Appearances May Often Deceive

Thanks so much to all of you that reviewed. I can't tell you what it means to me to hear how much you're all enjoying the story. I loved hearing what you all thought about Jaime. I thought the fact that he was gay was going to be predictable. I'm so happy so many of you were surprised. Your responses make all the hours spent staring at my computer screen worth it. Thanks So Much :D

LaLumacca: Thanks so much for the suggestion. It makes sense that John would ask Mike what his behavior was all about. So I created a conversation between the two of them to kick off this chapter. And it tied in nicely with Mike's plans / thought process for later on in this chapter. So thanks again for the suggestion. It was a really good idea :D

Author's Notes : Okay I lied. I originally planned to put all the events that happened in one day, in one chapter. But I liked the beginning of this chapter so much, I decided to cut it in half. So this day's events will be told in two chapters versus one. I figured all the drama should get its own chapter, and you should enjoy this last piece of fluff before Mike has to leave Pemberley.

I hope this chapter was worth the wait :D

Disclaimer: I do not own Pride and Prejudice, its characters, names or its locations.

Chapter 11

I woke up the next morning and looked out the window. It had snowed during the night. Pemberley looked so peaceful covered in a blanket of snow. As I got up and walked out into the hall towards the bathroom, I noticed movement coming from the window that over looked the Darcy's backyard. As I got closer, I noticed that Amy and Jeff were having a snowball fight as their mother, Christine and Danny looked on from the sidelines. All three were quite amused at the war that had erupted in front of them. It was a sight to be seen. Amy and Jeff would hide behind trees as they replenished their stash of snowballs. They appeared to be experts in their technic, so they had obviously waged these battles before.

At one point, Amy nailed Jeff in the back of the head. He turned and shook his head at her and proceeded to gather more snow to make one massive snowball. Amy saw this and proceeded to climb the tree she had been standing by, while Jeff was to busy constructing his massive snowball to notice. When Jeff finally turned around he was dumbfounded. Where had she gone? He started looking around towards the other trees, thinking that she had hidden herself behind one of them. Amy was clearly visible, but Jeff never bothered to look up once. The three on the sidelines erupted in laughter at Jeff's confusion. He yelled at them with a confused look on his face, but all they did was keep on laughing. I wanted to try to hear what they were saying so I opened the window a little bit.

Jeff yelled at them, "Where is she?"

His son finally pointed up at the tree, and Jeff turned around and looked up at his sister.

"What? Afraid to take your punishment? Doesn't matter. You're a sitting duck up there anyway!" Jeff yelled as he threw his massive snowball at her and missed completely. Amy was so high up that it didn't even get close to her. Amy laughed at his failed attempt and then stuck her tongue out at him.

Yes, that's right. Amelia Darcy just stuck out her tongue like a five year old. "Well you're going to have to get down from there sooner or later! It's not like you can stay up there all day!" Jeff shouted up at her.

"Just watch me!" she yelled back as she rested her back against the trunk, while lifting and crossing her legs onto the branch and resting both hands behind her head. She looked like she was resting on a recliner.

I wonder how long she would have stayed up there. I never got a chance to find out because Jeff started climbing the tree which caused Amy to retreat. She climbed down the other side, then jumped off and ran into the house. Jeff jumped off and ran after her, only to discover that she had locked the door and was laughing through the window.

"Spying on Amy?" John said from behind me, which caused me to jump.

"Don't do that!" I said as I turned and smacked him on the shoulder.

He only laughed and asked, "So what are you looking at?" as he tried to look over my shoulder.

"Nothing," I told him as stepped in front of him, blocking his view.

"Really? So why would you open the window, when it's twenty degrees outside?" John said with a smirk.

"I just wanted a little fresh air. It's a little stuffy in here," I replied.

"Ugh huh," John said crossing his arms over his chest and smiling at me.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked him.

"I just couldn't help but notice the huge smile on your face, when you were gazing out the window," John replied.

"Gazing out the window? I don't gaze! You're losing it. I think you were hallucinating," I told him.

"Hallucinating huh? Was I hallucinating last night when you were acting like a total jerk, because you were jealous of Jaime?" John retorted.

