Chapter Twenty
The Latin Sensation ... Let the Games Begin (Men First)
Max and Shawn were watching as Belle and Liz sat down at the table directly in front of the stage.
"Are you ready for this?" Shawn asked Max as they backed away from the curtain.
"As ready as I can be. But, I will do this for Liz because I owe it to her and she deserves it." Max responded as he saw Theresa heading over to him.
"Hey guys, we're going to start things in a few minutes so get ready." She moved to the side of the stage.
Everyone was seated around the table but two chairs were empty. Max and Shawn had yet to show their faces.
"I thought you said that Shawn and Max were going to be here waiting for us. We haven't seen them once since we got here." Belle told Philip.
"Well, that's not my fault they were supposed to be here. Maybe they just had to do something. Look, Belle, I'm sure they'll be here shortly." Philip answered.
"Are you sure? Because if they don't get here soon, I'm going to-" Belle was unable to complete her statement as Theresa walked out onto the stage.
"Look Theresa's about to start, Shawn will be here shortly. Believe me he wouldn't miss this for the world. You just need to relax." Brady said as he reached across and patted her hand with a claming touch. Secretly hoping that nothing went wrong.
Theresa stood in the center of the stage with a long green floral print gown on and her hair up in an elegant bun with the ends flipped out.
"Good evening and welcome to the Latin Sensation Showcase Spectacular, whew what a mouth full," the audience laughed as she smiled brilliantly. "I am honored to be your hostess for tonight's event. As you know this is a charity event benefiting the Pediatric Cancer Center and all the funds from tonight's show as well as donations that have been made will go towards the new Pediatric Wing of the Boston Colonial Hospital that will specialize in cancer patients." The audience applauded along with Theresa. "We have been taking your generous donations and will continue to do so throughout the night. Please place your donations in the envelopes and then into the gold dishes in the center of your tables. They will be collected during the two intermissions that we will have tonight. Now, we have many performances to get to with several people performing including some of the hospital staff. All leading up to the Amateur Latin Dance Competition at the end. So before I introduce our first act of the night, I'd like to thank everyone who helped get this production off the ground. It was a very hard and tedious job to do and I couldn't have done it without help. So I'd especially like to thank Mrs. Maria Guerin from the Twilight PR Firm for helping. She worked with me through all of the stages we had to go through to get here. She did and excellent job with the PR work as well. So let's give her a round of applause." Theresa led the audience in a round of applause for Maria.
Maria sat in her seat blushing from all the applause as Michael gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"Okay, now let's get the show on the road, we have a lot to get through. Our first performance will be by our very own Dr. Maxwell Evans." Theresa left the stage as the curtain opened with Max in the front of the stage and Shawn off in the background.
Liz and Belle looked up at the stage in shock to see their husbands, respectively, up there.
Max took a deep breath and looked out at Liz's shocked face as she watched him. He glanced over at Shawn and upon his nod he started to speak.
"My first exposure to children with cancer occurred when I was seventeen and my boss, at the time, had a daughter who was sick. I never realized how devastating that illness could be on both the child and parent. But, after spending some time with her, I realized that was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I wanted to be a doctor to help save those children who are suffering with this everywhere in the world today. So I thought a great way to show how much I believe in this cause would be to perform tonight." Max looked out into the audience. "Helping people became my desire, my passion, my destiny." He made eye contact with Liz directly.
"What I am about to perform is for my other passion and my true destiny." He paused dramatically. "My wife, Liz. Earlier this week we had a stupid fight over something that happened years ago. I just wouldn't let it go. And when I finally realized what I did wrong. It was too late; the damage had already been done. I thought about what I could do to make it up to her. So I'm going to do two things. First, I will admit that I was wrong. I never should have questioned you on anything that you did. You made the only decision that you could make with those options open. I trust you completely and I love you more than you'll ever know." Max moved to center of the stage and cued Shawn.
