The Companion

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Uncut Version
by Stardust Grrl

Part VI: The Morning After

The beautiful flowers…the pale blue sky…Margaret was sitting in a flowing, lavender dress amidst the lovely scenery on a red and white checkered picnic blanket. Birds flitted about among the puffy clouds. She touched her hair. It was over shoulder-length long and quite curly. A crown of daisies adorned her head. She laid back on the blanket and let the sun’s soft rays shine down upon her.

She suddenly became aware of someone in her presence. She turned her head and there was David Bowie, sitting on a blue velvet couch and wearing one of his famous men’s dresses. The scene very much resembled the album cover of The Man Who Sold the World. He sat there, with his wrist limp, and smiled at her. He beckoned with his hand for her to come. She got up gladly and threw herself onto the couch with him…

Margaret opened her eyes and realised that fantasy was, unfortunately, only a dream. The bright light streaming in through the window obscured her vision for a few seconds. She yawned, sat up, and looked around.

"Whoa! Where am I?" She thought, panicking. She looked down and saw she had no clothes on whatsoever. "What the—"

Margaret looked at the bed. She saw David lying next to her, smiling. "Whoa!!! What are you…" She trailed off and thought for a while. "Oh," she smiled. "How could I forget?" She laughed.

"I don’t know, you’d have to have had a serious attack of amnesia to forget last night," he said, smiling.

"I still can’t believe it…!" She trailed off and fell back onto the bed. "I mean…wow! Who would’ve thought!"

David laughed. "Oh, my. Why is it so unbelievable? I mean, come on, I’m only some bloke named Bowie." They laughed. "My, my, my…should we have a shower?"

"Ah," Margaret said demurely, "A shower sounds exquisite."

"Then later we can get some breakfast," David said.

"Yes…what time is it?" Margaret realised that she was supposed to be at her flat.

"Oh, it’s almost eight," David said. "We didn’t sleep for too long, you know."

"Yes, but I feel refreshed." Margaret got up and stretched. "Ah!"

"Come on, let’s have a shower then," David said. He got up and walked to the bathroom. Margaret followed.

"Good thing this shower is so big," David remarked as he looked at the shower. "It’s pretty nice, huh?" He laughed.

"Yes, I’d have to agree," Margaret giggled. "Beautiful, just beautiful." They stepped into the immaculate shower. "I haven’t been in a shower like this for so long," Margaret said wistfully.

"What!" David laughed.

Margaret looked at him quizzically and then realised her faux pas. "Oh, no! I mean…no! I take baths every day! I don’t have a shower at my flat, only bathtubs!"

David looked at her and grinned. "Right. Sure," he said sarcastically, laughing.

"Oh…" Margaret laughed. She kissed him on the ear as he turned on the water. The temperature was just right after only a few seconds. Margaret loved showers like this—warm ones, where the steam was almost tangible. They kissed and washed each other.

Angie, wrapped in a soft, furry robe, peeked inside the bathroom. She could make out two figures taking a shower. "Ah, so she made it," she said with a laugh. She shut the door behind her, chuckling.

"Where’s your stuff?" Woody pulled his tight shirt over his head.

"It’s at my hotel," Kisch replied, putting on her costume also. She couldn’t believe she was about to go on holiday with Woody, the definite the man of her dreams.

Mick and Jacqueline were in the bathroom drying their hair with some of Margaret’s towels. They had just taken a bath.

"Shall we go get it now?" Woody got up from the bed.

Kisch got up and wrapped her arms around him. "Whenever you want to. I’m ready now."

"Well then, let’s go!" Woody smiled. He seemed quite happy. "I’ll call a limo or something, okay?"

Kisch’s eyes brightened. She had never been in a limousine! "Wow! A limo? You can do that?"

"Why, sure!" Woody paused. "I think. But can I?" Woody thought. "Mick!" he called.

Mick emerged from the bathroom, clutching a towel around his waist. "Yeah?"

"Do you think they’ll let me use a limo? RCA, that is?"

