An Old Friend: Version A Part 14

It was nearly nine o'clock by the time Michael and Lisa arrived back at the hotel. The restaurant had turned out to be a lovely place, quite delicious food, and a romantic atmosphere.  Once the manager learned that they were getting married, he ordered the violinist to come to their table and serenade them.

As they reached the door to Michael's room, Lisa looked up at him and smiled contentedly.  It had been a truly incredible night and she couldn't have been happier.

"Oh bugger," Michael muttered as he fumbled around his jacket pocket, searching for the room key.  "Don't tell me I've misplaced it," he said, furrowing his brow.

Lisa looked up at him, a bit worried.  Finally he sighed as he found it buried deep in his inside jacket pocket.  "Oh…never mind...found it."  He smiled.

She breathed a sigh of relief.  "Thank goodness.  For a moment there you had me worried."  She winked at him and he giggled good-naturedly.

He turned the knob and opened the door, flipping the light switch on as he entered.  Lisa followed, and shut the door behind her.

Michael slipped out of his jacket and hung it casually over one of the chairs.  Then he spotted Lisa sitting on the end of one of the beds and sat down next to her, putting his arm around her shoulder and pulling her closer toward him.

"It was a very lovely evening, Michael," she said softly, looking into his eyes.  "You really know how to treat a girl."  She blushed as she said this.

"Especially when the girl in question is about to become my wife," he smiled.  He pulled her in closer and they kissed.

He removed his arm from her, and she nervously looked down at her feet. 

"Er...so.." she began, nervously clearing her throat.  "..about the wedding.."

He looked at her and raised his eyebrows in curiosity.

She didn't quite know how to bring up the subject.  "I…er...guess we should really start planning if we'd like to have it soon."

Michael's eyes narrowed.  "Oh, to bloody hell with planning.  Let's get married right after we finish making this picture," he said eagerly.

Lisa stared at him, momentarily surprised.  "Oh... but I'd have to ring up my parents and all that."

Michael didn't say a word, but walked over to the small end table where the phone sat, and pointed to it, smiling.

"Well," she giggled. "I guess that's settled."

He picked up a small calendar that was lying next to his travel clock and motioned for Lisa to come over at sit with him.

She walked over to the other bed and sat down next to him.

"Now, as I see it we should be wrapping up filming on location by the 1st or 2nd of June," Michael began thoughtfully, pointing to the calendar.  "Terry may be doing some filming around London after we get back, but I'm not involved in any of those scenes.  So..."

He thought for a minute, then continued cautiously, "...How about we set the wedding for Saturday, the 8th?"  He looked back up at Lisa for her reaction.

She looked down at the calendar and narrowed her eyes thoughtfully.  "Hmmm...  well, that seems fine to me," she said, looking back up at him and smiling.

"Ah, good, the 8th it is, then." He replied, smiling at her and giggling slightly.  He playfully touched her on the nose.

She smiled impishly at him. 

"You're incredibly cute, you know that?" he said, still giggling.

"That makes two of us," she winked at him before stealing a kiss. She then leapt off the bed.  "Well, I better ring my parents," she said softly.

He nodded shyly at her and decided to use the opportunity to brush his teeth and put his pj's on.  He headed for the bathroom as she started dialing the phone.

After two unsuccessful attempts at reaching her parents, she finally got through. "Hello, Mum? It's me, Lisa... yes Mum, I'm sorry to bother you so late...yes, I know, Mum... I've got some wonderful news, I just had to phone..."

As Michael exited the bathroom, he saw Lisa leaning back on the other bed, the receiver in her hand.

She shot a smile at him and turned back to the phone. "Well, I'm going to be getting married... yes, Mum, that's right... no, I'm serious...really!"

She turned toward Michael and rolled her eyes.  He grinned and giggled softly.

She turned back toward the phone.  "Who? Well, you're not going to believe this, Mum... do you remember Michael Palin?...yes, that's right, Michael Palin...yes, the nice boy I met at Oxford... yes, the one who attended my graduation in the black suit and tie..."