Liz sat watching Max on the stage, in awe. He forgave her, better yet, he trusts her. As she thought about all those things her eyes began to fill with tears. She looked down at her hands in her lap. And then she heard it, I Shall Believe (by Sheryl Crow) she froze. Liz, look at me. She heard Max's voice in her head and looked up at him. Come to the stage, she got up and moved to the stage. Once she got there she felt something lift her up onto the stage. Max stood on the darken stage holding a hand out for her to take.
Liz placed her hand in Max's and a greenish glow covered the couple as they danced to the song.
The audience sat in wonderment as they saw the woman they assumed was Liz levitated off the ground and go onto the stage. Then, as the couple's hands met, a beautiful greenish glow covered them and lit the darken stage. What a way to start off the show!
Liz and Max moved across the stage together in a symphony of synchronized movements. He led her across the stage covering the entire area.
As Max glided across the stage with Liz, he leaned down to her ear and whispered to her, "I'm sorry Liz. I don't ever want you to feel like what happened was your fault. Obviously, if my future self came to you then he trusted you, just as I have always trusted you more than anyone else. I trust you and I will always love you."
Liz felt teas slid down her face, Max reached up and wiped them away. Then he twirled her around. This time I won't disappear. I will never leave you again.
As Liz returned to face Max she looked deeply into his brown eyes and suddenly saw a glimpse of her future to come. She saw an older version of Max with long brown hair and a sexy gray streak; he was standing next to a teenager who resembled Gabriel. Another child stood next to Gabe with brown hair, he looked about two or three years younger. She saw two small children running towards Max, one boy and one girl they were laughing as someone else was chasing them, it looked liked an older woman. She was laughing too. But, just as quickly as the image came to her it disappeared. She was snapped back to the present with Max standing in front of her. He pulled her closer to him, only to lean her down as the song ended.
As Max eased Liz back into an upright position, he brought his mouth down for a kiss. The audience began to applaud as the curtain closed on the kissing couple.
Shawn had moved to the table sometime during Max and Liz's dance. No one had noticed his presence until the performance was over and he was sitting next to Belle because they were all captivated by what they were watching.
"You look beautiful," he told her as Belle looked over at him in surprise.
"When did you get here Shawn?" She asked as he placed his arm on her shoulders.
"I came when Max and Liz were dancing. Did you like the performance I helped--," he was interrupted by Belle.
"Really, what did you do?"
"I played the music."
Belle heard his response and looked around at the other women at the table. "So let me get this straight. You let me be brought here by my brother so you could play the music?" She asked. Shawn nodded. "You left me alone to play the music?" Again Shawn nodded in response.
"Belle, I thought it was sweet. I mean look, Max and Liz are back together." Mimi gestured to the couple getting recognition from other people as they walked to the table.
Belle said nothing as Max and Liz took their seats at the table together side by side. She saw how radiantly happy Liz looked as Max whispered something in her ear. She decided that since it made Liz happy she'd let Shawn's absence go. Besides, they were going to get him back later. She smiled, "Max, that was a very sweet thing you did. Not to mention a lovely performance considering that it was unrehearsed."
"Thank you," Max said taking his eyes away from his wife to respond. "But, believe me, that was not the only performance worth watching. I heard from Theresa that there will be a lot of surprises tonight."
"I just bet that there will be. I can't wait." Chloe said sharing a secret smile with the other women around the table as the next performance began.
The first intermission had just begun. The dedications had begun to come so people started to move out onto the dance floor. All of the couples were on the dance floor except for Chloe, Philip, Belle, Shawn, and Michael because Maria had gone off to help Theresa with something for the next transition. Michael had sat there for a while, but then he decided to go check on his children, and he left the table to call the sitter.
Belle and Chloe were having a conversation about Jan and Jason. "So you never did tell me about Kevin. What's he doing now?" Chloe asked.
"Oh, that's right, I didn't get a chance to tell you. I saw him the other day at the hospital and he told me that Jan and Jason are getting a divorce."
"Are you serious? I though that they were going to try to keep their marriage together for Tracey's sake." Chloe responded thinking about the couple's one-year-old child.
