It is now the Friday morning of the Winter Wonderland dance, at the beginning of school. Clover, with a twinge of sadness, sees the advertisement for the dance and wheels herself into the school. But all of the sudden, she feels someone pushing her wheelchair.
"Thanks, gals," she says without looking.
"I'm sorry," says a voice, causing Clover to turn her head. "I am not who you think I am."
"Clarence?" asks a startled Clover.
"Yes, I wanted to ask you if you would like to go to the dance tonight with me," says Clarence, expecting a rebuff. That's why he is asking Clover outside of the school halls. There won't be a crowd witnessing any putdowns.
"Well, Clarence, I am not sure how much fun I'd be. I can't dance!"
"Clover, you can still listen to the music, and we can enjoy the refreshments and the company of our friends!"
"I never looked at it that way! But, ....I can't get into a car Clarence," she adds sadly.
"Not to worry! My folks are going to let me use the wheelchair van we use for Mom, tonight!"
"Your Mom is in a wheelchair?" asks a startled Clover.
"Yes, Clover. Mom has Multiple Sclerosis and hasn't been able to walk for a few years now. She wanted to become a prisoner of the house, but Dad wouldn't let her. He bought the van, and they go out at least two times a week. Now, you wouldn't even know Mom was unable to walk, she's so active!"
"OK, Clarence! I'll go with you!" says an excited Clover.
"I'll pick you up at 7:30. It's a little earlier than usual, but I want to make sure that your wheelchair is secure, before we go."
"It's a date!!!"
Clarence happily wheels Clover to her homeroom, and both are greeted by Alex and Sam.
Clover gushes, "I'll be at the dance! Clarence asked me!!!"
Alex says, "That's great! We can all share the same table!" Sam and Alex give Clarence a big smile! He took the hint!
That night at 7:30 Clarence arrives at Clover's home. He parks the van in the driveway, leaving as much room as possible for the van elevator to deploy and pick up Clover's wheelchair.
He rings the doorbell, and Clover's Dad answers. "Good evening, Mr. Ames! My name is Clarence! I'm here to take Clover to the dance!"
Kent has some misgivings, "Hi, Clarence. Clarence, could you show me how you plan to get my daughter into your van?"
"Sure, Mr. Ames! Let me show you!"
"Hi, Clover. Ready to go?"
"I sure am, Clarence!"
Clarence happily pushes Clover's wheelchair to the van as her Dad walks with them.
"You see, sir, I open the sliding side door and then deploy this elevator," Clarence pushes a button and a platform slowly lowers from inside the van.
"I'll then put Clover's chair on the lift, lock the wheels, raise the chair up, and move her to this spot in the van," Clarence continues, as he does what he says. He then shows Kent the spot Clover's chair will sit.
"I'll then again lock the wheelchair wheels here, and strap the chair to the floor of the van, so it cannot move, with these straps!" concludes Clarence, as he secures Clover in the van..
Kent is impressed. "I must allow, Clarence! You certainly know what you're doing! I feel much better seeing you secure my little flower so she doesn't get hurt!"
"Ohhhhh, Daddy!", says Clover in exasperation.
"Well, sir, I do it quite often for my Mother!"
"Well, have a good time, kids!" says Kent as he exits the van and goes back into the house. His daughter is in good hands. He is relieved, and Stella will be too.
The trip to the dance is uneventful. Clover is enjoying the ride and the company.
At the dance, Clarence proudly wheels Clover into the gym. Sam and Alex have already secured a table for the six of them. As the first dance starts, everyone goes to the dance floor, except for Clover and Clarence.
Clarence looks at Clover and smiles, "Would you like to dance, wheelchair style, Clover?"
Clover looks quizzically at Clarence, "How do you do that? I can't get out of the wheelchair!"
"You won't have to, Clover! Would you like to try it? My Dad does this with my Mom all of the time!"
Clover doesn't see any harm in trying. "Ok, Clarence, I'll try!"
"Great!" With that Clarence wheels Clover to a secluded corner of the dance floor, where they will not be in anyone's way. He faces Clover and starts moving the wheelchair by the arms, to the beat of the music. Soon Clover is moving her upper body with the music, and she and Clarence are dancing, wheelchair style!
As the dance ends, Clover laughs the laugh of fun! "Clarence! That was GREAT! But won't you get awful tired pushing this chair around on the dance floor all night?"
Clarence responds happily, as he stands behind her chair for the next number, which is a slow dance, "No, not really Clover! You see, for the fast dances, I'll move the chair by the arms. For the slow ones, I'll move it with the handles back here!"
Clarence then slowly rocks Clover's wheelchair to the rhythm of the slow dance. She leans back so that her head is touching Clarence's arm, as she enjoys the song. Clarence is also enjoying it.
When it comes to the first break in the music, all of the other couples give Clover and Clarence a rousing round of applause for their wheelchair dancing!
Back at the table, Alex exclaims, "You guys were awesome!"
Sam adds, "That is sooo cool!"
Clover responds, "I am really enjoying this dance, thanks to Clarence!" She smiles sweetly at Clarence and gives his hand a squeeze.
Clarence responds, "I'm enjoying the dance too. It helps when you have a great dance partner!" Clarence returns the hand squeeze.
Clover and Clarence dance the night away wheelchair style. But all too soon it is time to go home. Clarence secures Clover in the van and they both talk happily about the enjoyable night as he drives her home.
As Clarence wheels Clover to her front door, he says, "Thank you, Clover for a fun filled night!"
Clover responds, "It really is I who thank you, Clarence! I never dreamed a dance could be so enjoyable in a wheelchair!"
Clarence is about to ring the doorbell when Clover says, "Clarence, let me straighten your collar before you ring the bell!"
So saying, Clarence says "Thanks, Clover," and stoops so she can reach his collar.
Clover fusses a little with his collar and then kisses him on the cheek! "Thanks, again, Clarence! Please call me again! I really enjoyed tonight with you!"
Clarence's blushes momentarily, as he smiles. "WOW! Thanks Clover! I will gladly call you again! I enjoyed this evening a lot too!"
Clover says, "You know, there is a dance two weeks from tonight. I should be out of this wheelchair by then," she hints.
"Would you do me the honor?" asks Clarence somewhat surprised.
"I'll be happy to go with you Clarence!"
"Thanks, Clover! It's a date! I'll be thinking about it and looking forward to it for the next two weeks!"
With that Clarence rings the doorbell, and Kent answers.
"Did you two have a good time?" Kent asks, as he takes the wheelchair.
"The BEST, Dad!" answers Clover.
"Yes, sir," says Clarence.
"I'm glad. Thanks for taking good care of my little flower, Clarence! Goodnight!"
"You're welcome, sir! And thanks again, Clover! Goodnight!" says Clarence.
"You're welcome, Clarence! I'm looking forward to our date in two weeks! Goodnight!" says Clover.
Clarence returns to the van and is riding a cloud. He'll be thinking of Clover all weekend! He never thought this date would go this well! And he has another date with Clover! How lucky can he be, he wonders happily as he drives home.
Clover is also happy. She really likes Clarence. He might not be a '10', but he cares! Most guys she's gone with treat her like a trophy girlfriend – someone to show off to their friends, but they really didn't care about her feelings. The only other guy who cared about her feelings was Matt. But she foolishly let him get away, and Sam gratefully grabbed him! She'll try not to make that same mistake with Clarence! She really wants to get to know him better!