An Old Friend: Version A Part 18

Lisa was in a hurry.  Connie and Carol were going to pick her up at 6 o'clock sharp to take her out to dinner, and it was already 5:30.  "I should have planned this earlier," she muttered to herself as she rummaged through her wardrobe, looking for an outfit to wear.  It was a bit cool that night, so she was looking for something with long sleeves.  Finally she narrowed it down to two choices:  a light-blue sweater with a long denim skirt, or a red, long-sleeved dress with a few ruffles at the bottom.  It was a tough decision.

"Michael?" she called out.

Michael ran up the stairs and toward the bedroom.  He pushed the door open and entered upon finding her fully clothed. "Yes, love?" he replied, raising his eyebrows in curiosity.

"My mum always told me the last person in the world to ask for an opinion on clothes is a man," she giggled.

Michael rolled his eyes and grinned.

"But, Connie and Carol will be here shortly and I'm absolutely stuck.  Which outfit do you like better, blue sweater and denim skirt, or long red dress?" she asked as she held each of them up against herself.

Michael shrugged.  "I like them both," he said quietly.

She grinned at him.  "Well, you're some help, aren't you." she said sarcastically.

He giggled as he walked up to her.  "Yes, I guess your mum was right, then.  I'm sorry Lisa." He put his arms around her and kissed her softly.  "I think you look beautiful in anything," he whispered, smiling sweetly at her.

She looked up at him and smiled.  "Well, long red dress it is, then," she said with an impish grin on her face. 

Michael laughed.  "Ah well, I'll leave you to get ready.  I've got to get ready myself."

She looked at him curiously.

"Oh, didn't I tell you?  Eric rang me up late last night and invited me for dinner with him and the other Pythons."

She furrowed her brow.  "No, I don't think you told me."

"Oh, damn, it must have slipped my mind, then," he muttered.  "Well, anyway, we're going to be meeting at 6:30 in our old writing room down at the BBC..."

"For dinner??" she giggled amusedly.

"Don't ask, it wasn't my idea," he grinned.  "Eric said it would be just like old times.  I have to admit I do miss writing for Python.  But...I guess we're all moving on now."  He forced a little smile.

She reached up and began stroking his hair.  "I'm sorry, Michael."

"Oh, no, no, Lisa, you don't have to apologize," he giggled softly before planting a kiss on her cheek.

"Well.  I'll let you get ready, then."

She smiled at him as he exited the room, and began to slip into the dress and a pair of low-heeled red shoes.  She brushed her hair and sprayed on a little light rosy perfume.  She had just finished putting on some light makeup when she heard the doorbell ring.

Michael was busy getting ready, so she grabbed her purse and headed downstairs.  She looked out the window and saw two young women standing in front of the door.  She unlocked the door and they greeted her with a smile.

"Well, is this Lisa?  Michael's Lisa?" Carol asked, smiling sweetly.  She had long, golden blonde hair which she wore loosely down her back, and she was dressed nicely in a yellow dress which fell to just above her knees.  Connie, standing next to her, smiled politely.  She had long, light-blonde hair which was pulled up on the top of her head in a bun, and was dressed in a blue mock turtleneck sweater and a matching skirt.

"Yes! Please come in, won't you?"  Lisa smiled at them. 

They entered and sat down on the couch across from Lisa. "I do apologize if I woke you up last night," Connie said apologetically.  "I usually don't make phone calls that late but John had tied up the phone all evening, and..."

"Oh, no, that's alright.  You didn't wake me at all, Connie."  Lisa answered quietly.

"Oh, good." Connie smiled.

"Very lovely place you've got here," Carol said, looking around.

Lisa blushed slightly.  "Oh, thank you.  This was actually my parents' house, but they moved into a block of flats just off of Tavistock Street."

Carol nodded.  "Pity.  We got here a few minutes early hoping to run into your husband to be, and the man is nowhere in sight," she said in a disappointed tone, with a mock pout on her face.

Lisa giggled.  "Oh, no, he's here." she shook her head.

"Where?"

"Just upstairs.  He told me he was meeting the Pythons for dinner tonight, so I reckon he's still getting ready," Lisa answered.

Connie and Carol exchanged looks knowingly.

"Oh...well, I think we'll say hello to Mike before we leave, unless he doesn't come down in a few minutes," Connie started.

"Oh I think he'll be down shortly.  He's supposed to meet them at 6:30 from what he's told me."

Carol turned to Connie and winked.  Lisa's eyes narrowed in suspicion, then she turned her glance toward the stairway as she heard Michael coming down the stairs. 

Her eyes widened in surprise.  She wasn't expecting Michael to be so dressed up, especially when it was only a night out with the guys.  He was wearing a light blue buttoned-down dress shirt worn under a navy blue blazer and a pair of matching dress pants.  He also wore a white cap on his head.

As he neared the bottom of the stairs, he saw Lisa looking up at him appreciatively and he smiled at her.  He stopped dead in his tracks and his eyes widened in surprise when he noticed Connie and Carol off to the side, smiling as well. "Oh...Connie.  Carol.  I hadn't expected to see you here," he said quietly.

Carol rolled her eyes.  "You mean to tell me your fianceé didn't tell you we were picking her up this evening?"

Michael shut his eyes and sighed.  "Oh yes, that's right.  I guess I wasn't aware of the time.  Well, it's good to see you both again," he smiled.

"Well, Michael, I have to say you're looking quite marvelous tonight," Connie exclaimed.  "I see you've got something left over from your Ken Shabby wardrobe, hmm?" she teased as she pointed to his hat.

He narrowed his eyes.  "What do you mean?  Ken wore a black cap on his head, this one is white!"

"Are you sure you didn't just take the time to have it laundered?" Carol added.

Michael rolled his eyes.  "Well, on that note, I'll be seeing you ladies.  Lisa?" He stepped forward and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you later tonight," he whispered.

She smiled at him and gave him a kiss back. "See you later, Michael," she said softly.  He blushed slightly and headed out the door to his car.  Carol and Connie turned back toward Lisa.

"You're a very lucky woman," Connie said softly. 

Lisa blushed and nodded.

"Well, our reservations are for 6:30 so we'd better get going," Carol answered.

Lisa excused herself to feed Tess, then washed up and headed out the door with them.