"Well, they were until Jason found out that Tracey might not be his child. She could be Kevin's daughter." Belle said and saw Chloe's shocked face.
"You're kidding right?" Belle shook her head. "Well, I thought that they were seeing each other. Jason is getting what he deserves after all that he's put her through. I guess, I will be seeing Tracey and Jan when I get back to work." Chloe responded.
"I can't believe that you two are sitting gossiping, especially, you Chloe. I never thought I would see the day when you were gossiping." Philip said as he leaned down next to her.
"It's not gossiping. It's simply keeping up with important news. But, if someone would have asked to me to dance I wouldn't be sitting here talking." Chloe hinted as Philip held his hand out.
"Well, of course, by all means let's dance." Chloe stood and they moved out onto the dance floor. Leaving Belle and Shawn sitting there.
"Do you want to dance?" Shawn asked as Belle sat watching everyone else dance.
"Gee, I don't know, Brady. Could we, anything would be better than sitting here twiddling my thumbs. That would be alright." Belle answered as she got out of her seat with Shawn's assistance. They moved onto the dance floor as they started to dance, the deejay came on.
"This next song goes out to Belle from Shawn. He says that I know I haven't said this lately, but I love you very much and couldn't be any happier that you are about to have my child. This song is for you because I've always been dreaming about you." Dreaming of You came on by Selena.
"You did this... for me?" Belle asked.
"Of course, I did. I would never forget this song. I still remember the exact time I heard this. It was when you told me that you were pregnant." Shawn said knowing that was the wrong answer as he eased into a slower dance step and leaded Belle towards to the other side of the dance floor.
"Shawn, that's not when this song played. That was My Girl. I can't believe that you forgot." Belle's eyes went from teary to questioningly angry. Shawn had them directly in the middle of the dance floor; Belle's body was as close as he could get her to him.
Belle danced with Shawn her hands were around his neck, and she had placed her head on his shoulder wondering how he couldn't remember why this song was so special. They moved in fluid easy steps, she leaned on him. Shawn reached up and took her arms for around his neck to turn her around. As he turned Belle he moved so that her back was to his chest. He leaned down to her ear.
"We were at the club celebrating your first fashion show and that was also the first night that I told you I wanted to get married. It's where I told you that I wanted you to be the mother of my children. In my heart, it's where I proposed to you. It was there when I was watching as everyone else congratulated you that I knew you were my soul mate. It's when I knew that I couldn't live without having you in my life. So how does that sound?" Shawn moved to stand in front of her. "This song made me realize that I didn't have to dream of you anymore because being with you could be my reality." Shawn began to move at a slow pace once again until Belle looked at him with tears in her eyes.
"Oh Shawn, that's ... that's so ..." she couldn't think of any words to say to him as she hugged him. " I thought you forgot."
"You are the light of my life. And everything that I do, I do it for you because you mean so much to me." He finished easing Belle away form him, tilting her chin up to give her a gentle kiss on the lips.
When Shawn lifted his mouth from Belle's, he wiped her tears away. "Are you okay?" He asked.
"I'm fine I just can't believe how sweet you are." Belle stopped crying to look up at Shawn and smiled as he grimaced.
"Belle, I am not sweet. How many times do we have to go through this?" Shawn said as Belle began to laugh at him as they glided across the floor.
Kay and Miguel had been in their own little world since he apologized earlier that week. However, they were quickly beginning to realize that the world did not revolve only them.
"Miguel, did you know anything about what's happening tonight?" Kay asked not actually expecting a real answer.
"What do you mean, Kay?" Miguel asked her attempting to sound as if he knew nothing. But, sadly he failed.
"Oh, so you do know something. Alright, tell me what you know. We both know that you can't keep a secret from me. I know you when are trying to avoid something. So just tell me." Kay placed her hands in his hair as they hooked together around his neck. She knew that the doing that was his weak spot. If he had a real secret he would spill it then.
