An Old Friend: Version A Part 24

Lisa turned her head and sighed as she looked out the window.  What a truly wonderful day it had been.  She'd just gotten married to the man she loved more than life itself, and the wedding couldn't have gone more smoothly. 

Now they were heading off on their honeymoon. Speaking of which, where exactly were they going?  Michael had said not a word about it the whole time, and they had been on the road for quite some time.  Now the sunlight was fading from the sky.

Finally she turned back toward him.  She still couldn't believe how handsome he looked.  Those gorgeous dimples, that perfect hair...

"Michael? Forgive my curiosity, but...where exactly are we going?" she smiled.

He turned slightly toward her with a grin on his face.  "Don't worry, you'll see when we get there."  he answered.

She looked at him and grinned, amused.  "But that's what you said the last time!" she exclaimed.

Michael nodded. 

She grinned and shook her head, deciding it was better to let it be a surprise.  After all, it was their honeymoon. She turned back toward him.  "I have to tell you again how wonderful you look...I mean, not just wearing the tux and everything.  But the way you've got your hair.  It makes you look so handsome."  She blushed a bit.

Michael grinned.  "That's why I got it cut like this, love.  I knew you liked it, so I said to Nigel, 'just a trim, Nigel, my girl likes it long.'" 

She looked at him thoughtfully as he held onto the steering wheel with one hand and began to caress her hand with the other.  "Really?"

He nodded.  "And I have to say I think he did a good job.  I quite like it, actually," he said a bit smugly.  "Who knows, I may just keep my hair like this forever."

She giggled at him, causing a wide grin to form on his face. "Ah, well, as long as you like it is all that matters," she said as she calmed down a bit.

He blushed slightly and nodded, giving her a little smile.  As he continued the drive up to Stirling, he noticed Lisa had rested her head back on the seat and had slowly drifted off to sleep.  He couldn't blame her, though. 

They'd both had a long, exciting day.  Michael let out a little yawn and hoped it wasn't much further to the hotel.

Dusk was just about to fall by the time Michael turned down the road and the sign for the Woodside out on the front lawn came into view.  He parked the car, turned off the ignition, and looked down at his watch.  It was 8:00 pm.  His stomach began to growl and he realized they hadn't eaten anything since the wedding reception in the early afternoon.  After they checked in, he decided they should head down to a restaurant - possibly La Dolce again - for a nice dinner.  He had something quite good in mind, but they'd be better off getting some food in them first.

He turned his head and looked over toward Lisa.  She was still asleep.  He smiled sweetly at her.  She was still in her wedding dress and headpiece.  She looked so beautiful, he thought.  He gently nudged her. "Lisa?" he said, softly.

She slowly stirred and opened her eyes.  "Mmm?" she mumbled.

"We've arrived, love." Michael smiled.  He opened the driver's side door and stepped out. His hair blew ever so slightly in the wind. 

Before she could react, he quickly made his way around to her side of the car and opened the door.  He scooped her up in a flourish, causing her to yelp in surprise.  As he set her down gently, she blushed a bit. "Oh! Pardon my surprise, I just wasn't...er...expecting that!" she giggled nervously.

He raised an eyebrow.  "What? You weren't expecting that?  Well being newly married and all, it's only customary for me to carry you over the threshold."

"Out of a car?" she asked, amused.

Michael blushed somewhat.  "Oh…well.. I was just getting in some practice."  She giggled gently at him, making him smile. He looked up at the hotel ahead.  "Do you know where we are?" he grinned.

Her mouth dropped open when she realized it was the same hotel she'd first met him at just a month ago, the one in which he was holed up for the Holy Grail filming. She laughed.  "Oh, how nice of you to bring me back here!"

He laughed with her.  "Yes, it wasn't quite luxurious, but it had a bit of a home-y feeling.  I can't believe it's been a whole month now."

He looked back up at the hotel then started prancing around the front lawn, holding his right hand out in front of him as if he were holding an invisible rein, just as he had in the film. "Hmm, no, I feel quite silly now," he grinned sheepishly.  Lisa laughed and ran over to him, giving him a big kiss on the cheek. He smiled at her and patted her on the back.  "Come, we'd best be checking in now."

As they headed toward the front door, Michael brushed off his tux jacket and smoothed down his hair.  He held the door for Lisa, then followed and shut it behind him.

The familiar old hotel manager sat behind his desk, carefully reading the newspaper.  As Michael and Lisa walked up, he failed to take notice of them.  Michael cleared his throat.

