An Old Friend: Version A Part 19

Lisa followed closely behind Carol and Connie as they entered the restaurant.  It wasn't a particularly fancy place, but just nice and quaint enough.  Supposedly this was the place which the Pythons frequented most evenings after a long writing session or taping an episode of Flying Circus. 

The owner of the restaurant, a short, portly Italian man with a small mustache, appeared at the table in front of them.

"Hello," Carol smiled at the owner.  "Reservations for Booth and Cleveland?"

The man looked down at his book, searching for the names. "Ah, si, Signora," he smiled warmly.  "Right this way, please."

"Thank you," Carol answered as she, Connie and Lisa followed him to a small booth near the back of the restaurant.  He presented them with the menus before walking away.

"You'll adore this place, Lisa," Carol said frankly.  "The food is just delicious."

Connie nodded.  "I agree, it's quite good."

Lisa smiled as she opened up the menu and began to read it.  Everything looked so good, but the prices were quite expensive. She furrowed her brow.  "Hmm... I suppose I'll just have a small salad," she said. She looked up at Connie and Carol, anticipating their reactions.

"A salad??  Oh come on, there are so many choices on that menu!" Carol exclaimed, her eyes widened almost in disbelief.

Connie seemed to sense Lisa had a problem.  "What's the matter, Lisa?  Aren't you hungry?" she asked, concerned.

Lisa looked up, a bit embarrassed.  "Oh, no.  Actually I am quite hungry.  It's just that..."  She began to blush furiously.  "...everything seems quite......expensive.  I..."

"Oh, please, don't worry about it, dear!" Connie shook her head.  "Carol and I will take care of it."

"Yes, I pretty much suspected that," Lisa half-smiled.  "That's why I didn't want to burden you with the expense."

Carol looked at her seriously.  "Lisa, the last thing you could ever be is a burden," she said slowly.  "You are an incredibly sweet girl, and your marriage to Mike is something to celebrate.  Honestly, please don't feel that you're a burden.  Order anything you'd like, dinner is our treat."  She smiled sweetly.

A shy smile formed on Lisa's face.  "Oh, thank you, Carol.  You don't know how I appreciate this," she said quietly. She looked back down at the menu.  "I think I'll go with the chicken parmesan, then," she grinned slightly.

Carol and Connie exchanged looks and giggled.

All throughout dinner, Carol and Connie exchanged anecdotes about working with Michael and what a sweet guy he was.

"Mike really is a terrific guy," Connie smiled.  "He could always make me laugh.  I remember when I first met him. I was appearing in How To Irritate People which John wrote along with Graham.  There was one sketch near the end where Mike and I played husband and wife, about to entertain a couple of friends.  I insisted that Michael tell this one rather bad joke, which he was clearly not comfortable doing.  Along the way I just made it worse by correcting him, and forcing him to wear this funny little hat, a fake nose, and a bolt through the neck.  He refused, but I just dressed him up in that silly outfit anyway," she giggled.

Lisa grinned, amused.

"Our company obviously can't get over how ridiculous Mike looks, and the poor boy just has this look of agony on his face!  I found it so hard to hold back the giggles, it was this droll, almost straight-man type expression.  And finally at one point he looks over at me with this piercing glare, it was like daggers shooting out of his eyes!"

Lisa laughed along with Carol and Connie.

Connie stopped laughing and sighed.  "Of course, there were times when John was almost insufferable to be around.  I guess you've witnessed some of this during the Holy Grail shoot..."

Lisa looked up at her.  "Well, he had said quite a few things, but he just said they were all out of sorts from being uncomfortable up there the whole time," she admitted.

Connie shook her head and grinned.  "Uncomfortable...John is almost always uncomfortable."

Lisa looked at her seriously.  "Oh...I didn't know things weren't so good between you two.  I'm sorry."

Connie held up her hand and grinned apologetically.  "Oh, no, you don't have to apologize, dear.  It's just the way John is.  He can be very moody, especially when he's in his 'questioning phase.'  But what I liked most about Michael was that he'd always try to diffuse the tension.  He was the one everyone could get along with.  If John ever got to be too much, Mike would always cheer me up."

"He is quite a lovely boy, isn't he?" Carol grinned.  "Not to keep mentioning John, but I remember when we toured Canada last summer, doing all these stage shows.  We were always exhausted, and I just assumed John was, too.  But he'd always go off on his own, he'd never have dinner with the rest of us.  Sometimes he could be unbearable, and I remember one evening at dinner I was sitting there with the guys and I just said, 'he doesn't like me anymore.  That must be it.'  Mike looked me right in the eyes, almost apologetically and said, 'oh, no, Carol, it's not you.  He's going through his questioning period.  He's been like this to all of us.  I would never let John treat you that way on purpose.'  He was such a sweetie."

