Chapter 14- Home Sweet Home
Well, the weeks they came and went. Micky continued to stay and care for Annette and Mildred while the doctors took care of his friends. By the end of the week, Peter joined him at the house, helping Mildred out around the house while Micky drove Annette here, there, and everywhere. It wasn't that she wasn't capable of driving herself, it was just that Micky could only sit down for such a short amount of time without breaking something or causing a national emergency. Quickly the boys found out that the reward for catching BabyFace Morales, as well as his gang members, was able to cover all of their hospital bills. Now all they had to do was wait for the day they could all go home and resume a presumably normal life.
It was in that last week in January in which that day finally came. It was in the early morning when Peter and Micky found out, causing them to run back to the house to nab the clothes the girls had bought them for when they were released. By the time they got back to the hospital, Mike and Davy were in a curious fit as to the disappearance of their friends.
After the two of them got better, doctors allowed them to stay in the same room. They were both moved into a larger room down the hall from their old rooms, causing Peter confusion from time to time.
Micky and Peter walked down the hall, a bag slung over Micky's shoulder. Peter stopped at 112, preparing to knock. Micky quickly pulled him away, shaking his head. "They're down here." He said motioning towards room 121 down the hall. Peter nodded and they continued down the hall. When they reached 121, Micky knocked.
"Come in," Davy's voice said from the other side. Micky and Peter entered, smiles on their faces. "Hi fellas!" Davy said cheerfully. Mike, more or less. He simply nodded in greeting and turned his attention back to the mess of papers on his bed. He fought to reach over the guitar that served as a barrier between him and the music.
"Guess what today is!" Micky said cheerfully, throwing the bag he had at Mike. Catching the Texan off guard, Mike hit the bag with a swift arm, causing it to hit the floor.
"What could possibly be so important that you have to throw stuff at me?" Mike asked, still in shock from the throw.
Peter quickly ran to the floor and picked up the bag. Micky laughed as Peter replaced the bag onto Mike's bed. "Today's the day we all go home," Micky declared.
The silence was so deafening, the only noise that was heard was that of the bag falling to the floor again.
"Sorry, say that again?" Davy asked.
"We're going home. The two of you are going to be released today." Micky beamed.
"You're kidding!" Mike said, finally smiling.
"Of course not!" Peter laughed. "Why would we joke about this?"
Micky shook his head. "Peter, he…" The looks he got from Mike and Davy told him not to even try and explain it. "Right, in the bag are your clothes."
"Clothes?" Mike asked, peeking inside the bag.
"Annette and Mildred bought them for you." Peter added, smiling.
"They shouldn't have," Davy said when Mike handed him the bag after he had pulled out the clothes that were his size.
"They insisted," Micky blushed. "They bought Peter and I clothes, too." Micky gestured towards the bright orange shirt he was wearing, as well as the green-and-purple poka-dot shirt Peter was wearing. "When we get all the release papers signed, we need to head back to Annette and Mildred's to finish packing up everything.
"P-packing?" Davy asked. "What is there to pack? Peter was kidnapped, You blindly ran after him, and Mike blindly ran after you!"
"Again," Peter said, "The girls insisted. Along with the clothes they bought us, Mildred is also sending us away with some food for home. They're going to put it all in Ms. Purdy's car."
"Yeah, we'll need to head back to pick up her car, anyway." Micky added.
"And say goodbye to the girls as well." Peter finished.
Mike was ready to ask another question, but he was interrupted by Dr. Tennant coming into the room. "Good morning, men," He said cheerfully. "I assume Micky and Peter have told you the good news?"
"Yes sir," Mike said, taking the guitar off his chest and placing it up against the bed. He began taking all of the music he was working on and organizing them in a neat pile.
"Do you have the release papers?" Davy asked eagerly. Dr. Tennant held up a stack of papers and handed them to Davy.
"Have Micky or Peter run them down to the main desk so we can send nurses to come get you." Dr. Tennant nodded at all of the men in the room and left. The Monkees quickly got to work. They couldn't wait to go home.
The sun began to set across the beach's horizon. It had been days since there was any activity in the small beach house, and yet another day was passing. However, there was the creak of a door. In entered Mrs. Purdy, her arms full of sealed envelopes. She clicked on the nearest light switch, illuminating the house. Behind her entered Mr. Babbit, a frown etched across his face.
"Hurry yourself, Clara. I'd like to go to bed." Mr. Babbit grumbled, watching her from the doorway.
"Oh, come on, Sam, admit it, you like those four boys as much as everyone else. I'm doing them a favor by bringing in their mail. They have a lot of important papers in this pile." Mrs. Purdy said, placing the pile of envelopes on the dining table. She began searching for a pen.
