They had a great time shopping. They walked down the streets together and
looked in all the windows. They bought ice creams and joked around. It was
like a scene out of a mushy movie. But no matter what Matt said or did,
Mimi was careful not to get too close to him. She did not want to come
between Sora and a man she was chasing. Anybody who did that was likely to
be hung, drawn and quartered, and Mimi felt like staying in one piece.
The first shop they had gone into had felt more like a dark cathedral than a tuxedo shop on 53rd. They had bought Matt's tux jacket and pants there, and left somewhat hurriedly. Mimi had felt right at home there, but Matt had been glad to get out of there and away from the snooty sales clerks with their judging stares and the ominous feeling the shop itself had seemed to generate.
Then, after a lot more walking, they had gone to a little shop down a side street that was run by a kind Italian lady and her family. There Matt had tried on countless shirts, but the one both he and Mimi had liked best was a black one that matched his jacket. The owner of the store had said that there was an offer on that meant he could get a tie for free. There wasn't really any such thing, but the lady had seen how empty Matt's wallet was, and he and that girl made such a lovely couple she didn't want to spoil their fun. So Matt had picked a bright pink satin tie so that he would match Mimi perfectly.
When Matt was completely outfitted they had walked home. No matter how hard Mimi tried she could not fight the feelings she had for him, so she had taken his hand in hers, and they had walked the last distance hand in hand.
Once they arrived back home, it was too late to do much. So they just ate and watched TV, with Mimi resting against Matt's shoulder, and then they went to bed.
*~*~*~*
The next morning, once they had eaten breakfast and were fully awake, Mimi decided that they should get right down to business. This was purely because she was afraid of what she might do if she was left with him for too long with nothing to do.
"Okay," she said. "Let's try to teach you how to dance, shall we?"
She grabbed his hand and dragged him into the centre of the lounge room, where there was free space available. They worked and worked at his dancing techniques, spending almost every waking moment in each other's arm, trying to perfect his moves.
It was 4:00 on Sunday afternoon by the time he had learnt the jive, the Charleston, the quickstep, the samba and the tango. Mimi was flushed from all the exercise, but Matt thought she looked gorgeous in her white sweat- pants with the red stripe down the side, and her three-quarter length red V- neck top, with her face pink and her hair slightly messy. Mimi was thinking something like that about Matt in his baggy pants that would occasionally start to slip down if he wasn't careful, and his blue shirt with the top two buttons undone.
But Mimi shook those ideas out of her head as she said, "Okay, there is just one more dance for you to learn. The Strauss waltz. It's really the easiest of them all. Firstly, place your hands here and here." She moved his hands, placing one in her hand and the other on her hip.
"Now," She said as she used the remote to turn on the CD player, which started rolling out the sweet, soft music that was the traditional Strauss waltz. "Move your left foot forward as I move my right foot back. That's it, now put your right foot forward..." And soon he was dancing the waltz beautifully. She looked up into his face, which was slightly crumpled in concentration.
She could see his lips moving as he counted the beats and she smiled. They stayed that way for a long time, just moving slowly in circles. The music eventually stopped, but they didn't notice. It was only when the hall clock chimed 5:00 that Mimi drew back sharply, shocked to see how late it was.
"Oh no!" She cried. "The dance starts in an hour and a half, and I haven't even started to get ready!" She darted out of Matt's arms and down the hall.
In a few seconds Matt heard the sound of streaming water coming from the bathroom. He sighed heavily and walked to his room. It was truly amazing how long it could take women to get ready. He took his suit out of the cupboard and laid it out on his bed. Now all he had to do was wait until Mimi got out of the shower- which could be quite a long time- and then he could get ready.
Around 20 minutes later the splashing sound ceased and he heard the pattering of her feet and then the slamming of a door being shut. He assumed it was safe for him to enter the bathroom now. He walked in and locked the door behind him. He stepped over the assorted bottles and soaps that were strewn across the floor and turned the shower taps on.
Mimi could hear this from her room, but she didn't have enough time to care. She pulled on a robe over her towel and sat down in front of her mirror to begin polishing her nails a pearly pink.
As soon as they were dry she rushed over to her cupboard and flipped through the hangers trying to locate her new dress. She found it and then pulled it on over her wet hair. She zipped it up the back and then turned around to do something with her hair.
