A knock on my door came. It was twelve in the afternoon, and I'm cooking lunch for myself. Here I was living alone with my cat, Calico and so far, I'm getting really busy all week, since that job I got in the radio station KZWDB.
I dropped the knife on my chopping board while I grabbed a towel to wipe off my hands. I opened the door and Davy stood on the front porch as usual looking down at his nails. He was dressed in a casual outfit; an eight-buttoned down, double-breasted, blue shirt and bell bottoms. By contrast, I looked like a poor maid with a disheveled hair that was put into a loose ponytail, a messed up hand-me-down clothes from my mom needing a groovy outfit to wear. I looked like a pig who had been playing around the mud.
Davy pecked on my cheek and hugged me. I pulled away from him abruptly.
"Darling, what's wrong?"
"Oh, Davy. I don't want your precious clothes to be dirty. I mean look at you"
"I don't care," Davy interrupted. "You're still beautiful just the way you are." He leaned in to kiss me. Tingles shot up and down my spine. What I loved about him was that he was the less judgmental Monkee in the group. He thought that every woman were pretty. No matter how old they could get, they were still beautiful in his eyes.
"So, what are you doing today?" Davy asked as he crashed on the living room couch.
"Cooking lunch. How about you? I though you guys have a gig to go to."
"We decided to re-schedule it. I have to go to England on Saturday to visit my family."
"Oh..."
"I want you to come with me. I want you to get to know my family." Davy held my hand.
"Oh, Davy. I don't know about that. I just got a job at the radio station yesterday and I'm gonna be really busy. I have it on the weekends and on Tuesday nights, as well."
"Call in sick, then."
"Davy, that's ridiculous." There was no way I could do that. Was he crazy? "I need this job. I need to earn money to pay the rent, so my landlord won't kick me out."
"Okay, okay. How about tomorrow? I could change the schedule from the airport."
"Tomorrow's fine." I smiled. He cupped my face and leaned in to kiss me. I kissed him back.
The next day, Davy called me to get ready to leave, so he would pick me up and go to the airport. One thing for sure that I wasn't ready for was to meet his family. What if they were rich? What if they looked even way more and talk more sophisticated than me? What if they didn't like me, or hate me? What if they were judgmental? What if they don't accept me for who I am? 'Oh, quit it! Stop fooling around!'
I rummaged for my clothes to get it all packed up in my luggage. I ate breakfast quickly, took a shower, brushed my teeth, and went in my room to find a perfect outfit for me to wear. I gave up and just put on a casual dress and my black go-go boots. I put my hair in a braid.
I tapped my feet while I was waiting for Davy. Yesterday, I called my friend to take care of the cat, since there were no pets allowed in the airport. I checked on my watch. It was 7:31 in the morning until a knock came at the door. Just in time. I opened it, and Davy looked astounding. He wore a suit and a tie, along with his shades, his dress pants, and his black shoes, as if it had been shine by a wax, or as if it was brand new. He smelled delightful with that Yardley Black Label aftershave of his, even though he hadn't grown any facial hair.
I hugged Davy and he hugged me back.
"Are you ready?" He asked.
"Yeah, I'm ready."
"Manchester England, here we come!" He grinned. Yes indeed. Here we come.
The flight to Manchester, England was swell. We had a pleasant breakfast, we talked, we made out a million times, but Davy didn't mind. Right now, we're in a cab. The driver was sitting on the opposite side, instead of the other way around like Americans drove these days. I looked out the window observing the scenery. The place was magnificent; people wore old-fashioned clothes, the red double-decker buses, and by just seeing this view, it was very refreshing.
The car jolted to a halt near a row of townhouses. It was groovy. Mixtures of colours captivated the house; almost like a pattern. But, I didn't know he lived in a house like this. I thought he would be living in a mansion with a butler, a majestic, gigantic lawn, like that movie I just watch,"My Fair Lady". Davy helped me with the luggage, while he rang the doorbell. My stomach churned. There were butterflies in my stomach. Davy noticed my expression and gave me a genuine smile.
"It's okay. You'll be fine." Davy pecked on my cheek. I held his hand tightly. The door opened and an old man with grey hair stood in front of us. He had the same height as Davy's, same bushy eyebrows as his, the same with his pillow lips, and his warm, chocolate-brown eyes.
"Hello, dad." Davy smiled.
"Oh, Davy my lad," His father looked at me and to Davy. "Oh well hello. Who is this lovely lady?"
Davy looked at me. He wrapped his arm affectionately around my waist. He introduced me to his father and let us in the house. The place looked warm and cozy, it was very lovely. There were family pictures hanging from the walls of the hallway, the living room had Davy's award from the horse race and an apprenticeship that he had for five years with his coach, Basil Foster. I took a look around the place. I sighed. "Davy, this is amazing."
He held my hand. "See, now you're not scared anymore. I promise you, that you have nothing to worry about." I nodded.
We had a lovely talk with Davy's father. Sadly, his mother passed away when Davy was fourteen. I also got a chance to meet his sisters as well. I realized he was the only brother they had, which I found it quite cute. The sisters introduced themselves to me, and we somehow ended up talking and talking for countless hours about Davy. I giggled every time they would make fun of him, it was adorable. One of Davy's sisters, Beryl, had so much in common with me. We had a great time, I must say. I even got a chance to meet Davy's dog, Dodger. After the laughter and all the giggling from the Jones sisters, Davy led me upstairs to his bedroom.
