"And, please bless Adriana. She's been so kind to us, letting us live in her house, and in her time period too. I'm very grateful that our paths have crossed," Peter prayed, opening his eyes just long enough to glance at her face from across the table.
It made him happy to see her sitting there, looking so peaceful this Thanksgiving night. She had pulled a little bit of her blonde hair back, leaving some of it to frame her face. The light of the candles on the beautifully set table reflected off of her face, bathing her in a warm glow. Suddenly, she looked up to see why she had stopped.
"And we are all very thankful for all of this great food," he continued praying as his face got warm, shutting his eyes again after she looked at him.
"Amen to that," Micky agreed.
"And for friends," Peter said at last. "Amen."
"Amen," everyone echoed and dropped hands with the person next to them.
"Pass the potatoes," Micky shouted, tapping his fork on his plate in excitement.
"Wow," Davy began, surveying the table, "this really looks great. Adrian an’ Ursula, you two did a great job."
"Hey," Adriana said, passing a bowl to Mike, "Ursula's the cook here. I am the self-proclaimed Microwave Queen."
"Oh, yes," Micky said, stuffing some of the stuffing in his mouth, "microwave, great invention."
When Adriana discovered that the guys hadn't had a decent Thanksgiving dinner in years, she decided that, although she hated cooking, she would do her best to make it a meal they'd never forget. Calling over Ursula, who was a much better cook, and who had no one to eat with due to her parents’ Thanksgiving cruise and her sister’s date with her boyfriend’s family, the two had spent the entire day cooking and produced a feast for their friends.
Adriana smiled and took a bite of her homemade mashed potatoes and looked around the table. Ursula was at one head of the table and next to her was Davy. The two were having an animated conversation that for once didn't end in her slapping him. Peter sat next to Davy, happily passing food to whomever requested it. Micky sat at the other head of the table marveling at the selection of food and praising it between bites. Next to Micky was Adriana, and next to her was Mike, who sat eating with a contented look on his face. Smiling at her friends, she felt extremely content that almost everything in her life seemed to be going right for once.
"Why don't we try that once more and then we can be done for the night," Jimmy, the sound engineer at the Chicago studio said from inside the control booth.
"I think that sounded amazing," Adriana commented to Jimmy, watching the guys from behind the glass.
"Yeah," Jimmy answered, turning a few knobs on the control panel, "it was okay, but Peter was a bit off pitch and Micky didn't quite hit that beat."
"Rolling," Jimmy said to the guys who then began to play.
"Mmmmhmm,, Mmmhmmm
There ain't no time for cryin'
Baby it's time for our goodbyin'
You treated me like a fool
And never played by the rule
I set to keep my heart safe
Because, it's my heart and you're not gonna brake it
I'm not just gonna stand here and take it
It's not for you to say that you love me
Than leave me
And once again I'm standing all alone
Mmmmhmmm, Mmmmhmmm
How many times have I given my heart
To a girl who just don't care
It left me with such pain
Standin' in the rain
Of a storm that just won't let up
But I'm warnin' you
It's my heart and you're not gonna brake it
I'm not just gonna stand here and take it
It's not for you to say that you love me
Than leave me
And once again I'm standing all alone
No more excuses
No more games
I've had it
No more time to explain
It's my heart
(No girl you're not gonna break it)
It's my heart
(I'm not just gonna stand here and take it)
It's my heart
(It's not for you to say that you love me then leave me)
It's my heart
And yes, once again I'm standing all alone"
"That’s a take," Jimmy sounded from the control room. “The best yet. Great job guys. Great song, Mike. Peter, you hit the BGV's right. Micky, you got the beat right on. That's it for tonight."
"Hey," Peter shouted from inside the studio, "Jimmy, do you think we could have the studio for a little bit longer just to jam or something?"
"Sure," Jimmy answered, "I don't see why not. We're ahead of schedule. The Baps don’t have the studio until 8:30, so you’ve got about an hour or so."
"Thanks," Peter shouted.
“The Baps,” Adriana asked, turning to Jimmy.
“Yeah, they’re this band that guy, Tyler Stevenson, I told you about manages,” Jimmy said, with a hint of caution in his voice.
“Okay,” answered Adriana, wondering why Jimmy sounded so strange whenever he mentioned this Tyler.
Turning to Adriana he said, "Your guys did great. Don't worry. Like I said, just be careful of Tyler. He's out to get anybody who's not under his management. The main group he’s got now, The Baps, aren’t too great and could really use some new material. The Past Lives have the potential of being a real success. If Tyler finds out about them, I hate to say, he might do anything in his power to ruin them. He hates any potential competition with his groups. Just keep you're eyes open, okay?"
"Thanks Jimmy, I will," Adriana said, a small bit of dread growing inside her.
"I'll see you next week," Jimmy said, grabbing his bag and heading for the door.
"Sure," she said, not really paying attention, thinking about this Tyler and what he could do to her friends. From all of the rumors she had heard in the building, Tyler Stevenson was a person to be reckoned with. Whatever he produced was always number one.
"Hey Adrian," Peter shouted to her, breaking her out of her thoughts. "We thought we'd just jam in here for awhile, do some older stuff."
"Okay," she said, sitting down, pressing the button to communicate her voice into their room, "go ahead. Jimmy showed me how to roll the tape, did you want me to?"
“Ah, no that’s okay,” Peter said quickly as he reached for an acoustic guitar.
For the next half hour or so, they managed to run through some of their greatest songs. Adriana’s worries drifted as she listened to “unplugged” versions of "Sweet Young Thing", "A Little Bit Me", and "Words". Then it came to what appeared to be Peter's turn.
