Chapter Three

Sandy exited the Lewis Oil office and started toward the radio station to do his taping session for the day. He had to get up the courage as himself to call Allie as the Mole. Not only to ask her out, but to thank her for having a part in convincing Marah to allow him into her life a little bit. He asked Tammy Winslow for the number to the Spaulding mansion as he saw her leaving the hospital, told her why, and she automatically agreed. That was one step he didn't have to worry about. Now, as he drove toward the station, he was repeating over and over in his head all of the possible ways to ask her out. Going into the Mole's voice, which was deeper and more confident than his own, he practiced. "And now, we have on the phone, the sultry, hot and sexy siren, Allie Spaulding! Hello there Allie, and welcome to Sandy and the Mole!" he paused, pretending that Allie was replying to him, giving enough time for her to say, 'Thank you Mole. Hello, guys. I'm glad to be here.'

He stopped. He felt stupid talking to himself...or, talking to nothing--talking to thin air. At least when he was on the air, he was talking to a puppet. Now, he was talking to an imaginary voice. He shook his head, pulled into the station parking lot and went inside, carrying the plastic bag that he kept the Mole in. He'd just wing it. He wasn't being himself. He was being the Mole, doing himself a favor. He pushed the door open, reached into the plastic bag, pulled the Mole out and set him on the table beside him. "Moley..." he looked to the puppet, a shy look on his face, even thinking about what he was going to do. "You haven't failed me yet when it came to helping me out of a rough situation, don't start now, man. When I call Allie, you have to bring all the interesting words and phrases out of me, okay?" he asked the puppet. The puppet just stared back at him, his button eyes glimmering in the dim light in the room.

Sandy sighed and put the headphones on, since there were twenty seconds left until he went on the air. "Please, don't fail my, Moley old buddy. I'm begging you! She's more of a Mole girl anyway..." he cleared his throat and lowered his voice a little, preparing to do the Mole's voice. "Good evening, Springfield, and welcome to Sandy and the Mole. Tonight, I have a special surprise planned for good old Sandy here. Since the rest of his week has been one bomb after another, I decided that I might try to shed some light on his life..." he explained, before changing his voice back to normal. "I get the feeling I'm going to want to kill you for this, Moley..." he deepened his voice again, then spoke. "Let's just say, all things Spaulding may want to keep their phones on the hook until the Mole graces them with his presence..." he gave off a grin at the fact that he'd sort of inconspicuously told Allie that he was calling her. He wondered if she was ever listening.

~~

Allie glanced at Eden, wondering what she was doing. "Hey, don't spaz, man. James doesn't need to be babied that much anymore, I mean, he is almost one..." she referred to the fact that Eden was sacking her baby brother around like a bag of potatoes.
Eden August laughed, setting the baby back in his bassinet. "Sorry, Allie. I just thought he may want to be held for a little while. So, anyway...what are we going to do tonight, girls? We're all over twenty one...wanna go out to a club or something?" she asked with a grin.
Marah shook her head and shrugged. "When I saw Sandy at the hospital earlier, he told me to be sure that if we left the house tonight, there was a radio on, so I think he's going to have a special message on his show for one of us or something..." she explained. "He doesn't know that you know, either...so, don't tell him."
Eden raised an eyebrow. "Know what?" she asked, wondering what Marah and Allie were talking about.

Allie raised an eyebrow, ignoring Eden. "Really? You didn't tell me that...it looks like we're hanging out here, guys. Do you want me to call anyone else to come over?" she turned her attention to Eden, who looked thoroughly bored already. "I mean, I can call Bill and see if he wants to come hang out or something..."
Eden shook her head and rolled her eyes. "I don't see why you'd want to sit around waiting for that no good piece of trash. He has nothing good to say about anyone anyway...or, at least his buddy the Mole doesn't..." she sat on the couch in the Spaulding mansion living room, as Allie turned the radio on, and they listened to the last song before Sandy and the Mole.
Marah sat down in a chair and took a drink from her Pepsi Vanilla that Allie had just brought from the kitchen. "Eden, Sandy is my brother..." she paused after saying the word brother. "And...that sounds really weird when I'm talking about anyone other than Shayne..."

