Chapter 6 - Gave Her Love

“Good evening, Michael.”

Mike looked up from his guitar to find Georgia standing at the bottom of the porch steps.

“Georgia, hi,” he set the guitar aside and invited Georgia to sit down next to him, “How are you? What’s goin’ on?”

Georgia sat down softly and looked at her feet. “I came to say goodbye.”

“I’m not leavin’ ‘til the morning,” Mike reminded her.

“I know, I know,” she nodded, a hint of sadness in her voice, “But I thought you’d be busy and I didn’t want…” she trailed off, not seeming to know what she wanted to say next. “Michael,” she began again after a minute, “There’s something that I wanted to tell you.”

Worry overtook Mike. Was something wrong? Had the previous day all been in his head? Were things more one-sided than he thought?

“What’s that?” he managed to keep his voice level as he asked.

“I should have told you yesterday,” Georgia said, her own voice lower than before. She turned and the full impact of her eyes met Mike’s. His mind reeled at the sudden rush of emotion. “But…I really do love you, Michael.”

Another one of those silences closed in, but this one was different somehow. There was something contained in it that neither of them had to voice to know it was there. Mike put a hand on Georgia’s shoulder and looked back into her eyes.

“Do you wanna go inside?” he asked quietly.

“The view is beautiful,” Georgia commented, leaning her head on Mike’s shoulder. The two had gone inside the house and were sitting together on the window seat, looking out at the same landscape Mike had been looking to for music all week.

“It’s inspiring,” Mike commented, putting his arm around Georgia’s waist and pulling her closer to him. She sighed; it was nearly imperceptible, but it was enough to let Mike know that she was feeling the same way he was. It sounded cliché, but love really was in the air. It was nearly tangible. Mike felt that, if he held his breath, he could hear it resonating: one constant, strong, clear note.

“This is where you play, isn’t it?” Georgia asked.

“Yeah,” Mike nodded, a smile playing across his face, “It’s a shame to have to leave it.”

“You’ll come back,” Georgia’s statement sounded sure and sincere. Mike glanced down at her and saw the half-smile on her face, the light in her eyes, the bliss that he himself was feeling, radiating out of every part of her being. Seconds later they were kissing again, but both of them were too full of love to let it stop there.

Mike stared up at the ceiling as he absently smoothed Georgia’s hair. She nestled herself into the curve of his body and murmured softly, holding his unoccupied hand. They laid like that for a long time, just listening to each other breathe and thinking about what they had just shared. Mike felt that it had been something special, something amazing, and yet…and yet there was something about it…

“Georgia?” he said a moment later.

“Mmm?” she raised her head slightly, letting her hair fall across her face.

“Do you think…” Mike reached out and tucked the loose waves behind Georgia’s ear, “Are we…” He couldn’t think of how to finish the sentence.

Georgia shook her head. “Don’t think about it,” she said softly, “Just don’t. This is too wonderful to ruin with doubt.”

Mike sighed and sat up, cupping Georgia’s chin in his hand. “I love you,” he told her. For some reason he felt the need to voice the fact.

She reached up and touched his cheek with her fingertips. “And I love you,” she assured him, “That won’t change. Believe me.”

Mike’s eyes searched Georgia’s face and, finding only complete sincerity, he laid back down and put his arm around her. The air was resonating again, only this time he didn’t have to hold his breath to hear it. A full song played clearly in his head, and he knew he’d remember it for the rest of his life.

Morning came and Mike awoke suddenly with a slight start. He remained in bed, staring up at the ceiling and thinking about the previous night. Georgia had left early, before the moon came up. They had both thought it would be better that way. The whole town didn’t need to know what they had been doing together. Therefore, Mike had spent the night alone with his dreams. He hadn’t slept well; things kept haunting him. Most prominent of all was the fact that he was leaving this morning, leaving the town - and Georgia - behind. He didn’t have a new song, either, at least one he could share with the other Monkees.

But did all that matter, really? He had something that he never would have dreamed of finding when he first came back to the town, and he had someone to share it with. He ran his hand along the empty space in the bed beside him. He could still feel Georgia there, as if she were lying next to him and not back at her own house.

With a sigh, Mike got up. Time to pack or he’d never make the airport on time.

