Who are you?
This is story that is written on the heels of Davy Jones's passing. I have been a Monkees fan since high school. The show was cool and Davy was a cutie. Yet, he did have a real love for horses. He raced them before and after the Monkees. I dedicate this story to Davy, Peter, Micky and Mike. Thanks a ton guys.
"That look," the young British singer of the local band called Monkees thought. He sat in front of the window, watching the rain as it poured down the roof.
It began to rain hard as the other three were getting ready to call it a day. Peter had made a quick dinner of tuna and egg sandwiches for Mike and Micky. He had wanted to bake some potatoes with the Sandwiches. He had found that he only five left in the kitchen. He decided to make a mess of eggs and potatoes for himself and Davy. The money at the end of the month was getting tight.
Micky had been working at a local newsstand for a little extra cash. He had been working all day since there were no gigs for next couple of days. Mike had been working at a large farm market for the same reason as Micky. He had been working more hours at rhea market during the new crops season. Peter kept the house clean and the food on the table. He also ran around looking for gigs. Davy was going to hire himself out as a trainer of horses at a farm near where Mike worked.
It was many days of work on a local horse farm that Davy became friendly the owner of the horses and his two young sons, Mac and Mark. He enjoyed having a change to be riding again. It was long time that he hadn't ridden a horse.
A clap of thunder brought back Davy to the present. He gasped as he saw the lighting dancing across the shy. He heard Peter telling it was time to eat.
Mike sat at the large kitchen table with a plate of food. He said to Micky who was serving himself a large glass of milk from the counter, "There is a bag of greens!"
"Oh, what else?" Micky said as he turned to face Mike. He placed his glass to his lips. He knew about Mr. Steward, Mike's boss helping out young people who were starting out in thier lives.
"And few bruised apples and a box of grapes that look really nice," Mike sighed. He had a stack of papers and bills in front of him on the table. He stared at them when he ate.
"The apples I can use in apple sauce!" Peter chimed in.
"Don't forget the salt in the big can!" Micky warned in a teasing way. He and Mike remembered the last time Peter made applesauce and there was a mix up between the salt and sugar. It was the awful tasting, yet the other three ate it with very little complaint.
"Hey…that can happen to anyone!" Peter huffed with a sour look his eyes. He was a little hurt by Micky's teasing. Then, he looked over to where Davy was sitting. He hoped that Davy was not going to bed on an empty stomach. "Are you going to eat, Dave?"
"Maybe!" Davy sighed. His hunched his shoulders as he slid off the seat. He slowly walked over to the kitchen table. He pulled out a chair while Peter placed a large plate of his egg and potato dish in front of Davy. Davy noticed it was a rather large serving. He wanted to laugh bitterly at the food. He sighed, keeping his feelings in check, "Are you going to make me too big that I can't ride the 'orses?"
"Sorry…I noticed the spuds were getting a little funny looking. Eh, I rather use them up anyways!" Peter said as he went over to get a bottle of ketchup and muster.
"Did we get the call from the Blue coast?" Mikey asked. He sat up to see if there were any notes written on the chalk board near the doorway.
"No…Mister Finch did call about something else…yet that's not until July!" Peter said, coming back with the two bottles. He placed on the middle of the table.
"And the Happy house on Cannel Street?" Micky asked with puzzled look. He had a feeling that the owner of the happy house was not looking for a four piece band.
"The phone is turned off!" Peter said.
"Man…we are hitting a wall here," Micky sighed. He knew that if they did not work a few extra gigs then, the back rent will pile up. They were just breaking even.
Davy just stared at his food. He forced the fork down onto the pile of eggs. He had to eat to make the others happy. He picked up the fork slowly with a small bit of egg.
"And what about Vincent Van Go-go?" Mike asked.
"They do have a club date!" Peter said with a sort of simile.
"When?" Micky asked. He was going to at least relieved to hear about anything.
"Next month!" Peter said.
Davy slowly took a bite. He could taste the egg and butter. The taste sent him back for a minute or two to home in England. He remembered the first time he had won a race for his mother. He had no real money to get a birthday present for his mummy. He had to go to school and what little he had, was spent on milk and biscuits. He noticed a nice set of gloves ion a shop window. He knew his mum would love to have a good pair for going out. He had to win that pair for her. He nearly broke his neck as he trained for hours. It was well worth it at the end.
"Hey, Davy?" a Texan invoke a question at the distance of the beach house.