"Why wouldn’t they?" asked Mick, scratching his arm. "Oh, you think they won’t because you’re not in the band anymore, right?" Woody nodded. "Ah. Well, what can they do? I bet they’ll let you use one."

"You think so?" Woody walked to the phone. "I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to try, huh?"

Jacqueline went back to her room with a towel wrapped around her. Kisch saw her and asked, "Is there a brush in there?"

Jacqueline nodded. "Yup, and there’s even more towels too. I don’t know how Margaret can have so many towels! I mean, she doesn’t have sheets and stuff, but then look at all of those towels!…" Jacqueline continued making her way into her room, talking all the while.

Kisch laughed to herself. What a great time she was having! She glanced over at Woody. There he was, talking on the phone, looking so angelic…she was never going back to Russia. There was no need to return to her dreadfully communist country when she had all this. She went into the bathroom to brush her hair.

"…yes, it’s me," Woody said into the receiver. "Listen, I really need a limo, okay? I don’t care how long it takes. An hour? That’s fine. I’m at…what? You already know where I am? Whatever. Just be here in an hour, alright? Okay. Bye."

Kisch looked into the mirror and smiled at her reflection as she brushed her long, black hair. She washed her face and looked outside. Woody was sitting down on the bed. "Is it going to work, darling?" She walked out and sat down next to him.

"Yes, they’ll be here in about an hour," Woody kissed her.

"This is so nice of you…" Kisch smiled demurely.

"Oh, it’s my pleasure. I can’t wait to go," Woody returned.

"Me neither. Why don’t we take a bath?"

"Sure," Woody said. They got up and proceeded to the bathroom.

Before they entered the bathroom, Kisch walked into Mick and Jacqueline’s room. They were all dry except for their hair and were both completely dressed. "Jackie," Kisch said, "When’s Margaret coming? I want to say goodbye."

"Goodbye?" Jacqueline looked at her from the bed, where she was sitting. "Where are you going?"

"Woody and I are going to my hotel to get my stuff, and then we’re going to Switzerland." Kisch tried her best to sound modest.

It took a few seconds for Jacqueline to process this information. Upon realising what Kisch had said, she said, "Whoa! Hold on there! Switzerland?!" Jacqueline sat wide-eyed with her jaw open, staring at Kisch. Oh! That’s not fair! Margaret gets to go to some ritzy hotel to do heaven knows what with a mega-superstar, Kisch gets to go on a vacation to another country with a mini-superstar…what about me?! Jacqueline thought again, No. That’s not right. I shouldn’t be jealous. Whatever happens, happens. After all, everything happens for a reason. Jacqueline smiled at Kisch. "That’s great! How…!"

"I don’t know how it happened!" Kisch gushed. "It was like, let’s go on holiday, and then before I know it he’s calling a limo."

Jacqueline looked over at Mick, who was yawning and scratching his arm. Well, well, well. So that’s how it is. Of course, the real superstar of the Spiders just doesn’t have a clue. To tell the truth, Jacqueline was jealous of Kisch, but she was especially jealous of Margaret. She was really hoping to score big with Mick…and there he was, yawning and scratching his arm. Sure, the night before with Mick had been something comparable with heaven, but she wanted to do more! She didn’t want to be rude or anything, but maybe if she dropped hints here and there…

"Mick," Jacqueline said sweetly, "What are you going to do today?"

Mick sat down on the bed. "Well, I was planning on watching television," he said matter-of-factly.

Jacqueline rolled her eyes. "Why would you want to watch TV on a day like this? The whole world is out there, waiting for you!" She especially emphasised "world."

"Well, it’s not like I was planning on going to Switzerland or something," Mick said. He apparently hadn’t heard Kisch and Jacqueline talking.

"Um…" Jacqueline was desperate. "Have you ever been to Canada?" No! Don’t invite him to Canada! It’s so boring! Stupid, stupid, stupid!

"No, why? Oh, that’s right. You’re from there, aren’t you?"

Duh, Mick! "Yes, I am."

"Oh."

