"A few?" Barbara shrieked at Charlotte's armful of records. It "By Jove! What do you have?"

"Let me think..." Charlotte pondered. "Andrew Sisters, Glenn Miller, Perry Como-"

"Perfect!"

"Barb! Barbara!" A distant young voice called.

"Hi, Amelia!" Barbara greeted as she hugged the sixteen-year-old. "Just so you know, Clara's here."

"And Edward, right?"

"I think so." The red-head turned to Charlotte. "Charlotte, I don't think you've met Amelia."

"Amelia...Hawkinson?" Charlotte guessed.

"Mm-hm." Amelia confirmed.

"I haven't met you yet but I heard quite a bit of her from your brother Jeffrey, one of my classmates. Nice to meet you, Amelia. I would shake your hand but I guess that's out of the question right now."

"Cool! You're the girl Jeff keeps talking about! You're quite the rage at home!" Amelia cried. "Well, I've got some socializing to do, so ta-ta!" And with that, she took off like a hawk for its prey. Charlotte and Barbara each hid a laugh about the brief conversation with the girl.

"I think I'll be going," Charlotte said turning around. "It was-"

"No! Wait!" Barbara halted as she grabbed the American's arm. "Quite a few people I invited couldn't make it tonight. So, could you stay and...um..."

"Fill in the shoes of someone absent and eat their plate?" Charlotte finished.

"Yes! Thank you!"

"Sure I'll stay. I'm just picking up a few more records I left in the foyer."

Sure enough, Charlotte fetched the rest of her records and with Barbara's distant yet hyper light jumping speed-walked back to her friend. She was about fifteen feet away when—"Oomph!" Her voice and another's exclaimed in unison. The sound of records in their paper cases falling onto the floor made her look down without even bothering to see who was her collision victim.

"I beg your pardon," The voice, sounding male, apologized.

"That's alright." She assured. As the retrieval of the several black discs was nearly complete, she responded, "And thank you very..." She looked up as the records were handed to her only to see who it was. "...much..."

"Charlotte," Jeffrey spoke up and smiled. Charlotte nervously smiled back. Ever since that dream, she had been paranoid about her identity while in his presence. "What a surprise...what are you doing here?"

"Well...I..." She glanced between the brunette and the lively shindig. "You know the hostess, Barbara, right?"

"Mm-hm."

"So, Barbara found out through friends that my family, well my dad basically, possesses a 'large' record collection. How about you?"

"Nothing significant; just dropping off my sister and returning to the Weavers, and that's it." Before he could walk away, Barbara speed-walked excitedly towards the two.

"Thanks, Charlotte," She beamed, taking the records from Charlotte's arms. "Hi, Jeffrey. What's going on?"

"Nothing; I was just leaving."

"Oh, you should stay. Really."

"Miss McGrath, I'm afraid not."

"Please? A lot of people I invited couldn't come tonight." The red-headed hyper enthusiast looked up at him pleadingly. "Charlotte and quite a few people are here for that reason." It was apparent Barbara wasn't winning the case. "Please, Jeff; my parents really don't like it at all when there's lots of food and drink left over." At the timing of an Andrews Sisters song coming to an end, she hurried towards the dance floor. "Hang on a moment; I'm needed right now."

"Yes, well, I guess my being here or not is settled." Jeffrey spoke out of the blue a few seconds after Barbara left.

"So you're staying?" Charlotte asked.

He smiled. "Yes."

"Everyone! Your attention, please!" Barbara called from a small platform. "We're giving the records a recess. In a substitute of the wonderful musicians you've heard, may I present to you, the renowned duet of Clark Mann and Lucille Wiggins." The party guests lightly applauded the two high school students coming up to the platform.

"They go to the high school Amelia attends, and from what I've heard they must be very good." Jeffrey said. "Have you heard them before?"

"No, not yet I haven't. I just know Barbara said something about a duet singing tonight."