“It was good seeing you again, Mike,” Finn hugged Mike when Mike returned the keys to the house.

“You too, Finn,” Mike nodded, glancing down the street to Georgia’s house.

“Come back anytime. Just let me know and the house will be open,” Finn smiled and patted Mike on the shoulder.

“I’ll do that. Thanks a lot, Finn,” Mike got back in the car and started driving slowly down the street. So that was that, the keys were returned, and the car rental lot was right next to the airport…

“Hey, Mike, you’re not gonna leave without saying goodbye, are ya?” Nolan’s distinctive voice called from somewhere outside. Mike slowed down and motioned for the younger man to get in the car.

“No way, man. I’m drivin’ slow so I can see everyone before I leave,” Mike replied, revving the engine a bit. Nolan grinned his characteristic grin.

“You’re gonna say goodbye to her, right? To Georgia?”

“Of course I am, you think I’m nuts?” Mike grinned, too, but he knew that there was more to his upcoming goodbye than Nolan’s teasing. His heart was already pounding as he thought about it.

Nolan laughed. “No way. I know how much you like her,” he nudged Mike in the ribs, “It shows.”

If only you knew, Mike thought, but kept the grin on his face, saying nothing.

“Listen, I’ve got to get back to the shop,” Nolan said after a moment’s silence, “I’ve almost got it cleaned out.”

“All right,” Mike slowed again to let Nolan get out, “You write when you’ve got that thing up and runnin’, got that?”

“No problem,” Nolan slammed the car door and leaned down to wave, “See you.”

“’Bye,” Mike called as he drove off in the direction of Georgia’s house.

His heart raced when he knocked on the door. This was it; this was goodbye. He had no idea when he’d have another day off, much less enough time to come back to the town. Even if the Monkees came close to it on tour, they’d never come close enough for Mike to get a minute to visit. Thinking about it made his heart ache.

The door opened. “Hello? Oh…hello Michael,” Georgia smiled and wiped the corners of her eyes. Mike didn’t have to ask to know that she had been thinking the same things he had.

“Hi, Georgia,” he said quietly, “I…I came to say goodbye.”

Georgia laughed a little. “I know. I kept wishing you wouldn’t, but I’m glad you did. I needed to see you again.”

“Need, huh? Sounds pretty serious,” Mike managed to smile. He reached out and touched Georgia’s cheek, “But I understand. I needed to see you, too.”

Georgia reached up and put her hand over Mike’s. “God, Michael, I’m going to miss you.”

Mike nodded, tears beginning to prickle in his eyes. “I’ll miss you, too.”

Georgia turned away, shielding her eyes, although it was obvious that she was crying.

“What we…last night,” she said shakily, “I want you to know…I won’t forget you. I love you, Michael.”

On a sudden impulse, Mike put his arms around Georgia and pulled her close to him. Both cried quietly, Mike stroking Georgia’s hair and Georgia pressing herself against Mike’s body.

“I love you, too, Georgia,” Mike whispered a moment later, pulling back and looking down at Georgia, his eyes traveling from her red-rimmed eyes and tear-stained cheeks to her trembling lower lip. He leaned down and kissed her one last time before turning to go.

“Michael?”

Mike stopped and looked over his shoulder, taking a shaky breath. “Yeah?”

Georgia shook her head and dropped her gaze. “Play a song for me, please.”

Mike felt the tears returning. “All right,” he whispered, nodding, “All right.”

“Geez, Mike, what train hit you?” Micky joked when Mike came staggering into the studio on Monday morning.

“Shut up and let’s just do this song, all right?” Mike snapped, collapsing into a chair and putting his head in his hands. He hadn’t slept at all since he left the town on Sunday morning, and his head was killing him. It was partly from lack of sleep and partly from the powerful emotions that kept ravaging his heart, making him dizzy and irritable.

“All right, man, I’m sorry I asked,” Micky gave Mike a hurt look before following Davy into the recording room. Mike remained outside, by himself. He knew he’d have to overcome the emotions if he was going to keep up the life of a Monkee, but at the same time he couldn’t let himself forget. He had to remember Georgia, especially if he was going to keep his promise and play a song for her.

Continued