Michael smiled to himself as he drove back to the hotel.
Quite fortuitously
he had found a quaint little shop in the middle of the town which was
open
amid all the still-closed establishments. The shop didn't have
much
of a selection, but after searching carefully he was certain he had
found
what he needed.
After he parked his car in front of the hotel, he quickly glanced at
his
watch...8:15 A.M. He had to hurry. He had something special
in
mind for Lisa but he knew he had to meet the others at 9:30 for the
filming.
He hoped he had enough time.
He exited the car and made his way up to the front door of hotel.
He
took the small brown paper bag which held the gift and hid it
underneath
the inside lining of his jacket.
As he passed the lobby, he noticed a few silver trays laid out with
things
like pastries, toast with jam, and bowls of porridge. Each tray
held
a cloth napkin folded in a fancy arrangement as well as a set of
silverware. An
idea came into Michael's head. What better way to surprise Lisa
with
a sweet gesture like breakfast in bed? Even if he didn't get to
spend
enough time alone with her this morning to carry out his plan, he
figured
he'd invite her along to watch him and his friends film the
movie.
He was about to walk over and pick up one of the trays when a short,
grey-haired,
middle-aged maid entered. She looked at Michael curiously.
"May
I help you, young man?" she asked.
"Oh....er...may I?" he asked nervously, picking up the tray.
"I'm sorry, those complimentary breakfast trays are for hotel guests
only,"
she replied rather curtly.
Michael raised his eyebrows, surprised that the woman did not notice
his
presence in the hotel for the past 2 weeks, even though he had seen her
on
occasion perhaps dozens of times. Perhaps he was just too quiet
for
her to notice him. "Er...yes. I know," he answered quietly.
"Then you are a guest, I take it?" she asked.
"Yes...yes I am," he replied. "And I'm rather famished. I've been
out
all morning and I haven't had a bite to eat. So if you'll excuse
me..."
The woman looked at him suspiciously, then retreated back to the
kitchen.
Michael breathed a sigh of relief. As he was about to make his
way
upstairs, he noticed a single, delicate red rose sitting in a small,
clear
vase filled with water, on top of an end table...a perfect finishing
touch.
He looked around and, upon discovering no one in the room, he picked up
the
vase and placed it on the tray.
He carefully made his way up the stairs, grateful that the other
Pythons
weren't around. He giggled as he remembered how Jonesy and
Gilliam
had forced the others up out of bed and out to the castle, and was
lucky
that he was able to stay behind. He made his way down the hall,
and
once he arrived in front of his room he set the tray down on the floor,
fished
the key out of his pocket and unlocked the door.
He opened the door slowly, then bent down and picked up the tray.
He
quietly entered the room and set the tray on top of a small table near
one
of the windows. He walked over to the bed where Lisa had been
sleeping,
and grinned as he noticed she was still asleep. 'That girl could
really
sleep, maybe I got her a bit too pissed last night,' he thought to
himself.
He checked his watch. 8:45 A.M. He spotted his costume bag
on
the floor next to his bed, and decided he'd get his costume on so he'd
be
ready. He grabbed the bag and headed toward the bathroom.
Hopefully
she wouldn't wake up before he finished.
He quickly changed out of his jeans and sweater, and pulled his knitted
wool
"chain mail" armor on. Then he pulled a long white tunic with a
big,
red cross on the front over the armor. Last but not least came
his
knitted wool "chain mail" knight hood. He pulled it on over his
head,
and let it sit across his shoulders. Facing the mirror, he picked up
the
comb he had lying on the side of the sink and combed his hair down and
across
his forehead.
He exited the bathroom and smiled as he noticed Lisa was still
asleep.
He gingerly walked over to the table, picked up the tray and walked
back
over toward the foot of Lisa's bed. He smiled at her. She
looked
like an angel as she slept. "Lisa?" he whispered.
She did not stir.
"Lisa?" he said a bit louder as he nudged her gently.
Finally she woke up. "Mmmm?" she moaned softly. She rubbed
her
eyes, then, as they focused, they widened in surprise.
There was Michael, standing in front of her wearing a medieval knight's
costume
and holding a silver breakfast tray. He smiled at her in his
sweet,
shy way.
"Oh, Michael," she gasped as she slowly sat up.
"Thought you could use some breakfast, love," he said softly.
Lisa couldn't believe her eyes. He set the tray down on the bed
in
front of her. It contained a bowl of warm porridge with a bit of
cinnamon
and brown sugar, a small cup of tea, a few pastries and a plate of
bacon
and eggs. Next to the bowl of porridge was a small clear vase
with
a single red rose. She was just delighted. Now she knew
what
she had missed most about him all these years. He never failed to
surprise
her with a sweet gesture.
