“Walkin’ down a lonely street, I need someone to meet. I run across sweet looking you…” Peter sang softly and plucked the guitar strings as he sat on his bed in the room he shared with Davy.

“What’s next,” he asked himself as he picked up his pencil and rapped it against the yellow pad of paper he had set before him.

He raised his eyebrows when an idea finally came to him. Peter scribbled some notes on the paper and picked up his pick again.

“Do you know what you do? You tear the top right off my head, you blow my mind. I’m going blind,” he sang excitedly.

Glancing over at the clock he noticed it was 12:02. An extremely frazzled Davy ran quickly past him, grabbed a rose off of the nightstand and rushed out the door saying, “Bye Petah, I’m late. I told Ursula I’d meet her at the movies at noon!”

“Later, man,” Peter shouted as Davy slammed the Pad’s front door shut.

“Freaking out in the afternoon,” Peter sang with a laugh, making more notes on his paper. Looking out the little window in the room, he could see the faint image of the moon.

“Looking at a daytime moon,” he said with a smile as he wrote the lyrics down.

“Hey Peter,” Mike said walking into the room. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Sure,” Peter said, putting his guitar by his side and giving Mike his full attention.

“Remember that song I was working on a couple of years ago,” Mike asked.

“You’ve worked on a lot of songs Michael. Which one,” Peter returned.

“The one I sang at that talent show by myself,” Mike reminded him, almost bashfully.

“Oh, that one,” Peter said with a chuckle. “Oh course I remember. Why do you ask?”

“Well, you know how Kat’s been coming over a lot and jammin’ with us,” Mike started.

“Yeah,” Peter said, grinning proudly, “she’s really good isn’t she?”

“Yep,” Mike agreed with a quick nod. “I’ve been thinking. She could really go somewhere, and we could too. Maybe we can have her open for us Friday’s at the Vincent. It would really bring in a lot more people and a lot more attention to the band as well. We can be her backup band when she opens.”

“Sounds okay,” Peter said after thinking a moment.

“Well,” Mike continued, “I wanna talk to her about it tonight. And I want to give her that song too. She can do covers, but she should do something original too. I mean, I sang that song a lot on my own before we all got together, but it never seemed to sound right coming out of me for some reason. What do you think, o’l buddy?”

“We’ll try it out with her,” Peter said, picking up his guitar again, “but I think it would be okay.”

“Great,” Mike said, turning to leave.

“By the way,” Mike continued, sticking his head back in the room, “How are things going with ya’ll?”

“Wonderful,” Peter said with a sigh.

“Good,” Mike said, rapping on the wall, “I’m gonna go over to Micky’s.”

“Bye,” Peter said as he began to play his guitar again.

“Talk to me, I’ll talk to you. Do you know what you do…,” Peter went back to his song, writing more lyrics on the sheet of paper.

Later that night, everyone was assembled in the living room of the Pad getting ready for practice.

Well, mostly everyone was getting ready.

Micky and Adriana were sitting on the sofa, engrossed in a deep conversation.

Davy and Ursula were sitting on the floor by the stage area, gazing into each other’s eyes, not saying a word.

Peter was sitting on a stool on the stage, looking out the window, daydreaming.

Mike, however, was plugging the instruments into the amp and checking for any loose ends.

The door to the Pad opened and Katerina walked in. Peter quickly turned from the window, waved excitedly and got up to meet her halfway.

“I missed you,” he whispered to her as he wrapped her in a warm hug.

“I missed you too,” she whispered, hugging him back.

“I missed you more,” Peter said, touching the tip of her nose.

“No, I missed you more,” Katerina said, touching the dimple on the left side of his face.

“And I’m going to miss you both because if we don’t get started soon, I’m gonna to have to throw you out,” Mike said from his place on the stage.

Soon the guys were all on the stage practicing and their respective girlfriends sat around the living room, watching and talking to each other.

After running through some of their usual tunes, Mike called for a break and everyone dispersed and sat down.

“Katerina,” Davy asked, “you wanna jam with us next?”

“Uh, sure,” she said.

“Good,” Mike said, “because there is something I wanna to talk to you about.”

“Really,” Katerina asked, “What?”

Mike then went on to explain how the guys would like it if she would open for them on Friday nights.

“So, what do you think,” Mike asked.

“Oh wow,” she exclaimed. “I’d love to!” “Groovy,” Peter said excitedly as he went to hug her. “It will be so much fun working together.”

“Okay,” Mike said, after a few moments, “well, I have a song I’d like you to try. I wrote it awhile back, but it just never really sounded right with me. Do you wanna try it?”

“Which song, Mike,” Micky asked.

“The one I sang on the Amateur Hour a couple of years ago,” Mike mumbled.