"Jealous! Why should I be jealous of Jaime? He's gay," I told him.

"So you are interested in Amy!" John said triumphantly.

I scoffed at him, "Where did you get an idea like that?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe it was the way you two were sitting on the couch together yesterday. Or maybe it was the fact that you danced with her all night, and never even looked at another girl. Or it could have been the fact that you were being so rude to Jaime, until Katie told you he was gay. But you just confirmed it by saying you weren't jealous of Jaime because he was gay. I could have been implying that you were jealous because he was better looking, or he had more money, or a better job. But oh no, you automatically said you weren't jealous because he was gay. So that means you were bothered by the fact that he was so cozy with Amelia last night. Admit it! You're falling for her!" John finished.

I just sighed and shook my head. No! No! No! Damn it!

"Alright," I mumbled.

"Alright what?" John said, gesturing with his hand for me to continue.

"I'm falling for Amelia," I said with my head down and in a low voice.

"What was that?" he asked putting his hand up to his ear. Ugh! He's really enjoying this a little too much.

"I'm falling for Amelia!" I practically shouted at him.

"Aw! My little brother's finally fallen in love," John said as he put one arm around my shoulder, and messed up my hair with his other hand.

I pushed myself out of his grasp, "Why are you torturing me like this?" I asked him.

"Cause you're so damned stubborn. I don't think you'd actually do something about it. Until you were forced into admitting how you feel," John replied.

I just sighed in frustration.

"So what are you going to do about it?" John asked.

"I don't know," I said as I shrugged my shoulders.

"Well, you know I'm no genius or anything, but I'd start with asking her out on a date," John suggested.

"I know," I told him.

I hadn't told anyone, except Charlie, what happened between me and Amelia at Rosings. The fact that she had already asked me out, and I had rejected her, still plagued my thoughts. I've never felt this way about anyone before. Usually I would just ask a girl out and get to know her better as we dated. I had never gotten to know, and developed feelings for a girl, before I've even asked her out on a date. This all just made me even more nervous, at the thought of asking Amelia to go out with me.

I didn't see Amy for the rest of the day. All day I found myself thinking about her, and wondering what she was doing at that very moment. All of a sudden I would find myself smiling for no reason. I wouldn't even realize it until John or Katie would point it out, and ask what I was thinking about. I would say it was nothing. But John would just smirk at me and start to chuckle. Katie would then look at both of us in confusion.

I finally got my chance to see Amy at dinner. The Darcys had invited us all over, as well as Jaime and his friend Paul. I walked into their house and sat down in the living room. I still hadn't seen Amy yet. Then there she was, running down the stairs in the foyer. When she got to the bottom step she hopped off, while she swung herself around with one hand on the bannister. She then proceeded to walk toward the kitchen. But then suddenly, she stopped in her tracks and quickly turned around. She was about to make a hasty retreat when I heard Mrs. Darcy yell, "Amelia Augusta Darcy!"

Augusta!? Hah Augusta! Amy's middle name is Augusta!

I heard Amy mutter, "Shit," before she turned around and said, "Yes, mother," with a big smile plastered on her face as Mrs. Darcy walked up to her.

"What is the meaning of this?" Mrs. Darcy said holding a cake in her hand, looking annoyed.

"Well, I don't have a dictionary handy at the moment. But I believe it is flour, sugar, milk, eggs and water mixed together and baked," Amy replied with a smile.

"Don't act smart. What is wrong with this picture?" Mrs. Darcy said pointing to the cake.

"Not enough frosting?" Amy replied.

"No," Mrs. Darcy replied flatly.

"Too many walnuts?" Amy asked.

"No," Mrs. Darcy responded.

"It needs some strawberries?" Amy questioned.

"No," Mrs. Darcy said.

"You want to add sprinkles?" Amy asked as wrinkled her nose.

"Amelia! Someone couldn't wait for dessert tonight, and decided to cut a thin slice of cake along all four sides, hoping that I wouldn't notice," Mrs. Darcy said in annoyance.

"Really?" Amy said examining the cake. I could tell she was playing dumb. She was fighting the urge to start laughing.

