Ventura, CA, three years and six months prior:

Micky raced home from school, for once in his life, excited at the prospect of going to work. Today, Peter would be helping him. He still didn't know much about Peter, they had only met the day before, after all. But still, it wasn't every day he had a friend willing to help him at the hotel.

When he reached the building, he ran up to his room to drop off his school stuff and found Peter sitting on the couch, silently picking at his amp-less bass.

"Hey, Peter!" Micky said. "Ready to pay off that meatloaf?" Peter smiled, setting down the bass. "Alright," he said. "Show me what to do!"

Micky's job at the hotel was being a concierge, so pretty much, he was a boy-of-all-work for the guests. Whatever they wanted or needed doing, they would ring for the concierge to come do it for them.

Even though the hotel was small, it was usually fairly busy, there was never a dull moment. The first summons came only a few moments after Micky put on his uniform and sat down at the concierge desk.

With Peter in tow, Micky ran up to the second floor, where a rather large lady in a purple fur coat needed him to crawl under the bed and retrieve her lipstick, which had rolled under the bed. After he got the lipstick, he realized that he was stuck and couldn't get out from under the bed.

Peter, trying to help, grabbed his ankles and pulled, as Micky tried to push his way out. When he still couldn't get out, the lady in purple had an excellent idea, and called... the concierge. Micky finally get out from under the bed, and ran out the door, just to turn around and knock again, so he could respond to the call.

Then he had to race to the first floor, where a man wanted to know which local restaurants were the best. Then it was up to the fourth floor where a family of five needed him to help their six year old little girl search the hotel for her favorite doll.

Now with the girl following them, they ran around the hotel, looking high and low for the doll, making several stops along the way to help the guests do whatever little tasks they wanted done.

They ran into the lady with the purple coat coming down the hallway of the second floor, and the little girl stuck her tongue out, causing the lady to get offended. As Micky tried to apologize, she turned around and started hitting him with her oversized purse.

On the third floor, they stopped at a room that had rung for the concierge, and when a gorilla answered the door, they wasted no time in leaving, the gorilla chasing after them.

They rushed into another door and shut it behind them. Grabbing random pieces of furniture, they stacked them against the door. Then, turning around, they saw a man sitting there with a fancy dinner set up on a table. Tying a napkin around his neck, he pulled the cover off the tray, and they saw the gorilla's head, still alive and growling at them.

Yelling in fright, they pulled all the furniture away from the door and ran back into the hallway.

On the first floor, Micky ran into a room, followed by Peter, who was followed by the little girl, who was followed by the gorilla, who was followed by the lady in purple. In the room, they saw a mad scientist laughing evilly as he threw a lever, bringing a frankenstein-type monster to life.

Up to the fourth floor, leading a procession that now included the monster, the scientist, the gorilla, the little girl, a circus clown, the lady in purple, and a hunter in a pith helmet with a butterfly net, they opened the door to a room and saw, to their surprise, a steam engine, heading straight for the door.

Shutting it quickly, Micky paused, confused. Opening the door again, he saw a family of angry tigers, snarling and growling in the tall jungle grass. He yelled in fright and shut the door again. The next time he opened it, he saw a group of trapeze artists swinging and flying high above the ground, spotlights shining on them.

He shut the door and opened it again, seeing a marching band lead a parade. He smiled at the sight, he loved parades. But, he couldn't stay and watch. He shut the door and opened it again, revealing none other than the gorilla, who roared and began to chase them again.

Finally, the day of work was done, the little girl had her doll back, and all the guests had returned to their rooms.

"Well, that's my job!" Micky said as he and Peter went back up to Micky's room. Peter smiled. "You sure do meet a lot of characters in this line of work," he said. Micky nodded. "Yeah, it's pretty fun," he said. "Especially when you have somebody helping you. Thanks, Peter." "Oh, it was nothing," Peter said. "I didn't exactly have anywhere to be anyway. I had fun."

"Great," Micky said. "Now, I'm hungry. Let's go down and get some dinner." "Micky, wait!" Peter said, stopping Micky from running out the door. "Micky, I can't eat here again, I'd have to stay again and work tomorrow!" Micky snapped his fingers. He'd been hoping to trick Peter into staying.

"But, I thought you said you didn't mind!" He said. Peter smiled. "I didn't mind working this once," he said. "But I can't stay here forever. It was just one night, remember?"

Micky sighed. "Yeah, I remember," he said. "But it's so much more fun when somebody helps you, y'know?" Peter nodded. "Yeah, I know," he said. "But nothing lasts forever, and the road is calling. Thanks for the good time, Micky. I'll never forget you."

Picking up his bass, Peter walked to the door and then turned around. "Say goodbye to Aunt Franny for me, will ya?" He said. Micky nodded. "Yeah, sure," he said. "Goodbye, Peter."

Peter turned and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

Micky sat down on the couch, sighing. He should have expected this, it really was too good to last. Besides, he had only met the man yesterday. It wasn't like they were best friends or anything. Yeah, they barely even knew each other.

People come into your life for a reason and a season, his mother had always said. He shouldn't feel too bad that Peter hadn't stayed, he should be happy for the day he'd known him.