"Seriously, Kay, I have no idea what you are talking about. I don't think that anything is going on. I mean besides, Max's performance. We don't have anything else planned." Miguel knew he was weakening. Give her a couple of minutes and she'd have everything out of him, the entire plan.
"Really, that's interesting. I seem to recall that Shawn had a special song played for Belle and now--," she was interrupted from speaking as the deejay said something in the background.
"Okay, folks I have one last dedication to make before the show reconvenes. This is from Miguel to Kay; he says that he's been to Hell and back with you. And even though, you've both made mistakes in the past, none of that matters now. Because, love is a crazy thing, it doesn't discriminate with anyone." Love Is Such A Crazy Thing by Pink came one.
Kay had froze and stopped talking the exact moment that the Deejay had mentioned Miguel's name. Now she was just following Miguel's movements not saying anything. "I can't believe I've finally found a way to render you speechless." Miguel said jokingly.
"I can't believe that you did this. How did you know?" Kay was shocked, she though that Simone was the only one who knew that this was the song she was listening to when she realized that she loved Miguel as more than just a friend.
Kay was still rendered a little speechless as she awaited Miguel's answer. This song was her pain and pleasure. How did he know about it?
"Kay, you don't think that you're the only one who ever had secrets did you? This song is special to my heart because of you."
"What do you mean?" Kay asked as Miguel moved them to a darken corner of the dance floor.
"This is where you realized that you loved me, really you loved me. That's why I choose this song because it made you realize your true feelings for me. And that shows how much you have always cared for me. Even after all the things you have done, in the past, I have forgiven you and will always forgive you because love is a crazy thing." Miguel told Kay as he stopped dancing to pull her into a hug.
"Our love is for real, for always. Never let me make you doubt that again. Even though, I already got your forgiveness, I want you to realize that nothing could take you away from me or how far we've come. I love you." Kay said nothing as she listened to both Miguel and the song.
"Thank you, Miguel. You've made all my dreams come true. I know that you love me because I love you too. You didn't have to do any of this. But I am happy that you did because it makes tonight even more special." Kay said before she brought Miguel's head down to meet hers in a kiss.
After the song ended, everyone returned to their seats to watch the second half of the show. The women waited with a lot of patience, knowing that they were going to get a chance to show their talents later.
"Alright, while we get set up for the last performances of the night, the deejay will play more of your dedications and the golden dishes will be collected. So we'll be back in forty-five minutes." Theresa turned and left the stage as everyone started to leave their tables.
Brady sat at the table awaiting Mimi; she had gone off with Maria to help Theresa with something. Only himself and Michael were left at the table. "Alright, am I the only one who thinks something is going on?" Brady asked Michael.
"No, I'm getting those feelings too. Maria has been jumping up to 'help' Theresa all night. Not that she wouldn't have done that normally. I just get the feeling that she knows something that she doesn't want to tell me." Michael answered.
"Yeah, I'm getting that feeling from Mimi. Besides, that when she was here earlier, I could've sworn that I saw a look pass between her and the other ladies. I think that they're up to something. I just don't know what." Brady stopped talking as he saw Mimi and Maria headed to the table.
Mimi walked alongside Maria as they walked back to the table.
"So everything is in the dressing room waiting for us. She told me that we are basically some of the last performances because after us the judges to make their decisions on who wins." Maria said as she neared the table and saw Michael talking to Brady.
"You know, I think Brady and Michael are up to something." Mimi observed.
"Yeah, I got that vibe, too. I mean look at them, they're usually at each other's throats because Michael hates how Brady flirts with me." Maria responded laughingly.
"I know. But, he only does it to annoy Michael. I just can't believe that Michael let's Brady get to him so easily. Brady really likes doing that and to be honest, I think it's funny, too." Mimi looked at the table and saw Brady look directly at her. There was something in his eyes that she didn't recognize at first. "Oh my god. He knows." Mimi said freaking out.
"Mimi, you've got to pull yourself together. He doesn't know and he can't find out, this is too perfect. Trust me after all the planning that we've done, nothing will go wrong. You just have to keep cool, okay. And don't let him do to you what you did to him. Stay cool." Maria said trying to clam Mimi down as they walked to the table.