"Can you tell me who would have done such a thing?" Mrs. Darcy asked with a poignant look.

"Um. That damn dog! I tell you, he gets smarter everyday," Amy replied trying to keep a serious look on her face, but her eyes were laughing.

"Amelia! You ruined my cake!" Mrs. Darcy accused.

Amy tried to act offended by her mother's accusation, "Mom, why would you accuse me of such a thing?"

"Because I know how your pretty little mind works," Mrs. Darcy replied.

Amelia opened her mouth in pretend shock, "You do! Mom you can read minds!? I never knew you were psychic! Here quick, give me next week's lottery numbers!"

I couldn't help but laugh. She was quick.

"Amelia! I don't find you amusing. Do you think you're funny?" Mrs. Darcy said in a stern voice.

"No," Amy said flatly.

"Good," Mrs. Darcy replied.

"I know I am funny," Amy said plastering a big smile on her face.

That is when Mrs. Darcy cracked. She let out a chuckle. I guess this is what she meant about it being hard to punish Amy because she was so amusing.

"Well . . . I am warning you for the last time. Keep your hands off the desserts!" Mrs. Darcy finally said as she turned and walked back towards the kitchen.

Amy was still standing in the foyer when I saw my opportunity to go and talk to her.

"So Augusta huh?" I said with a smirk.

"Shut up," she said irritated.

"No, I like it. It's . . . unique," I said with a laugh.

"It's not like I named myself," she said still not able to look me in the eye.

"It's alright Augusta, no need to be ashamed," I was milking this for all it was worth.

Just then, John walked by and Amy stopped him, "What's Michael's middle name?" she asked.

I stiffened and suddenly became serious.

"Why?" John asked.

"No seriously, I like your name," I interjected hoping that Amy would give up, but she just ignored me.

"Just what is his middle name?" she asked John again, ignoring me.

"Finnaeus," he said.

"Finnaeus?" she said turning to me with a triumphant smirk.

"Hey, it was my grandfather's name," I said defending myself.

"Well Augusta was my grandmother's name," she stated in all seriousness.

"Really?" I asked, thinking we had something in common.

"Well no," she said defeated, "but who are you to talk Finnaeus?"

"You're right," I admitted. "Truce?" I said while sticking out my hand.

"Truce," she said as she shook it.

For whatever reason, I didn't let go of her hand and she didn't snatch it away. We just stood there looking at each other until someone said dinner was ready, and everyone else stood up. We walked into the dinning room where the Darcys had set up an extra table, along with their regular table, to accommodate all their guests. Amy sat down next to her mother and I sat across from her, as everyone else settled down. It was quiet for a second. Then all of a sudden music started playing, "I like big butts and I can not lie . . . " it was Sir Mix-A-Lot's Baby Got Back.

The two tables erupted in laughter until someone finally asked whose cell phone was that. Everyone turned and looked towards the direction where the music was coming from. The cell phone was on a side table next to the wall. Mrs. Darcy got up, walked over to the phone and picked it up.

"Amelia! I told you to stop doing that!" she yelled.

I looked over at Amy and she was in hysterics. I had never seen her like this before, so full of life.

"Do what?" John asked before anyone had a chance to say anything.

"Every time my back is turned, Amelia takes it upon herself to download inappropriate ring tones on to my cell phone," Mrs. Darcy said in frustration.

A couple people giggled at the remark until Mrs. Darcy said, "Oh yeah, you think that is funny now. Last time I was in church when my phone started singing, give it to me baby, I'm pretty fly for a white guy."

With that remark, the two tables erupted in a second round of laughter.

That's when Amy said, "Well mom, that is what you get. You should know better than having your cell phone on in church."

"I forgot to turn it off, alright," Mrs. Darcy replied.

"See, thanks to me, you'll never make that mistake again," Amy countered.

Mrs. Darcy just gave her a look of annoyance, and went back to sit down next to her. "You know how boring your life would be without me. You should be thanking me for making your life interesting," Amy continued.

"Oh why couldn't I have given birth to a stupid child? I wouldn't have gone gray so fast, and I would have saved a fortune on hair dye," Mrs. Darcy muttered.

