An Old Friend: Version B Part 8

Michael pulled himself up out of the water.  He was completely drenched.  His limp, wet hair was hanging in his eyes and he pushed it out of his face.  Watching helplessly as Eric dragged his girl away from him and over the hill, he felt he had been spit upon and had his heart ripped out. 

'How could I let this happen?' he thought to himself.  He had known Eric to be a ladies man ever since he had first known him, so he should have known this would happen, especially after running into him at the disco.  He felt so betrayed by his friend.  He wasn't ready to blame Lisa, as she seemed to have no interest in Eric during that first encounter.  But what if she had fallen for him?  All these thoughts raced through Michael's head, and for the first time in ages he felt as though he was going to cry. 

Just then, something made him stop pitying himself, and he stood up.  "What am I doing," he muttered. "One of my best friends drags my girl away, and I sit here pitying myself like a sad little girl.  Lisa is my girl, not Eric's.  And I'm going to get her back!"  

He picked up his shield and, with a determined resolve, marched up the hill and to his car.  He threw the shield into the trunk, and got in the car, not even bothering to remove his costume.  As he started the car, his instinct told him that he should head for the hotel.  He drove off, driving faster than he'd ever done before.

Meanwhile, Eric and Lisa made it back to the hotel.  They parked right out in front, when Eric turned around and noticed Lisa crying.  He looked at her sadly. "My dear, are you all right?" he asked.

Lisa shook her head, her lower lip trembling.  "Michael calls me 'my dear,'" she cried, her voice shaky.

Eric felt a sharp twinge of guilt. "I'm really really sorry about this.  I didn't mean to drag you away like that; I just didn't want to make this more awkward than it had been..." Eric trailed off when he realized he had put his foot in his mouth. He started again. "I mean...I didn't want you to have to see Mike and I fighting like that.  When we get angry, we chaps can really go at each other!" he laughed nervously.

Lisa was getting tired, both physically and emotionally.  It was almost 2 a.m.  "I'm sorry, I'm sitting here blubbering like a fool," she cried.

Eric rubbed her shoulder.  "No, no, Lisa.  I think we've all come to the conclusion that I am the fool tonight.  Come on, let's get you inside." He opened the door for her and she got out. 

As they entered the hotel, they noticed that the old manager was away from the desk. "Hmm, he probably nipped out for some whisky," Eric grinned. "Would you like to come back to my room, or Mike's?"

"M-M-Michael's," she trembled, still crying a bit. 

Eric reached over and pulled a copy of Michael's room key off the hooks.  He took his own key as well.  As he led her up the stairs, she continued to sob softly. 

"Shh, it's all right. Shh," Eric whispered.  As they came to the end of the hall, he fished Michael's key out of his pocket and unlocked the door for her.  He flipped the lights on and a warm glow emanated from the room.  "There you are," he smiled. "I'll be right back." 

He went down the hall a few doors to his own room, unlocked the door and threw his coat onto his bed before leaving once again. He was about to head back to Michael's room when Terry Jones' door creaked open. "Eric?" Terry asked sleepily as he poked his head out the door. "Wot's going on?  Is everything all right?"

"Fine, go back to sleep," Eric said briskly without even turning around.

Terry regarded him incredulously. "Are you sure?" his voice almost cracked. "I thought I heard crying."

"It's just the telly," Eric replied. 

Terry furrowed his brow in confusion, and then replied resignedly, "Oh."  He shut his door.

Eric returned to Michael's room, where Lisa sat on one of the twin beds, blowing her nose with a hankie. "Knock, knock," he smiled as he opened the door. 

Lisa wiped her nose, then looked up at him, smiling.  She managed to stop crying.

"Are you all right now?" Eric asked, concerned.

"Yes, I think I'm okay," she sighed. "I'm beginning to grow worried about Michael, though."  Actually she'd been worried about him the whole time, but she didn't want to admit that to Eric.  He sat down next to her.

"Well, I think he'll be along shortly.  Mike knows me all too well, so I think he knows we came back here." 

She looked up at him sorrowfully. 

"Lisa, I know you are good friends with Mike, and I'm really sorry for what I've done tonight.  I never really meant to meddle in his personal affairs; he's a good ol' chap.  More decent than me, anyway," he said, his gaze settling on the floor.

She smiled at him, "Eric, I think you are a lovely man.  You're genuinely sweet and very, very funny.  I have to say that you've made me laugh a lot tonight," she giggled.  Then she became serious. "...But I'm sorry, my heart belongs to Michael.  We've been friends for a long, long time and I care a great deal for him."

"Yes.  I know..." he said somberly, still looking downward.

"But that doesn't mean that we can't still be friends, does it?" she asked. 

Eric looked up and gave her a quick, little smile.  "Of course not," he replied softly.  He gave her a little hug, then got up as he heard a car pull up across the street. "I'm willing to bet that's Mike right now," he grinned. "Well, it was nice meeting you Lisa.  Again I apologize for putting you through all that. I better get back to my room.  If you're ever around in London, drop by the Python Office, all right?" 

"I'll do that," she smiled at him before he exited and left for his own room. Lisa sat on the bed and sighed deeply.  What could she say to Michael?  She hoped he wouldn't be terribly mad at her.  But knowing what a sweet, wonderful guy he was, maybe he'd be able to forgive her. 

She grew very tired and lay down on the bed.  She was about to drift off to sleep when she heard footsteps coming down the hallway.  She sat up as she heard a click and saw the doorknob start to turn ...