Ginger felt the tingly sensation going up her spine as the Skipper stood there with his hands on her forearms. Those deep blue eyes of his remained fixed on her. Not a word was uttered for several moments. Her stomach was full of butterflies... her breathing just a bit shaky. She bit her bottom lip to fight the urge to kiss him.

What the heck is going on here? She thought to herself.

"Pardon me," the Skipper said, as he finally made his way around. He shuffled nervously to the other side, not even making eye contact this time.

"Oh, it's alright," she said then hesitated, "hey Skipper!"

"Yeah?" He said as he turned back around.

"I didn't really come looking for you to thank you again... I... well I... was wondering if you'd like to be my date for my birthday party." She said quite timidly as she looked up at him sheepishly.

"ME? Really?" Was his shocked reply.

"Well.. yeah, of course you."

"You mean you don't want to ask the Professor?"

"No. He was my date for the Halloween party. Besides, I think Mary Ann's got her eye on him. She's still trying to decide between him and Gilligan."

The Skipper let out a bit of a chuckle. "So it's up to you and Mary Ann, huh? Is this a birthday party, or a Sadie Hawkins Dance?"

"Well... you know how Gilligan and the Professor are. It could snow here before either one of those guys would get around to asking Mary Ann or I to go out with them. As for you... you are such a loner. I didn't figure you would ask me either. So I decided to chose."

"Ginger, I'd be honored to escort you to your party," he said calmly. However, deep on the inside, he was as giddy as a school boy. There was so much he had to do. First, he would need Mary Ann to give him a hair cut, then he needed a shave, polish his shoes, press his best shirt... and perhaps chew on a few mints leaves that evening... just in case.

"Good!" She replied with a smile. "See you later?"

"Probably after supper."

"Oh Skipper! Supper too?"

"Sorry Ginger. I'm really busy today. I promise I won't be too late. You and Mary Ann just save me something, ok?"

"Alright," she said as she made her departure.

The Skipper stood there and watched her go. Once she was out of sight, a smile spread across his face as he began to whistle a sea chantey. He made haste back to his wheel barrel and continued his journey to the secluded spot he had picked to build Ginger's present.

Upon arriving there, he immediately began to search for the perfect tree. It needed to be a strong, sturdy limb that would support Ginger, plus the weight of the chains. Also, the back and forth momentum of the swing might be a bit stressful on a limb as well. He automatically ruled out coconut trees. They were way too tall. Finally, he found the perfect one. He began by ripping out the weeds and the brush around the tree. He then began to treat the chains with the formula that had been advised by the Professor.

As he worked, he kept pondering why Ginger had asked him to be her date of all people. Obviously, the Professor was the best looking man on the island... the smartest too. Gilligan, even though he was a bit of a klutz and a nuisance at times, was absolutely irresistible. There was no one who didn't love Gilligan and his naive and trusting nature... even when they tried hard not to. Gilligan just had one of those personalities. He grew on a person. He had an ability of worming his way into one's heart. He was pure, child-like, well meaning... who wouldn't love that? Then the Skipper thought about himself. He was just the plain old Skipper. He was average intelligence, cute at best, and he was far from having any sort of innocence or trusting nature. It didn't make sense for her to chose him.

Maybe she just feels sorry for me... but that doesn't sound like Ginger. Surely she wouldn't chose me out of pity.

However, that is exactly what the Skipper thought. He pondered some more as he continued to work. By the time he had pulled out all the weeds and had treated the chains for rust, it was already past noon.

He took a short break, long enough to scarf down a few bananas and quench his thirst from a nearby spring. Then, it was straight back to work. As he cut and sanded the wood for the seat of the swing, he kept recalling the day Ginger had boarded the Minnow. What a beauty she was! She had just finished a short tour on the lounge circuit and was taking a sabbatical. The night before she had performed at the Luau Lounge... a very prestigious night club that had been located close to the Marina. It was a place the Skipper had frequented often with some of the other sailors that were in the immediate area. He would order a couple of drinks, flirt with Lelani, the head waitress... with which he had an "On again, off again", casual relationship with, and would sit and listen to a bit of off color humor from the other sailors while waiting for the entertainment to begin.

Unfortunately, he hadn't been there for her performance. However, he and all the other passengers sure heard about it as the Minnow shoved off into the ocean. She had talked about the crowd, the thick layer of smoke that hung heavy in the air, saturating her fiery locks with it's scent She talked about all of the encores. She even performed one of the songs she had done. It had been hard for him to pay attention to the sea while watching that goddess shimmy back and forth across the deck as she sang "I Wanna Be Loved By You".

He remembered exactly what she was wearing too. It was a low cut, sleeveless, beaded, white evening gown... with a slit on the side that went clear up past her knee. Her white high heels accentuated her lovely long legs. Her powder blue feather boa she used to wrap around the guys' necks and tickle their nose with it. As she had approached the Skipper on "I couldn't conspire to anything higher,", she had made eye contact with him as she teasingly tickled him under his chin. One look in those beautiful Emerald eyes and he was hooked. Thus, his infatuation with Ginger Grant had begun.