Jacqueline cleared her throat. Mick looked at her. "Um, do you want to go?"

"To Canada?"

"Yes."

"Uh…I don’t know, I’ve never thought about it."

"Oh." Jacqueline was cursing herself. This was getting nowhere! Lord, help me out! Give me a sign!

As soon as that thought had crossed Jacqueline’s mind, Woody walked into the room with a towel wrapped round his waist. "Hey," he started.

"That was a short bath," Mick said.

"No, we’re not done. So," Woody said, "Kisch and I were talking. We thought it would be a good idea for you two to come with us to Switzerland."

"Whoa! Switzerland!" Mick said in surprise. "Where did that one come from?"

Jacqueline chuckled to herself. "Where have you been?" Mick stuck his tongue out at her.

"Anyway," Woody continued, noting Mick’s comical behaviour, "You can come with us if you’d like. That is, if you feel the same way about each other like Kisch and I do."

Mick and Jacqueline looked at each other and laughed. It seemed that they had a more fun and humorous relationship than Kisch and Woody’s more serious one. "Well sure!" Mick said. "Of course we’ll go!" Jacqueline threw herself on him and kissed him, laughing. "Whoa now," Mick said as he laughed along with her.

"Then that’s that," Woody walked out of the room.

"Oh! This is wonderful!" Jacqueline hugged Mick. "Thank you!"

"You bet," Mick smiled sweetly. "Anything for my Jackie."

Ring! Ring! rang the doorbell. It caught Jacqueline off guard. "Whoa! What is that?"

"Sounds like the doorbell," Mick answered. "Should we get it?"

"I suppose," Jacqueline got off the bed. "After all, it might be important." They got up and walked towards the door. Mick opened it.

Standing in the doorway before them was an odd figure. He was rather tall and lanky, and he wore extremely thick glasses that magnified his eyes. He was dressed very conservatively.

"Hello?" Mick asked. He had to try very hard to keep from laughing at this comical figure.

"I don’t know who you are, but I’m here to see Margaret." The person pushed his glasses up his nose. "Where is she?"

What a square! Jacqueline thought to herself. "What is your business?" She stifled a chuckle and the young man looked at her quizzically, much as a bird examines an object.

"I am Margaret’s friend, Andy," the man looked irritated. He seemed to be somewhat full of himself, also. "I’m here to see her. Now if you would be so kind as to stand aside and let me in—"

"Now hold it there!" Mick blocked the doorway. Andy was taller than Mick was but Mick was surely stronger. "We can’t have some bloke we don’t know just come into Margaret’s flat," Mick crossed his arms over his chest. "We need a legitimate reason."

"What are you talking about? I’ve visited Margaret lots of times without reason. And now…" Andy studied Mick’s sequinned jumpsuit. "Today I won’t have some…some girly boy telling me what to do."

Mick almost exploded, but Jacqueline quieted him down. Jacqueline told Andy, "Hold on right there. I’ll go check and see what Margaret’s doing."

"She’s probably up to no good if she’s with you people," Andy muttered under his breath.

Mick apparently heard this. "What was that?" He glared at Andy.

"You two can wait here," Jacqueline coolly said, inviting Andy inside. On the inside, Jacqueline was actually freaking out; she was luckily able to contain her fright this time. She nonchalantly walked to the bathroom, where she knew Kisch and Woody were bathing.

Jacqueline peeked her head into the bathroom. Kisch and Woody were kissing amidst the bubbles. Jacqueline walked in and shut the door behind her. Kisch looked up and gasped, but was silenced by Jacqueline’s sporadic shushing.

"What’s going on?" Kisch whispered, covering her front.

Jacqueline averted her eyes and fixed them on the bare wall. "One of Margaret’s friends are here," Jacqueline said hurriedly. "He’s a real square and his name is Andy. Remember that. Anyway, right. Kisch, pretend you’re Margaret. You know, do a fake English accent. And Woody, just be quiet."

"Um…okay," a slightly confused Kisch replied. Woody nodded.

Jacqueline stepped out of the bathroom and said to Andy, "Margaret’s taking a bath."

