JANUARY, 1968…
Madison woke up, stretching her arms up over her head. The sun was streaming through the window; it was going to be an absolutely beautiful Saturday. She shuffled into the kitchen and started a pot of coffee. It had been almost two months since Jack Seymour had left and though the first couple of weeks had been rough; everything had gone back to normal.
She showered and dressed while the coffee was perking; putting on a pair of short denim shorts and one of Micky's tee shirts that had some how found its way into her bedroom. It was bright green and way too big, but she rolled the sleeves up and tied the bottom into a knot turning it into the perfect beachwear.
She poured herself a big mug of coffee, shut the pot off and then sauntered out the back door and over to the pad. She found them sitting at the kitchen table immersed in a deep conversation which ceased the second they realized she was there. "Mornin'!"
"Hey doll!" Micky got up and came to her. "Hey, that's my shirt."
"I know." She giggled setting her coffee cup down on the table.
"Looks better on you." He smiled then threw his arms around her in a giant hug.
"Wow, what a welcome." Madison giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"You ain't see nothin' yet." He teased, lifting her off the ground and kissing her passionately.
In the meantime, Mike came over and nudged Micky from behind. "Ask her." He whispered.
"I'm going to man, give me a sec." Micky hushed him.
"Ask me what?" Madison knew there was more to that welcome than just being missed. She also noticed that Micky was now staring at the floor and fidgeting. "Come on, Mick, out with it."
He looked back up. "We have a huge favor to ask."
"Maybe I'd better sit down first." She smiled, walking over to the couch and sitting down, her feet curled up underneath her.
The four of them joined her, Micky sitting next to her, Mike across on the chaise lounge, Peter on the floor and Davy in one of the chairs. "Okay, here goes." Micky started. "We have an audition on Wednesday at Club George."
"That's great." Madison smiled; she knew how much they wanted to play there since the management had changed hands. "So, do you want me to come cheer you on or something?"
"Not exactly." Davy answered in a half-laugh.
Madison looked more than a little confused. "What then?" No one answered. "Come on, tell me. You know I would do anything for you guys." Her curiosity was definitely peaked and she was getting rather impatient.
"If we got the gig it would be for 10 weeks." Micky finally spoke up. "And it would mean a lot of exposure. There's only one problem."
"The manager is only auditing mixed groups." Mike butted in impatiently.
"Mixed groups? Like democrats and republicans?" She laughed.
"No, like girls and boys." Peter replied.
"But you don't have any girls in your group." She said slowly and carefully.
"That's where you come in doll." Micky smiled.
"Me?" It finally clicked. "Oh no!" She exclaimed.
"Come on doll, it will be fun." Micky grabbed her hand fearful she'd bolt out the door. "Besides, we all make terrible looking girls." He laughed, thinking about the band contest and Davy in a dress.
"I don't even want to know why you know that." Madison shook her head.
"No, you don't." Peter giggled, the image of "girl" Davy in his head.
"I can't get up in front of a bunch of people on stage." Her voice cracked.
"Sure you can darlin'." Mike chimed in. "You know all our songs anyway. All you'd have to do in play the tambourine, sing backup and look pretty."
"Oh, is that all?" Madison replied sarcastically.
"Besides, it's only one audition, just a couple of songs." Micky continued.
"Yeah, and what happens if you get the gig?" Madison exclaimed.
Micky realized he hadn't thought about that. "Well, then it will only be 10 weeks, a few of nights a week." He gave her the puppy dog look. "Please???"
"No, not the puppy dog eyes." She stated.
This was, of course, followed by three more pairs of puppy dog eyes, from Mike, Peter and Davy. The four of them sank to their knees in front of her whimpering.
"I can't take it. I can't take all four of you. It's too much!" She covered her face with her hands. "Fine, I'll do it."
Cheers went up and immediately she was swarmed in a huge group hug.
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"Here luv." Davy walked over to her. "I want you to use my favorite tambourine."
"Thanks Davy." She kissed him on the cheek knowing how much he loved that tambourine. "Okay, where do I stand?"
"Right here, doll." Micky patted an old milk crate with his hand that he had placed to the right of the drums. She walked over to him and he held out his hand and helped her up. "Just don't fall off."
"Thanks." She gave him an annoyed look to which he couldn't help but pat her on the butt.
Mike put his guitar on. "We'll work on two songs for the audition." He glanced at her over his shoulder. "You ready?"
"I guess so." Madison sighed, still not believing she had actually agreed to do this.
They practiced "You Just May Be the One" and "Steppin' Stone" until Madison had the backup parts down and her hand was about to fall off from the vibrating tambourine.
"You did really good, Maddie." Mike complimented.
"Just great, doll." Micky helped her off the crate and kissed her on the cheek.
"I hope I can do this well on Wednesday." She sighed.
"You wil, luv." Davy smiled.
"And we have three more days to practice." Peter added cheerfully.
"Come on, I'll walk ya home." Micky winked at her.
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They walked into Madison's house and she immediately flopped down on the big pillows in the corner. The pillows had been Micky's touch to her decor. He sat down next to her, propping himself on one elbow.
"I have a new appreciation for you guys, you really work hard." Madison shook her arm out still trying to get it to stop vibrating.
He reached over and brushed the hair out of her face then kissed her softly. "Thank you for doing this."