Allie sat down beside Eden on the couch. "Sandy is an awesome person, Eden. I may not know him all too well, but I've talked to him a couple times in psych class, and he seems really genuine and really sweet. I'm a good judge of character, and Sandy seems really sweet..."
Eden shrugged and looked over to Marah. "So, how is the fight with Tony working out? Like, did you talk to him or, are you guys still on the outs?" she asked, and Allie noticed a bit of nervousness in her demeanor for some reason or another. "Because I really think you two need to work it out..."
Marah nodded and smiled. "Everything is fine between Tony and I. He's coming back and we're gonna start over from where we were before everything went bad. We're gonna move back into the museum together and stuff. He was so glad when I called him. All it took was a little convincing from Allie to get me to do it, too..." she bit her lower lip and flashed Allie a thankful look.

Eden grinned, the nervousness fading away. Allie noticed that right away, and immediately, she thought of what was up. Eden and Tony had done something to hurt Marah. Knowing Eden August, it had something to do with sex, too. She ignored her impulse and looked over to Marah, seeing the completely oblivious look on her face. "Oh, guys! The show is starting!" she sat back and listened as 'the Mole's' voice came out of the radio.

"Good evening, Springfield, and welcome to Sandy and the Mole..." as 'the Mole's' voice filled the room, Marah and Allie exchanged knowing glances, leaving Eden completely in the dark. "Tonight, I have a special surprise planned for good old Sandy here. Since the rest of his week has been one bomb after another, I decided that I might try to shed some light on his life..." 'the Mole' spoke.
"I get the feeling I'm going to want to kill you for this, Moley..." Sandy's voice came through the speakers, bringing an immediate smile to Allie's face.
'The Mole's' voice came back again. "Let's just say, all things Spaulding may want to keep their phones on the hook until the Mole graces them with his presence..." he paused. "But for now, we'll grace you with the voice that makes all the women scream and swoon..."
Sandy's voice returned. "This is John Mayer, 'Your Body is a Wonderland,'" he spoke, then the room was filled with the sound of John Mayer's voice, and Sandy and the Mole both disappeared temporarily.

Allie looked to Marah and smiled. "All things Spaulding? Oh man..." she laughed a little. "Let me get the phone from Thomas, so I can answer it myself--or at least one of us can..." she got up and rushed out of the room. "Oh..." she turned back for a second. "Do you guys want something to drink or to eat or whatever?" she asked.
Eden and Marah both shook their heads. "We're okay, thanks..." Marah smiled and watched as Allie rushed back out the door and down the hall. "She's got it bad for Sandy..." she turned to Eden and laughed a little. "Ever since I met her, though, I thought they'd be good together..." she grinned and tapped her foot along with the song. "I mean, they're both good people and they seem to have a lot in common..."
Eden shrugged and half-smiled. "I don't know. The Mole has said a lot of stuff about me that...hasn't been all too great. I mean, Allie is cool and all, and I know she deserves to be happy, but I think she could do so without the likes of Sandy Foster..." she sighed a little.

Allie came back into the room, carrying a cordless phone in her hand. "I snuck into Lizzie's bedroom when she was in the bathroom and shut her phone off, so she couldn't pick up. Knowing her, she'd ruin whatever they're doing," she shrugged and sat back in her seat, taking a slight breather.
Marah laughed and took a drink of her soda. "Hmm, I wonder what you're so nervous about, Allie. I mean, he's only calling! Maybe he just wants an interview. Maybe he wants an interview with Lizzie!" she joked, looking to Allie and receiving an angry glare. "I'm just kidding, Allie..."
Eden's face turned to complete disgust. "Oh God! Allie, you like Sandy Foster!" her jaw dropped. "That is...SO gross! He's so weird! And he's a--" she stopped, noticing the looks that both Allie and Marah were giving her. "I mean, I'm sorry, Marah, I know he's your brother, but that's just...I mean, Allie can do so much better! She's a SPAULDING! She could get any man she wanted!"

Allie rolled her eyes, ignoring Eden, as Sandy's voice came back through the radio. "So, Moley, what's this plan you have for the Spauldings?" he asked with a slight twinge of nervousness in his voice.
'The Mole's' voice came through, and even he sounded nervous. "Well, Sandy old buddy, I noticed that you've been spending a little time with angelic Allie Spaulding. Now, she's not only as hot as the Sahara, but she's a really good person, so my plan is...I'm going to give her a call, and we'll have a little talk..."
Sandy's voice came back, seemingly a lot more nervous. "Oh...no, you can't! Come on, man! You don't even have the number!" he yelled a little.
'The Mole' came back through, with a little laugh. "Actually, yes, I do. I talked to Tammy Winslow, a friend of Whack-job Lizzie Spaulding, and she gave it to me..." he explained. "So, let's take this little phone over here and dial up the numbers..." he stopped talking, and Allie heard the phone ring.