Andy scratched his chin. "Margaret?" he called.

Kisch was washing her hair when she received a sharp jab from Woody. "Ow! Oh, um…Hallo, Andy," Kisch did in her best British accent. "How are you?"

"I’m fine…" Andy was gathering thoughts in his mind. Finally, it hit him: he knew just the trick to see if it was actually Margaret that he was talking to. "Say, how’s that crisis of yours?" He grinned evilly and chuckled to himself. He really loved to be on the verge of immoral like this.

"Crisis?" Kisch didn’t know what to say.

"Yes, remember? The crisis?"

"What are you talking about?" Kisch accidentally let her Russian accent slip through. She had a terrible feeling inside of her. "Oh, that," she said hurriedly with an English accent and a nervous laugh.

But before Kisch could fix the tense situation she had got herself into, Andy strode over to the bathroom, throwing both Mick and Jacqueline to the side as they tried to keep him from going any further—and threw open the bathroom door. He was met with a blood-curdling scream compliments of Kisch and some obscene phrases thrown out by Woody.

Amidst all of the confusion, Andy stood there laughing, completely full of himself. "Wait until I tell Margaret’s parents! HAHAHA!" He doubled over in laughter, but paused for a second or two. He really didn’t want to hurt Margaret…he loved her so much. What was he to do? "Um…where is Margaret? Seriously?"

"Um…" Jacqueline looked the other way, away from the stare of Andy’s eyes.

Mick butted in, his face all blotchy with anger. "What’s it to you?"

"Well," Andy started. "I…I happen to be her boyfriend," Andy said confidently. A little lie could go a long way.

Jacqueline laughed out loud. "You? Margaret’s boyfriend?" She doubled over in laughter. "I don’t think so!"

"And why not?" asked Andy, sticking his nose in the air.

"Because she is at her boyfriend’s hotel—oh, crap!" Jacqueline covered her mouth. She had let it slip!

"Ah, hotel, eh? Well, I’ll be sure her parents find out about this one! And then they’ll make her marry me!" Andy laughed and stormed out of the flat. He slammed the door loudly upon his exit.

"Oh, crap! I can’t believe I let that go like that!" Jacqueline sunk to the floor. Mick put his arm around her.

"It’s okay, it’s okay," Mick said reassuringly.

It certainly would be interesting when Margaret’s parents found out where she really was.

"Are you sure you don’t mind if I wear this, Angie?" Margaret was picking out clothes to wear out of Angie’s wardrobe since she didn’t have any clothes of her own with her. Margaret chose a low-cut pink baby doll t-shirt and some tight blue jeans that flared at the bottom. "This okay?" She held them up. "I mean, I hate to take this stuff from you."

"Those are fine," Angie nodded. "Take them! It’s okay. With a figure like yours, it’s hard to say no!"

"Oh, Angie!" Margaret laughed. "I just hope they fit."

"Try them on, they probably will." Angie was picking out clothes for herself. "Do you need a bra or anything?"

"Um…I guess so…but I feel so bad! I’m just taking your stuff!"

"Seriously, it’s okay. I can go buy some new clothes exactly like that just a few blocks away. Here, take these knickers and this push-up bra." Angie handed Margaret the undergarments.

"You’re too kind," Margaret beamed. She took off her towel that was wrapped around her body and started to put the clothes on. They fit perfectly. "Wow! These feel great!" Margaret walked over to the mirror and spun around a few times.

Angie eyed Margaret extensively. "Yes, they do look good. Mmm!"

"Oh, where’s David?" Margaret walked over to the closet and stood next to Angie. She put her arm around her waist.

"He’s in the other room, talking to his manager. I guess Tony wants to give Mick a solo deal." Angie smiled. "But I’m just a girl, I don’t know," Angie giggled. She gave Margaret a kiss.

"Oh! I must be going soon!" Margaret realised she had to be getting back to her flat before her parents found out about anything. "And I need a locksmith, to unlock my car. I locked the keys inside my Volkswagen at the Hammersmith Odeon parking lot. Oh, and I almost forgot to thank you for the wonderful breakfast. It was delicious!"

