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“Who wants to play cards?” Micky asked, holding up a deck.
The other three Monkees, who had been previously occupied by the TV, looked up with interest.
“I’d love to,” Peter spoke up first, smiling at Micky. “What sort of game?”
“It’s something special,” Micky explained as he sat at the kitchen table, beckoning the others over. “I guarantee that none of you know it, but that’s okay. I’m happy to explain the rules.”
“Does this game have a name?” Davy asked, getting up alongside the other two to join Micky at the table.
“Can’t remember,” Micky shrugged as he began to shuffle. “Maybe it’ll come back to me as we play.”
“You’re bein’ awful suspicious,” Mike teased, gently elbowing Micky in the side. “I’ve got half a mind to think you’re planning some sorta trick.”
“Me? Never,” Micky scoffed, dramatically rolling his eyes.
“So how do you play?” Peter asked eagerly, drumming his fingers against the wooden table. “Is it similar to anything we might know?”
“Nope.” Micky pushed back his chair from the table and stood up. The others followed him with their eyes as he walked to the center of the room, hoisted the deck above his head, and with a dramatic sweep, he tossed the cards across the floor as he shouted, “52 card pickup!”
“52 card what?” Davy gawked, watching the cards fall slowly to the ground.
“You throw the cards, then someone picks them up,” Micky explained, sweeping his hand out as if to showcase the mess he had made of the floor.
“That’s a game?” Mike raised a skeptical eyebrow.
“It doesn’t sound too bad,” Peter shrugged. “If we’re doing it together, then I’m happy!”
“Ah, well, you see, actually the person to pick up the cards has to be… the person sitting to the right of the dealer,” Micky clarified. “So… oh, what do you know? Mike! That’s you!”
Peter and Davy looked between Mike and Micky. Davy’s eyes suddenly widened with recognition. “Oh- Oh, yeah! Of course, how could I forget! I know this game too!”
“Really?” Mike turned to look at Davy.
Davy shot a quick glance to Micky, who winked at him with obvious delight, before he looked back at Mike. “Yep, absolutely. It’s a classic! Don’t know how I forgot about it. I used to play back in England. We called it… um… Tosser.”
“It’s that the word for someone who mast-” Peter began, but Davy slapped a hand over his mouth, using his available hand to tousle Peter’s hair affectionately.
“Nope! Just the name of the game!” Davy giggled. “C’mon, don’tcha wanna see Mike play?”
Peter paused for a moment, the cogs in his head turning, before his eyes lit up. Davy could feel Peter smiling against his hand before he nodded enthusiastically.
Mike begrudgingly stood up, shuffling towards Micky. “Y’all are lucky I love ya,” he muttered.
“So you’ll play?” Micky beamed, flopping back onto a nearby armchair to watch the show.
“Unless any of you plan on picking these cards up soon, I might as well just do it,” Mike sighed dramatically.
He crouched down slightly, the fabric of his pants stretching to accommodate the new position, and he began to swipe the cards into a pile with the edge of his hand. He figured that it would be easier to do that rather than to pick the cards up one by one.
“No rush!” Davy chirped.
Mike shot a glance back towards the kitchen table. Davy was leaning forward in his seat as if he were watching the races on TV. Meanwhile, Peter was shifting in his seat, seemingly adjusting his-
“Oh!” Mike exclaimed in realization. He slowly turned to look at Micky who was now smiling like the cat who had got the cream.
“Gotcha,” he hummed, resting his head against the palm of his hand as he looked down at Mike, craning his head slightly to get a better view.
“Were you all in on this?”
“Peter and I just figured it out,” Davy shrugged. “Micky’s idea.”
“Can you blame me?” Micky laughed. “I can’t help but want to appreciate what you’ve got.”
“You’re incorrigible,” Mike teased, but as he said that, he lowered himself to his hands and knees, beginning to slowly, painstakingly pick up the cards, one at a time.
Peter cheered, clapping his hands together as he laughed jubilantly. Davy and Micky followed suit, hooting and hollering as Mike continued the ‘game.’ Despite his joking protests, Mike slipped easily into playing into what the others had been looking for. While he wasn’t always quite sure of what his partners saw in his looks (no matter how many times they gushed), he was happy to make them happy.
“Does anyone have another deck?” Davy mock-whispered to Peter.
“Hey, let me finish picking up this one first,” Mike chuckled.