Chapter twelve

As the hours that seemed like minutes ticked by, people greeted Amber. She tried to apologize to each of them for her actions, but Maybelle would hear none of it. Just coming back with them shows that she is a different person than she was. Afterall, none of them were the people they were 20 years ago. Now is now and they would only look forward.

Tracy was the first. Still bouncy and chubby, she wore her weight well. There was something about a confident woman that made her attractive no matter what. She added the glee that she had been recently divorced her husband of 14 years and had dropped twenty pounds. "I could say I lost 250 pounds of useless weight when I got rid of him, but that would be mean." They all laughed.

Tracy had taken her council money and gone on to college, as so many of the kids did. After her time in the spotlight, she became just another overweight girl. She never regretted her time on the show, but she realized that it opened her eyes and killed her innocence. She wasn't going onto Broadway, she wasn't going to be a "star". And she sure wasn't doing laundry the rest of her life, either. She majored in education and now teaches Kindergarten.

"It's funny Amber," Tracy said with a smile, "The kids never thought of me as less than anyone else. I can sing and dance or laugh and giggle. They all think I'm wonderful. I guess I really am a star. I'm a Kindergarten star"

"Tracy, that's perfect. I can't tell you how happy I am for you." Amber smiled, "What about Link? Will he be here? Do you hear from him"

Tracy looked out the window, "He had different dreams than I had." She stated plainly. "Life was hard for him back then. He was beautiful and I didn't fit. Ask Seaweed and Penny what they went through after their first daughter was born. People were so horrible to those of us who were different. They moved to Arizona to get away from it"

Tracy stared into Amber's eyes. "I couldn't blame Link for wanting to be with the perfect girls. About the time he got that record contract, I knew I didn't belong. He moved to NY and I moved on to college. We wrote to each other for a while. In fact he "broke up" with me in one of those letters. I told him that we should remain friends and we sent Christmas cards for a few years. We even sent birth announcements to each other. My kids got fabulous gifts from him. Then I noticed that the personalizations stopped and I was getting stamped autographs. The third year of that and I stopped caring. Maybelle knows where he is. Isn't he still on the strip, Grammay?"

"Got a card of regret from him last week." Maybelle popped in, "He is pretty happy about doing the show out there. Vegas has been good to him."

Amber made a mental note. She needed Link Larkin for this Reunion. "Maybelle, will he come back for the show?" The business woman in Amber kicked in.

"Well sweetheart, it depends on how this new contract of his reads." Maybelle stated, "You know how that legal stuff goes."

One by one, each council member greeted her and told stories of themselves or members who weren't there. Some of the boys went to Vietnam. Tyrone came back without an arm but showed Amber that he could still shimmy and shake with the best of them. Brad and Little Mo never came back. Lou Ann had been seriously injured in a car accident and lost an eye. It didn't seem to bother her. Noreen was there but Doreen had moved to Cleveland and couldn't make it. She ran a dance studio. Shelley introduced Amber to her friend, a tall athletic woman who was a gym teacher. Amber smiled. So many of her feminist friends were lesbian but hid it from view. If Shelly felt comfortable enough to bring her lover, this sure was home. IQ lived up to his name. He was at NASA working on the shuttle. He used to say, "It isn't rocket science." as the other members struggled through homework. Well it wasn't for him and he should know! All in all most of the kids turned out well. There were doctors and lawyers, shopkeepers and hotel operators. And children, seemed like hundreds of children. Amber was thoughtfully looking at children of all colors playing together. She silently wished some of them were hers. Let's see, if she had married Corny by 1965 and had started a family by, lets say, 1970, those kids would be with the pre-teens playing Atari in the gameroom. That wouldn't have been too bad. She envisioned a boy, tall like his father, with those eyes like deep pools…..

"Hey Amber!!!" Bix broke into her thoughts. Her eyes refocused on his face, bringing her back from her daydreaming.

Bix had moved to Atlanta and was a cameraman at WTBS. "Welcome to the club, Miss Station Queen." He joked, "Cable opens up a whole new world. With lots of hours! I was actually scheduled but told my boss that I wasn't missing this party for anything."

