An Old Friend: Version A Part 21

Lisa sat up in bed and stretched her arms.  She had had a good night's sleep, and was ready to tackle the day. A good thing, too, because she was going to pick out her wedding dress with her mother.  She turned her head and glanced out the window.  It seemed to be quite a lovely morning, sunny and not too breezy.  She smiled.

She turned back around and noticed that Michael had already gotten up.  She slipped on her robe and slippers and made her way downstairs for a little breakfast before meeting her mum.

As she neared the kitchen, she spied Michael in his pajamas, sitting at the table with a cup of coffee and reading The Times. "Oh bugger," he mumbled under his breath, furrowing his brow as he scanned the results of the football game.  "Sheffield lost."

He looked up as he heard Lisa enter the room and blushed somewhat. "Oh...there you are, Lisa." he said sheepishly with a half smile.  "I was wondering how long you were gonna sleep."

She giggled amusedly as she walked over to him.  "Do you usually get up this early?"

He glanced over at the clock on the wall near the phone.  "Early?? Seven-thirty is early to you?" he asked in disbelief.  "Oh, come on! You've missed the best part of the day!"  She raised an eyebrow to which he held up his hand and giggled apologetically. "I'm sorry, I'll stop that now," he grinned. 

She didn't care.  He could tease her until she'd cry her eyes out and it wouldn't matter, she loved him so much.  He reached over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. She smiled at him, then got up and proceeded to make breakfast for herself.  She reached for the loaf of bread and fetched the jar of jam from the refrigerator. "Can I fix you anything?" she asked him.

Michael looked up from the paper.  "Oh, no, that's alright, love," he replied.

She looked at him.  "Are you sure?"

He smiled.  "Oh, yes, yes.  I had myself a bowl of porridge earlier.”  He pointed to the dish drain which held a solitary bowl and spoon.

She looked almost incredulously at the dishes which Michael had used and then cleaned, and then back to him. “Well.  You’re remarkably self-sufficient, Michael,” she grinned. 

He grinned back and nodded.

“But I do hope you’ll let me fix breakfast for you once in a while,” she continued.

He laughed at her, almost out of pity.  “Oh of course I will, Lisa.  I just thought I’d give you a break this morning as you’ve got quite a lot to do today.”

She narrowed her eyes and looked at him curiously.  “What do you mean?”

He turned his eyes away then looked back up at her.  “Aren’t you going to be picking out your wedding dress with your mum?”

“How did you know about that, Michael?”

“She rang, actually.  About an hour ago.  She just wanted to remind you I suppose.”

Lisa rolled her eyes.  As much as she loved her mother, she was a bit of a worry wart and was afraid Lisa would forget about anything that came to mind. “Well, I’m supposed to meet her at her flat in just under an hour,” she replied, munching on her toast.  “I only hope we don’t have to comb the entire city looking for a dress.  I’ve heard it isn’t the easiest thing to choose.”

Michael smiled.  “Well.  I’m sure whatever you find will be lovely.  You’ve got very good taste.”

She turned away from the kitchen counter and sat down next to him. “Of course I do,” she said, adopting a sexy tone of voice.  “I’m marrying you, aren’t I?”

Michael looked down and grinned, blushing furiously.  He looked back up at her, gazing into her eyes. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.  You look beautiful in anything,” he said softly.

She smiled at him.

“And I’m more than sure that you look beautiful in nothing as well,” he added with a mischievous grin on his face.

She swatted him playfully.  “Oh, you naughty boy!” she giggled.  “Save that for our honeymoon, won’t you?”

“Sorry love, I can’t help myself sometimes,” he teased, giving her a wink.

She laughed, then leaned forward and gave him a kiss.  He smiled, his dimples peeking out of the corners of his mouth.

“Well.  I reckon I shouldn’t brag.  I’ll be doing some picking and choosing myself later on.  Eric is going to help me choose my suit for the wedding.”

“Oh.  Well, good luck, then.” she said softly.

He nodded and smiled.  “Same to you, love.”

She smiled back, then turned around and rummaged through the fridge, looking for Tess’ dog food.  She picked up the can and went through the drawer for a spoon.

Michael held up a hand.  “You don’t have to do that either, my dear.  I took the liberty of feeding her.”

Lisa stared at him for a moment, then looked down and saw the dog finishing up the last morsels of her food and smacking her lips in satisfaction. She walked back up to Michael and put her arms around him.  “Oh, you’re such a sweetie! You never fail to amaze me.” 

He smiled broadly at her and hugged her tightly.

“How about this, then?”

Lisa shook her head in frustration.  She shut her eyes and sighed.  For almost two hours now, she and her mother had been from bridal shop to bridal shop looking for a wedding dress.  She couldn’t seem to find one she liked and she wondered how much longer it would take.  This was the fifth shop they had been to and the saleswoman had been very helpful, but she couldn’t find anything that stood out.  The dresses were either too low-cut or modestly-cut, too plain or ornate.  There didn’t seem to be a happy medium.

