Micky came bounding back into the cabin half an hour later and screeched to a holt at the sight of Peter standing in the middle of the floor.

“Pete, what on earth are you wearing?” He asked

“You like it Mick? It’s my costume for the party” Peter told him. The Christmas Eve party at Mount Little Rock was a costume party and everyone who was attending had to dress up, including the band, something that didn’t impress Mike one little bit. Peter was wearing a brown felt all in one suit, complete with hood, ears, antlers and a red flashing nose. Micky looked him up and down and walked around him a couple of times

“What are you meant to be?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. Peter frowned

“I’m Rudolf,” He explained. Micky stared at him

“Oh I see it now, groovy idea babe, now I know why you wanted to sing ‘Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer’” Micky said and Peter nodded proudly “Where’s Mike and Davy?” He asked

“Mike’s still putting on his costume and Davy’s having trouble with his tights” Peter told him

“Tights!” Micky repeated, raising his eyebrow again

“I got a ladder in one” Davy said as he came down the stairs “But it’s ok, you can’t see it” He added. Micky had to suppress his laughter when Davy appeared on the stairs. He was wearing a green suit that looked about two sizes too small, his trousers came just below the knee. He was wearing red and white and striped tights and green shoes that curled up at the toes and a small bell hung from the point.

“You better go get changed Mick, we’ll be leaving soon” Peter told him

“I know I won’t be long” The drummer said and bounded upstairs. Davy looked at Peter

“What are you meant to be?” He asked. Peter sighed

“I’m Rudolf!” He said with a frustrated growl.

“Oh yeah, that’s why you wanted to sing ‘Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer’” Davy observed.

Ten minutes later Micky appeared at the top of the stairs. He was wearing a zoot suit and blond wig. He slid down the banister and landed neatly at the bottom, then looked at Peter and Davy expectantly while they conferred then Davy said

“Not bad, the descent was good but the landing was a little shaky”

“You almost toppled” Peter added

“So we’ll give you a 7.5 for that one” Davy told him

“Aw come on! it was at least an 8” Micky pouted. Peter and Davy conferred again and Peter nodded

“Ok We’ll give you an 8” Davy told him.

“Excellent, so what do you think of my costume?” Micky asked. Davy looked him up and down

“Who are you?” He asked. Micky slouched over to him

“You’re a Yankee Doodle Dandy, and you’re the rat who killed my brudder” He said, poking Davy on the shoulder with every word he said. Davy stared at him blankly

“So…who are you?” He repeated

“James Cagney!” Micky replied, like it was the most obvious thing in the world

“Oh right yeah of course” Davy said he turned to Peter and shrugged

“It’s not very Christmassy Mick” Peter said

“I know but I like to be different” Micky said with a grin.

“Yeah ok, so is Mike ready yet?” Peter asked him

“Dunno, he was hiding in the closet while I was up there, I guess he wasn’t ready for me to see his costume yet” Micky told him, dropping into the nearest chair and adjusting his wig that was refusing to stay on top of his unruly mop of curls He thought to himself.

It was another five minutes before Mike appeared at the top of the stairs. He was wearing a black shirt, jeans, cowboy boots and of course, his usual green wool hat on his head.

“Ok guys let’s go,” He said as he began descending the stairs

“Hay you’re not in costume!” Peter protested

“Yes I am, I’m going as a musician,” Mike said as he reached the bottom of the stairs

“But you’re a musician all the time Mike, the point of a costume party is to go as someone your not” Micky pointed out

“Ok fine, then I’m a musician with a regular pay check” He replied deadpanned “Now can we get going?”

“Not yet” Davy replied walking over and taking the wool hat from Mike’s head and placing it on his own

“What are you doing?” Mike asked

“I need a hat to complete my elf costume” Davy told him “Peter used mine to drain the spaghetti we had for dinner” He explained

“So that’s why there were green threads in my meatballs!” Mike said. Peter smiled guiltily

“Sorry Mike” He said

“That’s ok Pete, come on we better go” Mike said. So they left

They arrived at the ballroom and it was while they were setting up their instruments that Peter discovered a small flaw in his costume. He had sown brown mittens to the sleeves of his suit to make his hands look like paws but he found it hard to pluck the strings on his bass and hit the individual keys on his keyboard. When he presented this problem to Mike, Mike sent Davy in search of scissors to cut the stitching. When Davy didn’t return after fifteen minutes Mike had to go in search of him. He soon found him by the entrance of the storeroom talking to a young woman.