"Oh mom, you know you love me," Amy said as she laid her head on the top of her mom's shoulder. Mrs. Darcy rested her cheek on the top of Amy's head and turned to kiss her forehead.

I was a little taken a back to witness this touching moment between mother and daughter. How they could go from arguing one minute, to being affectionate with each other the next. I guess that is what Mr. Darcy meant when he said they would switch from being buddy, buddy to arguing in a flash. I felt honored to be able to see the love and affection Amy shared with her family.

We all sat back and enjoyed a pleasant dinner, even with Carl there. We dined on spaghetti, lasagne, fettuccini, garlic cheese bread and salad. At the end of the meal, as everyone was getting up to leave the table, I turned to Mrs. Darcy and said, "Thank you for dinner Mrs. Darcy. It was delicious."

Mrs. Darcy replied, "Don't thank me, thank Amelia. I cooked last night. It was her turn to cook today."

"You cooked!" I said in astonishment, as I turned to look at Amy.

"You know, I should really be offended by the way you just said that," she replied.

"No, it's just that I didn't know you knew how to cook," I replied trying to recover from the shock.

"Of course I can cook. Why do you act so shocked? Did you think I went out every night?" she asked.

"No. It's just that you were running down the stairs when we got here. You weren't coming from the kitchen," I said in my defense. I didn't want to get her mad.

"Well I ran up stairs to change because I stunk of garlic," she replied.

"Oh. So, you did all this all by yourself?" I asked skeptically.

"Of course. Little Miss Martha Stewart won't let me set foot in the kitchen when she is cooking," Mrs. Darcy said mockingly.

"I told you to stop calling me that! And I might let you into the kitchen, if you didn't try to constantly interfere with my recipes," Amy retorted.

"Your recipes? As in, you made them up yourself?" I asked, not believing what I was hearing.

"Yes, I made up my own recipes. And my mother here is banned from entering the kitchen when I cook. She is worse than a backseat driver! She just hovers over me and says, are you going to put onions? Why don't you add some more garlic? Why are you adding breadcrumbs to the meatballs? Ugh! I can't take it, so I kick her out," Amy finished.

"Like I said, another Martha Stewart," Mrs. Darcy retorted.

I followed them into the kitchen as they were clearing the table. I was leaning against the counter as Mrs. Darcy handed Amy a dish towel and said, "Okay Amelia, have fun doing the dishes," as she turned and walked away.

"Hey, hey, hey, wait a second here! Isn't there some rule that the person who cooked does not have to do the dishes?" Amy stated.

"We didn't live by that rule when you were growing up," Mrs. Darcy responded.

"Yes we did. I can remember hundreds of times when you cooked, and you made me do the dishes," Amy countered.

"See you're an expert at it! So what are you complaining about?" Mrs. Darcy asked.

"Ugh! You really need to join the 21st century and buy yourself a dishwasher!" Amy said in frustration.

"Oh honey, why do I have to buy myself a dishwasher, when I have you sweetheart?" Mrs. Darcy replied with a smile.

Amy proceeded to mutter something under her breath, when we all heard Aerosmith's Cryin' start to play. Amy took her cell phone out of her pocket and looked at the number.

"Oh great," she said with a frustrated sigh, as she raised herself to sit on the counter.

"Hi. So what happened this time?" she asked into the phone.

Amelia started shaking her head and laughing in frustration.

"I could kill Emma for recommending her! Okay, can you please tell Harriet that I know it's a good neighborhood, and this has never happened before. But I am sure the neighbors never left a brand new car, parked in the street with the motor running, and the doors unlocked. While they ran inside for twenty minutes, to look for their cell phone. So we are not responsible for her car being stolen. And if she doesn't like it, she can just kiss my . . ."

"Amelia!" Mrs. Darcy yelled.

"What?!" Amy asked with an innocent look on her face.

"I don't like that kind of language," Mrs. Darcy replied.

"Okay, sorry mom. I didn't know you had a problem with that word," Amy responded as she returned to her phone call.

"Anyway, as I was saying, if she doesn't like it, she can just put her lips on my ass!" Amy said into the phone.

