Part 9

[Version A]

Michael smiled to himself as he drove back to the hotel. Quite fortuitously he had found a quaint little shop in the middle of the town which was open amid all the still-closed establishments. The shop didn't have much of a selection, but after searching carefully he was certain he had found what he needed.

After he parked his car in front of the hotel, he quickly glanced at his watch...8:15 A.M. He had to hurry. He had something special in mind for Lisa but he knew he had to meet the others at 9:30 for the filming. He hoped he had enough time.

He exited the car and made his way up to the front door of hotel. He took the small brown paper bag which held the gift and hid it underneath the inside lining of his jacket.

As he passed the lobby, he noticed a few silver trays laid out with things like pastries, toast with jam, and bowls of porridge. Each tray held a cloth napkin folded in a fancy arrangement as well as a set of silverware. An idea came into Michael's head. What better way to surprise Lisa with a sweet gesture like breakfast in bed? Even if he didn't get to spend enough time alone with her this morning to carry out his plan, he figured he'd invite her along to watch him and his friends film the movie.

He was about to walk over and pick up one of the trays when a short, grey-haired, middle-aged maid entered. She looked at Michael curiously.

"May I help you, young man?" she asked.

"Oh....er...may I?" he asked nervously, picking up the tray.

"I'm sorry, those complimentary breakfast trays are for hotel guests only," she replied rather curtly.

Michael raised his eyebrows, surprised that the woman did not notice his presence in the hotel for the past 2 weeks, even though he had seen her on occasion perhaps dozens of times. Perhaps he was just too quiet for her to notice him.

"Er...yes. I know," he answered quietly.

"Then you are a guest, I take it?" she asked.

"Yes...yes I am," he replied, "and I'm rather famished. I've been out all morning and I haven't had a bite to eat. So if you'll excuse me..."

The woman looked at him suspiciously, then retreated back to the kitchen. Michael breathed a sigh of relief. As he was about to make his way upstairs, he noticed a single, delicate red rose sitting in a small, clear vase filled with water, on top of an end table...a perfect finishing touch. He looked around, and upon discovering no one in the room, he picked up the vase and placed it on the tray.

He carefully made his way up the stairs, grateful that the other Pythons weren't around. He giggled as he remembered how Jonesy and Gilliam had forced the others up out of bed and out to the castle, and was lucky that he was able to stay behind. He made his way down the hall, and once he arrived in front of his room he set the tray down on the floor, fished the key out of his pocket and unlocked the door.

He opened the door slowly, then bent down and picked up the tray. He quietly entered the room, and set the tray on top of a small table near one of the windows. He walked over to the bed where Lisa had been sleeping, and grinned as he noticed she was still asleep. That girl could really sleep, maybe I got her a bit too pissed last night, he thought to himself. He checked his watch. 8:45 A.M. He spotted his costume bag on the floor next to his bed, and decided he'd get his costume on so he'd be ready. He grabbed the bag and headed toward the bathroom. Hopefully she wouldn't wake up before he finished.

He quickly changed out of his jeans and sweater, and pulled his knitted wool "chain mail" armour on. Then he pulled a long white tunic with a big, red cross on the front over the armour. Last but not least came his knitted wool "chain mail" knight hood. He pulled it on over his head, and let it sit across his shoulders.

Facing the mirror, he picked up the comb he had lying on the side of the sink and combed his hair down and across his forehead.

He exited the bathroom and smiled as he noticed Lisa was still asleep. He gingerly walked over to the table, picked up the tray and walked back over toward the foot of Lisa's bed. He smiled at her. She looked like an angel as she slept.

"Lisa?" he whispered.

She did not stir.

"Lisa?" he said a bit louder as he nudged her gently.

Finally she woke up. "Mmmm?" she moaned softly. She rubbed her eyes, then, as they focused, they widened in surprise.

There was Michael, standing in front of her wearing a medieval knight's costume and holding a silver breakfast tray. He smiled at her in his sweet, shy way.

"Oh, Michael," she gasped as she slowly sat up.

"Thought you could use some breakfast, love," he said softly.