“Um, this is a song by Donovan I’ve wanted to try for awhile,” he said, playing a few notes on the guitar. “It means a lot to me.”
"In the chilly hours and minutes of uncertainty, I want to be in the warm heart of your loving mind,” Peter sang, looking down as he strummed his guitar.
Adriana’s heart leapt into her throat his Peter continued to sing one of her favorite 60’s folk/rock songs.
“To feel you all around me, and to take your hand along the sand. Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind,” he continued, looking directly at Adriana.
Not wanting to make eye contact, Adriana looked at the other guys. Micky sat at the drum kit, solemnly drumming along to the slow beat. Davy rapped his tambourine and danced around a little bit. Mike sat on a stool, concentrating hard on his guitar part.
Peter stood to his feet and kept playing, meeting Adriana’s eyes again. His eyes went right though her with so much conviction and emotion, she could hardly bear it.
“When sundown pales the sky
I want to hide awhile behind your smile
And everywhere I’d look your eyes I’d find
For me to love you now
Would be the sweetest thing
Would make me sing
Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind…”
Adriana knew there were a few more verses, but the more she sat there and listened, the more she began to realize just how serious Peter’s feelings were. It was more than she ever could have imagined, and more than she could take at that moment.
Before Peter opened his mouth to sing the next verse, Adriana had bolted out the control room door. She finally stopped at a dark stairway that was lit only by a streetlight outside. There, she sat, and finally let the tears come.
"What did I do," Peter asked, taking his guitar off his shoulder and setting it down.
"I don't know," Davy said, looking in the direction of the door that had slammed shut after she left.
"Why don’t you go after her," Mike said urgently.
"I can't," said Peter, sitting down and putting his head in his hands. "She hates me."
"She doesn't hate you, Petah," Davy said, walking over to him and putting his hand on his shoulder.
"She's just maybe confused," suggested Micky, setting down his drumsticks and walking over to comfort his friend.
"Well," Mike said standing up and making his way towards the door, "if nobody's gonna go and check on the girl, I will."
Adriana sniffled and sighed, wiping her tears off with the back of her hand. As much as she hated crying, she could feel her body was grateful for the release.
Suddenly, she heard footsteps coming down the hall.
"Hey...Mike," she said as she saw him come into view.
"Hey, Adrian," he asked, entering the dark room, "what's a nice girl like you hanging in a stairwell like this?"
"I know," she sniffled, with a forced laugh. "I would have picked something nicer, but I didn't care at the time. I just had to get out."
Mike chuckled as he sat down beside her on a stair, "I know how you feel," he said.
"Oh, Mike," Adriana began, resting her forehead in her palms as she vented, "I know Peter's your friend and everything, and I really do care about him, but everything is so strange and has happened so fast.”
“Tell me about it,” he said, folding his arms over his knees as he listened. “Seems like just yesterday we were living at the beach and here we are. This has been pretty unbelievable.”
“I know,” Adriana groaned. “And now it’s just more difficult. You know, part of me wishes I could just feel the way Peter would like me to. It would make everything so much easier."
"Hey," Mike said, putting his arm around her shoulders, "Now, nobody said life was ever easy. Peter's a great guy, but it would take an idiot not to see that you guys don't belong together. Not to say that Peter's an idiot, but something' just ain't right between you. You don't have that, ya know, chemistry."
"I thought we would," Adriana sighed, putting her head on his shoulder, "ever since I started watching your show, I always had those childish crush thoughts Peter would be, like my dream guy or something. I guess it's taken me these past few months to realize that I was wrong. I really want to be his friend. I didn't mean to run out, but when he sang that song, I just realized how much it might hurt him when I tell him the truth."
"I know you don't want to do it Adrian," Mike said, giving her shoulder a squeeze, "but you've got to tell him and set him straight, no matter how much it hurts. Peter's a sensitive guy. He'll get over it, and you'll end up with one of the best friends you've ever had."
"I wish that would be the end of my problems," Adriana said quietly.
"What else ya got? Mike, the King 'O Advice is here at your service," Mike asked.
"I wish I could tell you," she said, shrugging off his arm and standing up.
"Why can't you," he asked, looking at her seriously. Adriana noticed why so many of her friends had adored Michael Nesmith. He had remarkable brown eyes and dark features that were shadowed in light streaming in from the windows.
"Because," she mumbled, looking down at her feet, "there was somebody else in that room that I've kind of fallen for."
Meanwhile, while Mike was consoling Adriana, the guys were in the studio having a conversation of their own.
"I just know she hates me," Peter said. "I knew I never should have done that. But, Michael kept saying 'Peter, you gotta tell her how you feel'. Well, I told her how I feel, and see where it's gotten me? Nowhere fast. I wish we'd never come to this time period."
"Don't say that, man," Micky said from his chair behind the drum, "things are so much better here in the future..."
"Micky," Davy said, "you make it sound like life is all peaches 'n cream in the year 2000. 'ave you seen the news? There's still as many problems ‘ere."
"I guess you're right," Micky said with a sigh.
"Besides," Davy said, "Adrian still likes you, but as much as I 'ate to say it, probably like a friend."
"But I don't want to just be her friend," Peter said.
”I’m sorry,” Micky said, putting a comforting arm around his friend’s shoulder.
"Me too," Peter sighed, a heavy feeling washing over him. "I almost just wish that time machine had never been invented. I'd still have my heart intact."
"That explains it all," Tyler Stevenson said from the other side of the door, where he had been listening to the guys talk.
"Time machine, huh?," he laughed. "Just the fuel I needed to get these 'Monkees' out of here."
View My Guestbook
Sign My Guestbook