He opened the door for me and led me in. He closed the door once he got inside and sat at the edge of his bed. His room was quite small filled with Broadway posters, pictures, and his wall painted with horses, galloping towards the sunset. He had a bookshelf stacked with photo albums and books that were alphabetized and very well-organized; his room smelled of cologne. On his desk were some pictures of his horses, and his family. He was a clean-cut kid after all.
Davy patted his bed. "Come here."
I sat beside him. He put his arm around me as I nuzzled my head against his chest. I could hear his heart beating at a steady pulse.
"So what do you think?" Davy asked.
"I think it's amazing. I really loved your family."
"See, I told you everything was going to be fine," he kissed the top of my head as I nuzzled against him once more. "So, we have a guest room downstairs. I hope you're okay with that."
"Oh, that's great. I'll be fine really." I looked up at him. He looked back. I cupped his face in my hands and close my eyes, nuzzling my nose against his. "I love you, Davy."
Davy chuckled. He brushed away a lock of hair from my face. He tilted my chin, my face hot. "I love you too, my love." He leaned in and kissed me. I kissed him back. We stayed in his room for God knows how long.
The next morning, I was awaken by the alarm clock, ringing beside my bed. I wiped the sleep out of my eyes and turned off the alarm. I stretched and made an irritable yawn. I took off the blanket and stood up, stretching once again. I opened the drawn curtains, blinding me from the bright light outside, then I realized I wasn't at my house. I was in my boyfriend's house, having to stay for a vacation. I smiled. I made my bed, while I tied my hair into a bun and went to the living room.
"Good morning, love!" Davy said as he stood up from the couch and pecked my cheek.
"Good morning, Davy." I smiled.
"Want any breakfast? My sisters are making pancakes, bacon and eggs."
I nodded. The delightful smell of the food in the kitchen wafted through my nose, making me all mouth-watered. Davy and I went to the kitchen, seeing Davy's sisters cooking in synchronization. They turned around and smiled. "Good morning!" They'd all chorused.
"Good morning, Beryl, Linda, and Hazel." I responded, trying to be cheerful, but my voice came out groggy.
"Dear, take a seat and eat." Hazel insisted as she pulled out six plates out of the cabinet and put it on their small kitchen table, then got some forks and napkins and sat down.
"Thanks." I said as Davy offered me a chair.
"You're quite welcome, love." He pecked on my cheek.
I stayed quiet as Linda was scrambling eggs, stirring it with the flick of her wrist, sliding a generous portion of yellow, fluffy eggs onto the plate in front of me. She put each egg on each plate. Davy called his father to eat and we started to dig in. After breakfast, I helped Davy's sisters to do the dishes and clean the place. We were all damped with sweat, yet we had fun. Beryl played "Drive My Car" from the turntable while we bopped our heads along to the song.
"Baby you can drive my car, yes I'm gonna be a star, baby you can drive my car and maybe I love you. Beep beep beep beep yeah!" We all chorused.
After all the cleaning, Davy and I sat down from the front porch bench, while Davy's head rested on my lap as I stroked his soft chestnut hair. "Do you want to go riding with me today?" He asked.
"On horses?"
"I think you'd really enjoy it after I give you a few brief lessons. I would love to show you the place and the horses; 14 of them." Yesterday, Beryl told me about Davy. When he became a stable lad in Newmarket, England, and he remained a committed and hands-on horseman. Whenever he was not performing or on the road doing concerts, he was up at 5am and in the stables feeding, grooming, riding and caring for his horses.
My jaw dropped. "14? Oh my, Davy. That must've cost you a lot of money, doing a lot of horse work. I bet you have a big ranch."
"I'm keeping all our family finances in shape, need not to worry about it, love. So, what do you say?" He looked up at me.
I touched his face. "Well, I do love horses... alright."
He smiled. "Great! We'll leave soon. I'll tell dad and my sisters."
"How far is the place?" I asked.
"It's in Newmarket, so that'll take us three hours of drive. If we take a train or a double-decker, it'll take us longer." Davy explained.
"Okay then. Sure, I'd love to come!" I grinned at him.
Davy drove us to Newmarket using his father's car. I was at one of the stables as Davy watered the horses, and groomed them by brushing the long manes and its body as well. He gave me a tour around the stables, introducing me to the horses, one by one.
"This is Anastasia." He showed me the white horse, it was drinking from a trough. I touched its soft long mane and she didn't flinch or move once I stroked its hair. She was calm and a very gentle horse.
"I have three retired race horses from my father's good friend. One was the Black Stallion, El Magnifico -" I giggled when he said that. "Then Manchester Jones and Baz Foster."
"You named it after your trainer?" I raised my eyebrows.
"Yeah, he's a good friend of mine. He's very good at riding one of these horses, very good with them. He's like a second father to me." I nodded when he said this. An hour or so, we went to the field as Davy helped me climb on the saddle, on his horse Manchester Jones, nervous about falling down.
"Hold on, hold on, I'll ride with you." I nodded, and smiled a little, still afraid of falling off. Davy chuckled.
"What are you laughing at?" I asked.
"You're so nervous! It's cute!" I opened my mouth, and was about to say something, but the horse reared, and I was thrown back.
"AH!" Davy yelled, he ran over to me, and kneeled down next to me, "Are you alright?" He asked. I slowly nodded. He pressed his lips to mine and kissed me. I decided this was the man I wanted to marry...
