie in particular asked me to tell you that she enjoyed the show,
especially the last song. I think
she's taken quite a shine to you." This last statement was directed at
Mike.
"I'm flattered, but I've already got a girl," Mike said.
"I wouldn't worry about it," Mr. Richards said. "Cyndie's the type
that falls in love all the time."
"Sounds like somebody else we know," Micky said after Mr. Richards
left.
"Who's Cyndie?" Peter asked.
"She's the blond we saw earlier when we were checking in," Davy
said. "Nice girl, marvelous
qualities, you might say. Why is Mike getting all the girls now?"
"I don't want her," Mike said. "I've got a girl in case you didn't
notice."
"Where is Ellen anyway?" Micky asked.
"She's resting," Mike explained. "It was a long trip and she's
tired."
"What are we going to do about sleeping arrangements now?" Peter
asked. "You two probably
want to be alone."
"She has her own room," Mike said. "Since she's tired tonight,
you're stuck with me."
"So you did works things out, right?" Micky asked.
"Yeah, everything's okay now," Mike said.
"Then why aren't you staying with her tonight?" Davy asked.
"Because we don't feel the need to be with each other every second
of the day and night,"
Mike explained. Davy's attitude was really starting to bother him.
"It's getting late," Micky said. "I think we better hit the sack.
It's been a long day."
"What's the plan for tomorrow?" Peter asked.
"Ellen said something about playing tourist," Mike said. "She's
never been to San Francisco
before."
"I don't have any plans," Micky said.
"I guess we'll just play it by ear and do whatever we want
tomorrow. Just as long as we're
back here at 6:00. Agreed?" Mike said.
"Agreed," they all answered.
End 5a
5b
The Next Day
Mike awoke at 8:30 the next morning, somewhat surprised that he
hadn't dreamed about that
other life. He hadn't even dreamed at all. Maybe the dreams were over.
Or maybe there just wasn't
anything he needed to know from then right now.
He was meeting Ellen at 9:00 for breakfast and then they were going
to have a look around the
city. Their problems were behind them. Or so he thought. The course of
true love never did run smooth
and they were about to discover just how true that was.
He was walking down the hall to Ellen's room when he saw someone
walking towards him. It was
that blond girl, Cyndie. Maybe she wouldn't see him. No such luck, she
was headed right for him.
Good morning," she said in a breathy voice that sounded remarkably like
Marilyn Monroe.
"Hi," he said and attempted to continue on his way, but she stopped
him with a hand on his
arm. He noticed she had bright red nail polish and the nails were
obviously fake. She must have spent a
long time studying old movies. He still wasn't interested.
"I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed the show last night," she
said. "You're very talented."
"Thank you," he said, wanting to get away from her. he thought. He had
smelled rotting animals that
smelled better than whatever perfume she had doused herself in. "Excuse
me, but I have somewhere to
be." She didn't say anything, just smiled and batted her false eyelashes
at him. She had definitely been
watching the late movie too much. He couldn't take it anymore. He
removed her hand from his arm and
without another word, continued to Ellen's room.
Cyndie watched him walk away, one thought on her mind. She wanted
him and would do anything
to get him.
He didn't knock when he got to Ellen's room, just walked in. She
was expecting him so he figured it
wouldn't be a problem. She was sitting on the edge of the bed. "You
ready to go?" he asked. She
didn't answer. That's when he noticed she was crying. He sat down beside
her on the bed and put his
arm around her, pulling her close. "What's wrong?" he asked. Had he done
something to upset her?
Did she know about Cyndie and think he had encouraged her pursuit? He
hoped not. So much had
happened lately, they didn't need anymore problems.
"I called my mother," she said finally. "I just wanted her to know
where I was in case she tried
to call me or something."
"What did she say?" Whatever it was, it had to be bad. He had only
encountered Judy once
before, but that was enough. Perhaps if they had met under different
circumstances, things would be
different, but he couldn't change the past.
"She said that I shouldn't have come here," Ellen said between
sobs. "She said I deserve better
than you and I should have left when I had the chance."
"Don't let it bother you," Mike said, gently wiping away her tears.
"It doesn't matter what your
mother thinks of me."
"It matters to me," Ellen said. "I want her to like you."