"No problem! It was good, wasn’t it?" Angie flashed one of her cute smiles. "I’ll ring up a locksmith for you," Angie walked over to the phone. She dialled the operator gingerly and was transferred to the locksmith. When she hung up, she said, "He’ll be there in about thirty minutes. We need to get you to the Hammersmith Odeon, don’t we? I’ll get David to go with you in a limo."

"That really isn’t necessary…" Margaret did like limousines, though.

"I insist! I’ll go too."

"Okay! Sounds like a plan."

Thomas, groggy and sleepy-eyed, sat up. He rubbed his eyes. "Ohhh…" he moaned. His back and his stomach hurt a lot. "Oh, God!" He looked around. "Wha…? Where am I?" He got off the messy bed and stretched. He tried to remember where he was. "I don’t know!" He shook his head and walked out of the room.

Upon exiting the bedroom, he saw four people sitting in what appeared to be a living room. As soon as he saw the people, the memories of the night before came flooding back…the concert, the fun, the alcohol…but most especially, Margaret. Where did she go? Where was she now?

"Hi," Thomas said to his friends.

They all turned around and exchanged glances. "Hello," they returned.

Jacqueline smiled nervously at Thomas. "Um…how was your sleep?" Jacqueline looked down at her hands. Neither she nor any of her friends wanted Thomas to know about Margaret. Jacqueline knew he would be crushed.

"Yeah, it was good," Thomas said, absent-minded. "Say, where’s Margaret?" He looked at everyone as they looked elsewhere. "What? What happened? Is she hurt? Oh, God! I wouldn’t be able to live if she’s…" Thomas trailed off.

"Oh, no, Thomas," Kisch said soothingly. "She’s alright. Um…" She gave Woody a glance that said, A little help here?! Woody glanced back at her with, What? He rolled his eyes as Kisch glared at him. Fine, he thought back to her.

"Thomas, Margaret’s not here," Woody said slowly. "But she’s alright."

"Then where is she?"

"She’s…um…" Woody thought of something to say.

Mick decided to put in his two cents. "She had to go somewhere with somebody. It was a quick and, um…important decision. Yes, that’s it. I don’t know exactly where she is, but I have an idea." Mick was impressed with himself.

"And where would that be?" Thomas was getting tired of this game. "Just tell me where she is! God!"

"Sorry," Jacqueline said sarcastically. "Look, she’s at a hotel, okay? That’s right. Which one, you may ask? I’ll tell you. She’s at the Savoy!"

"The Savoy?" Thomas looked at Jacqueline, wide-eyed. "What in heaven’s name is she doing there?" Jacqueline chuckled to herself as she thought of what Margaret could be doing at that moment in time.

"She went there because somebody asked her to," Kisch said nervously. "Yes. They asked her to go, and she went. She went indeed. And—"

"Look here," Jacqueline said. "You wanna know what’s going on? Alright! Margaret’s shackin’ up with Bowie!"

Thomas was flooded with emotions…anger, disbelief, confusion…he could not believe it. "What? Are you serious?" The group nodded their heads. "Oh, God! Why would Margaret leave me like this? I thought she loved me! I was going to ask her to come back to Philadelphia with me! Oh, no!" Thomas fell to the ground and wept.

Jacqueline was about to say something like "But she never liked you anyway" but she had second thoughts. That would totally be kicking him when he was down. Instead, she moved over to him and patted him on the back. "Thomas," she said gently, "It’ll be okay."

Thomas looked at Jacqueline. "But I loved her! I gave my heart to Margaret, and what does she do? Throw it away like a rotten apple!" Thomas sobbed. "It just isn’t fair, Jacqueline! It just isn’t fair." Thomas thought about life in Philadelphia. He did have a girlfriend whom he had forgotten about…she was beautiful, with long, blonde hair and hazel eyes. He instantly remembered the promise he made to her of getting back right away. Thomas wondered how on earth he could have forgotten about Mandy. He collected himself and wiped away his tears. "Thank you, Jacqueline," he gave her a hug. "I should be going now." Thomas stood up, and Jacqueline followed.