"Amelia!" Mrs. Darcy yelled again.

"What?! I didn't say kiss," Amy said, as she looked up with feigned innocence.

"Don't act all innocent with me. You know exactly what I meant," Mrs. Darcy scolded her daughter.

"Excuse me," Amy said into the phone.

"Mom, mom, mom, mom, mom," Amy responded while shaking her head. "Haven't you ever learned it's bad manners to listen in on other people's conversations? I expected better from you," she said as jumped off the counter and walked back into the dining room.

I tried not to laugh as Mrs. Darcy shook her head at her daughter's retreating figure. I then proceeded to walk into the foyer, where I found Carl having a conversation with Jaime and Paul. I normally would have walked right on pass them, but Jaime shot me a look, like I really had to hear what Carl was saying. So I walked over and joined their group. Just as I did, Amy was walking out of the dining room, while shoving her cell phone back in her pocket.

Carl was unaware that Amy was now standing just a few feet behind him. "So you're saying that you and Amy have something going on?" Paul asked Carl.

Uh, poor Paul! This is obviously the first time he has been exposed to Carl. If it wasn't, he wouldn't be asking stupid questions like that.

The mentioning of her name got Amy's attention, as she turned to look in our direction. She crossed her arms over her chest and appeared to be every interested in how Carl would reply.

"Of course, we have been involved for years," Carl responded.

Jaime and I looked at each other and rolled our eyes. Amy scoffed, and made a face of disgust. Then, after a moment, a smile appeared on her face as she walked up to join our group.

"Yes, Carl and I had an illicit affair," she said to Carl's surprise. Not only was he shocked that she had been standing there, but he was also taken a back that she was confirming his lie.

Amy continued, "But poor Carl here, didn't have the stamina to keep up with me. So I had to let him go."

She then turned to Carl and patted him on the shoulder and said in a low voice, pretending to whisper, but knowing full well that we could hear every word, "It's okay hun, they say these things happen to all men at some point in their lives. I hear there are these little blue pills that can help you with your problem."

With a smile on her face, she turned and walked away leaving a mortified Carl in her wake. I could not stop myself. I busted up laughing, and so did Jaime and Paul. Carl deserved it. If he was trying to imply that he was sleeping with Amy, he deserved to face the consequences. He never thought she'd use his lie to turn the tables against him, and make him look like the total and complete idiot that he is.

Carl turned and walked away in a huff. Jaime and Paul then walked over to John to tell him what just happened. As I was leaning against the wall in the foyer, catching my breath after laughing so much, I noticed some photos I hadn't seen yet. I walked over and started examining them. The majority of these photos were more recent.

There was one photo of Amy and Jeff at hockey game. They were both wearing jerseys, and they were either in a sky box or in the nose bleed section. It was evident because you could see the entire arena in the background.

The next photo was an old one of Amy and Katie, when they were probably four or five years old. Katie had on a pink dress and Amy, with her long curly hair, was wearing a red dress with white dots and short sleeves. The dress had a white apron attached to the front as part of the style. Amy was also wearing black shoes. If it wasn't for the paper graduation hats they wore, with yarn hanging down the side to act as a tassels, I would have sworn the photo was from Halloween. And everyone would assume Amy was dressed as Strawberry Shortcake. But, based on the hats, the photo was most likely from their preschool or kindergarten graduation. I guess Karina did an accurate job choosing a nickname for Amy as a child.

The next photo I would've also guessed as being from Halloween. Although, I couldn't really say what Amy was dressed as. The sight of her took my breath away. She was wearing this incredibly sexy, sleeveless, red dress with a V-neckline and a flowing skirt. What made me think the photo was taken on Halloween, was the guy standing next to her with his arm around her waist. The guy had on a pin striped suit, and an old-fashioned hat. He looked like a mobster in one of those old black and white movies. I don't know. Maybe they were dressed as Bonnie and Clyde. Though, I don't think Bonnie ever wore a dress like that!

Katie was walking by and I stopped her. I asked her where the photo was taken and why they were dressed like that.