Mimi stood behind to Brady's chair while Maria eased into the seat beside Michael.
"So what were you two talking about while were we gone?" Maria asked as she grabbed Michael's hand and held it.
"Nothing and everything. Did you get everything settled with Theresa?" Brady asked Mimi as he felt her hands come on to his shoulders.
"Yeah, everything is fixed. So do you want to dance?" Mimi asked as she leaned down do that she was eye level with Brady.
"Oh, I guess so. There's no rest for the weary." Brady got up and took his wife's hand to lead her onto the already packed dance floor, leaving Michael and Maria at the table.
Brady and Mimi had been dancing for a while when they started to talk. "I called my mom, Conrad misses us. But, apparently he was having too much fun to stop and talk to me. I miss him already."
"I know the feeling. It's hard to believe that he is already three years old. He's getting so big now, he'll be going to school soon." Brady responded as his hands moved up and down Mimi's back. "So what do you and the other ladies have planned tonight?"
Mimi had been so focused on the thinking about their son that she almost got sucked into answering Brady. "Brady, as usual you are lacking any tact what so ever. And you are wrong. We aren't planning anything and even we were, what makes you think that I will tell you?" Mimi asked her husband.
"Could it be the fact that you can't keep a secret? Besides you have to tell me, I'm your husband and we're not supposed to keep secrets from each other." Brady looked passed Mimi and saw the deejay getting ready to make another dedication song. He hoped it wasn't his so he'd have time to get the secret out of her.
"That's rich coming from you, Black. But you are right so maybe I will tell you if I had a secrets you don't know about." Mimi said thinking that technically it wasn't a secret since he could look on the program and see his name as well as everyone else's listed under the performers.
Brady was about to respond when he heard his name on the deejay's next dedication. Damn, now I'm not going to find out what's going on. "...Brady wants to tell his wife that he loves her and there's nothing he wouldn't do for her." All The Things (Your Man Won't Do) by Joe came on.
Mimi stopped dancing and looked up at Brady, her arms were still wrapped around his neck. Brady stopped dancing to watch for her reaction.
"Brady, how could you... how did you...?" Mimi couldn't say anything.
"Well since you seem to be tongue-tied I will try to answer the questions you want to ask to the best of my ability. First, off I choose this song to remind you of something. Do you remember what?" He asked as he pushed her hair back behind her ears.
Mimi looked the intensity of his blue eyes and knew she had to answer. "This is the song that played at the club that night. The night that Noah broke up with me and I saw you at the bar. You told me that I didn't need him because I deserved better, I deserved you."
"That's right. Now why did we stop dancing? No matter." Brady started to dance again this time he brought Mimi's smaller, softer body into full on contact with his. His hands roamed her body.
"Brady, we can't do this here. Everyone will stare at us." Mimi answered looking around.
"Meems, when have we ever cared what people thought? Ah, let me make a correction when have I ever cared what people thought. So now let's get back to the song. Why do you think I picked this song?" Brady asked her.
"We danced to this song at the club and it was the first time we... we--,"
"It was the first time we almost made love." Brady answered.
They moved around the dance floor in seductively sensuous movements that people stopped to watch them. Brady's hands were above her butt and his leg was attempting to move between her yet, her dress constricted the movement.
"Brady..." Mimi whispered as she looked at him.
"I know, but there's another reason I picked this song for you. It's because when we danced to this, I knew that I was in love with you." Brady said as he twirled Mimi around. "I knew that Noah wasn't good for you because he never treated you like you deserved to be treated and I knew that I'd treat you better."
"I know that he was going to loose you to me when we danced to this song. It doesn't matter what happened or what was going to happen after we left the club together, Mimi. Because, in my heart you were mine from that day to forward."
"I always knew that you were mine. Even if you hadn't of gotten pregnant with Conrad. You were going to be mine. I love you. And I didn't marry because of our son. I married you because I wanted to and I love you." Brady said bringing his hands to frame her face. "There is nothing that I won't do for you."