“Well, Lisa dear, I don’t know how much longer we can keep this up,” her mother said in a slightly annoyed tone of voice.  “This is the fifth shop we’ve been to.  I don’t have all day to waste, you know.  I’ve got to have my hair done for the wedding, I’ve got to find some shoes to match my dress, I...”

Lisa turned around sharply. “OH, MOTHER!!” she spat out.  “You and your bloody errands! It may surprise you to know that I’d like to end this more than anyone!  If you’d like to know, you’ve been more of a hindrance than a help!!”  Her eyes widened at the choice of her words.  She’d never mouthed off to her mother quite like this.

“I...I...tried my best,” her mother sputtered, quite surprised.  She looked at Lisa apologetically.

Lisa turned back around to her mother, looking at her sorrowfully. “Oh, I know you did, Mum,” she said softly.  “I didn’t mean to go off on you like that.  If anyone’s been frustrated this whole time, it’s me.  I’ll look a bit more in here and I’ll just pick something, even if it’s not the best dress I’ve seen.”  She smiled weakly.

Lisa’s mother looked at her as a smile slowly formed on her face.  She gave her daughter a little hug. “There I go, only thinking about myself again,” she giggled.  “I shouldn’t have talked like that in the first place.  When I married your father, I had one hell of a time picking out a wedding dress.”

Lisa looked at her thoughtfully.  “Really?”

“Oh, yes,” she answered wistfully.  “And the shop I had been to must have only had four different styles of dress,” she giggled.

Lisa laughed.  “Oh, Mum, I really appreciate you coming along with me.  This is not an easy decision.  Michael’s lucky.  I mean, how many styles of tuxedo are there?”

“Oh, you would be surprised,” the saleswoman interjected.  Lisa and her mother both looked up at her. “I’ve seen black, white, powder blue, even pink.  Wide lapels, differing amounts of ruffles, leisure suit styles...these days, it seems anything goes,” she grinned, shaking her head.  Lisa and her mother exchanged amused looks.

“Well, Michael seems like the kind of man who is all about simplicity.  I doubt he’d show up in a pink tuxedo,” she grinned.

“Alright, dear,” her mother smiled.  “But if he does, you owe me a quid.”  She winked.

Lisa rolled her eyes as her mother and the saleswoman laughed. She looked through the rack of dresses again, looking at each one and wondering if she could get away with wearing them.  She wanted to hurry up and choose something but she wasn’t happy with any of them. She sighed.  “Well, I guess that’s...”

She stopped when she reached a particular dress near the back of the rack.  She hadn’t seen it before, even though she was sure she looked through this rack about six times.  It was quite beautiful, a long traditional white gown with short sleeves and a fairly ornate lacy neckline.  It was so simple...yet so stunning.  She checked the price tag.  It wasn’t too expensive either. “Mum.  You’ll never believe this.  I’ve found something I like!” she said excitedly. 

Her mother’s face lit up when Lisa took the dress off of the rack and held it out in front of her. “Oh, it’s lovely, darling!” she exclaimed.

“And it looks like it’s in your size too!  Would you like to try it on?” the saleswoman smiled.

“Oh, may I?” Lisa asked.

The saleswoman nodded and gestured toward a small stall in the back of the shop with a long curtain pulled across it. Lisa entered the stall, began removing her clothes and slipped effortlessly into the dress.  She marveled at the way it seemed to fit her perfectly and admired herself in the mirror.  Her mind began to wander and she could see Michael standing next to her, sweet handsome Michael in a tux, and she in the dress holding a bouquet of flowers.  She sighed.

Suddenly she noticed her purse and her clothing piled up on the chair and came back to earth.  She didn’t want to keep her mother waiting any longer so she slipped on her shoes, pulled the curtain back and walked out. “Well, what do you think?” she smiled as she modeled the dress for her mother.

“Oh, Lisa, you look positively stunning!” her mother smiled.  “And it fits perfectly!  It’s almost like it was made just for you!”

Lisa beamed, happy at the fact that she’d finally found a dress she liked and that she didn’t have to take the time to have the dress fitted, especially important since the wedding was going to be in two days.

“We’ll take it,” her mother exclaimed, as Lisa rushed back into the stall to change into her clothes.

“So, do you like this one?”  Michael asked Eric as he held up a black tuxedo.

Eric’s eyes narrowed and he shook his head. “Hmm, no, not that one.”

Michael rolled his eyes and sighed.  He never thought finding a tuxedo would be so difficult.  He searched through the rack and found another black one, slightly different in style than the one he’d just held up.“This one, then?”

Eric folded his arms and gazed at the suit thoughtfully.  “Mmm, you know, I think you should go for a white one.”

Michael’s eyes widened.  “A WHITE one?” he asked incredulously.

“Yeah.  Either that or powder blue,” Eric nodded.

Michael shook his head in disbelief. He was really starting to get frustrated. “You know, I can’t believe I’m here asking you what I should wear when it’s my wedding,” he spat out.

Eric gave him a bit of a hurt look.  “Hey, it was just a suggestion, Mike.  There’s no need to bite my head off like that.”

Michael shut his eyes and sighed.  “I know, Eric.  I apologize for going off on you like that.  I never thought I’d have such trouble picking out my suit.  Poor Lisa, if I’m having this much trouble she must be going absolutely spare.”  He chuckled.

