When Mike stopped playing, so did Peter and I. But Micky continued playing and singing:
"Mary, Mary, where are you goin' to?" he sang, loudly. Then, he noticed that no one else was playing. After a moment, he realized why, and stopped also. He looked towards the door, where a young woman, not much older than seventeen, had entered.
"Actually," she said, matter-of-factly, "my name's Nicole, and I've come to see my brother." Her brother? Who was her brother? I looked around the room. I looked at Micky. He was practically staring at her. I could tell he'd never seen her before in his life. I looked at Peter, who was staring, and though he seemed mesmerized merely by her presence, he also did not recognize her. Well, I thought, she certainly wasn't my sister. But before I could look at Mike, I heard him speak, breaking the silence that must have lasted a full minute.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"Well, I came to see you, silly," she replied. "Nice place ya got here," she added before he could protest. "Ain't ya gonna introduce me to your friends?"
"Well, I..uh," Mike said, trying to regain his thoughts.
"Yeah Mike," I said. "Where's your manners?" Taking the situation into my own hands, I went up to her and introduced myself. Then, Micky stood up and introduced himself. She looked at Peter expectantly.
"And you?" she asked, somewhat forward. Peter, who'd been in something of a trance, shook his head to clear it and held out a hand politely.
"I'm Peter," he said, somewhat dazed. He looked down at her (she was a few inches shorter) and looked into her eyes. She looked up into his. The connection was made. You could practically see the stars in their eyes. Micky elbowed me in the stomach and nodded towards Mike, who was still somewhat dumb struck.
"Hi, Peter," she replied after a very long pause. "I'm Nicole." He continued gazing at her, love struck.
Mike could stand it no longer. He finally broke in. "So," he said. "How long are ya stayin' for?"
Her concentration interrupted, she turned (finally) away from Peter and blinked, letting the question sink in.
"Um, I dunno. Just for a month or so, if it's all right with you," she said. He gave her a parental look, and she returned it with a look that clearly defied his authority. Sighing, he gave in.
"Yeah, I guess. If the guys don't mind." He looked at Micky and I, hoping for some opposition, but we ignored his unspoken plea.
"Oh, no," Micky said. "No problem here. You have a problem Davy?" I shook my head. "Peter? Peter? PETER? "
"Huh?"
"Never mind."
"Oh, uh, no problem here."
"Good. See Mike, no problem. We don't mind." Mike gave him a Look, which Micky ignored.
"Good," Nicole said, clearly pleased that there was no opposition.
We all helped to set up the guest room that Peter had now vacated for Nicole. She didn't have a bed, so we moved the couch in there (since it opened to a bed.) After we set it up, she looked around the room and smiled.
"Thanks guys," she said. "I really appreciate this." We all muttered something to the effect of 'you're welcome,' or 'no problem.'
Peter came down the stairs. He'd been upstairs, working on the lyrics to a song, and hadn't noticed the rest of the world. He came downstairs to show them to Mike, to see if he liked them. However, there was no one there. Apparently, he'd been so involved in writing that he hadn't noticed the others had gone. He thought for a second, and then went to the beach. Outside, it was rather quiet. No one was on the beach. He looked up and down, but there was no sign of anybody he knew. Way down the beach, a few people were walking, but Peter didn't recognize any. He frowned, thoughtful, and was turning to go back in the house when he heard a sound coming from the side of the house. He walked over, searching for the source of the sound.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied. "It's just that..." she started to say something, but broke off and started to cry.
"What's the matter?" Peter asked, immediately on the ground next to her. He wondered for a second why the others had left her there alone, but it flew from his mind, conquered by compassion for his friend's younger sibling.
"Nothin'" she said, wiping away tears.
"Nothing?" he asked. "There has to be something, or you wouldn't be crying," he added sensibly. She shrugged and looked up at him. He decided it would be better to drop the subject, and started to get up.
"Isn't the ocean beautiful?" she asked. He looked down at her. He hesitated for a moment, and then sat down next to her.
"Yeah, I guess it is," he said. "Have you ever seen the ocean before, Nicole?" She shook her head. He grinned, a big wide grin. "Then it looks even better."
'God, I love that smile,' she thought to herself. "Mmm," she sighed, relaxing back against the house, and letting all of her worries escape her. For a moment, she just sat there, relaxing and feeling calmer than she had in ages. She was drifting off, not quite sleeping, but thinking deeply.
"Have you seen the guys?" Peter asked, jolting her back to reality.
"Um, I think Micky and Davy went to the store," she said. "I forget where Mike is. He said something about going somewhere, but I wasn't payin' attention." Peter nodded, accepting the explanation, and she turned back to the ocean. "It's really beautiful, isn't it?" he asked.
Nicole leaned her head back again and sighed. "Yeah."
Peter hesitated for a moment, thinking, and then blurted, "You should see it at night. It's gorgeous then." That got her attention. She turned her head to him.
"Really?" He nodded.
"It's only a few hours until the sun sets," he added. "And the sunset is really beautiful. The sunrise, too." He stopped, thinking some more, and looked out at the ocean again.
"Maybe later we can go for a walk or something. And see the sunset," he suggested hesitantly.
Her heart leaped. "Yeah, that'd be nice," she said, restraining herself from saying anything more.
Peter stood up. "Where are you going?" she asked him.
"Well, it's already five-o' clock, and it's my turn to make dinner," he said. She nodded, accepting. "You okay?"
She nodded again, smiling. "Yeah, I'm fine now."
Back to the last page...even though there's less happiness
ON to the next page...where there's more happiness
By The Way: (now that I think of it, I think that Davy Jones could have said that line.... Well, he IS narrating..)