"Well, sweetheart, people in hell want ice water, but that don't
mean they get it," he said. "As
long as you love me, it doesn't matter what your mother thinks. You do
love me, don't you?"
She didn't hesitate to answer. "Of course I love you," she said.
She had stopped crying.
He smiled. "Good, because I love you, too," he said and gently
brushed his lips against hers in
a light kiss that promised of more later. "Now go get ready because
we're going to breakfast and then
we're going explore the city."
"What about tonight?" she asked.
He thought about it for a second and then whispered something in
her ear that made her blush
and giggle. "Really?" she asked.
"Yeah, it sounds like fun to me," he said. "The sooner we get
started on the day the sooner we
can get around to that."
"I'll be out in a minute," she said, heading for the bathroom. She
was already dressed, she just
needed to wash her face and redo her makeup. She knew she shouldn't let
what her mother said upset
her, but she couldn't help it. She loved her mother and wanted her to be
happy for her. So what if
Mike was different from her other boyfriends, he loved her and she loved
him. That should be enough
for her mother. But it wasn't. Nothing was ever good enough for her
mother. she
thought to herself as she was putting on her makeup.
"I'm ready," she said, coming out of the bathroom.
Hand in hand and smiling, they went to the restaurant at the club
for breakfast.
******************************************************************
Cyndie sat at a table in the Shady Palms restaurant, watching Mike
and Ellen. There had to be
some way to break them up so she could have Mike for herself. He would
be devastated and she
would be there to comfort him. She just needed to come up with a way to
make it happen.
The first thing Davy noticed as he entered the restaurant was
Cyndie sitting alone. Then he
noticed what held her attention. He walked up to her table and sat down
across from her. "Ello," he
said. "I noticed you watching Mike. You want him?"
"Yes," Cyndie answered. "You're his friend, can you help me?"
He smiled that smile that made most females melt. "Of course I can
help. You want him, I want
her. I've got a plan," he said and begin to tell her his plan.
End 5b
Part 5c
"I think I liked New York better," Mike said as they walked around
San Francisco. It had
been one boring shop after another and he wanted to go back to the
hotel.
"I didn't know you had been to New York," Ellen said. "When were
you there?"
"A few years ago, just for a week," he said. Now was not the time
to ask her about that.
"I used to live in New York," she said. "Not for very long, though.
I was 18 and rebelling a bit.
Mom didn't like it, but I loved it. She didn't speak to me for two weeks
after I came back to
California."
"What happened to get you talking again?" He didn't always get
along with his mother, but he
couldn't imagine her being so mad at him to not speak to him for so
long.
"She set me up with Joey. She adored Joey, still does, actually. I
think that's part of why she
doesn't like you."
"What about you?" Okay, he was curious. After all, he felt he had a
right to know.
"If I didn't have a contract with him, I would be happy to never
see him again," she said. "As
soon as it's over, I'm going to find a new agent and hope I never see
Joey again."
"How much longer do you have?"
"One year or a movie. I think that's why he won't get me a movie,
he wants to keep me. I think
I shattered his ego when I dumped him. It didn't bother me, though. I
was tired of him."
"How long was that before we started dating?"
"It was about four months," she answered. Joey had spent those four
months begging her to
take him back, but she had refused. She had never regretted the
decision, even before she met Mike.
She had gotten tired of Joey. Now she wished she could get rid of him.
"So I got you on the rebound?"
"No, I was over Joey long before I dumped him."
"Glad to hear it," he said. He checked his watch. "It's about lunch
time. You hungry?"
"Yes. Let's go to the Top of the Mark."
"Aren't they expensive?"
"My treat."
He reluctantly agreed.
At the Top of the Mark
The food was very good and the prices reflected that. It sure beat
the food they'd had the
week before on her birthday. He still felt a bit guilty about that, but
it didn't seem to bother her.
"Do you like Mexican food?" he asked her.
"I never really had it," she said. "Why?"
"There's this great little Mexican restaurant back home in Texas.
When we go, I'll have to take
you."
"When we go? I don't remember you asking me to go."
"Okay, I'm asking you now. I get $375 from this gig. When we have
the time, I would like to
take you to Texas for a few days so you can meet my mother and my
friends. Do you want to?"
"You want me to meet your mother? I'd love to. What about Ana?"