It took her about half an hour to get the effect she was after, and by that time Matt was fully dressed and waiting in the lounge. Mimi glanced at her clock and fretted about only having half an hour left. She grabbed her make- up and put it on as quickly as she could, which still wasn't fast enough.
Just as she was finishing her private phone line rang. "Darn it!" she thought to herself, and picked up the receiver. "Hello," She said into the phone. "Look, I don't mean to be rude, but I'm in rather a lot of a hurry, so if you could ring me back tomorrow..."
She didn't get a chance to finish her sentence.
Sora, who was on the other end, said "Mimi I know you are in a hurry, but I need you to tell Matt something."
Mimi's heart dropped to her feet. She was sure this was going to spoil her night entirely, but Sora continued, "I need you to tell him that he was right. He was right about me and he was right about us. He isn't my true love; he isn't my penguin. He was right about me and Tai, and I was lucky to be able to get him back. Mimi, Matt doesn't love me, he loves you- and I was a fool not to realise that. Just please tell him that. Bye."
And then Sora's voice disappeared and was replaced by the dial tone. Mimi's heart started beating double time. Matt wasn't going out with Sora. Sora didn't even want him anymore. Matt was hers!
She was so happy she could have cried. But that would smudge her make-up and she'd waste even more time fixing it. She grabbed her bag and ran out of her room. She nearly collided with Matt, who was coming to see what was taking so long.
At the sight of her he took a sharp breath. From her head to her feet she looked like an angel, or a princess. He couldn't help staring at her. She was wearing her gypsy-angel dress, and baby pink sparkling shoes. Her hair was out, worked into complete straightness with the ends curling slightly upwards. She wore enough make-up to look stunning, but not enough to look overdone. She wore no jewellery, except for a silver circlet around her head, with it's pink gem falling down to the middle of her forehead. Matt thought of it as a halo, the finishing touch on her angel-aura.
He couldn't help but stare. Fortunately for him, Mimi couldn't stop staring either. Matt had his hair long and spiky, styled to perfection with tonnes of gel. His black shirt was untucked, and his tie wasn't pulled up high enough to hide the fact his top button was undone. Even in his clean-cut tux, he still managed to look like a rock-star. Mimi's father cleared his throat, breaking the silence and forcing them both back into the land of the living.
Mimi grabbed his hand and they walked together out the door.
The first shop they had gone into had felt more like a dark cathedral than a tuxedo shop on 53rd. They had bought Matt's tux jacket and pants there, and left somewhat hurriedly. Mimi had felt right at home there, but Matt had been glad to get out of there and away from the snooty sales clerks with their judging stares and the ominous feeling the shop itself had seemed to generate.
Then, after a lot more walking, they had gone to a little shop down a side street that was run by a kind Italian lady and her family. There Matt had tried on countless shirts, but the one both he and Mimi had liked best was a black one that matched his jacket. The owner of the store had said that there was an offer on that meant he could get a tie for free. There wasn't really any such thing, but the lady had seen how empty Matt's wallet was, and he and that girl made such a lovely couple she didn't want to spoil their fun. So Matt had picked a bright pink satin tie so that he would match Mimi perfectly.
When Matt was completely outfitted they had walked home. No matter how hard Mimi tried she could not fight the feelings she had for him, so she had taken his hand in hers, and they had walked the last distance hand in hand.
Once they arrived back home, it was too late to do much. So they just ate and watched TV, with Mimi resting against Matt's shoulder, and then they went to bed.
*~*~*~*
The next morning, once they had eaten breakfast and were fully awake, Mimi decided that they should get right down to business. This was purely because she was afraid of what she might do if she was left with him for too long with nothing to do.
"Okay," she said. "Let's try to teach you how to dance, shall we?"
She grabbed his hand and dragged him into the centre of the lounge room, where there was free space available. They worked and worked at his dancing techniques, spending almost every waking moment in each other's arm, trying to perfect his moves.
It was 4:00 on Sunday afternoon by the time he had learnt the jive, the Charleston, the quickstep, the samba and the tango. Mimi was flushed from all the exercise, but Matt thought she looked gorgeous in her white sweat- pants with the red stripe down the side, and her three-quarter length red V- neck top, with her face pink and her hair slightly messy. Mimi was thinking something like that about Matt in his baggy pants that would occasionally start to slip down if he wasn't careful, and his blue shirt with the top two buttons undone.
