The Monkees: Gold Rush

She Went Away...

When Davy reached the hotel Mike was dragging Peter by the arm back in the direction of the saloon. Peter looked extremely surprised by Mike dragging him. "What are you doing?!" Peter exclaimed.
"I've got good news for you and me and Davy and Micky," Mike said.
"You got the land?" Peter asked.
"I'll tell you when we find Micky," Mike said.
Davy followed Mike and Peter. He had his hands in his pockets. They reached the saloon and saw Calphurnia and Micky walking very close together. Davy and Peter and Mike hid behind a sign, and they peaked out to see what Micky was doing. Micky leaned in really close to Calphurnia. She stood on her toes to kiss him. Mike hid behind the sign again. He didn't know why he was so upset by Micky and Calphurnia. Davy noticed that Mike was upset. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
June walked to where they were hiding. "What are you three doing?" She asked still holding the basket.
Davy and Peter shushed her. Mike shrugged. He was trying to play it cool and pretend he wasn't as angry as he actually was. June didn't seemed to notice anything up with Mike.
"You might want to tell Micky later," June commented as she looked at Micky and Calphurnia walk together.
Mike nodded his head. "I suppose that's a good idea," He said.
Davy and Peter continued to watch Micky and Calphurnia. "Ah, stop that you guys," Mike said grabbing their shoulders and pulling them behind the sign.
Davy and Peter gave him dirty looks. Mike had his hands on their shoulder still and he wheeled them around and pushed them back towards the hotel.
"We might as well celebrate without him," June said smiling.
"Celebrate what?" Davy asked. He was starting to get annoyed.
"You'll find out!" Mike exclaimed as he dragged them back towards the hotel.
Davy and Peter glanced at each other. Whatever Mike had on his mind he was really excited about it. Soon Mike had dragged them back to the hotel. They sat down in the restaurant. June got them some glasses and poured them some champagne.
"What's this all about?" Davy asked staring at the bubbling liquid.
"You know the land we were lookin' at?" Mike asked.
Davy nodded his head as he took his first sip of his champagne.
"June got a deal that we can buy it for only a thousand dollars," Mike said smiling broadly.
"Me and you have enough for that land," Davy said.
"What about Micky?" Peter asked.
"Well, I figured since he needs land since he's trying to marry Calphurnia we should let him help us buy the land," Mike said.
"How much are we gonna put up?" Davy asked.
"There are three of us so I suppose seven hundred and fifty dollars," Mike said, "and Micky'll pay two hundred and fifty dollars."
Davy nodded his head thoughtfully. Peter scratched his head. "How are we gonna divide the land?" He asked.
"It's good cattle grazing land with a few streams," June said. "Honestly, splitting it into four wouldn't be too hard to do."
"I want to raise sheep..." Peter said.
Mike stared at Peter. "Sheep are horrible for grasslands," He said.
"Just a few sheep?" Peter asked quietly.
Mike shook his head. "Cattle are a lot more practical," He said. "Beef is a big business."
"I don't know... Wool is big business," Davy said.
"So is cotton," June said. "Corn's good too."
"Labor for working cotton and corn is expensive," Mike said. "We're not in a slave state."
Peter looked over at Mike is surprise. "You would have slaves if you were in a slave state?" He asked shocked.
"Suppose," Mike said.
Peter looked down into his glass of champagne. He set it down and stood up from the table. Mike watched Peter walk out of the room.
"Why's he makin' such a big deal outta that?" Mike asked.
Davy rolled his eyes. "Cuz he and I didn't live in Texas like you. We don't like the idea of slavery," He said.
"I don't like the idea..." Mike mumbled. "It just gets results, that's all."
Davy scowled at Mike. Mike looked over at the door. June was quietly drinking her champagne. She was awkward because of where the conversation was going. She always had a little bit of trouble talking about slavery. It was such a tender subject. Everyone took it a different way, and a lot of people took it to heart.
"Soooo..." June said slowly. "How are you guys liking the California weather?"
Davy smiled. "It's always sunny," He said.
"Is it always this warm?" Mike asked.
June nodded. "Almost all year long," She said. "You could go to the beach on Christmas if you wanted to."
Davy frowned. "Does it ever snow?" He asked.
"No, not really," June said shrugging, "but it never really gets as hot as it does in other places."
Mike looked up to the sound of footsteps and Micky and Calphurnia walked into the restaurant holding hands. Davy looked over and smiled at them.
"We're gettin' married!" Micky exclaimed.
June smiled at them. "Congratulations!" She exclaimed.
Calphurnia was blushing. Davy's smile had grown to an incredible size. He looked absolutely giddy. Mike forced himself to smile, for Micky and Calphurnia's sake.
"Where's Peter?" Calphurnia asked.
"He's upstairs," Davy said.
Micky looked over at Calphurnia. "Let's go see him!" He exclaimed.
Calphurnia nodded and they went together up the stairs. June watched them leave then turned to Mike. "Why in the world would Micky want to marry a woman like that?" She asked.
Mike frowned slightly. "A woman like what?" He asked.
"A dancing girl, everyone knows dancing girls are unweddable," June said.
Davy stared at June in shock. "But you just told them congratulations," He said.
"No respectable person would say anything different," June shrugged.
Mike frowned and leaned his cheek on his hand. He couldn't figure why he was so displeased with Micky and Calphurnia's engagement. He liked Micky and he liked Calphurnia, why shouldn't he like them as a couple?
"Well dammit, I forgot to tell Micky about the land!" Mike exclaimed hitting his fist on the top of the table.
June waved her hand at him. "It'll be fine, you can tell him later," She said.
Davy's eyes drifted around the almost empty restaurant. There was only one guy in the corner of the room that was reading a newspaper.
Davy sighed. "I think I'm gonna go to bed," He said standing up and heading towards the stairs.
"Goodnight," June and Mike called after him.
Then it was only June, Mike, and the guy in the corner of the room left in the restaurant. Mike could hear a cricket chirp somewhere around the restaurant. June was messing with her fingers.
"Mike?" She asked.
Mike grunted in reply.
"Do you ever think about marriage?" June asked.
"Sometimes..." Mike said.
The cricket was chirping very loudly and it was starting to get rather annoying.
"Do you ever think about who you're gonna marry?" June asked. She was still messing with her fingers, but she'd sneak a glance between words.
"Not really," Mike said.
"What type of girl do you wanna marry?"
"A pretty girl," Mike answered simply. He yawned. "Well, I'm bushed. I'm gonna hit the sack, you have a nice night."
June watched Mike walk up the stairs to his room. Then it was just her and the guy in the corner with his newspaper in the room. June sighed and walked out of the hotel. She was starting to feel kinda dumb.
Then it was just the guy in the corner reading his newspaper and the cricket all alone in the room.

(So, I just realized that The House of the Rising Sun is actually about a girl that worked in a prostitution house and the song suddenly made sense. Now I just gotta figure why the Animals sang it... Well, I prefer Leadbelly's version, I think it's his wife who's singing so it makes more sense... The Blues and American folk music is better sung by actual Blues singers anyways... They've got the feeling for it.
So that's what I've been thinking about... ~ Adde Away!)