"Oh, that photo was taken after Amy had performed her final for her dance class in college," Katie said as she suddenly became very excited, "Ooohhh! You want to see the video!?"

By Katie's reaction, I could tell this was going to be good! I just smiled and nodded. I followed Katie as she walked up to Amy in the family room.

"Amy, where's the video of your dance final?" Katie asked sweetly.

Amy suddenly had a look of disbelief on her face, as she eyed Katie and myself, "Why do you want to know?" she asked.

"Because Mike, and I'm sure everyone else here, would like to see it," Katie replied with a smile.

"I burned it," Amy said flatly.

"No you didn't," Katie protested.

"Yeah, I did," Amy retorted.

"I don't believe you. And even if I did, I made several copies just in case you tried something like that," Katie countered.

"Hah! Who's lying now?" Amy asked.

"I did. Just ask Jaime. I made him a copy after he begged me for weeks! He said he wanted potential blackmail material," Katie replied.

"You did what!?" Amy told Katie as she turned her attention over to Jaime.

"Jaime! Do you have a copy of my dance final!?" Amy asked him.

"Oh yeah! All my straight guy friends loved it so much, they forced me to make them copies for them to take home," Jaime said through his laughter as Amy just shook her head in disbelief, and covered her face with her hands.

"If you don't tell me where your copy is, I'll just run home to get the one I have there," Katie threatened.

Amy just crossed her arms over her chest while she pressed her lips together, as she turned and looked away.

"Fine," Katie said as she turned on her heel and headed for the foyer.

Amy called out after her, "Katie, you know what they say about Karma and payback right?"

Katie just smiled sweetly and headed for the door. Katie returned ten minutes later smiling triumphantly with a video in her hand. As she walked toward the television, Amy tried to block her.

"No, do not play that thing," Amy pleaded with her.

"Will you knock it off! You were great! I wish I had moves like you do!" Katie responded.

"I don't want anyone to see my moves! I was forced to do it! It was worth 35 percent of my grade! I never wanted to perform in front of anybody!" Amy pleaded with her.

"So why did you invite me to come see your performance?" Katie asked.

"I invited you for moral support, because I was a nervous wreck! I had no idea that you would be so cruel to show up with a video camera! So you could torture me with this video for the rest of my life!" Amy retorted.

"Well I guess you overestimated me," Katie chirped smugly as she walked around her and started to insert the tape.

Jeff walked in from the living room and asked what were we going to watch. Katie told him and he grimaced, "I can't watch that crap! That's my little sister!"

"Katie don't," Amy made one final plea as Katie pressed play. I just settled myself down on the couch in anticipation.

"I can't watch this," Amy said as she turned and walked out of the room.

The video started with Amy and her dance partner standing on opposite sides of the stage facing each. They were waiting for the music to start. The opening beats of Santana's Smooth were heard, and you could hear some audience members clap and cheer. That's when Amy sauntered across the stage to her partner and took off his hat. She then tossed it toward the audience without breaking eye contact with her partner. This move caused people in the audience, especially the males, to start hooting and hollering. Amy and her partner then processed do some type of Latin dance. They both kept serious expressions on their faces, but that only enhanced their performance. The combination of the music, their slick, sensual moves and their serious expressions, made for one hot performance. Then Amy had her back against the guy's chest as they stood still together. As the lyrics, "Cause you're so smooth," played, the guy slowly ran one finger down her arm that was facing the audience. This move got all the audience to scream and cheer.

At one point, their hips were side by side as they were facing each other. He had his hands around her waist and they started to spin. As the lyrics, "I would give my world to lift you up," played, Amy lifted both of her legs out, like she was doing a split in the air. While her partner effortlessly lifted her off the ground as they spun together on stage. This move, and the image of Amelia's red flowing skirt, caused the audience to scream again.

By this point, Amy and her partner dropped their serious expressions in exchange for big smiles. Then Amy was standing in front of her partner, and put her hand on his chest. Slowly she walked around him, without removing her hand, until she pressed her chest against his back and lifted her leg to the level of his thigh. Her leg was bent at the knee, and he put his hand under it to support it. He then spun around to face her and replaced his right hand with his left, under Amelia's knee, as he pulled her against him. She then lowered her back while he used his right arm to support her. He then slowly brought up her right leg up until it reached his shoulder, so it looked like she was doing the splits across his body. This move also caused the audience to scream and cheer.