Michael rolled his eyes and grinned.  He knew he'd probably get the same reaction, if not worse, from his parents.

"Yes, Mum, he was a lovely boy," she smiled.  "And he still is...that's why we're getting married."

Michael listened to Lisa as she told her mother about the wedding and the date they had agreed upon.  The conversation seemed to be mostly positive.  He watched as she hung up the phone and sighed contentedly.

"Well, she and Dad seem to be fine with that," she said as she walked over to Michael and sat next to him.  "Even though she insisted more than once that it was on quite short notice."

Michael smiled and looked down.  "Well, I'm glad it went over well with them," he said softly.  He looked back up at her.  "I've got to ring up my parents as well.  I just hope my poor Mum doesn't suffer a stroke, especially after I've been single for so long."  He giggled, mocking himself.

He looked back up at her and sighed.  "Well, only goes to show that the best things come to those who wait, I suppose."He patted her on the back.

She smiled broadly at him.

Michael blushed slightly, then looked down at his watch. It was just about 9:30.  A grin spread across his face, and he leapt up from the bed.  He switched the small television on, and tuned it into BBC2.

"Now for a little light entertainment," he declared.  He sat back down on the edge of the bed next to Lisa and watched her reaction as Monty Python's Flying Circus began.

She immediately recognized Michael as the hermit who declared "It's..." and was suddenly cut off by the opening animation sequence and theme music.  A smile broke out onto her face as a Gumby voice declared "Monty Python's Flying Circus-us-us!!"

She giggled and put her hand over her mouth, surprised.  "Was that you??" she asked.

Michael blushed a bit and nodded.  "Ah, yes, Mr. A.J.P. Gumby," he grinned.

"Is he in this episode?" she asked curiously.


As the episode began, Michael recognized it from the "Biggles Dictates a Letter" sketch.  He shook his head. "Nope, not this one."  She gave him a bit of a disappointed look.  "Oh, but you'll enjoy this, love. Just watch."

The "Lifeboat" sketch appeared and Lisa watched amusedly as Michael appeared as a confused shipmate of a Newhaven Lifeboat. She turned to Michael.  "When did you do this?"

Michael directed his eyes upward thoughtfully.  "Umm...1972...January, I believe." He answered.

She looked at him.

"Actually it wasn't transmitted until almost a year later..." he continued.

"I can't believe I missed all this!" she exclaimed, as she giggled at the sketches.

"Well, love, I'll forgive you," he winked, as he pulled her in closer and gave her a little kiss on the cheek.

 Finally, the "Cheese Shop" sketch appeared. As John Cleese entered the shop and Michael appeared behind the counter, Lisa laughed out loud.

Michael looked at her curiously, and she stopped abruptly. "My goodness, I didn't know you had such large sideburns," she said, giggling a bit.

Michael blushed as he turned toward her.  "Yeah...Well, I had to shave them off for this film," he answered.

She grinned at him. "Well, I like you better like this. They take up too much of your face there..." She pointed to the screen and raised an eyebrow. "...Not too many kissable areas left on the face."

He smiled at her and blushed slightly as she gave him a little kiss on the cheek. 

"See?" she smiled.

"Ah, yes, I'll have to remember that for the future," he winked at her.

They watched the rest of Flying Circus, laughing nearly the entire time.  Lisa felt like giving herself a swift kick for never tuning in to this hilarious program.

************************************************


After it ended, Michael rose from the bed and switched the television off.

Lisa looked down at the floor and sighed.  "Oh, I wish I didn't have to go back to London tomorrow," she said sadly.

Michael looked into her eyes. "And I wish you didn't have to, love. But I will see you once filming is done. I mean...we'll be moving in together...into my flat.. or yours.. er.. where are you living now?"

"Oh.. actually my parents moved to a smaller block of flats. I'm living in their old house. It's not very big, but it's nice and quaint."

He looked at her thoughtfully. "Oh. Well. I suppose I'll be moving in with you, then," he grinned.