Davy snapped out of his world for just a minute. He looked up at Mike who was trying to pass a bowl of apples to him. "Uh?" Davy uttered loudly.
"Hey, man…you look like you about a thousand miles away!" Mike asked. He knew Davy was totally lost in his thoughts.
Placing a hand up his head, Davy smiled weakly and said, "Aww. It's nothing really!"
"Are you sure, bud?" mike asked.
"You are ten miles away!" Pete said with concern. He and the other three were starting too wondered about their British friend.
"It's nothing'…really!" Davy repeated for the second time. This was not Davy. Something got inside and changed Davy into a young man who wanted to change the world even it was a very small world.
After the meal, Davy took a walk along the beach. It was a quiet night, close to the time where the beach was closing up for the season. Things four Davy were going too fast for him. Thing back home were easier for him to understand. He wondered if this point in his life was telling him about a small taste of what an adult was like. He heard the crashing of the waves as they flung themselves absent the shore line. He breathed in deeply when the cool night air stung his face. He blindly headed for the Red dandelion coffee shop at the boardwalk near the shore.
There was a small crowd milling around the outside of the Red dandelion. The music had a bit of Jimmy Hendrix touch as the band played on. Davy stopped art the boardwalk staircase. There were coloured light that flickered slowly into her night sky. Davy had heard a grill laughing in the background. He became embittered by the laughing. He had just watched one life being nearly thrown away. He had to stop it before things turned worst.
He climbed up the stairs. He had seen some of his friends who hung out at the shop. He said, "Hey!" forcing a weak smile.
A young black man named Noel Jacobs was walking down the stairs when he saw Davy. He said, "What's wrong with you, my friend!"
Davy nearly distanced sighed, "Nothing…mate!"
"It seemed there something in those eyes of yours that is eating at you!" Noël said. He like to study people's eyes.
His mind replayed what he had just witnessed. The owner of the horse farm did the unspeakable. He had whipped a horse into a state of fear. He knew that was not right. There was a right way of using a riding crop. Yet, the owner was in the state of anger and brought fear to one of his prized horses. He said, 'It's been a bad week!"
"Oh?" Noël asked. He glanced at Davy's face. "There was a thing you wanted to talk about?" Noel asked. He had to get inside of Davy's mind. He knew if the other three couldn't help him. Then, an outside source could.
"I can't talk about it here..." Davy glanced around to see people having a good time with the music. It was nice to hear the people singing along. Why spoil a good thing.
"How about a day off, Davy...I have next Sunday off," Noel said as he tried to get Davy to open up. "My sister is making beef stew...in fact you can asked Micky, Pete and Mike to come over...because my sister always makes too much!"
"Oh?" he had forced a smile on his lips. The smile was painfully too fake. He had to leave before his mouth got him into trouble. Yet, he was going to be polite and take the offer. He said, "Sure…we can come after I ask them. I can't promise you if we do come on time!"
"That's O.K. my sister got the piano fixed," Noel said as he watched as Davy turned to walk back down the steps.
"You have a piano?" Davy asked. He began to think of getting his mind off of his job. It sounded good. If he could get the other three interceded, maybe he could open up about the horse farm.
"It's my granddad's!" Noel nodded with a broad grin. He recalled a short story about his grandfather buying a piano for the house. It was a special event for the family.
"Give me a couple of days…I bet Micky, Pete and Mike will be more than just happy!'
"O.K." Noel said as he nearly ran down the steps. He was going to help Davy with his problems.
Davy felt a little better as he walked back home. He knew the rest of the world was not to get him into trouble. He came up the walkway. He could hear peter's chanting as Pete prayed on the stoop. He had to laugh at Pete. Pete was doing his nightly duties before heading off to bed. Mike had cleaned the kitchen as the TV in the front room played in the background some old black and white movie. Micky was upstairs looking for a possible club in the next town. He was in his bedroom with the door closed. He had to concentrate on a possible gig for the next few weekends.
Davy entered the house with a sense of peace. He knew he needed a really good night's sleep before going to work the next morning. He heard someone singing on the TV. He walked over to the set and noticed a very draper young man with the pose and charm which he had evened for a long time. He heard the music stopped. Staring at the set, Davy realized it was jimmy Cagney who sang for a trio of very pretty girls. He heard also Mike closing the door to the cleaning closet. He turned to ask his friend, "What's the name of the film?"
Mike was surprised to see Davy was back. He looked around to say, "I'm not sure of the picture…it's in the paper!"