The lighting faded to a mild soothing tone, leaving only a few bulbs as they were before. A young man about Jeffrey and Charlotte's age sat down at the baby grand piano, and a teenage boy and girl ascended to the platform beside the large percussion instrument. The pianist began with a soft prelude to the melody he was to play. Staring dreamily at the ceiling, the young duet inhaled a breath or two before beginning their song. Clark crooned,

When I fall in love

It will be forever

Or I'll never fall in love

In a restless world like this is

Love has ended before it's begun

Jeffrey glanced at Charlotte as she smiled, admiring the duet. After reluctantly volunteering to stay at a party full of teenagers, he might as well.

"May I have this dance?" He asked, formally offering his hand.

And too many moonlight kisses

Seem to cool in the warmth of the sun

"It would be my pleasure." She surrendered her hand to his, and he led her in a descent to the dance floor. Not wanting to disrupt others' graceful dances, they stopped outside the cluster.

Following the law of ladies first, she laid a hand on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her back. They started out with the gentle swaying everyone else was doing. Lucille stepped out of her silence to finish the rest of the chorus.

When I give my heart

It will be completely

Or I'll never give my heart

And the moment

I can feel that

You feel that way too

Is when I fall in love

With you

Jeffrey smiled smugly with a mischievous look in his blue eyes. Charlotte raised her eyebrow. "What?"

"Let's say we try out what we've learned over the years, shall we?"

At the observation that they weren't in the middle of the dancers and thus and room to break out into extravagant dance steps, she replied, "Let's shall."

The singing duet joined each other to repeat the chorus together. The dancing duet danced as smoothly as if they were figure skaters in an ice rink. He held out his arm as she spun out and back into him. To her surprise during another spin, he lifted her off the ground. Instead putting on the air of passionate dancing by tilting her head back with her eyes closed, she simply stared down at him.

They continued in an extravagant show of fluid spins and rapid feet maneuvers that would've made one's head swim. The dreamy dance began to decline when Amelia swayed next to them and whispered "pst!" before turning away. Jeffrey turned his head. "Keep at it!" She whispered before she was spun any farther by her dance partner.

"What was that?" Charlotte asked after her partner's sister turned away.

"Nothing." Jeffrey grinned.

"Amelia?" She guessed.

"Mm, yes, the little imp."

Jeffrey and Charlotte stood out on the dance floor with more elegant complex maneuvers. Clark and Lucille tranquilly ended their song with a delicate vocalization, and a series of applause followed. The music from the record player began to play again, and the dance floor participants swayed to the rhythm of a gentle jazz orchestra.

She stared into the Brit's blue eyes. This was all so wonderful…so wonderful that it should never come to a finish. A thought from the back of her mind began pricking at her. Should she tell him?

"Charlotte?" His voice penetrated her thoughts.

"Hm?"

"May I say one thing?"

"Sure."

Oh, God, if you exist, please! Please! Please! I hope nobody told him. I wanna be the one to tell him.

"You and I have been friends for quite some time for the past nearly four years in our dance classes. And…"

"Yes?"

God, please! No, no!

"You're one of my dearest friends."

"…Really?"

"Absolutely. You've been one of the few who actually take an interest in what I do and love. You're an astounding woman, Charlotte. And I don't come across anyone like that every day."

Charlotte's thoughts of fear died down. Aside from the fact that he was one of the few who never called her "Lottie", she didn't know what to say. Only, "…wow…

"I'm sorry, Jeff; I don't know what to say."

He chuckled. "That's alright. Before I leave, I'll say one more thing. When we have the time out of our busy schedules, there's something I want to show you." He turned to his sister and was reminded of the fact she had to be taken home. "I'll see you soon. Good night, Charlotte."

"Good night." She called back.

"…Astounding…" What was so astounding about a dead hoofer Yankee con girl? Astounding that she could keep a secret for so long? Astounding…what was so astounding?

"Charlotte!" She heard a voice call that made her turn around.

"Barbara, hi. What is it?"

"Thanks so much for helping me with tonight. I'll return the records as soon as I can."

"Alright." The American froze again.

She was going to have to tell him.

Holy, it's been a while, sorry. And on the song, I heard it on a Céline Dion CD and enjoyed it so much I set their dance to it. I researched it to see if I could really do it and WOO HOO! It existed in the 50s!