The old man still did not react. Michael rolled his eyes.  He spied the bell sitting on the edge of the desk and rang it, pressing it down quickly.

The manager lifted his head, startled.  He fixed his glasses upon his head, then looked straight at Michael, a bit embarrassed. "Ah! Mister Palin, I presume!" he exclaimed.  "So, what brings you back here, my lad?" he winked knowingly.

Michael rolled his eyes and grinned.  "Ah.  Clever, Hamish." 

Lisa giggled.

The old man chuckled good-naturedly and pointed to the register.  "Just sign here, then." 

Michael bent over and signed the register, writing "Mr. and Mrs. Michael Palin."  Lisa looked down at the register and beamed.  He then wrote out a check and handed it to the manager who endorsed it and deposited it in his cash register.  He turned to the rows of keys hanging up behind him, and removed one with a tag printed with "# 311".  Smiling, he handed it to Michael.

Michael looked down at the tag and furrowed his brow in confusion.  "Er, thanks, Hamish... I didn't know there was a third floor here."

The manager's eyes lit up.  "Oh, of course there is, my lad.  It's just more private than the other two floors.  We like to refer to it as the 'honeymoon suite.'"

Michael grinned.  "Then I trust we'll have better luck getting actual hot water in the bath?"

"Aye, my lad," the manager smiled broadly, reaching over and pinching Michael's cheek.  Michael winced and blushed as he saw Lisa grinning amusedly.

The manager turned to them.  "Congratulations to both of you," he smiled warmly.

"Thank you," Michael half-smiled as he turned toward the stairs and began to ascend them with Lisa.

"He's quite a funny man, isn't he?" Lisa laughed as they reached the second floor.

"Oh yeah, he's quite the character," Michael said a bit sarcastically.  "Wish he'd go a bit easy on the cheeks, though." He reached up and touched the cheek which the man had pinched.

Lisa smiled at him.  "Oh, well I'm sure he couldn't help it.  After all those dimples are just irresistible! I'm sure you must have had your cheeks pinched at one time or another, especially as a child."

"Oh, yes," Michael said dreadfully. "More than once.  And I hated it." 

Lisa giggled.

As they reached the end of the hall, Michael noticed it took a quick turn, and ahead on the left was a wider, carpeted staircase.  Michael raised his eyebrows in amazement. "Well...never noticed this here.  But then again I never ventured past room 208," he said sheepishly.

They slowly made their way up the stairs, then walked a bit down the corridor to room 311.  This floor seemed to be kept up a bit more than the lower floors.  'They must cater to newlyweds,' Michael thought to himself. He inserted the key into the doorknob and twisted it until the door opened. 

Just as Lisa was about to enter, Michael stopped her. "Uh uh uh!" he grinned, shaking his head and wagging his finger at her. 

She rolled her eyes and grinned. "Oops! I'm sorry, I forgot!"

"That's alright, love," he said softly as he picked her up and carried her over the threshold.  As he carried her over to the single queen-sized bed, his eyes widened at how much nicer the room was.  It had certainly been kept up nicer than the one in which he stayed.  He set her gently down on the bed and gave her a tender kiss on the cheek.  She looked up at him and smiled.

He suddenly arose from the bed and began looking around. "Well! This is quite a place," he exclaimed.  Lisa nodded, a bit surprised as she didn't expect anything quite like this. 

He walked back over to the bed and leaned back on it, resting his arms behind his shoulder and looking up at the ceiling.  Suddenly Lisa removed the headpiece and let her hair tumble down her back.  She crouched over Michael and stared passionately at him.  She began to run her fingers through his hair, arranging it around his face and giving him quick little kisses along his jaw.

He looked up at her and smiled. "I love it when you do that," he said, amusedly.

She caressed his cheek.  "I think you're the most handsome man I've ever met," she cooed.

Michael blushed furiously.  He smiled sheepishly.  "And you're...the most beautiful woman I've ever met, as well as the smartest, most caring, and..."  Before he could continue, Lisa put her arms around his shoulders and they engaged in a long, passionate kiss. 

As Lisa backed up a bit from Michael, she could see he was smiling tenderly. "God, I love it when you do that," he said in almost a whisper.  She began to laugh, and he laughed alongside her as they both rose from the bed.

Michael calmed himself down a bit and sighed.  "Ah...well I reckon we should get something to eat.  How does La Dolce sound to you?"

"Sounds just perfect!" she exclaimed.

He smiled.  "Okay, off we go."  Taking his jacket he led her out the room and closed the door behind him.