They both laughed.

"Boy, you've got that right," Amber grinned. "I've never been so busy."

Brenda interupted their conversation. "Hi Amber! How have you been? She said as leaned in for a hug. "You look great."

Amber would later learn from Inez that Brenda's mother raised Brenda's baby as her own. Brenda's "little sister" didn't know for many years who her real mother was. They had a fabulous relationship. Brenda could play the big sister role and was able to treat her own child as the little sister she never had. She returned to the show after fighting hard to get her figure back and would bring her mom and sister with her to visit. No one spoke about it. When her mother died, Brenda told the child the truth, but it didn't affect their relationship at all. The little girl was now in college herself and knows that Brenda's children are her half brother and sister. It all worked out well.

Amber had cocked her head at Inez when she told the story. "Inez, we all heard the rumors when Brenda left. Do you know? Was Corny the father of that baby?" she asked holding her breath.

:"Not according to Momma. Corny had his eye on another girl." Then she was called away by Seaweed.. Amber wanted to let it go, but the words stuck in her mind. She compartmentalized it and would think about it later.

The party began to wind down. People started to say their goodbyes. Every person there asked Amber if she would come back for the Annual Labor Day picnic Maybelle always hosted. Amber replied honestly that she wouldn't miss it. Inez reminded all of them about the reunion show and how they would be contacted soon. The house was empty before they knew it.

Inez, Penny and Penny's daughter Janette began to clean up. Amber stood to help but was waved away. "Stay with Momma," Inez said, "She would love the company."

Maybelle yawned and stretched.

"Maybelle isn't it time for you to get to bed," Amber began, "Can I help you?"

"Aww Sugar, that's real kind of you to offer." Maybelle began "but if I you just help me recline this chair, I should be just fine. Oh that's good. Now come sit by me and let's have a real talk."

"Maybelle, I just want to thank you for inviting me here today. I've never felt so welcome anywhere." Amber sighed.

"This isn't the first invitation that has come to you, Honey. I've sent out many a card. You never wrote back."

Guilt washed over Amber. Year after year she saw Maybelle's name on the left top corner of envelopes. She was always afraid to open them. She would throw them away in fear her curiosity would be peaked. What could this woman possibly want with her?

"My secretary must have misplaced them." She lied, "I'll speak with her."

"So what are the plans for my reunion? When are we looking at?"

Amber exploded with thoughts and ideas. A sweeps month special would put the show on the first week of November.. She wanted the sets to be classic, the music to be upbeat, and The Council kids would tell their stories. Live interviews and vintage films. She wanted Seaweed to tell about the struggles of an inter-racial couple, Tyrone to tell of Vietnam, Inez to sing her hits and Corny……..

She stopped, "Maybelle, what about Corny?"

"Do you know where he is?" Maybelle asked simply.

"I wish I did." Amber exclaimed.

Maybelle's eyes twinkled. "I always tell the kids, when Corny Collins wants to be found, he will be found. Understand?" Amber shook her head, no. She didn't understand.

"You are the person to find him Amber. Do you get what I'm saying to you? You, Amber Von Tussle can reach him. You can use WYZT to find him. Put out the call, get it on the news. Ask him to come back, only you have what he wants. Don't you know?" Maybelle's hinting was going right over her head. "Child, just do what I say and you might just be surprised."

Amber pondered it for a moment. What a way to market this reunion! It was brilliant! Corny Collins was missing and the show might just have to go on without him, but not with the viewers help. Where was Corny? If Amber had her way, it would become the cry of baby boomers across the country. And perhaps, just perhaps he would be found. Then Amber might just be able to make her own dreams come true. Her words broke into her own thoughts.

"That's what I'll do Maybelle. I'll start tomorrow. I'll get with the news department and…."

Her words trailed off when she heard a soft snore next to her. She tiptoed away to find Inez. She thanked her again, told her that she would be in touch and headed for her car. Amber Von Tussle would not sleep tonight.