“Davy” Mike called

“You eyes are like cup cakes floating in a sea of sour cream,” Davy told the girl

“Davy!” Mike tried again

“Your lips are as red and full as the juiciest cherry,” Davy told the girl

“DAVID!” Mike yelled this time. Davy jumped round in shock to find Mike glaring at him

“Jeez Mike you didn’t have yell” He said defensively “This is Ginny by the way”

“Nice to meet you Ginny” Mike said, “Did you find any scissors Davy?” He asked

“Yeah here they are” Davy said he walked over to Mike, gave him the scissors and turned to go back over to Ginny but Mike grabbed his arm

“Say goodbye to the nice young lady Davy we’ve got a job to do” Mike told him

“Bye Luv” Davy called as he disappeared through the door. They returned to the ballroom and Mike relieved Peter of his mittens and Peter was able to play his instruments again

The Party was soon in full swing and Mike found himself scanning the crowd for any signs of Lucy and was disappointed when he couldn’t see her

“Don’t worry Mike, she’ll be here” Peter told him, as if reading his thoughts and Mike gave a small smile. After they had played for a while Mike announced they would be taking a short break, and then he jumped off stage to get a drink. He was really hoping Lucy would show up for their next set because that was when they’d be doing there Christmas medley and he really wanted her to hear him sing it. Micky bounced over to him

“You having a good time Mike?” He asked as he started loading a plate with food from the buffet

“Yeah I suppose” He said he watched Micky for a second then said, “Should you be eating that? You’ve only just had your dinner” Mike told him

“I know but I’m hungry” Micky replied with a grin

“You’re always hungry” Mike countered, unable to keep a smile from his own lips “Where do you put it all?” He asked. Micky shrugged

“Dunno, must have hollow legs I suppose,” He said

“Well don’t eat too much, I don’t want you to get so full that you won’t be able to sing” Mike ordered

“Na don’t worry it’ll take a lot more then this to fill me up” Micky said, puffing out his chest smugly. Mike let out a small laugh and Micky bounced off again.

During there break, Peter was dancing away in the middle of the dance floor, Davy had disappeared completely and Micky sat happily near the buffet table talking to various people and checking out girls that walked past him. Mike was sitting quietly in the corner, he never felt comfortable at parties, except when he was on stage performing. He almost dreaded the time The Monkees took a break because he was never quite sure what to do with himself. He wasn’t going to dance that was for certain he hated dancing. He didn’t even want to try and talk to people because the music was so loud, the owner of the resort had hired a jukebox as well as The Monkees for the party so that when the Monkees took a break there would still be music, and Mike didn’t fancy spending the night yelling in people’s ears so he sat patiently watching the clock, willing it to make half an hour pass like no time at all. Finally he got so impatient at just sitting and watching, he decided to take a walk. Wh en he got outside he instantly regretted his decision because it was freezing but he went to the Monkeemobile and found his jacket sitting on the back seat so he slipped it on and sat on a bench, staring at the clear night sky.

“It’s beautiful isn’t it” Came a voice that jerked Mike from his thoughts. He looked over at the door and saw Lucy leaning against the doorframe looking up at the stars

“It is” He replied looking back up again “I’ve never seen it so clear and bright before” He admitted

“That’s the magic of Christmas at Mount Little Rock” Lucy said as she walked over to him “May I join you?” She asked

“Of course, please do” He said and slid over to make room for her. She sat down next to him and wrapped her arms around herself, it was obvious she was cold “Here take this” Mike said, taking off his jacket and slipping it around Lucy’s shoulders

“Thank you Michael” She said, slipping her arms through the sleeves

“Please, call me Mike” He told her. Lucy looked at him then nodded and smiled

“Mike” She repeated. They sat in silence for a while, neither one of them knowing what to say next. “You’re not in costume,” Lucy said finally

“You either” Mike observed

“That’s the burden of being assistant manager, I have to stay looking important and approachable, what’s your excuse?”

“I didn’t want to look dumb” Mike told her, bluntly and Lucy laughed

“Ah yes, that’s a good excuse too” She replied

“Would you like to have dinner with me sometime?” Mike asked. Lucy looked at him

“Are you asking me out on a date?” She asked

“Yeah, I am” He replied. Lucy smiled

“I would love too, thank you Mike,” She answered and Mike grinned

“Excellent! How about tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow’s Christmas day”

“Oh yeah of course sorry”

“How about the day after that?” Lucy suggested

“Yeah that’s great, I can meet you in the dinning room at seven?”

“Yep that’s good, I’ll see you then” She told him. She kissed him on the cheek, gave him back his jacket and went back inside. Mike grinned again, this vacation was starting to turn out quite nicely for him. He put his jacket back in the Monkeemobile and went inside. The rest of the party got a lot better for him. Everyone loved Peter’s rendition of ‘Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer’. Sometime during the break Micky had gotten tired of adjusting his wig and discarded it completely. At around half past midnight everyone left the party. The Monkees packed up their instruments and headed back to their cabin. Peter had a minor panic when he couldn’t find his stocking, but Micky soon found it, still packed in Peter’s suitcase. So with the crisis over they all went to bed. Mike’s dreams that night were filled with Lucy and their date in the next couple of days, where as Micky’s dreams were filled with the fat juicy turkey he would be feasting on tomorrow evening.

continued