Reunion (The Monkees Family Vol. 3)

Chapter 27

Micky was furious that Sharon was back on the job, but Harry said there was nothing that could be done about it. There was a tedious, formal union appeals process to a suspension and until that was followed, Sharon would have to be allowed to work, otherwise it would cause a kerfuffle amongst the rest of the crew. Micky gave in and harrumphed "Okay, Harry, but you tell that shop steward that if she ever gets near me or Gabby again, he's going to be dealing with a criminal complaint against her and a civil lawsuit against her and him personally, and then we'll see how well he likes that."

Lynda found Micky in his dressing room and filled him in on her conversation with Davy.

Micky hugged her and said "Well done, Lynda. That's as fine an intervention as anyone could have done, particularly on their own and with no preparation from an expert or someone with actual addiction. I'm proud of you, and I'm grateful. As angry and emotional as I feel about this whole situation, I don't want to see Davy come to harm."

"Yes, that's how Davy felt about you when you were the culprit and he was the so-called aggrieved party. Funny how what goes around comes around, eh?"

Micky gave a mirthless laugh and said "Yeah, well, in program we say, be careful about pointing your finger in judgment because there are three fingers pointing back at yourself."

Lynda asked Micky to hail her a cab. They walked out to the street together and he filled her in on the situation with Sharon and why she was still on the job. Micky asked Lynda not to tell Gabby about it for the time being.

"I don't want her fretting about it. I'll fill her in after the show tonight. I just want her to enjoy it and not be freaked out about coming to the theater."

Lynda nodded her head slowly. "Okay, Micky. I see where you're going with that. But just be careful in thinking that through. What if Sharon pops out of her cake and surprises Gabby and she's not prepared for it? You know, secret-keeping is usually never a good idea."

Micky exhaled a breath in frustration. "Yeah, you're right. Dammit! Why does everything have to be such a fuckin' drama? And you know what? Maybe Gabby's right. Maybe I need to just stop trying to protect her from everything, because I can't. I can't protect her or myself. Okay, I'll just tell her. But Lynda, don't mention it. Let me tell her myself. Just ask her to call me before she comes to the theater."

Lynda patted Micky on the shoulder. "Good man. I wish Davy were as easy to boss around as you are!" She slid into her cab and rode away, leaving Micky to contemplate whether her saucy comment had more truth in it than sarcasm.

Lynda was lounging in their hotel room when Robert returned. He kissed Lynda and began to tell her about the activities he and Gabby shared.

"Sounds fab, lovey. Hold up, I want to hear more, but I need to let Gabby know she needs to call Micky at the theater before we go there tonight. Turns out that Vampira stagehand is back on the scene and running loose."

"Oh, lord," Robert said. "I've got to eavesdrop on this conversation. I can't imagine how she finagled that."

Lynda rolled her eyes. "Robert, dear, we take workers' rights very seriously over here. Sometimes to a fault, I guess. But given what happened to Micky and Gabby when they were working at the bookstore with you and tried to assert their rights as employees when they both got mauled by coworkers, I'd think you would understand how important it is to have systems in place for due process."

"Yeah, I suppose so, but this is more like what happened to Micky and Gabby, where their employer protected the predator, not the employees who got mauled."

Lynda blinked, realizing Robert had backed her into a corner in this debate and scored a major victory.

"You've gotten to be a very shrewd advocate since you started working with Gabby, lovey. I'd best watch my step!"