"I'd like you to meet her, too. She's really looking forward to
it."
"You told her before you even asked me?"
"No, I didn't. I just sorta mentioned I had been thinking about it
when I talked to her a few
days ago. Don't get mad. There's no reason to get mad at her about
this."
"I'm not mad," she said. "I want to go, I want to meet her. When
are we going?"
"I don't know," he said, relieved that she didn't appear to be mad
at him. "It will have to be
sometime when we both have a week or two free. It's a long way to Texas.
Besides, I'd have to talk to
my mother about letting us stay with her and I'd have to talk to Ana.
There's a lot of planning to do
about this. We'll talk about it later."
she thought.
After lunch they did more exploring. They rode the cable car and
saw the Golden Gate Bridge
and Ellen got mad at Mike when he tried to climb up on the railing. She
was afraid he was going to fall,
but he didn't. He just wanted to see what she would do.
They were walking down Market Street when Ellen saw the sign.
"Mike, look at this," she said,
pointing to the sign. It said, Madame Rose sees all, knows all. Ask any
question and she will answer it.
1401 Market St.'
"You want to go talk to her?" Mike asked.
"I'm curious," Ellen admitted. "There's nothing to lose. Let's do
it."
It was only two blocks to Madame Rose's and they had plenty of time
so they went. Mike
wasn't sure what to expect, but this wasn't it. The room was brightly
lit and smelled of incense. On the
table in the corner there was a deck of cards, a crystal, and a candle.
Against one wall there was a
large bookcase filled with books of all sizes. One in particular caught
his eye. He took it off the shelf
and looked at the title. The Search For Bridey Murphy. he
thought to himself. He opened the book and began to read.
A door that neither of them seemed to have noticed opened and
Madame Rose appeared. She was
a tall woman with long gray hair piled on top of her head in a bun. She
didn't look older than thirty
except for her hair. She wore a simple white dress, very little makeup,
and her only jewelry was a pearl
necklace and a gold wedding ring. "How may I help you?" she asked.
"You're Madame Rose?" Ellen asked, somewhat surprised.
"Yes, I am Madame Rose. You were expecting someone different? Maybe
a bit flashier?"
"Yes," Ellen answered.
"You're honest," Madame Rose said. "I like that. I don't like
stereotypes. It tends to be bad
for business. Too many frauds out there and they give those of us with a
genuine gift a bad name." She
walked up to Mike and looked at the book in his hands. "Interested in
past lives, Mr. Nesmith?"
"Yes, a bit," he answered. "How did you know my name?"
"I know many things, Michael. I do not know why I know them, it's
become a part of me. You
know things, too. Use that to your advantage."
"This is a very interesting book," Mike said. "I wish I had the
money to buy it."
"Take the book, read it, learn from it," Madame Rose said. "I am
not the one to answer your
questions about this. That is for the dark haired woman."
Mike thought.
"Thank you."
Madame Rose sat down at the table across from Ellen and motioned by
Mike to join them. He sat
down in the chair next to Ellen. "You're not exactly sure why you have
come here," she said, "but you
know it was something you had to do. There has been conflict lately,
both together and separately.
Give me your hands." They both held a hand out to her. "Very
interesting," she said. "I knew it when
you walked in."
"Knew what?" Mike asked.
"You have a very strong bond. How you met was no chance encounter,
it was planned. Think
about how you met and everything that went into that. If one thing had
happened differently, you
wouldn't be here now. But that bond is about to be tested. There are
many changes coming in the
future. It has began, but you don't know it yet. Be very careful in the
decisions you make."
"What is going to happen?" Ellen asked.
"I can't tell you that," Madame Rose said. "You will know when it
happens. When it does,
remember your love for each other and it will help you know the right
thing to do." She let go of their
hands. "I hope I have helped you."
Ellen was confused, but thanked Madame Rose anyway. Mike tried to
pay Madame Rose, but
she refused. Instead, she whispered to him, "Tell her before you both
forget what happened. She
remembers that night in New York in her own way. It's holding you both
back, so tell her."
Mike didn't say anything, just nodded his understanding, took his
book, and joined Ellen.
"What did she tell you?" Ellen asked him when they were outside.
"She was just reminding me of something that happened before," Mike
said. "I'll tell you about
it later."
End 5c
End Part Five
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