I was going to name this part 'Hold On' but I decided to go with 'Dancing'. After this, there will be one more part. I decided that the rest of the story was a little too large to fit into one part ... so here it is: part 5.
"I'll be right back," Declan said to Peggy as he slipped out of the booth.
"Where are you going?" Peggy questioned.
"You'll see," Declan said with a mischievous look in his brown eyes.
Peggy turned around in her seat and watched intently as Declan walked over to the jukebox (tripping over a chair leg on the way) and scanned the available songs. After finding what he was looking for, Declan rummaged in his pocket, pulled out a quarter, and put it into the machine. He then pushed a few buttons and promptly came back to the booth.
Peggy turned back around. "So what song did you pick?" she asked Declan as he sat back down at the booth across from Peggy.
Declan smiled, "You'll see," he repeated.
Just then, the song that had been playing on the jukebox finished and the next one started.
You'd better hold on to what you've got ...
Declan searched for a hint of recognition in Peggy's face, and was rewarded to find it.
"Oh ... this is ..." she trailed off.
"Yep." Declan said, then, suddenly getting a little nervous, "Do you ... do you wanna dance?" he asked.
Peggy stared at him, a surprised, "What?" escaping from her.
"Do you want to dance?" Declan asked again, a hopeful look on his face.
"Here?" Peggy voiced her thoughts, mentally adding 'with all these people?'.
"Yeah," Declan said, getting up from his seat and holding out his hand to Peggy, "Come on, Peg," he encouraged.
Peggy didn't know what to say. She looked up at Declan, then around at the people in the diner (who had now stopped what they were doing to look at her expectantly), and then back up at Declan. A smile spread across her face and she accepted Declan's hand. A few people applauded.
By that time, the song had reached the second verse.
Listen girls, this goes for you too
Because you know I've seen so man women
Who've had so many good men in life
Men who would stand by them thru thick and thin ...
Much to Peggy's surprise, the usually clumsy Declan was actually a pretty good dancer, but what really captivated her were his eyes. They were fixed on her. The expression was happy, loving ... beautiful. She remembered the exact same expression from when she had gone to his office and told him she had changed her mind.
Men who'd go to work everyday and
Bring home their hard earned pay
Men who'd give their woman anything
Their little hearts desired ...
Out of the corner of her eye, Peggy saw other couples getting out of their seats and start dancing along with them.
Where some women make mistakes is
When their men go out and let em play they would stay
Because they felt that no other woman wanted him but her ...
By this time, just about everyone in the restaurant had joined in. There was even an entire family that was dancing together.
"Looks like we've started something," Declan whispered in Peggy's ear.
Peggy smiled. "Yeah, I guess so,"
Yes, she will, yes she will ...
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
"So where did you learn to dance so well?" Peggy asked Declan as they exited the diner.
"Well ..." Declan hesitated for a second, "when I was in high school, my Mom made me join the marching band."
"Really?" Peggy asked, a hint of amusement in her voice.
"Yep." Declan answered simply.
"What instrument did you play?" Peggy asked curiously.
There was a long pause. If it hadn't been so dark, Peggy would have seen Declan blushing. Declan finally managed to mumble something that Peggy couldn't quite understand. It sounded something like 'hair net.'
"What?" Peggy asked.
Another long pause. Finally, Declan said "Clarinet," a little louder so that Peggy could hear.
Peggy had to stifle a laugh as she pictured a teen-aged Declan in a marching band uniform a few sizes too large playing the clarinet and trying to keep his feet moving to the music.
"Go ahead, laugh," Declan said a little sullenly.
"Well," Peggy tried to sound comforting, "at least you didn't play the flute." She couldn't hold back her laughter anymore because she got the same image in her head, only this time, the clarinet was replaced by a flute.
Declan got over his embarrassment and laughed along with Peggy.
In what seemed like no time at all, they had made it to Declan's truck.