She smiled at him. "I guess you need the address, then." She searched her purse for a small piece of paper and a pen. She wrote the address down on the paper and handed it to him.

He looked down at the paper and back up at her. "Ah, thank you, love. I'll make sure to keep this in a safe place." He headed over to the dresser where he kept his wallet and slipped the piece of paper into it.

She laid down on the other bed as he went over to the table, about to shut off the light.

"Well, until tomorrow," he said quietly.

"Goodnight, Michael," she sighed.

He turned back to her and smiled before shutting off the light.

******************************************************


"Are you all set, then?"

Lisa removed her purse from the end table and slipped her coat on. "Yes, I've got everything," she answered. She looked back up at Michael and could see the sadness in his eyes as she was about to drive back to London.

He swallowed hard and gave her a little smile. "Come on, I'll walk you out to your car," he said softly. He slipped into his jacket and led her out the door.

As they walked down the stairs, Eric came walking into the lobby, script in hand, shouting "Bring out your dead! Bring out your dead!"

Lisa stopped and looked at him.

Michael rolled his eyes. "Eric, what are you doing?"

Eric saw them and stopped dead in his tracks, surprised. "Oh... I..I didn't expect to find you two here," he said, nervously. "I was just running through my lines for today's scene."

Michael shut his eyes and sighed. "Oh, no, we're doing Plague Village today?"

Eric grinned. "Yup. Guess you'll be wearing mud and shit today, Mike," he giggled.

Michael rolled his eyes and fixed Eric with a glare. "Right. I'm so glad you think that's funny." Lisa giggled sympathetically at Michael.

"Anyway, Lisa is heading back to London. I was just seeing her out to her car," Michael continued.

Eric looked at them, a bit surprised. "Oh. Well, it was nice meeting you Lisa. I reckon I'll see you again one day soon?"

"At the wedding," Michael interrupted.

"Ah."


He extended his hand and Lisa shook hands with him. "It was nice meeting you too, Eric," she said.

Eric smiled at her and headed upstairs as she walked outside with Michael.

"Well, there's my car," she said nervously.

"Ah, so it is," Michael smiled sadly. "Well, I'll be seeing you, love. And when I'm out here acting my brains out steeped in shit and soaking wet, I'll be counting down the days until filming wraps and we can be together again."

She looked up at him and smiled. "And when I'm bored out of my head putting library books away or taking Tess for a walk on a bleak, damp day I'll be counting down the days until we can be together again."

He giggled and smiled. "Well. Here's hoping that the days go by quickly." He pulled her in for a kiss and they embraced.

He finally let her go and she entered her car. As she put the key into the ignition and started the car, Michael stepped away from the curb and waved.

She blew him a kiss, then put the car into gear and headed off.

****************************************************


Traffic was surprisingly light as Lisa made the drive back home. The whole way she kept thinking of how sad Michael looked as she drove away. She hated to leave him, but she knew she couldn't stay there any longer. She had a lot of work waiting for her back at the library, and she couldn't keep relying on her neighbor to take care of the dog.

The sun started to peak through the clouds by the time she reached her house and parked out front. She fished for her house key and as she unlocked the door, she heard a familiar howling sound.

As she entered, her dog Tess happily ran up to her, wagging her tail. Lisa bent down and gave Tess a small hug. The 2-year-old beagle lovingly gave Lisa lots of sloppy, wet kisses.

"Good girl, Tess, good girl," Lisa cooed as she started petting the affectionate hound dog. When her grandmother passed away, Lisa had become awfully lonely and had bought Tess as a puppy from a breeder. The dog had given her much companionship. Now that Michael was going to move in, she hoped he wouldn't mind Tess being here.

She sat down on the couch and the dog jumped up and snuggled up against her. As she pet the dog, she began thinking about Michael and their wedding day. She had a lot of plans to make, like picking out a wedding dress. Luckily her parents planned to take care of the reception plans and Michael was going to make plans with the local church. Still she couldn't help but sit there on the couch with her dog and fantasize about the day when she would finally become Michael's wife. She hoped these next few weeks would just fly by.

 








 



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