As the song ended, Brady and Mimi were on the dance floor, dancing with a sexy sensuality oozing from them with every step.
"You know I love you Mimi?" Brady asked as his hands still framed her face.
"Yes, of course I do. But, I also know that, that's not all you love about me." She answered.
"What do you mean?"
"I can really say what I mean. But, I can show you." Mimi hands moved from Brady's neck to his hair as Mimi brought Brady's mouth down on hers in a breath-taking kiss.
Michael and Maria had been sitting at the table for a while when Maria turned to Michael as a man came to the table and got her attention.
"Excuse me, Miss. But, I've been noticing you sitting here all night and was wondering if you'd like to dance with me." The man looked about two or three years older than Maria but he seemed to be an okay guy. So Maria was going to dance with him since Michael couldn't dance.
"She can't. She is going to be dancing with me, her husband." Michael answered helping her up out of her seat and heading to the dance floor.
As they found a spot on the crowded floor and began to move sway side to side. Not really dancing because Michael didn't like to dance, Maria spoke up. "You know Michael, that was a little rude. You didn't have to drag me away from that guy."
"So you weren't going to dance with him, you were going to turn him down in a much gentler way than I did?" He asked her knowing that if she would have he would have stopped her from doing so.
"Yes, I would have turned him down in a nicer way. Or I would have danced with him, if you didn't do anything because frankly considering that I'm a married and a mother of twins with another child on the way, it's flattering to see that someone other than you is interested in me." She answered him easing her hands around his neck.
"Well, if you like I'll morph into Rath sometime and hit on you so it will make you feel better. Besides, I don't think that anyone but me should be interested in my woman." Michael knew that he was going to get an argument out of Maria if he played along right.
"Yeah, you do that. I thought Rath was kind of sexy when I first saw him. And Liz told me that he was a good kisser so that might be fun. It would be interesting to see you as him. And by the way Michael, I'm not your woman, I'm your wife. There's a difference."
"Like I said my woman." As Michael and Maria continued to playfully bicker the deejay came on.
"This next song is for Michael to Maria. It's a tape that he says only you will understand." The deejay played the song, as it started to play. The song was In the Air Tonight by Phil Collins covered by Maria and the Whits.
Maria's green eyes rounded in surprise when she heard her own voice.
"Michael how did you get this? How did you know I sang this song with Alex's band?" Maria was bewildered. She couldn't believe that Michael had a recording of her singing this song. She didn't even know how he knew she sang this song in her first live performance with Alex.
"It's my recording, I never got this from Alex." Michael answered.
"That night, Isabel and I had tried to reach Nasedo for the first time. But when we didn't we went home. Or at least Isabel went home. I went to the club where you were performing. I heard you sing, I know that I told you I was never there. But, I lied. I was there, in the audience all the way in the back. It was the first time I ever heard how truly beautiful your voice was."
Maria couldn't believe that he had been there that night. She and Michael had been broken up at that time and were barely talking to each other. He had come to hear her sing. She wondered if he knew that she had picked that song because of him.
"I remember seeing you up on the stage singing so beautifully. You looked nervous but you held your own up there. I wanted to go up there and kiss you afterwards. But, I didn't want you to know that I'd been there. So I left but not before I took a tape that someone had been making. It was my own private treasure that you made and I used to listen to it whenever I started to miss you." Michael said and Maria smiled at the thought.
"Michael I never knew that you were there that night. But, I remember how I wished that you had been there. Because I wanted you to hear me sing. I never told anyone this. But, the reason I picked the song was because it made me think of you."
"Well, it made me think about you and how important you are to me. This is our song Maria because the words speak to us and that's all we need. That's why I had the deejay play that song to remind you of how important you are to me. As well as our sons and daughter." Michael said as he reached in between them and touched Maria's stomach. She smiled and looked at him questioningly.
"Sons, we're having a boy?" Maria asked excitedly.