Eric grinned.  “Tell you what, I’m probably making you nervous.  You’re right, it’s your wedding.  All that counts is that you’re happy with what you’re wearing.  I’ll go over there and look and if you find something you like, model it for me and I’ll give it my personal approval,” he winked at Michael and giggled.

Michael rolled his eyes.  “Can’t go wrong with that, can we,” he said sardonically, grinning. 

Eric laughed and walked over to another rack of suits as Michael resumed looking through the other rack.  He knew he’d want a black tux.  He wasn’t about to go all out and wear a pink or powder blue, or even a white one.  No, something traditional and simple was the way to go.  He hoped to find something like that in his size. 

“Ah,” he smiled, as he found a simple, traditional-looking black tuxedo towards the back of the rack.  He picked it up and held it out in front of him.  It was perfect and he knew he’d found the one he wanted.  He walked toward the back where the changing rooms were located.

He quickly undressed and slipped the tux - shirt, bowtie, cummerbund and all - on.  He smoothed his hair down and admired himself in the mirror.  He was never too proud of himself, but right now he thought he looked pretty good.  He’d thought about wearing a top hat to complete the look, but thought that was a bit over-the-top.

He exited the changing room and surveyed the place looking for Eric.  He found him looking at another rack of suits, completely engrossed in a light blue leisure suit.  He rolled his eyes and grinned. “Eric?” he called out.  Eric did not react.  'He must not have heard me,' Michael thought to himself.  Instead he walked straight up to Eric and tapped him on the shoulder.

Eric whirled around and came face to face with a smiling Michael. “Well!” he exclaimed.

“So, what do you think?” Michael asked a bit timidly.

“What do I think?” Eric grinned.  “Mike you look...well...smashing.” he giggled, at a loss for words.

“You don’t like it, do you,” Michael said quietly with a worried expression on his face.

Eric’s eyes widened.  “Oh…no! No, I think it looks great!”

Michael beamed.  “Thanks.  I think so too!”

“Well, then, I guess you’ve found something you like,” Eric grinned.

“Yeah, thank God,” Michael sighed.  “I’m just gonna change back into my clothes and then I’ll pay for it and we can get out of here.” He changed out of the tuxedo and back into his jeans, shirt and light tan jacket.  He brought the suit up to the sales clerk and went right ahead and bought it. 

Michael whistled happily as he and Eric exited the shop.  They were about to enter Eric’s car when Michael noticed the travel agency right next to it.  It gave him an idea.

He handed the suit to Eric.  “Can you wait here, Eric?  I won’t be a moment.”

“Um...sure,” Eric replied, looking curiously at Michael as he rushed into the travel agency.

Michael was having ideas about their honeymoon.  It was still quite chilly up here and he was thinking about going someplace warm, especially after the 5-week ordeal of shooting Holy Grail.  A dirty thought entered his head, though, and he decided they should head back up to Scotland just for a day or two...back to Doune, maybe on to Edinburgh, and then someplace warm.  
He grinned with satisfaction as he exited the travel agency, brochures and receipt in his hand.

Eric waved to him.  “Ah, planning the honeymoon, I see,” he grinned.

“That’s not for you to know, Idle,” Michael joked, raising his eyebrows and grinning. Eric nudged him hard in the ribs, resulting in a small “ow!” from Michael as he rubbed the area.

The receipt stuck out of one of Michael’s brochures, and Eric grabbed it. His eyes widened when he neared the bottom of the receipt. “The Woodside??” he exclaimed in disbelief.

Michael nodded.  It was the very hotel they’d been shacked up in while filming Holy Grail.

“Oh, come on now! You’re going back to that dreadful place??” Eric exclaimed with an amused grin on his face.

Michael nodded.

“For your honeymoon??” he asked incredulously.

“Oh, come off it, Eric.  It’s just for a night or two.  You don’t know what I have in mind...” Michael trailed off, grinning.

“Well, whatever you’ve got planned, it had better be something warm, ‘cos you’re gonna freeze up there.”

“Oh, don’t worry, it will be...” Michael said quietly as a naughty grin formed on his face.

Eric laughed as he went around to the other side of the car and got in. As they drove off, he noticed Michael looking thoughtfully out the window. “You know, Mike...” he began.  Michael turned back toward Eric. “I have to say you made a great choice.  You looked just perfect in that suit.” 

Michael nodded.  He snorted as a strand of his bangs drooped into his eye. “Almost perfect,” he said under his breath as he pushed it out of his eye and off to the side of his face.  He was glad he’d be getting a trim before the wedding...nothing too short as he knew Lisa loved his hair long and he’d been happy with it for the most part, but enough to get the hair out of his eyes.  He thought he didn’t look too shabby when they were filming Holy Grail and she’d first met him again.  Maybe he’d ask Nigel to cut it like that.

'Ah, I’m overthinking this,' he thought to himself as he giggled.  He turned to look out the window again and sighed.  In less than two days he’d be married to the most wonderful girl he’d ever met.  It couldn’t come soon enough.