But Mimi shook those ideas out of her head as she said, "Okay, there is just one more dance for you to learn. The Strauss waltz. It's really the easiest of them all. Firstly, place your hands here and here." She moved his hands, placing one in her hand and the other on her hip.
"Now," She said as she used the remote to turn on the CD player, which started rolling out the sweet, soft music that was the traditional Strauss waltz. "Move your left foot forward as I move my right foot back. That's it, now put your right foot forward..." And soon he was dancing the waltz beautifully. She looked up into his face, which was slightly crumpled in concentration.
She could see his lips moving as he counted the beats and she smiled. They stayed that way for a long time, just moving slowly in circles. The music eventually stopped, but they didn't notice. It was only when the hall clock chimed 5:00 that Mimi drew back sharply, shocked to see how late it was.
"Oh no!" She cried. "The dance starts in an hour and a half, and I haven't even started to get ready!" She darted out of Matt's arms and down the hall.
In a few seconds Matt heard the sound of streaming water coming from the bathroom. He sighed heavily and walked to his room. It was truly amazing how long it could take women to get ready. He took his suit out of the cupboard and laid it out on his bed. Now all he had to do was wait until Mimi got out of the shower- which could be quite a long time- and then he could get ready.
Around 20 minutes later the splashing sound ceased and he heard the pattering of her feet and then the slamming of a door being shut. He assumed it was safe for him to enter the bathroom now. He walked in and locked the door behind him. He stepped over the assorted bottles and soaps that were strewn across the floor and turned the shower taps on.
Mimi could hear this from her room, but she didn't have enough time to care. She pulled on a robe over her towel and sat down in front of her mirror to begin polishing her nails a pearly pink.
As soon as they were dry she rushed over to her cupboard and flipped through the hangers trying to locate her new dress. She found it and then pulled it on over her wet hair. She zipped it up the back and then turned around to do something with her hair.
It took her about half an hour to get the effect she was after, and by that time Matt was fully dressed and waiting in the lounge. Mimi glanced at her clock and fretted about only having half an hour left. She grabbed her make- up and put it on as quickly as she could, which still wasn't fast enough.
Just as she was finishing her private phone line rang. "Darn it!" she thought to herself, and picked up the receiver. "Hello," She said into the phone. "Look, I don't mean to be rude, but I'm in rather a lot of a hurry, so if you could ring me back tomorrow..."
She didn't get a chance to finish her sentence.
Sora, who was on the other end, said "Mimi I know you are in a hurry, but I need you to tell Matt something."
Mimi's heart dropped to her feet. She was sure this was going to spoil her night entirely, but Sora continued, "I need you to tell him that he was right. He was right about me and he was right about us. He isn't my true love; he isn't my penguin. He was right about me and Tai, and I was lucky to be able to get him back. Mimi, Matt doesn't love me, he loves you- and I was a fool not to realise that. Just please tell him that. Bye."
And then Sora's voice disappeared and was replaced by the dial tone. Mimi's heart started beating double time. Matt wasn't going out with Sora. Sora didn't even want him anymore. Matt was hers!
She was so happy she could have cried. But that would smudge her make-up and she'd waste even more time fixing it. She grabbed her bag and ran out of her room. She nearly collided with Matt, who was coming to see what was taking so long.
At the sight of her he took a sharp breath. From her head to her feet she looked like an angel, or a princess. He couldn't help staring at her. She was wearing her gypsy-angel dress, and baby pink sparkling shoes. Her hair was out, worked into complete straightness with the ends curling slightly upwards. She wore enough make-up to look stunning, but not enough to look overdone. She wore no jewellery, except for a silver circlet around her head, with it's pink gem falling down to the middle of her forehead. Matt thought of it as a halo, the finishing touch on her angel-aura.
He couldn't help but stare. Fortunately for him, Mimi couldn't stop staring either. Matt had his hair long and spiky, styled to perfection with tonnes of gel. His black shirt was untucked, and his tie wasn't pulled up high enough to hide the fact his top button was undone. Even in his clean-cut tux, he still managed to look like a rock-star. Mimi's father cleared his throat, breaking the silence and forcing them both back into the land of the living.
Mimi grabbed his hand and they walked together out the door.