Lisa couldn't believe her eyes. He set the tray down on the bed in front of her. It contained a bowl of warm porridge with a bit of cinnamon and brown sugar, a small cup of tea, a few pastries and a plate of bacon and eggs. Next to the bowl of porridge was a small clear vase with a single red rose. She was just delighted. Now she knew what she had missed most about him all these years. He never failed to surprise her with a sweet gesture.

He walked over to the side of the bed and bent down as she turned toward him.

"Oh, my knight in shining armour," she smiled. He giggled, and she reached over and gave him a big hug.

She sighed and looked down at the tray. "Now where do I start? It all looks so good," she grinned.

"Well, while you're deciding, do you mind?" he asked as he picked up one of the pastries and began munching on it. "After all, I haven't had a bite to eat yet and I'm feeling just a bit peckish."

She shook her head and giggled. "Uh..no, of course not!"

As he munched on the pastry he grinned at her. "Good. You have no idea how much I appreciate that," he said with his mouth full, as he patted her on the shoulder. She laughed. Ah yes, that was another thing about him...he could never fail to make her laugh.

He watched her finish eating, then picked up the tray and set it down on the floor outside the room. He turned back and walked over toward Lisa, who was sitting on the end of the bed, brushing her hair. She noticed his costume once again.

"Ah...so I guess this is your costume for the movie?"

"Yes, that's right. I'm Sir -"

"No, don't tell me," she interrupted, "Sir Galahad, right?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Well.. I guess you know your Arthurian literature, eh? Not too bad for a science major," he grinned.

"Thanks for the compliment," she grinned back. "I guess you weren't expecting that as I really wasn't into history as much as you were at university."

"Oh, please!" he scoffed. "I could hardly keep you awake while I was reading from Chaucer!"

She giggled. "Yes, I really wasn't into it very much at all, was I? I have to admit that my interest in history and legends was borne out of my job at the library. I started out shelving books in various sections, and happened upon a few classics of Arthurian literature...Malory, Tennyson...and, well..."

"...the rest is history," Michael grinned, finishing her sentence.

She rolled her eyes at the feeble pun, and playfully swatted him. "Oh, you!" she giggled.

He laughed along with her. "You're an incredible girl, you know that?"

He then looked down at her and felt the urge to kiss her all over again. But he stopped and looked at his watch. It was nearly 9:30.

"Oh, Christ," he muttered.

"What's the matter?" she asked, concerned.

"I have a confession to make, Lisa," he began with a worried look on his face. "You've probably been wondering why I'm wearing this costume. Well actually I've been wondering too, the damn thing is so itchy and heavy..." he said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes, "er - no, but anyway I'm afraid we'll have to cancel our plans for the rest of today."

Lisa furrowed her brow in confusion.

Michael sighed and continued. "Early this morning while you were asleep, Terry knocked on the door and informed me that we'd have to reshoot most of the scene we filmed yesterday. Apparently he and Gilliam spent the whole night playing with it and accidentally discarded it in the rubbish heap. So, unfortunately we've all got to trudge back to Doune Castle and reshoot this scene. Actually I should be meeting them there right away."

He watched sadly as her face fell.

"I'm awfully sorry, my dear. I never wanted this to happen." he said with a sadness in his eyes. The sadness disappeared and was replaced by a glimmer of hopefulness. "But, to make up for it, how would you like to come along and watch us film?"

She looked up at him, a smile slowly spreading across her face. "Oh, Michael. I would love that!"

The look in his eyes was one of pure gratefulness. "Wonderful. And we should be finished by 6 o'clock this evening, so we can go out to dinner afterwards, unless you have to be back home."

She shook her head. "No...well, Tess may get hungry..." she admitted thoughtfully.

Michael furrowed his brow in confusion.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she giggled, "Tess is my dog."

Michael nodded his head and grinned. "Ah. I see."

"And I can always ring up my neighbor next door. She's got an extra key, so she could feed Tess for me. I know she wouldn't mind."

"Well. Then I guess everything is settled," Michael answered. He picked up his car keys and costume bag, and took hold of Lisa's arm. "Shall we, my dear?"

She smiled at him. "Yes, thank you, good sir knight!"

He smiled at her and blushed slightly as the exited the room and he locked the door behind them. As they made their way down the stairs, a thought flashed in Lisa's mind. Michael had told her that he never told the other Pythons about her. How would they all react when he arrives with her? She sighed as she realized she'd be about to find out.