She saw Connie glancing down at the table, and decided to change the subject. "I remember one particular day - and this is quite funny - after we'd done a show.  I was exhausted and was lying in my hotel room taking a nap.  Apparently Mike needed a prop for one of the sketches he was appearing in, I've forgotten what exactly, but this prop for some reason was in my closet.  He went in to get it, then I suppose he didn't realize that I was in the room sleeping, so he stayed in the closet so as not to disturb me!" She broke out in giggles. 

Lisa and Connie laughed alongside her.  Lisa was glad to see Connie laughing again, especially after she seemed quite disheartened talking about John. 

"So, the general consensus I'm getting here is that Michael is a genuine, caring, sweet guy, just as I've always thought," Lisa smiled.

Connie and Carol both nodded.

"I'd like to ask a big favor of both of you," she began.

They both looked at her curiously.

"Would you like to be my bridesmaids?" Lisa smiled.

Connie and Carol looked at each other and smiled, then they rose from the table and each gave Lisa a big hug.

"Oh, Lisa, I'd be honored to be one of your bridesmaids!" Carol exclaimed.

"And I as well," Connie smiled as she hugged Lisa. 

The look on Lisa's face was one of pure gratefulness.  They were both very sweet women who knew Michael very well, and she was so glad they accepted. She sighed happily as she looked over the dessert menu.

Michael parked his car in the car park behind the BBC and hurriedly made his way toward the building.  He couldn't believe he had agreed to meet with the other Pythons back in their old writing room.  It felt pretty eerie, as they weren't going to be making any more episodes.  He felt a pang of anxiety well up inside him. "No, what am I doing?" he muttered under his breath, shaking his head.  "This is just a little get-together to celebrate my marriage.  This has nothing to do with Flying Circus at all."

Still, he couldn't get it out of his mind.  He remembered the day when they got the word that the BBC wanted to order another six episodes, but there was a lot of uncertainty since John was now gone.  He remembered going outside the building with Eric, taking a walk just to clear their minds, and trying to convince him to stay on board and make the episodes. At least they'd get one full season out of it, just about.

But Eric refused.  It just wasn't worth it anymore since John wasn't around.  He remembered just standing there when Eric walked away from him and back into the building.  He had stood there for at least ten or fifteen minutes, just trying to collect his thoughts, to try to make sense out of it all.

Now he was going back to that old haunt, where they spent many hours in writing sessions, over cartons of Chinese food scattered here and there.  He felt like he just wanted to turn around, get back in his car and drive home where he'd at least be able to spend some time with Lisa.  But he couldn't.  He promised Eric he'd meet them.  He couldn't refuse to show up at his own wedding celebration, no matter how modest a celebration it was.  After all, they were his dear friends.

Michael took a deep breath, removed his cap from his head, and wiped the sweat from his brow.  He flicked a strand of hair out of his eyes before placing the cap back on his head.  He swung the door open, then began to make his way down the dimly lit hall. He felt a shiver run down his spine as turned the corner and neared the old writing room.  Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder, causing him to emit a little yelp.

It was Eric. "Hey, Mike! I didn't scare you, did I?" he grinned.

Michael looked up at him, still recovering from the initial shock.  "Oh...no...I just didn't expect you to leap out of the shadows like that, Eric," he smiled awkwardly.

Eric looked him up and down, a bit surprised to see him so dressed up.  "Well...you're looking quite dapper this evening."  He raised an eyebrow at Michael.

Michael closed his eyes and sighed.  "Please, don't ask me why I chose to wear this outfit."

"Practicing for married life, it would seem," Eric joked.  Michael rolled his eyes.

"Well, come on, they're waiting for us.  I don't quite trust Jonesy with all those cartons of Chinese food," Eric grinned.

Michael nodded, and followed close behind Eric.  As they reached the door, Michael removed his cap.  The door wasn't pulled shut, but was open just slightly.  Michael's eyes narrowed as he noticed the lights were out inside.

"Knock, knock!" Eric called.

"Oh, no, it's Idle, he's back.  Scatter, everyone!" Jonesy called out in a somewhat annoyed tone.  Michael rolled his eyes and grinned.

As soon as they entered, Gilliam switched the light on.

