They arrived at the ball just on time. Sharona parked the car and they walked in. "Monk, Sharona," called a familiar voice behind them. They turned around to see Captain Stottlemeyer and his wife Karen. The Captain was obviously uncomfortable in his tuxedo, but Karen looked beautiful in her tan brocade gown.
"Karen, you look gorgeous!" Sharona exclaimed, "I love your dress!"
"Thank you, Sharona! You look beautiful too!" Karen replied.
"Women," Stottlemeyer muttered to Monk. "Put 'em in fancy dresses and they go crazy." Karen, overhearing this, shot her husband a look of death.
"Well, at least it isn't like pulling teeth to get us dressed." She retorted. The two women laughed as Sharona relayed Adrian's bowtie crisis.
Sharona looked up to say something to Adrian, but he was looking over her head at someone walking in.
"Randy," the Captain greeted him, "I thought you weren't going to make it." Lieutenant Disher joined the group, alone.
Sharona turned and was oddly surprised when she saw him. He actually looked dignified in a tuxedo- except for the strange expression on his face, and the fact that he was staring at her, again.
Randy was in shock. He had never seen Sharona dressed up before, and although she was always attractive, tonight she looked amazingly beautiful. He could have sworn that he even saw her blush a little when she saw him. A sharp pain in his ribs brought him back to reality.
Stottlemeyer, noticing this, had elbowed the lieutenant in his ribs and gave him a taunting look. "Earth to Lieutenant Disher," he said.
"Um, right. Yeah, I- uh, left a little late." He tried to regain his cool.
"You're alone," Monk noted. The unevenness was killing him.
"Yeah," Randy replied, "She couldn't make it."
"What happened, Randy?" Sharona asked, regaining her tough-as-nails sarcasm, "Your mother stood you up?" She smiled slyly.
"No," Randy shot back, thinking to himself, "Her arthritis is bad when it rains."
"What happened to the wallet model?" Stottlemeyer asked.
"We broke up about a month ago. I know none of you even believed she existed, but it's true." He looked pointedly at Sharona when he said this. Waiting for a sharp comeback, he was slightly surprised when he heard none.
He wasn't the only one who was surprised. Normally, Sharona knew she would say something clever, but for some reason she didn't. Whether it was because the news struck a different chord than she had expected, or because of Randy's pointed stare, she found herself momentarily speechless.
