St. Valentine's Day: Part 1

Lisa sat on the couch in front of the coffee table in the living room. She was reviewing a list for a special Valentine's Day program which was going to be held at the library. It was geared toward children, and they would have a set of books about Valentine's Day set out for them to read; not only children's stories but also stories surrounding the origins of the holiday. There was an arts-and-crafts workshop planned, in which they would be making their own valentines, among other things. As one of the head librarians, it was her job to approve the list her coworkers had come up with.

She smiled as she thought about the holiday and what it meant to her. She and Michael hadn't been married even one whole year, and this was going to be their first Valentine's Day together. He hadn't really made mention of the occasion yet, but she had learned not to underestimate him, especially after that little romp near Castle Stalker during their honeymoon...

Michael came into the room, walked over to her and bent down to give her a kiss on the cheek. "Hello, darling," he said softly, smiling tenderly at her.

She looked up at him, smiling broadly. "Hello, sweetie."

He giggled softly. "Well. What's this then?" He asked, pointing to her papers as he sat down next to her.

"Oh...I'm just reviewing a list of items being considered for our Valentine's Day program at the library. You know, mostly things for the kiddies." 

"How nice." He smiled again before pulling her in closer and giving her another tender kiss. 

"Well. You've certainly been quite amorous lately, Michael," she grinned.  

He looked downward. "Ah yes, this time of year always does it to me," he grinned back. "Saint Valentine's Day. It's always been a lovely little holiday...and even more so now that I've finally got someone to share it with." He edged even closer to her and put his arm around her. 

"Mmm-hmm," she replied softly. "Love is in the air, isn't it. You can just feel it wherever you go." 

Michael nodded and grinned at her. "Love is in the air/Everywhere I look around/Love is in the air/Every sight and every sound." he began to sing. 

"And I don't know if I'm..." 

He stopped as he heard Lisa giggling at him. He put on a mock expression of hurt. "What?" he said, sounding almost like a hurt little boy. 

She giggled even more as she wrapped her arms loosely around his neck. "Oh, it's just that you're so cute, Michael," she grinned broadly as she touched one of his dimples.

He raised an eyebrow. "Cute?" he squeaked out. "Is that all I am to you?" He put on the mock hurt expression again. 

Lisa laughed. "Oh, no! That's just one of the many things I love about you! You're cute, you're smart, you're funny, and you're the sweetest man I've ever known."

He looked at her expectantly, though she knew he was teasing her by the way his dimples peeked out of the corners of his mouth. "Is that all?"

She shook her head. "And you are the best lover in the world," she said breathlessly.

Michael blushed and grinned widely before they locked in a passionate kiss. 

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Their lips parted as Michael moved just a bit back. "Oh, now I've forgotten the reason I came in here in the first place," he said, a bit flustered. 

"It wasn't to be with me?" Lisa asked, jokingly raising an eyebrow. 

Michael giggled and shook his head. "No, I mean besides that. Oh... now I remember. I wanted to tell you I made plans for Valentine's Day for us."

She looked at him. "Already?" 

He furrowed his brow in confusion. "What do you mean, 'already'? It's two days away, Lisa!" he giggled a bit.

Lisa rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Oh, of course. Silly me," she smiled apologetically. 

"That's alright, love," Michael said softly. "Anyway, I've made plans for dinner at La Gondola, you know, that nice little Italian restaurant on Tavistock."

Lisa smiled. "Oh, how nice! But aren't they a bit expensive?" 

Michael put his arm back around her and smiled sweetly. "Nothing's too good for my girl," he said quietly. 

She blushed a bit, then looked up into his eyes before they kissed again.

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Suddenly, the phone rang. 

Michael and Lisa's eyes widened and they both stepped back. Michael picked himself up off the couch and headed over to the phone. "I'll get that," he said to her.

Lisa nodded. 

Michael picked up the phone. "Hello?" 

"Mike? Is that you?" A familiar voice asked.

It was Eric. 

Michael rolled his eyes. "No, it's not me, Eric. It's Clodagh Rogers, the girl singer," he answered dryly. 

"Really?" Eric said, playing along. "You mean...I'm just a jack-in-the-box/I know wherever love knocks..." he began to sing playfully.

Michael rolled his eyes again. "Yeah. That's right," he said, again sarcastically. "And if you ask me for a bloody autograph I'll shove bees down your knickers," he continued in a falsetto voice. 