"SURPRISE!!" 

Michael faced each of his friends, a slight look of surprise on his face.  They were all there...Jonesy who was smiling proudly, Gilliam with his trademark wide grin, Graham who had shaved his beard off and was looking more sober than usual, and John....  where was John? 

Michael smiled shyly at them, his dimples peeking out of the corners of his mouth. "Well, I...I'm overcome," he giggled slightly.

"Hey, Mikey, food's beginning to get cold. Dive in!" Graham exclaimed, holding up a small carton of Chinese food.

"Thanks, Gray," Michael said softly.  "But it just seems like something's missing...er…"

Jonesy turned to Gilliam and grinned. "That's right, we've forgotten the most important thing!" he exclaimed.

Michael furrowed his brow in confusion.

"The cake!" he declared.  "Terry, bring the cake forward," he gestured to Gilliam.

Michael's eyes narrowed as he watched Gilliam wheel a large multi-tiered cake in front of them. "Well, wait a tic.  Why on earth would I want to eat the cake before the Chinese food?  Seems a little silly, doesn't it?" he said, confused.

"Oh, but it's a very SPECIAL cake, Mike!" Gilliam exclaimed with a wide grin on his face.

"What-" Michael started.  Before he could continue, there was a slight tremor inside the cake.  He leaped back as he saw John jump out of the cake.

John, with a bit of whipped cream and icing on him, was wearing the same pink organza dress that Graham had worn in the Face The Press sketch, and he was staring at Michael with his eyes bugging out and a wide grin on his face, both hands on his hips.  Michael's eyes were wide in shock.

"We couldn't find a girl to jump out of the cake, Mike, so we thought John would do instead," Eric explained wryly.  Michael said not a word, but kept staring at John in shock.

"'Ere, Mike!" Jonesy called cheerfully as he threw a carton of lo mein to Michael.  Michael caught it with both hands and looked down at it in disgust. He looked back up at John.

"What's the matter, Palin?" John exclaimed in a rather excited tone, still with a wide grin on his face.  "Cat got your tongue?"

Michael raised an eyebrow.  "How pissed did you get him?" he addressed Graham.  Graham nonchalantly shrugged.  John ignored them, and began munching on the cake he had leapt out of only moments ago.

Jonesy rushed up and put his arm around Michael.  "Aw, come on, Mike.  Don't say you weren't amused," he grinned.

"Oh, I was amused alright," Michael turned back toward Jonesy.  "Frightened maybe at first, but definitely amused,"  he grinned.  Jonesy's hearty laugh made him giggle.  Having regained his appetite, he got started on the lo mein.

As dusk approached, the little party came to an end.  After giving Michael their heartiest congratulations and a hug, one by one the Pythons dispersed.  Michael slowly exited the building with Jonesy.

He looked up at the fading sunset and turned toward Jonesy. "My goodness," he sighed. "I can't believe I'll be getting married in less than 4 days."

"To a wonderful girl, no less," Jonesy smiled.  "She's quite a dear, sweet thing, you know that, Mike?"

"I know that well, Terry," Michael smiled. "You don't have to tell me."

Terry looked up at him with a quick little smile.  "You're quite a lucky man, Mike," he said quietly.

Michael turned his eyes downward and smiled.  He looked back up at Jonesy. "Terry, there's something I'd like to ask of you," he began.

"Oh, no, you're not asking me to marry you, are you, Mike? How are you going to break it to Lisa?" he playfully raised an eyebrow.  Michael rolled his eyes and jabbed him in the ribs.

"No, you silly git," he grinned.  "Terry, we've been best friends for more than 10 years now.  I'd be honored if you would be my best man."

Jonesy looked at Michael seriously, momentarily stunned. "Mike," he began sheepishly, giggling a bit.  "Well! I... I don't know what to say.  Wait...yes I do.  Yes, I’ll be your best man."

He rushed up and gave Michael a big bear hug. "Oh, I'm so happy for you, Mike!" he exclaimed, smiling broadly.

Michael smiled back.  "Thank you, Terry," he said softly.  He nervously looked down at his watch.  It was after 9 p.m. "Well.  I'd better get back to my lovely wife-to-be, or she'll think I left the country," he grinned.  "See you, Terry."

Terry waved back at him before starting toward his own car.

As Michael entered his car, he sighed happily.  In just a few short days, it would be the most wonderful day of his life.  He was glad his friends would be a part of it.  

He turned on the ignition, put the car into gear, and headed off.