"Yeah, our son is sleeping happily." He looked into her eyes. "I love you Mrs. Maria DeLuca Guerin," he leaned down and kissed her on the lips kind of like a peck.
When Michael lifted his head, Maria smiled gleefully. "I love it when you say my name, Spaceboy. But, I expect a better kiss than that." Maria pulled his head back down to hers and kissed him the way she wanted to be kissed. With an intensity that only Michael and Maria could share.
Chloe had been having fun all night. She was enjoying spending time with Philip. She realized how much she had missed him during his enforced absence from her. But, she knew that he had missed her, too. And that made her feel even better.
They were either dancing with each other, talking with other people or just enjoying their time together the whole night. However, now they were taking a break of sorts while Philip went to go get a drink for her. She stood by the tables watching the other couples dance.
Philip walked back to his wife with a drink in his hand. "Did you miss me?" He asked her as he handed her the drink. She took the drink and sipped a little before answering him.
"Well, maybe a little bit. But you were only gone for a couple of minutes." Chloe answered as she placed the glass on the table and wrapped her arms around him. "Come on, let's go dance." She released him and pulled him on the dance floor behind him. They were dancing to an old song by Janet Jackson.
Philip danced with Chloe pulling her to his body and placing his chin on her head. He knew that his song would be the next dedication because Shawn had told him when he went to get the drinks. He knew that he should let her be surprised but he couldn't let her be completely surprised. "Chloe," she lifted her head and looked at him. "I assume you've noticed all of the dedications the guys have been doing?"
"Well, it was kind of hard for me not to notice, Philip. They were on every couple of songs. I personally think that they were all beautiful choices but I have to say that I'm so glad that you didn't do anything like that. As nice as it seems, it's a little embarrassing." Chloe answered thinking about all of the songs in general.
"So you wouldn't have wanted me to do that for you?"
"No, not really. Why?" Chloe asked suspecting that Philip made a dedication to her.
"Well, I guess you should know I--," he was interrupted by the deejay.
"Our last dedication of the night will be from Philip Kiriakis to Chloe, he says that even though you probably don't want me to do this, I did it anyway. So here is our song..." the deejay played As My Girl by Maxwell.
Chloe looked up at Philip to see him grinning down at her. "That is real cute, Philip. So you knew I didn't want you to do that. Yet, you do it anyway." Chloe said a little amused but trying not to show it.
"Hey, I think that this was a romantic gesture, you should appreciate." Philip said picking up a step at the faster pace in the song.
"Romantic Philip," Chloe couldn't hold in her laughter. "I know that I haven't been with you for a while. But, As My Girl is not a romantic song. It's only another one of your possessive, stalkeristic tendencies that you obviously haven't got over yet, coming out in a song." Chloe said patting his cheek to accentuate each word.
"It is a romantic song. It says that you can be just as you are and I'll still love you. You don't have to change a single thing about yourself. Besides, it's coming from the heart. So wouldn't it be romantic, then?" Philip asked frowning a little only causing Chloe to laugh more.
"Philip, my dear darling husband you are a trip. Don't frown." Chloe said as she attempted to turn his frown into a smile.
"Okay, but seriously you know why I picked this song. Well, I picked it because I don't think we need a song that will say I love you. I know that you know that I love you and I don't have to tell you that by a song. And anyway we both know that you are my girl." Philip said as he smoothed a strand of hair that had fallen from Chloe's elegant style, and leaned down to kiss her on the lips.
As Philip released Chloe's mouth she moved back a few steps. "I ... I have something I want to tell you. Let's go sit down." She grabbed his hand and led him back to the table where she sat on his lap.
Belle and Liz were just on their way back to the table as they were walking they talked about the new plan. "So he said that he would do it?" Belle asked.
"He said that he would do anything for me. And this qualifies as anything. But, I think they we need to go tell Chloe because she was going to tell Philip about our performance at twenty of. Oh my god, what time is it?" Liz and Belle walked into the ballroom.