I was suddenly no longer comfortable watching this video anymore. Had it been any other girl, I would've really been enjoying this part. Now I know why Jeff had a problem with it. I know it is wrong of me, but would it be too much for me to hope that her dance partner was gay too?

Amy slowly raised her body back up with the support of her partner. He kept his right hand on her back and his left hand on her right ankle, which was still resting on his shoulder. Amy was standing on her left foot, while she leaned forward against her partner for support. He then slowly started to walk backwards, dragging Amelia with him as she remained in the same position. Then he stopped and pivoted his body and Amy's into a dip with her right leg still against his shoulder. They looked liked the poster of Gone With The Wind. You know the one where it looks like he is about to kiss her. This move also got the audience to hoot and holler. But then the guy slowly brought Amelia back up and let go of her ankle. The moment he did, she quickly dropped it down and used the momentum to spin herself backwards with it. They did one final move before they finished the dance to a round of roaring applause, and several screams and cheers. Amy and her partner looked so relieved, and a little out of breath, as they bowed for the audience and exited the stage.

Once the video was over, Katie was discussing with Jeff what they should show next. Amelia still hadn't returned, so I went in search of her. I found her alone in the kitchen washing dishes. All I could see was her back, so I couldn't tell if she was still mad about Katie showing us the video. I grabbed a dishtowel that was on the counter and walked up next to her. I grabbed the dish she had just rinsed from her hand and started to dry it.

The move startled her a little but she smiled and said, "You don't have to do that. You're a guest. You should go back in the other room and enjoy yourself."

"I would never leave you to do all these dishes by yourself," I said as I grabbed another plate.

"No, really, I'm fine. My mom and I always joke around about who has to do the dishes. I can finish them by myself. It's not a problem. You should really go back out there and enjoy yourself and everyone's company," Amy finished.

"I can't enjoy myself if you're in here. And the company I most want to be around is you," I said as I dried another dish.

My statement surprised her and she started biting her bottom lip. She then looked down at the plate in her hand. I notice a little blush in her cheek as she concentrated on scrubbing the dish. She obviously didn't know what to say to my little statement. So I changed the subject, "So no dishwasher huh?"

"No. This is a really old house. Parents never installed one because it was just them and Jeff. Then when I came along, there still weren't that many dirty dishes to make them think they needed one. It's only nights like tonight, when having a dishwasher would be useful," she replied.

"Do you always have this many people over?" I asked.

"Uh, not since my dad died. Now we will have this many people over every once in a while. But when he was alive, we would have this many people or more over, at least once a month," she said with a sigh, and a sad look on her face as stared straight out the window.

I felt bad for bringing it up but then I saw a faint smile on her face and she started to chuckle. "He always used to drive my mom crazy. He would say lets invite this couple over for dinner. My mom would say sure and he would head to the phone. By the time he was done, it'd be an hour later, and instead of him inviting two people over for dinner. He had invited ten or fifteen," she said with a laugh.

I laughed with her, "He would come in the room and tell my mom that he just invited all these people over for dinner. She would say what happened to just the two? He would say well when I called them, they got me thinking of this couple or that couple, until he had practically invited the whole neighborhood. My mom would always look at him with disbelief. But he would always say the more the merrier," she finished smiling at me.

I was also smiling down at her when we heard some enter the kitchen. We turned to see Jeff standing there, staring at us.

"So what are you two doing in here?" he asked us.

"Oh, I'm just teaching Michael here, the finer points of embezzling and money laundering," Amy replied flatly.

When he just continued to stand there, eyeing us curiously without saying a word, Amy continued, "What does it look like we're doing Einstein?" she asked as she raised the soapy dish in her hand.

She then asked him, "What do you want?"

He thought for a second and said, "Danny wants some juice."

Amy wiped her hands on a dishtowel, opened a cabinet and removed a sippy cup.

"What kind?" she asked as she opened the refrigerator.

