“Am I in the right cabin?” The bassist asked and Mike let out a small laugh.

“Yeah Pete you are, I just couldn’t sleep is all” The Texan told him “How are your post Christmas mornin’ blues this year?”

“Oh, there ok I guess. It’s still a little early in morning they haven’t really kicked in yet,” Peter explained. He watched Mike for a second then said “So...Lucy Huh?” Then hid behind a cereal box Mike had just placed on the table. Mike smiled slightly.

“I wondered how long I’d be able to get away with that one,” He said. Peter heard the light tone in Mike’s voice and peeked around the box and when he saw the Texan was smiling, decided to continue the conversation.

“Things seemed to go well after the slight shaky start”.

“Yeah they did didn’t they” Mike replied and Peter rolled his eyes.

“Come on Michael! You have to give me a little more then that! I’m dying to find out what happened when you went to talk to her,” Peter said.

“There’s nothin’ to tell, we just talked that’s all, I explained somethin’ and apologised, she accepted, end of story”.

“What did you explain?”.

“Nothin’ in particular”.

“It must’ve been something!”

“Jeez Pete, you’ve been spendin’ way to much time with Davy! You never used to be this pushy,” Mike told him. He paused and glanced at the door “Look if I let you in on a secret will you promise to quit pesterin’ me about this?”

“Sure Mike I promise” Peter said, suddenly getting more interested.

“You can’t tell Davy and Micky ok, this is strictly between me and you until I see fit to tell them” Mike ordered.

“Ok”.

“Right, well I asked Lucy out on a date at the Christmas Eve party and she said yes. We’re goin’ out to dinner tonight” Mike explained. Peter’s eyes lit up.

“You are! really?” He asked Mike nodded “oh my gosh! That’s so great!!” Peter said starting to get really excited.

“Hay just came down Pete ok” Mike warned, shaking his head and smiling at the same time. Peter was still grinning broadly when Davy walked into the kitchen. He dropped into the chair and noticed Peter. He stared at him for a moment then turned to Mike.

“What’s up with him?” He asked, pouring some coffee into a cup. Mike shrugged.

“Dunno” He lied, kicking Peter under the table.

Mike tried finding things to occupy his mind all day but found it impossible to keep his thoughts on anything except Lucy. He made the guys rehearse for a couple of hours going over every song he could think of but Davy complained that his hands were killing him after continuous banging on his tambourine for hours without a break, so the rehearsal was abandoned. Then Mike decided to take a walk. He walked to reception and saw Lucy dealing with a guest and stood and watched her for a few moments through the window. Lucy noticed him she smiled and waved. Mike felt a little embarrassed that he had been caught and smiled sheepishly and waved back then walked away. Lucy watched the window long after Mike had left it, what Mike didn’t know was that Lucy was just as anxious waiting for that night as he was. She was finding it hard to concentrate on her job because she couldn’t wait to see him that night. She had never felt this excited about anything, or anyone, in her entire life a nd she was counting the hours until seven.

Peter was finding it difficult to keep Mike’s news to himself, although he had never been a snitch he was desperate to tell Micky and Davy but he had promised Mike he wouldn’t and it was killing him!

Micky, Peter and Davy had dinner at around six and Micky and Davy were a bit intrigued as to why Mike wasn’t eating anything. Instead he had a bath, washed his hair and shaved then spent half an hour trying to decide what to wear. His nerves where beginning to kick in now and he felt a sick feeling in his stomach, which was starting to rise into his throat. He chose to wear a simple white shirt and tie and black trousers and again opted to leave his hat behind. Finally he was ready and he came downstairs.

“I’m off out for a while guys” He said, hoping that the other Monkees would just leave it at that, but of course he should’ve known better then that by now.

“Where you off too babe?” Micky asked. Mike sighed mentally.

“Just out” he replied.

“You look very dressed up for someone who’s going ‘just out’” Davy chimed in. Mike had to think quickly.

“Oh...well...I’m just goin’ to the dinin’ room and I wanted to look respectful,” He said, looking at Peter and silently pleading for help but obviously the bassist didn’t take the hint because he just sat and watched.

“Oh groovy” Micky said jumping up from his seat “Mind if I tag along?” The drummer asked.

“No!” Both and Peter and Mike shouted at the same time, making Micky and Davy jump.

“I mean...er...yes I do mind” Mike told him.

“Aw come on man, I’m hungry I need something to eat” Micky begged.

“You ate less then half an hour ago!” Peter said.

“Yeah I know but it wasn’t enough I still need some more, please Mike. Come on it’s not like you’re going on a date or anything!” Mike suddenly looked panicked and hoped he managed to hide the look before Micky noticed it, but unfortunately he wasn’t that lucky and the drummer did notice. He grinned, “You are going on a date aren’t you” He said causing Davy to become a lot more interested in the conversation then he was before.

“No” Mike said, hoping he sounded more convincing then he felt.

“Yes you are! Papa Nez is going on a date, it’s Lucy isn’t it! You’re going on a date with Lucy” Micky said bouncing up and down excitedly, causing Mike to get extremely irritated.

“So what if I am!” He blurted out “What business is it of yours? I’m an adult aren’t I? I can do what I want,” He said causing a stunned Micky to just stare at him and Mike instantly regretted his out burst.

“Yeah of course Mike sorry,” Micky said quietly. Mike wanted to apologise but he stubbornly didn’t, instead he grabbed his jacket and left.

“Now look what you’ve been and gone and done!” Davy said to Micky.

It was still a bit early for Mike to meet Lucy yet but he wanted to get there in plenty of time so he took a slow stroll, choosing to walk rather then take the Monkeemobile. He felt a little guilty about snapping at Micky but he was just so fed up of those three always wanting to know the ins and outs of his personal life and he just lost his temper, he had a rather short fuse when it came to his personal life and almost anything concerning the subject set him off, but still he had no right to shout and he made a mental note to apologise to Micky in the morning.

It was a surprisingly warm night considering the time of year and he stopped for a moment to look up at the stars. Until he had come to Mount Little Rock he had forgotten how beautiful the night sky could be and staring up at them made him see just how insignificant he really was. He was just a tiny speak in this huge universe and it amazed him to think he had found another human being he wanted to share that moment of time with. He chuckled as he continued to walk *“You certainly are having deep philosophical thoughts this evening!”* He told himself. He reached the dining room and went in. He found a table that was visible to all entrances, so that Lucy would have no trouble finding him when she arrived, and sat down. All he could do now was wait and that’s exactly what he did. He waited and waited and then waited some more.

continued