"It's twenty-five of. We need to get to Chloe now before she says anything." Belle said as she looked at the clock on the wall. Liz and Belle rushed back to their husbands and then headed back to the table where Chloe was with Philip. Since Max already knew about the plan he followed the women's cues exactly.
The two couples arrived back at the table with a minute to spare. Chloe was just about to tell Philip about the performance when he noticed the other couples. "Hey what's up?" He looked up and asked.
"I think... I think I'm in labor," Belle huffed out quietly as she clutched her stomach. Shawn immediately went to her side to help her stand.
As Chloe stood and moved off Philip's lap she turned to Belle, "Are you sure?" Chloe asked.
"Chloe, if she says she's in labor, then she's in labor!" Shawn answered for Belle as he and Max lowered her into a chair. He didn't know what to do. Well, he knew what to do but he was caught by surprise.
"Shawn, you need to go outside and bring the car around. Make sure it's at the entrance. Then, Max, Chloe and I will bring her out," Liz ordered as she got into her role.
"Are you sure? I mean Belle do you want me to go?' Shawn asked as he kneeled down in front of her. She nodded and then he practically ran out of the ballroom.
"Philip, I want you to go round up everyone and let them know what's going on." Liz said as she bend over the huffing Belle.
"Okay, I'll be back." He left after giving Chloe a reassuring pat. When he was completely out of seeing distance, Belle stopped huffing and smiled.
"This is going to be great." She said high-fiving Liz and explained the new plan to Chloe. After she heard the rest Chloe smiled too.
Twenty Minutes Later...
The men were all standing by the table trying to figure out what happened. "Okay, I was outside in the car for fifteen minutes and Belle never showed up. Where is my wife?"
"We don't have any idea," Miguel answered. "Because, Belle isn't the only one missing, our wives are all gone too. We thought that they had left with you and then you came strolling back in here."
"Yeah, and Max is gone too." Michael added.
"Then what the hell happened? They didn't just disappear. When I left here, Belle was here with you," he pointed at Philip. "Max, Liz and Chloe."
"Well, after you left, Liz sent me to get everyone else. Which I did. Then when I got here only the guys were here. We thought that Max and the ladies were all with you." Philip explained.
Shawn was about to loose it completely when Brady tapped him on the shoulder to see Belle casually walking to the table. "Okay, what the hell are you doing here?" Shawn asked.
"Well, Shawn, you planned this event and then invited me to it. Don't you remember?" Belle asked cheekily.
"Yes, but what I think your husband is referring to is why are you aren't at a hospital considering that you're in labor." Brady said to stop Shawn for loosing it.
"Oh that, well it was a false alarm. It must have been something indigestion." She answered.
"Okay, then how about where are our wives?" Michael asked as Belle sat down.
Belle looked at all the men, innocently. "They're coming. They're just refreshing their make-up. Look the next performance is about to start so why don't you all sit down so you don't ruin everyone else's view." The men knew that Belle was right so they all sat down.
Theresa walked up onto the stage as the lights went down and only one spotlight was on. She had her hair in a different style. It was a straight and hung down about her shoulders. Her dress had a Latin theme being a short and flirty pink. "Now, is time for the Latin part of the entertainment. It needs no introduction, so here is our first performance. It's a group performance that promises to be very surprising, Zan and his ladies: Shiri, Taylor, Majandra, Nadia, and Farah. Please welcome Zan and his royal five." She walked off the stage as the curtain opened.
While everyone was focused on the stage, Michael paid special attention. Zan, what the hell is going on? He asked himself.
Belle looked from the stage to the men's faces and smiled to herself, everything was perfect.
Author's Note: As of 4/29/05 I have taken out the lyrics I Shall Believe by Sheryl Crow, Dreaming of You by Selena, and Love is Such a Crazy Thing by Pink, All the Things Your Man Won't Do by Joe, In the Air Tonight by Phil Collins, and As My Girl by Maxwell, as per the request of the management anywhere the lyrics appeared there is now an . So please take note if you wish to see the chapter in it's entirety with the lyrics please check my website.