She laughed, "Don't thank me yet, wait until Wednesday."
"Everything is going to be groovy." He smiled moving closer to her. He kissed her neck and nibbled on her ear lobe. "I think I need to thank you properly." He whispered in her ear.
A small moan escaped her lips. "Right here, now?" She ran her hands through his thick curls.
"Yes." He whispered as their eyes locked. He outlined her face with his fingers, drinking her in. He kissed her tenderly at first and she responded by intensifying the kiss pulling him down with her on the pillows.
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The next three days were busy ones. Madison practiced with the band every day. Her arms ached from the tambourine but she was happy to do this for them. They were her family and had done so much for her it seemed like such a small price to pay them back. She bought a new mini-dress and shoes for the audition and by Wednesday morning she was a complete basket of nerves. She spent over an hour trying to decide what to do with her hair and finally called the pad frantic.
"Hair up or down?" She asked into the phone before Davy barely had a chance to say hello.
"Maddie?" He questioned.
"Yes. Hair up or down?" She said again.
Davy took the phone away from his ear. "Maddie wants to know if she should wear her hair up or down." He called to the others who were gathered around the table eating breakfast.
"Down!" They all said in unison, including Davy.
"Did ya hear that?" He laughed. "I guess it's unanimous."
Madison managed a laugh. "I guess so. Thanks. I'll be over soon." She hung up and ran back into her bedroom.
When she walked into the pad an hour later, four pairs of eyes practically popped out of their heads. Davy's mouth dropped open, Peter blushed and Mike hit an extremely bad note on his guitar. But the best was Micky, who actually tripped as he walked over to her. She then realized it was the first time any of them had seen her dressed up. They had seen her wear dresses before, the long cotton ones she wore to meetings with her publishers, and most of the time, she wore jeans or shorts, but never something like this. This was a black mini-dress with skinny straps and tight in all the right places. She also wore silk stockings and high-heeled black pumps. Her long hair flowed down her back and cascaded over her shoulders.
"Well?" She said shyly.
"You're beautiful." Micky said softly pulling himself up off the floor. He walked over to her and gently stroked her cheek with his hand.
"Thank you." She gazed up at him. "I'm really nervous."
"That's a good sign." Peter said cheerfully. "Mike always says when you're nervous you play better."
"Great." Madison half-laughed. "So, after I throw-up we should do really good."
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The five of them walked into Club George, with Micky and Mike firmly holding onto Madison's arms so she couldn't escape as she had tried in the parking lot.
"You must be The Monkees." A pretty young woman, about the same height as Madison, walked up to them. "I'm Samantha Green." Her long chestnut hair was pulled up into a French braid.
"Nice to meet you Samantha." Mike smiled. "And, yes, we're The Monkees."
"Great! I'm the talent coordinator for the club." She looked over at Madison. "Are you okay?"
"I will be when this is over." Madison's voice cracked.
Samantha laughed, "Well, that should be soon. You're on now. Good luck."
They walked up on the stage. Micky helped Madison up on the milk crate. If they got the gig, they would definitely have to get her something more stable. "You okay?" He whispered, handing her the tambourine.
In the meantime, Mike, Peter and Davy were gathering their instruments and getting into position.
"No." Madison replied in a strong whisper.
She tried to step down but Micky gave her a firm look and a wink. "You're gonna be great." He went and got himself situated behind the drum set.
"Hi, we're The Monkees." Mike spoke into the microphone. "And this is 'You Just May Be The One'." He turned around and winked at Madison then counted it off.
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Madison sat on her couch later that afternoon. She had done it. She had gotten through the audition without passing out, without throwing up and she had actually had a good time. The guys were proud of her; hugging and kissing her in the parking lot. Now, all they had to do was wait.
It wasn't long before she heard what sounded like a herd of elephants running up her front steps then banging into the door. "Damn, its locked!" Micky swore fishing into his pockets for his key. "Doll, open up!"
"Why do we always have to run so close to each other?" Davy snarled. "I think Peter broke my toe."
"Sorry, man." Peter giggled giving his friend a pat on the shoulder.
Madison made her way to the door and opened it. "What is going on out here?" She screamed as Micky picked her up and ran into the living room. "Micky, put me down!" She laughed.
"We got it!" He whooped whirling her around again and into Peter's arms.
"What?" She couldn't believe what she just heard.
"Samantha Green called. We got the gig Maddie!" Peter restated whirling her around and into Mike's arms.
He wasn't about to whirl her around but he did hug her. "Are you okay, darlin'?" He noticed the panic-stricken look that had come across her face.
"I don't know." She walked over to the couch and sat down. "I never thought…I mean. Are you sure?" She looked at them one after the other and they all nodded vehemently. "I don't know what to say."
"Say you'll still do it." Micky tried to sit down next to her but bounced up almost instantly. "You will still do it, won't you?"
Madison smiled, "Yes, I will." She wasn't going to let them down. Club George was a big-time gig and it could mean wonderful things for their career.
"You're the best, doll." Micky exclaimed kissing her quickly then grabbing her hand. "Come on, let's go celebrate!" He started pulling her towards the door followed by Peter and Davy.
"Hold on there!" The booming in Mike's voice stopped everyone cold. "You can celebrate later. Right now we need to practice. We open on Friday night."
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Continue to Part 2
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