Allie's eyes widened, and a smile crossed her face. She wondered what they wanted to call her for, but rather than spend too much time thinking about that, she rushed to the phone and picked it up. "Hello, Spaulding residence, Allie speaking..." she acted nonchalant, then flashed Marah a toothy smile.
"Well, if it isn't the sultry Allie Spaulding. You're on the air at WSPF with Sandy and the Mole..." 'the Mole's' low voice came through the phone, and Allie's eyes lit up.
She finally spoke up. "Hey...I assume this is the Mole..." she laughed a little. "I'm a huge fan..." she grinned, sitting back in her chair, watching as Marah beamed at her, and ignoring Eden's callous glance.
'The Mole' laughed a little, then continued talking. "Well, it's nice to know that at least one person in the Spaulding family has good taste..." he joked. "You're not all stuck up."
Sandy interjected, trying to make it look like they were two different people, although Allie knew the truth, thanks to Marah. "So, what's it like living in the Spaulding mansion, anyway?" he asked. "Is it as great as the Springfield population likes to think that it is?"

Allie laughed and shook her head. "No, it's not, Sandy. You know all the rumors you hear about how everyone in here is a whack-job, and they all need to rent new personalities?" she asked, sounding very Mole-esque in her demeanor. "They're all true..." she half-smiled.
'The Mole' laughed and she could hear in his voice that there was a slight grin on his face. "Ah...I see. I thought you were going to defend them, since they're your family and all..." he told her.
Allie let out a loud laugh. "HA!" she rolled her eyes. "The Spauldings...suck--simple as that. So, did you call me to get an interview or something?" she asked him.
'The Mole' let out a laugh like Allie's, only a lot softer. "Ha...no. Well, here's the deal. I've seen you talking with my old pal Sandy here, a couple times..." he explained. "And, you seem like just the kind of person to get him out of his slump of a week..."
Sandy interjected once again, trying to defend himself against 'himself.' "Moley! SHUT UP, I can handle my own social life!" he yelled.
'The Mole' finished his sentence. "Or...lack thereof..."

As Sandy scoffed, Allie sounded interested. "It's okay, Sandy...let him continue..." she looked over to Marah, who was stifling a laugh. "I'm pretty interested to hear what he's got to say..." she explained, stifling a laugh of her own. She looked to Eden, who was looking back and forth between the two of them, wondering what was so funny. "Keep going, Mole..."
'The Mole' sounded like he had a grin in his voice. "Well, you know about the New Year's Party at the Beacon this tomorrow, right?" he asked Allie.
Allie thought for a second. She planned on going whether she had a date or not, but going with Sandy would be a definite plus. "Um, yeah..." she paused. "Why do you ask?" she asked, curious.
'The Mole' continued with his plan. "Well, Sandy has enough money to get himself and a date in. The only problem is...he lacks a date to bring along. So, here's where the Mole's ingenious mind comes in. Although you live in the Spaulding mansion, he figured that it might be nice for you not to have to pay for things...so, my dear friend Sandy here was figuring, you could accompany him to the New Year's Party..."

Allie's smile could have spread across the Nile River. "Well, if Sandy is so keen on taking me to the Gala, why doesn't he ask me himself?" she asked. "Or, is it really you that wants to take me, Mole?"
'The Mole' paused for a second. "Well, I, in all my Mole glory, am much bolder than Sandy is...so, he asked for me to ask you. But, if you insist, I can coerce Sandy into asking you himself...Sandy?" he threw the attention to Sandy's direction. "You wanna ask Allie something?"
Sandy cleared his throat nervously. "Allie, if you're not doing anything tomorrow...do you want to go to the New Year's Eve Party with me?" he asked.
Allie looked at Marah again, an ecstatic look on her face. She was about to scream with joy, but she had to wait until she got off the phone first. "I'd love to, Sandy. Pick me up at seven-thirty?" she asked him.
Sandy nodded, then realized that he was on the phone, so he had to speak. "Okay. Seven-thirty it is...thanks, Allie. I'll see you tomorrow night. And thanks, Moley..."