Reunion (The Monkees Family Vol. 3)

Chapter 3

"Does that mean you're on board with my doing the movie and the play?"

Gabby twisted her lips into a wry, skeptical smile. "Hold up, Mister. Don't try to pull a fast one on me. Let's take things a step at a time. I think we should see how you do on the movie. Why don't you tell Harry you're going to take the part subject to how you feel about how things went with the movie shoot. He knows what you've been through, he'll understand. Hell, he's an alkie himself. He surely can't cast the first stone."

Micky laughed. "Nope, that's true. Just don't say that to his face, okay, Gabby? He thinks no one has noticed it. It's pretty unbelievable the denial addicts can get into. But let's just let him come around when he's ready. Maybe I can get him to come to a meeting with me when I'm over there."

"Okay, I'll zip it. So when does the movie start to shoot and when does the play begin rehearsals?"

Micky was all business now. "The movie goes on location right after Labor Day and if it stays on budget and schedule, it should wrap by the first week of October. I'm going to insist that they don't make me linger around the set for weeks on end like the last movie. That was another big mistake I made with the last one. They were so disorganized and fucked up. There was no excuse for me having to be on a movie location for that long when I had so little screen time. I should have insisted they just shoot my scenes and let me go. But they wanted to keep me around because they didn't know their asses from their elbows. I almost ended up directing the damn picture! I swear, Gabby, I think that's where I want my career to head ultimately. I think I've got a knack for it."

Gabby smiled lasciviously and agreed "That you do, Micky. You've been directing our sex life with the most delicious fantasies, role plays and setups for years."

He broke into a goofy grin and said "Well, that's not exactly what I had in mind, but I guess it's been good training."

Gabby snapped back to practical mode. "Okay, and then when does the play start rehearsals?"

"They start in the new year. In England, the big thing for the Christmas theater season is what they call Pantomimes, so Harry doesn't want to compete with that. His play is geared towards younger viewers."

"Alright, Micky, as long as your sponsor is on board with all of this, then I'm okay with it. I can't keep you captive in California in a little protective bubble. I realize that. You need to spread your wings. You used to travel all over the world and entertain folks in all corners of the globe. I can understand why you'd yearn to do that again. And I admire your ambition to set yourself on a new career path. I'm proud of you and excited for you. It's exciting and it feels like we've come such a long way from that awful New Year's Day confrontation when I found your bottle of pills and we talked about what you wanted to do with your life and you said you'd like to pursue the theater."

They stood up from the table and embraced. Micky pulled Gabby into him as close as he could, trying to fuse their bodies as one. It was something he tended to do when he felt insecure about his standing with her or when he felt there was an emotional distance between them that needed closing. Gabby sensed Micky's insecurity and responded to it verbally:

"It's going to be okay, Micky. You have my trust and confidence. You came up with a plan and it's a good one. The difference between this time and last time is you had no plan last time. Remember the program slogan: those who fail to plan, plan to fail. You're going to be fine. I have faith in you and your recovery. I know you won't jeopardize what we have this time."

Micky squeezed Gabby tighter and murmured into her ear "No, I won't, babe. This time, I'm doing it for us. This movie, this play. I'm building a future for both of us. I'm not flailing around anymore. I have a plan, I have a path forward. I'm going to lift us up, not tear us down. I'm going to make you proud. I swear it."