He walked over to the side of the bed and bent down as she turned
toward
him.
"Oh, my knight in shining armour," she smiled. He giggled, and
she
reached over and gave him a big hug.
She sighed and looked down at the tray. "Now where do I start? It
all
looks so good," she grinned.
"Well, while you're deciding, do you mind?" he asked as he picked up
one
of the pastries and began munching on it. "After all, I haven't
had
a bite to eat yet and I'm feeling just a bit peckish."
She shook her head and giggled. "Uh..no, of course not!"
As he munched on the pastry he grinned at her. "Good. You
have
no idea how much I appreciate that," he said with his mouth full, as he
patted
her on the shoulder. She laughed. Ah yes, that was another
thing
about him...he could never fail to make her laugh.
He watched her finish eating, then picked up the tray and set it down
on
the floor outside the room. He turned back and walked over toward
Lisa
who was sitting on the end of the bed, brushing her hair. She
noticed
his costume once again.
"Ah...so I guess this is your costume for the film?"
"Yes, that's right. I'm Sir -"
"No, don't tell me," she interrupted. "Sir Galahad, right?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Well.. I guess you know your Arthurian
literature,
eh? Not too bad for a science major," he grinned.
"Thanks for the compliment," she grinned back. "I guess you weren't
expecting
that as I really wasn't into history as much as you were at university."
"Oh, please!" he scoffed. "I could hardly keep you awake while I was
reading
from Chaucer!"
She giggled. "Yes, I really wasn't into it very much at all, was
I?
I have to admit that my interest in history and legends was borne out
of
my job at the library. I started out shelving books in various
sections,
and happened upon a few classics of Arthurian literature...Malory,
Tennyson...and,
well..."
"...The rest is history," Michael grinned, finishing her
sentence.
She rolled her eyes at the feeble pun, and playfully swatted him.
"Oh,
you!" she giggled.
He laughed along with her. "You're an incredible girl, you know
that?"
He then looked down at her and felt the urge to kiss her all over
again.
But he stopped and looked at his watch. It was nearly 9:30. "Oh,
Christ,"
he muttered.
"What's the matter?" she asked, concerned.
"I have a confession to make, Lisa," he began with a worried look on
his
face. "You've probably been wondering why I'm wearing this
costume.
Well actually I've been wondering too, the damn thing is so itchy and
heavy..."
he said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes. "Er - no, but anyway
I'm
afraid we'll have to cancel our plans for the rest of today."
Lisa furrowed her brow in confusion.
Michael sighed and continued. "Early this morning while you were
asleep,
Terry knocked on the door and informed me that we'd have to reshoot
most
of the scene we filmed yesterday. Apparently he and Gilliam spent
the
whole night playing with it and accidentally discarded it in the
rubbish
heap. So, unfortunately we've all got to trudge back to Doune
Castle
and reshoot this scene. Actually I should be meeting them there
straight
away."
He watched sadly as her face fell.
"I'm awfully sorry, my dear. I never wanted this to happen." he
said
with a sadness in his eyes. The sadness disappeared and was
replaced
by a glimmer of hopefulness. "But, to make up for it, how would
you
like to come along and watch us film?"
She looked up at him, a smile slowly spreading across her face.
"Oh,
Michael. I would love that!"
The look in his eyes was one of pure gratefulness.
"Wonderful.
And we should be finished by 6 o'clock this evening, so we can go out
to
dinner afterwards, unless you have to be back home."
She shook her head. "No...well, Tess may get hungry..." she
admitted
thoughtfully.
Michael furrowed his brow in confusion.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she giggled, "Tess is my dog."
Michael nodded his head and grinned. "Ah. I see."
"And I can always ring my neighbor next door. She's got an extra
key,
so she could feed Tess for me. I know she wouldn't mind."
"Well. Then I guess everything is settled," Michael
answered.
He picked up his car keys and costume bag, and took hold of Lisa's
arm.
"Shall we, my dear?"
She smiled at him. "Yes, thank you, good sir knight!"
He smiled at her and blushed slightly as the exited the room and he
locked
the door behind them. As they made their way down the stairs, a
thought
flashed in Lisa's mind. Michael had told her that he never told
the
other Pythons about her. How would they all react when he arrives
with
her? She sighed as she realized she'd be about to find out.
©JLM, 2002-2014. No copyright
infringement is intended. Please do not hotlink or use any images,
fanfics, or other creative works (except for the "Fun Stuff") without
permission. Please email me if you'd like to use something; if you do
play click 'n swipe, please give credit to my site with a link. Thanks.