"Egon!" Janine cried as the Ghostbusters arrived back from another call, rushing over to Spengler. "I have some great news!"
"You do?"
"Yes—my cousin's daughter is having her Bat Mitzvah, and I'm invited. Want to be my plus one?"
He turned quickly to look at Peter, Winston, and Ray, who'd overheard the conversation and all three of them nodded in approval. Peter even gave him a thumbs-up.
Focusing his attention back to Janine, Egon replied, "I'll go with you. When is it?"
"Oh, in a few months. I just have to R.S.V.P. in advance."
Janine returned to her desk and Egon joined the others upstairs.
"I've never met her family," he said. "Is this really a good idea?"
"Egon," began Winston, "You like Janine, don't you? You should go to support her."
"I suppose you're right. I have nothing to worry about; it's not like she's asking me to go to a wedding."
The big day arrived, and Egon was flabbergasted by the amount of children present who knew who he was and wanted his autograph. One of Janine's nephews even wanted to be a Ghostbuster when he grew up.
"Janine!" said a woman with long red hair, a smile on her face. "How wonderful of you to come! Is this your Egon fella?"
"Egon," Janine said, pulling him away from the group of junior Ghostbuster fanatics. "This is my cousin Phyllis. Her daughter, Jennifer, is the one we're celebrating today."
"Hello," he said, extending his hand. "Dr. Egon Spengler."
Phyllis took it and replied, "Pleased to meet you! Janine has told us a lot about you."
"She has?"
His question went unanswered as another small voice called out "Dr. Spengler!"
Egon turned around and saw a girl with curly auburn hair looking up at him. "Hello there."
"Wow!" she said with a smile. "It's really you! A real Ghostbuster is at my Bat Mitzvah!"
"Oh, so you must be Jennifer," Egon smiled, bending over so he was at her eye level.
"You know," Jennifer said, lowering her voice. "At first, I didn't believe Aunt Janine when she said that she knew you."
"Your Aunt Janine is the best secretary that the other Ghostbusters and I could ask for. She always gets the job done."
"That's so cool!" she exclaimed. "But you have the coolest job. It must be fun to be a scientist that studies ghosts. Ghosts are awesome! Some of my friends don't believe in them, but not me. I know they're real."
"I'm afraid a lot of people feel the way your friends do," replied Egon.
"Can I come visit you guys at your headquarters sometime?"
Before Egon could give her an answer, her mother took her hand. "Come on, sweetie," Phyllis said. "It's almost time for the service to begin. I'm so proud of you!"
He watched as the young girl was ushered into the synagogue. "I think I made a friend, Janine," Egon remarked.
"Oh, Jennifer? She's a sweet kid, isn't she? Come on, let's go and get the good seats."
The service ended which meant it was time for the kids' favorite part of the day: the party. They all piled into cars and drove to a nearby hotel, where the reception was being held. There was a DJ with a seemingly endless record collection, a dance floor, and a large, celebratory cake.
Egon looked at Janine, who was dressed in a pale blue dress with a matching sweater. She was so pretty when she wasn't at work.
"You look very nice today," he said after clearing his throat.
"Oh!" Janine exclaimed, surprised by the compliment. "Thank you, Egon! Hey, do you want to dance?"
Out of the corner of his eye, Egon noticed Jennifer and a few of her friends approaching them.
"Maybe later," he replied. "I think we have company."
Egon found himself being peppered with questions from the kids, and as the group grew larger, he wound up sitting aside Jennifer at the kids' table. Questions ranged from autograph requests to how he makes all of the Ghostbusters' gadgets.
Janine looked on with a smile. She couldn't help but think he looked like a father figure to some of the kids. Meanwhile, Jennifer caught sight of her and got Egon's attention.
"Aunt Janine is looking at you, Dr. Spengler," she whispered. "You should get up and ask her to dance, and I'll tell the DJ to play my favorite record."
"I should?"
"Yeah! She really likes you." With that, Jennifer got up and dashed over to the DJ. In a few seconds, "Holiday" by Madonna blasted through the speakers.
Egon walked over to Janine, straightening his tie. "Sorry about that interruption," he said. "Would you like to dance now? I'll try my best to keep up."
"Of course," Janine smiled.
She started hopping to the beat, and put her arms around Egon's neck. He started out by shifting from foot to foot, occasionally looking down to make sure he didn't step on her feet, and after a few minutes, he started to get the hang of it. By the next song, he felt comfortable dancing. In fact, he felt comfortable enough to twirl Janine around.
When the music switched to something slower, Janine led and Egon followed. They swayed in a circle, her head on his chest (she couldn't reach his shoulder) and her arms around him. Once she managed to ignore the slow-dancing thirteen-year-olds that took up the dance floor, it was pretty romantic.
At the end of the night, Janine and Egon congratulated Jennifer, said their goodbyes, and left hand in hand. As they were walking back to the car, she looked up and noticed he was smiling.
"You look like you enjoyed yourself," remarked Janine.
"I was reluctant at first, considering I don't know your family," Egon began, "But I think the enthusiasm of all the children helped win me over."
"I think that's very nice."
"And my attempt at dancing turned out much better than the last time I tried it, although I'm not sure I'd want to do it again any time soon."
"Egon?"
"Yes?"
She stood on her toes and placed a kiss on his cheek, said "Thanks for coming with me," and they walked off into the night.