Michael grinned as he heard Eric laugh on the other line.

"You've really got a knack for cheering people up, don't you Mike?" Eric laughed. 

Michael's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"Oh...nothing," Eric said quickly. "Er...is your wife there?"

Michael raised an eyebrow and looked over at Lisa. She had been giggling to herself the whole time, listening to him joke around with Eric. "Um...yes, she's here," he said a bit suspiciously.

"Ah. Well..er..can I talk to her?" Eric pressed on. 

"Well..." Michael thought of making up an excuse, like maybe Lisa was busy and couldn't come to the phone. It was a bit of suspicion left over from when Eric had pursued Lisa back when the Pythons were filming Holy Grail.

He then decided he was being silly. They had been married for just over eight months and Lisa was never the type to be unfaithful. Eric probably just wanted to say hello to her. "...Alright."

Michael gestured to Lisa. "Lisa dear? It's Eric. He'd like to talk to you."

Lisa's eyes narrowed. Why on earth would Eric want to talk to her? She rose from the couch and crossed the room. 

Michael handed the receiver to her. He smiled and sat back down on the couch, picking up a magazine.

Lisa put the receiver up to her ear. "Hello?"

"Lisa! Good to hear you again!" Eric said happily.

Lisa's face flushed. "Oh...well, thanks. Nice to hear from you too," she answered a bit awkwardly.

"So, how goes your job at the library?" he asked.

"Oh, it's fine, I'm keeping busy. Right now we're planning something for Valentine's Day...you know, for the kiddies..."

"Oh, that sounds nice," he answered.

Michael had his face buried in the magazine. Only his eyes, framed by his floppy brown hair, were visible above it. Every so often they would glance up toward Lisa.

Lisa began to feel a bit nervous, especially after mentioning Valentine's Day. She knew full well that Eric had been divorced and it was probably best not to even bring it up. She turned toward Michael who had been glancing up at her for a time. At that instant he directed his eyes back to the print on the magazine.

"So, if you don't mind me asking," she said uneasily, "how are you doing?"

"Oh, not bad, not bad. Don't know if Mike has ever mentioned this to you, but I'm in the process of doing my own television program."

"Really!" she exclaimed.

"Yup, Neil Innes and I. The premise is a small television station located in Rutland, you know, the smallest county. We're calling it Rutland Weekend Television."

"Well. Sounds quite interesting." she replied.

"Thanks," Eric giggled. "We're going to start filming in a couple of weeks, should be a lot of fun."

Lisa nodded.

"Er....so...." Eric continued awkwardly. "I...um....well, I'd say more, but I take it your husband is in the room," he said wryly.

She furrowed her brow in confusion. "Yes..." she said suspiciously.

"Alright then, it wasn't important anyway," he said dismissively. "Well I'd better get going, Lisa. It was good talking to you."

"Alright, same to you," she said kindly. "Oh...before you go, would you like to speak to Michael again?"

There was a little pause. "Oh...no, that's alright. Well, take care, Lisa."

"Goodbye, Eric," she said quietly as she hung up the phone.

After she replaced the receiver back on the cradle, she walked over toward Michael who still had his face buried in the magazine. He failed to notice her sitting down next to him. She lightly patted him on the arm and he let out a little yelp.

"Oh! Please, don't do that!" he giggled.

She giggled back and smiled at him. "I'm sorry Michael."

The giggles softened, and he looked into her eyes. "That's alright, love."

She looked down and blushed a bit.

"So...um, I don't know quite how to put this, but..." he started awkwardly.

She raised her eyebrows at him.

"What did Eric want?"

"Oh, not much, he just made small talk," she answered. "You know, he asked me how my job was treating me, and told me about the new television program he was working on."

Michael nodded. "Ah, yes, the whole Rutland project he's working on. Pity he'll be too busy to join us for our visit to America next month."

"Oh, I didn't know he wasn't coming with you," she said.

He nodded. "Yup, and John isn't coming either. In some respects I reckon it's just as well," he giggled.

She laughed.

"Well... you're coming with me, aren't you love?" he asked quietly, looking into her eyes.

"Oh, of course I am," she smiled. "I've always wanted to visit America."

He smiled back and started rubbing her shoulder. 'Thank God,' he thought to himself. Since Eric wasn't coming along, and Lisa was, he'd have absolutely no opportunity to advance on her.