By the time six o'clock had rolled around, the swing was nearly finished. All he had to do tomorrow was to secure the seat to the chains, get the whole thing secured to the tree limb, and decorate it with the silk flowers and ribbon he had acquired. The project hadn't taken as long as he thought. Then he got to thinking though.

What if someone wanders up here and sees what I've been doing? How am I going to hide this? I don't want Ginger to stumble upon it. I want to present it to her myself.

Right then and there, he decided he would come back after all the others had gone to bed and build a fence around it by torchlight. Besides, the fence might be a nice addition, he reasoned. It would give Ginger the feeling of being in her very own back yard.

...

Dinner had been over for nearly an hour now. The Howell's had retired to their hut to listen to the radio. The Professor had retreated to his hut to work on yet another experiment. After Ginger and Mary Ann had finished the last of the dishes, Mary Ann took off with Gilligan to see who could count the most stars. Only Ginger was by herself, sitting at the table, looking through a fashion magazine that she had borrowed from Mrs. Howell. She had been deeply engrossed in an article about hem lines when she heard the Skipper humming "Blow The Man Down".

"Good evening, Ginger," he said with a smile as he tipped his hat.

"Good evening Skipper," she replied as she rose from her spot. "Mary Ann and I saved you some dinner." She left just long enough to dish some lobster bisque into a hollowed out coconut bowl and cut a large slice of banana cream pie for the Skipper.

"Say, this looks good! Boy, am I starved," he replied as he rubbed his hands together and began to dig into his meal. Ginger was just about to adjourn to her hut when the Skipper stopped her.

"Care to join me?"

"Well, I guess," she replied, returning to her seat.

"Oh! This is so good! You two ladies sure know how to turn out a great meal." As he greedily spooned at his soup, Ginger smiled... glad that he was enjoying his meal so much. She felt awkward just sitting there, so she decided to make conversion.

"Skipper," she said as she leaned her cheek on her hand, "I was thinking... well... what were you like as a boy?"

The Skipper stopped eating his pie and just sort of stared at Ginger. The question took him off guard. What a random thing for her to ask.

"Why? "

"Oh, I don't know. It just seems to me that we have been on this island for two years together and what do we really know about each other? I mean, all seven of us know where each other is from, what our occupations used to be, what our dreams were before we got stranded... all the rest is sort of a mystery. Sometimes I wonder if Mary Ann ever pulled a prank in her life, or if the Professor ever had a crush on anyone, or if Gilligan ever uttered a dirty word before... you know what I mean? Am I making any sense?"

"Sure...I guess. Things seem a bit pretentious sometimes... like we are hiding our true selves from each other. "

"Yeah, that's exactly what I mean! I mean, like this morning. What I told you about my mom and dad... I've never told anyone else here. I've not even told that to Mary Ann. She's always talking about how wonderful and how close her mom and dad are. I've always been too embarrassed to tell her about my past."

"So," the Skipper said as he set down his fork,"what would you like to know."

"I don't know... what was your favorite thing to do as a kid?"

"Well, I always did love the sea. Pop was an Admiral in the Navy, so I had spent much time aboard ships. I loved Pop's military life... and it was that same kind of adventure that I knew I wanted for my own someday. However, the worst part of moving on is having to leave friends behind. That's what was hard... moving from one base to another. I'm not exaggerating when I say I think every new school year was spent in a different school. I know it was sure hard on my mother. "Not again, Charles," she would say, "we have to uproot the kids again?". That wasn't to say that mom wouldn't eventually settle down and support our moving in the long run. I guess that's why I loved being a bachelor. The sea had always been my lady. Perhaps one day, when I get all this adventuring out of my system, I might find a nice woman and have the white picket fenced house in the suburbs."

"That sounds like a nice dream, Skipper. I never pictured you the suburban type though."

"Yeah... can you see me in a suit and tie, throwing a briefcase on the couch and shouting "Honey! I'm home! What's for dinner?" The Skipper chuckled at the scenario. Ginger giggled and decided to play along. She rose from her seat and shuffled over to the Skipper throwing her arms around him.

"Darling! Thank heavens you're home! Tinker torn up the Johnson's garden, Buddy sprained his ankle in football, Junior wrecked the Studebaker, and Sissy has two dates for the prom! Whatever would I do without you!"

"Golly Dear... all I asked is what's for dinner."

"Home made pot roast, home made rolls with home made butter. Let's not forget a home made Baked Alaska... just for you my dear."

"Baby, you sure are swell."

"All in a day's work darling."

"And you're still pretty as a picture in your perfectly coiffed hair, your pearls, your heels, and your manicured nails." The Skipper's heart beat a mile a minute as he stared into Ginger's eyes. Their little game had turned serious as he realized he had pulled Ginger into his lap . She sat silently, arms still around his neck. She uttered her next improvisation as she fixed her eyes on him.

"A hard working man like you... deserves a beautiful woman to come home to." Her eyes fluttered shut as the barrier came down. She leaned in and kissed the Skipper gently on the lips.