"Are you alright?" Jacqueline asked. She wondered why he had stopped crying so abruptly. It was a little odd.

"Yes, I’m fine," Thomas smiled. "My girl back home needs to see me." He walked to the door after giving them all hugs. "Goodbye, my friends," he said as he opened the door. "Tell Margaret that I’ll never forget her." With that, he waved and walked out of the flat.

Kisch started to cry. "It’s so sad," she leaned on Woody’s shoulder. "I mean, she never liked him and he seemed to like her so much."

"Yeah, but then he said he had a girlfriend back home," Mick said. "I wasn’t expecting that." Jacqueline looked at Mick. "What?"

Jacqueline laughed. "Mick, it’s not like he was ugly or something! He had a fine body." Everyone laughed along with her. Jacqueline abruptly stopped and said, "Wait a minute! What are we going to do about Margaret? She’s going to get in so much trouble!"

"Honestly, Jacqueline," Mick said, "What can we do?"

Jacqueline stared into space. "I—I don’t know."

"Wow, you’re pretty good at that," Margaret said to the locksmith as he picked Margaret’s lock on her car. She still couldn’t believe she was stupid enough to lock her keys in her car. She felt pretty embarrassed with herself at that moment—David, Angie, and herself all standing in the parking lot watching the locksmith do his job—she almost hated herself for it.

"It’s my job, Miss," the locksmith replied.

"Oh, God! What time is it?" Margaret was afraid that her parents would soon notice her absence. That was the last thing she needed right then.

"Oh, it’s around ten," David replied. "Your parents, right?"

Margaret nodded sombrely.

"Don’t worry, love," Angie said, patting Margaret on the shoulder. "Nothing will happen."

"Hopefully," Margaret said. "Oh, they’d be so mad at me!"

"Everything’s alright," David said. "Oh, speaking of which, what do you think of that song?"

"What? Everything’s Alright?" Margaret looked at him, puzzled.

"Yes. I’m looking into doing a cover album before I do the Orwell thing."

"Oh! Well, then. It’s okay, I suppose. I really liked The Yardbirds and The Who back in the sixties. And what was that one song…um…" Margaret thought about the song. "Sorrow…is there such a song?"

David thought for a while. "Yes! Oh, I remember that one! By The Merseys, right?"

"Yes! That’s it! Now how did it go…"

"With your long blonde hair and your eyes of blue…" David sang.

Margaret picked it up from there. "The only thing I ever got from you was…"

"Sorrow." Angie finished. "It’s a good tune, David. You should do that one."

"Yes, I think I might," David smiled at Margaret. "Thanks for the inspiration."

"Aw, gee…me?" Margaret blushed.

"Alright then," the locksmith got up and gathered his tools. "It’s done. Here you go." He opened the door.

"Wow! Thank you so much!" Margaret ran to her car.

"Where should I send the bill?" the locksmith asked.

"This should take care of it," David slipped him a 20 pound note.

"Thank you, sir!" The locksmith shook his hand and happily jumped into his car and drove off.

"I wonder if that guy knew who you two are," Margaret asked. "Hmm."

"I don’t know…" David looked at the sky. "Nice day today."

"Yes, I suppose," Angie said. "So, Margaret, darling. Do you want to go somewhere? There’s a great club not far from here."

"Oh, I’d love to, but I can’t!" Margaret was sad. "I really must get back to my parents’ flat before they notice I’m gone."

"And you’re how old?" laughed Angie.

"Oh, I know, but they’re so overbearing! I—I just don’t know why."

"Are you going then?" David asked as he fixed his hair. He seemed rather cool and sober about it all.

Margaret, however, was very downhearted. "Oh, I don’t want to go!" She threw herself onto David and Angie for a big hug.

Angie patted her on the back. "Dear, you must go. You have our number, right?"

"Yes," Margaret sniffed.

