Our Hearts' Desire (The Monkees Family Vol. 2)

Chapter 16

Micky came straight to Gabby's from the airport.  He didn't want to wait to see her.  Home meant where she was, not the Pad.  That was what he was planning to tell her.  He wasn't sure if she was ready to hear it, but he was ready to say it.  Just as he had told her he loved her before she had said she loved him, he could no longer be this intimate with her, this committed to her, without telling her how he felt.  He was okay with her shutting him down, telling him she wasn't ready.  But he needed her to know that he was ready. 

Gabby was surprised to see that Micky had his luggage with him as he walked through her front door.  She had assumed he'd stop by the Pad and drop off his stuff, maybe take a shower and a nap, check his mail, catch a bite to eat.  But he looked like he had come right from the airport.  She didn't know what to make of it, this sense of urgency.

"Micky?"

Her monosyllabic greeting was laden with meaning, and he knew all it implied.  But first, he needed to just re-establish the connection with her.  He dropped his bags in her entryway and pulled her tightly to him, hugging her and pressing her into his body, swaying slightly and humming a tuneless melody into her ear.

"I needed to see you more than anything else.  I didn't want to go to Pad.  I didn't want to take care of any business.  I just wanted to see you.  Is that okay?"

"Of course it's okay!  What woman wouldn't love to be her lover's top priority?"

She led him to the couch and sat him down.  "What can I do for you?  Do you want something to eat or drink?  Do you want to lie down for a rest?  Do you want to change your clothes or have a bath or shower?"

Micky shook his head.  "I just want to look at you, touch you, hold you, speak with you and see your expression while you're talking.  I want to communicate with you and be in your presence."

"That sounds perfect.  I've been starved for that myself.  Even more than for sex."  Their eyes locked and they both knew the veracity of that statement.  The heart of their relationship was not physical, it was emotional.  The physical part was just an extension of how they felt about each other.

"Gabby, I, well I've got so much to share with you.  Let's start with the small stuff and we can get to the big stuff as we go along."

Gabby sat back and said "You're the director, Micky.  Tell me what you want me to know and hear.  All of it.  What do you want first?  Food or a wash?"

"I ate already and I'm pretty clean.  Let's stay dressed for now.  How about a drink instead.  Got any wine?"

"Sure.  Red?"

"Always."

She poured their favorite cheap and cheerful red wine and Micky smiled.  "You know, Gabby, I'm a wealthy man now.  We can afford to drink better.  That's one of the things I need to explain to you.  I haven't said much about it, because I didn't want it to affect how we related to each other or any decisions we made, but I want to let you in on my financial situation now.  You're my best friend, my lover, and the woman I want to spend my life with.  Are you ready to receive that information?"

Gabby gulped a swig of cheap wine and thought about it.  "Okay, Micky, I guess that makes sense.  I know I can be touchy about things like that, me and my feminist attitude about not wanting a guy to support me, but if we do end up making our lives together, I guess it's inevitable that you're going to end up sharing some of that wealth with me.  I guess you already did, flying me to Boston and putting me up in that hotel and feeding me.  So go ahead.  Break it to me."

Micky laughed.  "You make it sound like I'm about to tell you how many STDs I have!  Okay.  Here's the situation.  I've made well over a million dollars since we signed our first contract, and I've spent virtually none of it."