And that's the end of part 5. Part 6 is on its way :) You know, I love adding little tidbits to the personalities of characters ... you know, like when I had Miranda playing the violin. Now can't you just imagine Declan playing the clarinet? I crack up (much like Peggy did) every time I think of it :)
"I'll be right back," Declan said to Peggy as he slipped out of the booth.
"Where are you going?" Peggy questioned.
"You'll see," Declan said with a mischievous look in his brown eyes.
Peggy turned around in her seat and watched intently as Declan walked over to the jukebox (tripping over a chair leg on the way) and scanned the available songs. After finding what he was looking for, Declan rummaged in his pocket, pulled out a quarter, and put it into the machine. He then pushed a few buttons and promptly came back to the booth.
Peggy turned back around. "So what song did you pick?" she asked Declan as he sat back down at the booth across from Peggy.
Declan smiled, "You'll see," he repeated.
Just then, the song that had been playing on the jukebox finished and the next one started.
You'd better hold on to what you've got ...
Declan searched for a hint of recognition in Peggy's face, and was rewarded to find it.
"Oh ... this is ..." she trailed off.
"Yep." Declan said, then, suddenly getting a little nervous, "Do you ... do you wanna dance?" he asked.
Peggy stared at him, a surprised, "What?" escaping from her.
"Do you want to dance?" Declan asked again, a hopeful look on his face.
"Here?" Peggy voiced her thoughts, mentally adding 'with all these people?'.
"Yeah," Declan said, getting up from his seat and holding out his hand to Peggy, "Come on, Peg," he encouraged.
Peggy didn't know what to say. She looked up at Declan, then around at the people in the diner (who had now stopped what they were doing to look at her expectantly), and then back up at Declan. A smile spread across her face and she accepted Declan's hand. A few people applauded.
By that time, the song had reached the second verse.
Listen girls, this goes for you too
Because you know I've seen so man women
Who've had so many good men in life
Men who would stand by them thru thick and thin ...
Much to Peggy's surprise, the usually clumsy Declan was actually a pretty good dancer, but what really captivated her were his eyes. They were fixed on her. The expression was happy, loving ... beautiful. She remembered the exact same expression from when she had gone to his office and told him she had changed her mind.
Men who'd go to work everyday and
Bring home their hard earned pay
Men who'd give their woman anything
Their little hearts desired ...
Out of the corner of her eye, Peggy saw other couples getting out of their seats and start dancing along with them.
Where some women make mistakes is
When their men go out and let em play they would stay
Because they felt that no other woman wanted him but her ...
By this time, just about everyone in the restaurant had joined in. There was even an entire family that was dancing together.
"Looks like we've started something," Declan whispered in Peggy's ear.
Peggy smiled. "Yeah, I guess so,"
Yes, she will, yes she will ...
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
"So where did you learn to dance so well?" Peggy asked Declan as they exited the diner.
"Well ..." Declan hesitated for a second, "when I was in high school, my Mom made me join the marching band."
"Really?" Peggy asked, a hint of amusement in her voice.
"Yep." Declan answered simply.
"What instrument did you play?" Peggy asked curiously.
There was a long pause. If it hadn't been so dark, Peggy would have seen Declan blushing. Declan finally managed to mumble something that Peggy couldn't quite understand. It sounded something like 'hair net.'
"What?" Peggy asked.
Another long pause. Finally, Declan said "Clarinet," a little louder so that Peggy could hear.
Peggy had to stifle a laugh as she pictured a teen-aged Declan in a marching band uniform a few sizes too large playing the clarinet and trying to keep his feet moving to the music.
"Go ahead, laugh," Declan said a little sullenly.
"Well," Peggy tried to sound comforting, "at least you didn't play the flute." She couldn't hold back her laughter anymore because she got the same image in her head, only this time, the clarinet was replaced by a flute.
Declan got over his embarrassment and laughed along with Peggy.
In what seemed like no time at all, they had made it to Declan's truck.
And that's the end of part 5. Part 6 is on its way :) You know, I love adding little tidbits to the personalities of characters ... you know, like when I had Miranda playing the violin. Now can't you just imagine Declan playing the clarinet? I crack up (much like Peggy did) every time I think of it :)