"So give us a ring if you’re ever lonely." Angie smiled.

"Or bored!" David laughed.

"Quite right." Angie added.

"Oh, how can I ever thank you? Last night was wonderful!" Margaret smiled and hugged them hard.

"It was our pleasure, believe me," David smiled back. "Have you any friends? Angie, you, your chums, and me could get together sometime, you know. It would be really fun."

"Ooh, yes! That would be great!" Margaret beamed.

"Well, keep your nights open," David said with a wink.

"Yeah," Angie added, "Don’t plan anything! Next time I’ll stay around."

Margaret giggled. "Alright, I won’t plan anything! You have my number too, right?" She couldn’t believe her ears…an orgy with David, Angie, and her friends!

Angie reached into her pocket. "Yes, here it is!"

"Oh, you two, I really must be going." Margaret kissed them both.

"Goodbye until then, love," David said. Angie and David stepped into the limo and rolled down the windows. "Goodbye!" David yelled.

"Bye bye!" Angie waved.

"Goodbye!" Margaret smiled and waved enthusiastically. "Oh, my," she sighed and smiled to herself as they drove off, leaving Margaret in a grey cloud of exhaust. She climbed into her car and turned the key. She was relieved when she heard the motor start running. As she pulled out of the parking lot in Angie’s cute outfit, she hummed an old Beatles tune: "I have to admit it’s getting better, and better all the time…"

"Alright, is everybody ready to go?" Mick asked. The others nodded their consent.

Everyone was so excited, especially Jacqueline and Kisch. They were two average girls about to go on holiday to Switzerland with their dream men. Jacqueline giggled. "Pinch me, I must be dreaming," she said. Mick grinned mischievously and pinched her on the seat of her pants. "Ouch! Hey now!" she laughed and slapped him playfully.

Woody laughed to himself. He peeked out the door and saw a black limousine in front of the flat. "Look! The limo’s here." He took Kisch’s arm and walked outside. "Hey, would someone lock that behind them?" Mick nodded. "Okay," Woody said.

Mick looked at Jacqueline as he locked the door. "After you," he said with a smile. He shut the door behind him.

They all climbed into the limo. "First, we’ll go to your hotels, girls, so you can gather up your things," Woody said. "Where are you staying?"

Jacqueline rolled her eyes. "It’s a pretty crappy place with a name that seems important…The Regal, I think."

"Hey!" Kisch said. "That’s where I’m staying too!"

"No kidding! Remember, we planned it all out before we came?"

"Oh, yeah," Kisch laughed. "I kind of forgot."

Woody laughed. "John," he called to the driver, "Take us to a hotel called The Regal."

"Yes, sir, right away," he replied.

"Do you know where it is?" Mick asked.

"Sure I do. I know where every hotel in London is," John said proudly.

"Okay, thanks," Mick said. He pushed the button that raised the divider between the front seat and the spacious backseat.

"Gee," Kisch said, "I’ve never been in a limousine." She looked curiously at all of the commodities it housed…wines, vodka, crystal glasses, and a very nice radio. "Ooh! May I turn the radio on?"

"Go for it," Mick said. Kisch turned it on.

Jacqueline immediately recognised the song. "I love this song! You know, what’s it called…"

"Oh! ‘I have to admit it’s getting better…" Woody sang.

" ‘And better all the time,’" Mick finished.

"The Beatles were so cool!" Kisch said. "I love that one song, it goes…um…oh! ‘Back in the USSR!’ I couldn’t believe they were singing about my own country!"

The four friends sang together as the limo pulled away from the flat. "Goodbye, Margaret’s flat," Jacqueline waved out the window. "Too bad we didn’t get to really say goodbye to her." She sighed deeply, but was quickly cheered up when Mick gave her a kiss.

"Yeah, it’s too bad," said Kisch. "She’s so nice and funny. Oh well, there’s always next time, right?"

"Right," Jacqueline nodded. But for some reason, she sensed that she would never be able to see Margaret again.

---This page last modified: 16 Dec 2018--

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