“Oh,” Micky said laughing hysterically, “you’re right. It didn’t sound right at all.”

Mike gave Micky a “look”.

“Little joke,” he said, making a motion with his hands, “’bout that big.”

Adriana couldn’t contain her laughter as she remembered Mike singing on the episode “Too Many Girls”.

“Man,” Mike groaned, “you mean that was on TV too?”

“Oh yeah,” Adriana said, wiping her eyes from the laughing.

“Wonderful,” Mike said. “Anyway, I’ll play it for you…”

Micky and Adriana started to laugh again.

“…AND,” Mike said loudly, “then we’ll all play it together and see what we can pick up okay?”

“Alright,” Katerina said, sitting on the floor by the stage.

Mike counted off and began to sing.

“You and I travel to the beat of a different drum….”

Even later that night, Katerina walked into the spare bedroom on the second floor of Micky and Adriana’s apartment. Micky and Adriana had gone to bed earlier so Katerina decided to watch some late night television and then go to bed. Little did she know that there was not much on late night TV in 1967.

After changing into her pajamas, a pair of light blue shorts and a white tank top, she climbed into bed and replayed the night’s events in her mind.

The song Mike had written was called “Different Drum”. And, if she wasn’t mistaken, in her time period, it had been a huge hit for The Stone Ponies. The amazing Linda Rondstat had been the lead singer for that group and it had been a huge boost for her career. However, in this time period, this Mike Nesmith would never get this song to Ms. Rondstat.

She smiled as she thought of what this song could do for her. To finally get to a position that her music could get out to people is what she really wanted. She deeply desired to make people happy with music. All it would take is one hit record to get her noticed. Then she could bring out her own songs.

Images of crowded stadiums and pop charts danced in her mind. A marquee of “The Monkees and Kat Johanson” flashed in her mind.

Of course, the Monkees could make it big in this time. Couldn’t they?

“Of course,” she thought, “they’re so good. How could they not?”

Katerina’s dreaming was interrupted by the sound of something hitting her window. It sounded a bit like hail.

“It doesn’t hail in California? Does it?” she asked herself.

She turned over in the bed and looked towards the window to see tiny rocks flying at the window.

“What in the world,” Katerina mused as she got out of bed and walked over to the window.

Looking down she saw Peter standing on the beach below, his arm raised to throw another tiny stone.

Laughing to herself, she opened the window. A pebble hit her in the forehead.

Rubbing the spot, she stuck her head out the window.

“Hey,” she whispered loudly, waving down at Peter, “cease fire!”

“Sorry,” Peter whispered loudly back. He then motioned for her to come down.

“Just a minute,” she signaled to him. Katerina shut the window and went to the closet.

As she dressed in the same jeans and light blue sweater she had worn earlier that evening, she wondered what Peter wanted.

A few minutes later Katerina walked around to the back of Micky and Adriana’s apartment to see Peter leaning against the stair rail, his back to her. She paused for a moment and smiled. He looked great as always in his jean bellbottoms and black ribbed turtleneck.

Her heart quickened a bit as she quietly made her way to where he stood, looking out at the sea.

Katerina stepped behind him and softly placed her hand on his shoulder.

Peter jumped a bit, startled by her sudden appearance.

“Hey,” he greeted with a smile as he turned to look at her.

“What’s going on,” Katerina asked.

Peter reached for her hand and with a grin said, “Come on, Kat,” leading her away from the apartment and down the beach.

“Where are we going,” she asked as they walked along the beach.

“You’ll see,” Peter said, putting her hand to his lips and smiling at her.

Soon Katerina could see something flickering in the distance. As they got closer, she saw that someone had made a small campfire on in the sand. Around the fire were a blanket, a thermos and two coffee cups.

“I wanted to bring you out here,” Peter said as they reached the fire, “to talk.”

“Okay,” Katerina said with a hit of suspicion in her voice. She relaxed as she pushed her usual critical thoughts out of her mind. Peter had been nothing but a gentleman to her these last few weeks. She had no reason to think anything different about him.

“Pull up a blanket,” Peter invited as he picked up the thermos and cups.

Katerina sat down on the soft blanket and watched Peter as he sat down Indian style and poured the liquid from the thermos into the two cups.

“Here,” he said as he handed her a steaming cup, “it’s Ameretto Cappuccino. Adriana said you liked it too.”

“I love it,” she said, gratefully accepting the drink and sipping it carefully. “Hmm, I haven’t had this in a long time. In New York City, I always used to go to this place called The Deck. They have the best cappuccino in the country.”

“What’s it like in New York City,” Peter asked her.

“Very different from here,” she said quietly.

“How’s that,” Peter asked, taking a sip of his cappuccino.