Standing up and walking over to his window, he pulled aside the curtains. The sounds of the city drifted up through the broken glass as Micky watched Peter step out of the hotel and begin walking down the street.

Stopping at the street corner, Peter looked back at the hotel, frowning in thought. Suddenly, a man came from around the corner, looking over his shoulder as he talked to a man behind him.

Not paying attention to where he was going, the man knocked into Peter. "Wha-!" The man sputtered, turning towards Peter. "Why don't you watch where you're going, young man!?" Peter smiled. "Sorry," he said. "I'll try and be more careful in the future." "Well, you'd better!" The man growled as he continued walking.

Peter looked after him for a moment, and then turned and ran back to the hotel.

Micky grinned, and then he ran back to the couch, sitting down and trying to look glum, so Peter wouldn't know he'd been spying on him.

After a few moments, he heard Peter's footsteps running up the stairs and he burst into Micky's room, panting. "Hey, Micky," he said. "I, um, if it's alright, I wouldn't mind staying here in Ventura, at least for a little while." "Oh, Peter! That's great!" Micky said, jumping up from his seat. "I mean, really, that's great! We're gonna have so much fun together, I mean it! Now, let's go get some dinner!"

"Wait," Peter said, once again stopping Micky from running through the door. "What now?" Micky said. Peter swallowed. "If I'm going to stay here, I need to get a real job. I can't just keep helping you in return for dinner. I need to ask your boss for a real job here at the hotel." "Oh, okay," Micky said. "Let's go talk to him then." Turning around, Micky led the way to the office where Mr. Spiner spent his time at the hotel.

Knocking on the door, they heard a "Come in!" From the other side. So Micky pushed the door open and he and Peter went into the office.

"Hello, Mr. Spiner!" Micky said brightly. "This is Peter Tork, he wants to have a job here at the hotel, in return for a place to stay." Mr. Spiner looked at Peter. "Well, Micky," he said. "Your situation is a rather special one, I'm running a hotel, not an apartment complex."

Micky nodded. "I know," he said. "But please, Mr. Spiner, he really wants to stay here in Ventura, and he needs a job and a place to stay. He's a good worker, he's been helping me on the job all day."

Mr. Spiner looked at Peter. "Really?" He asked. "And why did you do that, Mr. Tork?" Peter looked at Micky. "Well," he said. "I needed a place to stay last night, so Micky let me stay in his room, and Aunt Franny gave me a plate of dinner, so I helped Micky with his job to pay for it."

Mr. Spiner laughed. "Well," he said. "If you've already been working for me, I guess there's no reason why I can't let you stay. But here's the deal; I can't afford to rent out another room, so you'd have to board with Micky. Are you alright with that?"

Micky grinned, and Peter nodded. "But, you have to send up an extra bed!" Peter said. Mr. Spiner nodded. "Of course," He said. "And I currently pay Micky here 50 dollars a month, as well as the room and board. I'll do the same for you, too." Micky spoke up then.

"Say, Mr. Spiner," he said. "Since you're getting twice the work, but don't have to pay for an extra room, how about paying Peter 100 dollars a month instead of 50?" Mr. Spiner laughed. "But I still have to pay for the food," he said. "So how about I pay Mr. Tork 85 dollars a month, and since you're now sharing the room and therefore, the rent, I'll raise your monthly wage to 65 a month?"

Micky's eyes grew wide. "Wow, really?" He said. Mr. Spiner nodded. "You do a lot of work for me, Micky," he said. "I've been meaning to give you a raise anyway. A young man needs a bit of spending money, is what I say." Micky smiled. "Thank you, sir!" He said. "Peter will take the job, won't you, Peter?"

Peter thought for a moment. "Before I accept," He said. "I want you to know, Mr. Spiner, that I'm not used to having a steady job. I'm a traveler, and I don't know how long I'm planning on staying in Ventura. I could be here for a week, a month, six months, I really don't know. Are you willing to hire me knowing that I could split any day?"

Mr. Spiner looked thoughtful. "Well, Mr. Tork," He said after a moment. "I admire your honesty. I am still willing to hire you, provided you give me at least a weeks' notice before you leave, if you decided to do so."

Peter nodded. "Okay," he said. "I can do that." "Splendid!" Mr. Spiner said. "Mr. Tork, consider yourself an official employee here at the hotel! It's nice to have you aboard."

Peter smiled and thanked Mr. Spiner as Micky led the way out of the office. "There you have it," he said. "Now you officially work here. Now can we go get some dinner?"

Peter smiled and nodded. "Yeah," he said. "Let's go."

Aunt Franny was happy to hear of Peter's decision to remain at the hotel, and served them a desert of their choice, in honor of the occasion. That night, Micky once again insisted on taking the couch, as the new bed wouldn't be brought up until the next morning.

As Micky drifted off to sleep, he marveled at how lucky he was to have a new friend, and a new room-mate at that. People come into your life for a reason and a season, his mom always said. He sighed happily, wondering what wonderful adventures Peter's presence would bring about.

Whatever they were, he decided, he couldn't wait to start having them.