"They're the Monkees," Mr. Babbit pointed out. "What could be in their mail that is so important?"
"Take a look for yourself, Sam." Mrs. Purdy offered, finally finding a stray pen in one of the kitchen drawers. Mr. Babbit shrugged and walked over the table, reading the labels on the envelopes. He glanced at each one quickly, not really caring what he saw. Mrs. Purdy caught on as she wrote a letter to the Monkees on a notepad she found. "I presume that some of those envelopes contain checks, Sam. Money. Now they can pay rent more regularly than usual."
"Who the heck is sending these boys money?" Mr. Babbit scoffed, throwing the envelopes back onto the table.
"The record company they have a contract with," Mrs. Purdy pointed out. "It was a gift for David and Michael, remember?"
"You got them a deal with a record company?" Mr. Babbit asked. "You told me you were using the money for a fundraiser to clean up the neighborhood!"
"Well, we knew you wouldn't give if we told you the truth." Mrs. Purdy blushed. "Anyway, now they have a steady income, so now they can pay rent. You should be happy about that, shouldn't you Sam? I mean, that's the only thing you bother them about."
"Knock it off, Clara, and let's go. Are you done with your silly letter yet?" Mr. Babbit huffed, walking back towards the front door.
"And… done!" Mrs. Purdy proclaimed after signing the document. She placed it on the top of the pile of mail and followed Mr. Babbit out, turning off the lights on the way. "You should really be nicer to those boys, Sam. You know…" Mrs. Purdy continued to lecture as she closed the door behind her.
A few more hours later, after the night sky casted its eerie glow through the beach house windows, a car could be heard pulling up to the house. Minutes later, the door swung open, revealing two of the four current residents. Both men had their hands full of paper bags, filled with food. One man clumsily searched for a light while the other navigated his way towards the kitchen table. The pad lit up with light as it had when Mrs. Purdy and Mr. Babbit were around earlier, giving the two men light to see. They both placed the bags on the counter, noticing the pile of papers on the table.
"How'd these get here?" One man asked, beginning to go through the papers.
"Mrs. Purdy might have brought them in," the other suggested, walking over to the table as well. "I hope Davy and Peter don't give her a heart attack with their sudden appearance with her car."
"She might be expecting us," The other man said, "Here's a letter from her." He handed Mike the letter on top. Mike read it aloud.
"Dear Boys,
I noticed that your mailbox was beginning to overflow, so I brought your mail in for you. Mr. Babbit was kind enough to let me in. In this pile there are some envelopes that will serve you a great deal of joy as well as success. If you need anything of me, please don't hesitate to ask. I will continue to monitor your mail for you till you four return home safely.
Sincerely, Mrs. Purdy."
"Joy and success?" Micky asked, beginning to look through the envelopes. Mike placed the letter to the side and picked up an envelope himself.
"It's from the Rafelson Recording Studio." Mike said, reading the front of the envelope.
"Hey, that's the place we have a record deal with," Micky said, picking up another envelope from the same place. He ripped it open and pulled out a letter as well as a check. "Gosharoony, look at this, Mike! It's our split from the sales we made! This letter looks like it just talks about all the legal details and how much we make off of profits."
Mike opened up the envelope in his hand as well, pulling out another check. "Micky, do you know what this means?"
"We're gonna be rich!" Micky yelled with excitement.
"Besides that," Mike sighed. "This means we're going to be famous." Mike picked up another envelope and opened it. Inside this one was a letter. "This letter here says that they would like us to contact them at the earliest convenience… Apparently someone informed them that we were all missing… They- they would like to record another album with us?"
"Really?" Micky asked, running over and snatching the paper from Mike's hands. "Hey, they do! This is great!"
"What is?" Davy asked from the doorway. Peter stood behind him, both he and Davy's arms full of grocery bags as well. "You two didn't finish taking all the food from the car. What gives?"
"This!" Micky smiled, waving the letter above his head. "We're going to be famous. We're going to be somebody!"
"Really?" Peter asked. "Did that record company get a hold of us?"
"More than that, Shotgun." Mike smiled. "They want us to make another album."
"You must be joking!" Davy said, continuing further into the pad and placing the groceries on the table. Micky handed him the letter and he quickly read it over. "I don't believe it…"
"When do we start?" Peter asked, mimicking Davy's journey towards the kitchen.
"Whenever we get back from being missing, I presume," Micky laughed. "Which would be now."
"Fellas," Mike smiled, reeling them all in for a group hug. "This is a new beginning. Welcome to the Monkees." The four men laughed with joy. It was definitely a new beginning. The year 1969 was going to be their year.