“Louder,” Katerina answered, looking out at the sea, “much louder. People are not as friendly as they are here. There are a lot of people, too many lonely people. Lost in the crowd. Makes you lonely too.´

“My life started to become like that Mamas and Papas song,” she continued, after a moment, “ ‘Look Through My Window’.”

“ ‘Look through my window, to the streets below. With someone to meet, somewhere to go,’” Peter sang softly, gazing out at the sea.

“ ‘and I know, I should let go,’” Katerina sang along.

“I had a lot of aquaintances,” Katerina continued, “but I was still really lonely. Seems kind of silly doesn’t it?”

“Silly,” Peter asked. “It doesn’t sound silly at all.”

“Enough about me complaining about New York,” Katerina said, shifting the conversation, “what did you want to talk to me about?”

Katerina saw Peter’s normally bright eyes turn serious as he shifted his position so he was sitting directly in front of her.

She felt her cheeks start to redden as he looked at her for a moment. Katerina hardly ever got nervous, but she really liked Peter. She liked him more every minute she spent with him, and when she wasn’t with him, he was always in her thoughts.

“Kat,” Peter said, fidgeting with his coffee cup, “I brought you out here because I want to tell you something.”

Noticing his nervousness, Katerina offered a bright smile, trying to encourage him to say what he wanted to say.

“I like being with you Kat,” Peter started, still fidgeting a bit, “I really like being with you. These last few weeks have been some of the happiest of my entire life. For awhile, I felt like I’d never met anybody who’d want to be with me, but then you came along and changed everything. I’m really glad that you’re going to be staying around”

“I think about you all the time,” Peter continued, looking at Katerina, “Every time you walk in the room, I get these butterflies in my stomach, my palms start sweating, and my heart starts beating faster.”

“Really,” Katerina asked with a smile, admiring his boyish shyness.

“Yeah,” Peter said, with a laugh looking down sheepishly, “I guess you have that effect on me.”

Katerina chuckled and sipped some more cappuccino.

“Remember that day in the park,” Peter asked, looking into her eyes once again.

“Of course,” Katerina answered.

“Remember before you left, you asked me if I believed in love at first sight,” he asked.

Katerina nodded and chuckled.

“I do believe in it,” he said quietly and slowly, “because, Kat, I think I’m in falling in love with you.”

Peter dropped her gaze and looked down at his hands.

“Love,” Katerina thought, “did he say he was falling in love with me?”

“So, what do you think,” Peter asked.

“What do I think,” Katerina asked incredulously. She looked at Peter’s hands and noticed the hand holding the coffee cup was shaking slightly.

Katerina scooted closer to Peter until she was right in front of him. She set her coffee cup to the far side then reached and took Peter’s cup out of his hand and set it to the side as well.

Peter looked up at her and said, “I mean, if you don’t feel the same, I’ll understand. I thought you would, but if you don’t that’s okay. I mean, if you think it’s too soon…”

Katerina cut Peter off by placing two fingertips to his lips, then slowly leaned forward and kissed him softly.

“I..I…,” Peter started after she pulled away.

“You what,” she asked with a laugh.

Peter smoothed her long blonde hair away from her face and said, “I love you Kat.”

“I love you too Peter,” she said, running her fingers along his dimpled chin.

Peter smiled even more and pressing his hands on either side of her face, kissed her like he had never kissed her before. After a moment, they both sat there and looked up at the stars. Peter put his arm around Katerina and they talked about anything and everything for hours. When the sun began to make a slight peak over the horizon, sighed and moved resolutely.

“I think we’d better head home,” Peter finally said, getting up and pulling her to her feet. “You’re making your big debut tomorrow night.”

“I hope it goes over well,” Katerina said, with a small yawn.

“It will,” Peter said, his brown eyes shining with determination.

Peter then picked up and folded the blanket. He poured the rest of the coffee on the fire and wrapped the cups and thermos in the blanket. Putting the bundle under his left arm, and wrapping his right arm around Katerina, the two walked back to their apartments.

“Wha’ are you doing up at this time,” a sleepy Davy asked from his bed on the other side of the room.

“Finishing my song,” Peter said, gazing out the window at the fleeting moon.

“Well, finish it later,” Davy grumbled, “that bleedin’ flashlight is going wake me way before I want to.”

“I’m almost finished,” Peter said, scribbling down a few more words. He soon shut off the flashlight and got ready for bed.

“Goodnight Davy,” Peter whispered after he had settled into bed after saying his prayers.

“ ‘night Petah,” Davy answered with a yawn.

Peter Tork fell asleep content that night. Happy that the person he loved finally loved him too. And he hoped it would stay that way for a long, long time.

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Part Four!

The Library

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