"Cranberry," he replied absentmindedly.

Amy turned to look at him, "Danny hates cranberry juice. You're the only one that likes it," she said with a knowing smirk. Jeff was obviously using Danny as an excuse to see what we were doing.

"Apple?" Jeff replied sheepishly.

Amy just shook her head as she grabbed the apple juice and poured it into the sippy cup.

She handed it to Jeff and asked, "Will there be anything else?"

He just eyed the two of us again, before he said no and left.

"Sorry about that. He's acting weird all of a sudden," Amy remarked.

I just smiled as we returned our attention to the dishes. I couldn't blame Jeff for wanting to look out for his little sister. I try my best to look out for Chris and Leo, though it never does much good.

"So, you're really an incredible dancer," I finally remarked.

I saw her wince, "You're required to take two semesters worth of P. E. in order to graduate. It was either that or bowling," she replied in her own defense.

"I'm sure they offered more than two P. E. classes," I said skeptically.

"They did, but those were the two classes that fit in my schedule. I'll admit I was excited about taking the class. I thought it was going to be a lot of fun. Until the teacher announced on the first day that we were required to perform for our final. I mean, I wasn't naive. I knew we were going to have to dance in front of people. But that was the first year they decided to have the final in the auditorium. That place is huge! And it was packed that day. I was a nervous wreck!" she finished.

"You didn't seem nervous. You seemed like you were having a really good time. You had a big smile on your face for half the dance," I remarked.

She laughed, "I wasn't smiling I was laughing."

"Why were you laughing?" I asked curiously.

"My partner missed a step, which caused us to have to switch the move we were about to do at the last minute. You can't tell from the video, but he just shrugged at me and then he started laughing because he was nervous. I couldn't help but laugh because it was contagious. I mean by that point, it didn't seem to matter anymore anyway, because we had already screwed up. People told us afterwards that they couldn't tell. But at the time we didn't know that. We thought everyone had clearly seen the mistakes we made," she replied.

"Well I didn't notice any mistakes. You two were really good. You must have spent weeks together working on that routine," I remarked, hoping she would elaborate on her relationship with her partner.

"No, we didn't spend weeks on our routine. It was more like a total of three or four hours. It was the week before finals, and everyone was swamped with finishing term papers, and preparing for their tests. We really didn't have the time we needed to practice our routine. I guess that is why we were able to pull it off on stage. My partner kept forgetting the steps during practice. If he remembered one, he'd forget another. Since we didn't have the time to perfect it, we talked about what we should do. We agreed that no matter what, I should follow his lead. If I had tried to do a move he didn't remember, we knew our mistakes would be more obvious. So we just kind of went in there thinking we would improvise if need be," she finished.

"Well, you had time to go buy costumes," I commented.

"Oh, they weren't really costumes. My partner already owned the suit. He just borrowed the hat. And I already owned the dress. In fact, I still have it," she replied as she finished the last dish.

"Oh really? I wouldn't mind seeing it sometime," I said as Amy turned to look at me, "I mean, I would love to see it modeled for me in person. I don't think the video did it justice."

She arched her eyebrow and a smile crept onto her face, "Maybe you will."

I saw my chance. This was the perfect opportunity to ask her out. Just as I was about to say I knew of an opportunity for her to wear the dress, Katie walked in.

"Hey you guys. What are you doing in here? You're missing all the fun. Come on, and get out here," Katie said as she grabbed Amy's hand and dragged her out of the kitchen.

I love Katie, but her timing sucks!

As we walked into the family room, John smiled at Amy and said, "Amy, I loved your performance!"

Amy just shrugged and replied, "Thanks, but it wasn't as good as Katie's."

John looked at Katie and asked, "There's a video of you too?"

"Yeah. It's on store shelves across America, under the name Girls Gone Wild," Amy said with a smirk.

Everyone in the room gasped and looked at Katie, "She's just joking you guys."

When no one said anything and continued to stare at Katie she continued, "Come on Amy. Tell them you're just joking."

Amelia just shrugged as Katie said, "Oooookay. What should we watch next?"


Thomas, R. Smooth. Santana, Supernatural, Arista Records, 1999.