Disclaimer: I only own the bellhop... that's all folks. Thanks to everyone who reviewed by the way! I really appreciate it, and if you are reading this, please review for each chapter so that I can get a better grade :)
Michael's entire ride to the Plaza Hotel was spent staring at Mia. It was impossible to believe that his whole mind could be focused on a single being for this long, given his hormonal teenage nature. Especially since that person was his little sister's best friend. Again and again his mind conjured up romantic images of him and her together. He wondered at how much easier it was to picture kissing her with her so close to him. Maybe it was seeing her high cheekbones, clear, creamy skin, and deep blue-grey eyes...
Mia could feel the weight of Michael's stare fixed upon her. 'Maybe I have something on my face,' she thought to herself. She ran her hand across her face but felt nothing. She patted down her updo as well, but when he continued to look, she shot him a quizzical glance. He seemed to snap back into consciousness, and sheepishly looked away. Was that a blush creeping across his face or was she just imagining things? She decided it must be the latter. Or maybe it was the heat. Come to think of it, she was feeling a bit overheated herself. "Hey Lars, " she called out to the burlesque Norwegian man driving the limousine. "Can you turn up the air conditioning or something? We're burning up back here!"
"No need, Princess. We have arrived." Sure enough, the car had just pulled up to the covered parking circle of the Plaza Hotel, where another half dozen or so yellow taxis were also unloading passengers from the wedding. A young, neatly uniformed bellhop in a maroon suit opened the door and helped everyone out of the car. When it was Mia's turn, he helped her to slide out, then kissed her hand and winked. Her eyes grew wide, as did Michael's. Lilly cocked an eyebrow as if to question why she hadn't received the same treatment while the Drs. Moscovitz laughed nervously.
"What are you playing at!" Michael nearly bowled over the surprised bellhop once he regained his composure. No one had any right to horn in on his action! Well, she wasn't exactly his yet, but he was determined to do something about that, once he had worked up enough nerve to make a move anyways. He grabbed Mia's shoulders and steered her in the direction of the revolving doors leading to the ornate lobby. "What a jerk," he muttered out loud. The rest of the family followed quietly, well aware that everyone in the carport was now openly staring at them.
"Well that was... interesting," Mia finally managed once they were safely inside the Belcourt Room, where twenty or so round tables were flanked by a full-service bar and a buffet table heaped with a variety of dishes. She was grateful that her Grandmére had arrived before her, and didn't see the whole scene outside. She probably would have had an aneurism or sorts and gotten the poor guy fired. Not that any of that was rude or uncalled for, but the press would have a field day and that would be way too much of a hassle.
Her thoughts were interrupted when Michael replied, "Yeah, I can't believe he had the nerve to do something like..." His sentence trailed off as the both of them realized that Michael still had his arm around her. "... Like that," he finished lamely, removing his arm from her shoulder for the second time that morning.
Mia frowned. "What do you mean by that?" Was he implying that she wasn't worthy to be kissed by random strangers? I mean, she knew that no one in his right mind would want to kiss her, but it wasn't very nice of him to remind her about it!
Almost as if reading her mind, Michael hastily said, "I know why he'd want to, but it was a bit, well, forward, of him." He struggled to find the right words but was luckily saved as Lilly came over, telling them to take a seat since the newlyweds would be there soon. Sometimes even that little devil deserved a reward: she could have some great timing!
As the trio walked to their table, Mia pondered what exactly Michael had meant by "I know why he'd want to." It almost sounded as if he may like her a bit. As if he wanted to kiss her! But she shouldn't kid herself, she thought. It was impossible. Just then, Mom and Mr. G came through the doors, holding hands. The crowd in the room let out a loud cheer. It was pre-decided that the carriage would arrive a half-hour after everyone else, so that "all the guests would have time to get there." Mia strongly suspected the extra loop through and around Central Park was used for other purposes, but tried not to think just how far one could go in a horse-drawn carriage. Not to mention how many innocent pairs of eyes could have been deflowered by her mom and new father. She was distracted, however, by the end of a quick speech ending in two of her favorite words: "Dig in!" A rumble in her stomach reminded her that it was nearly one o'clock by now. She had been too nervous that morning to fully indulge in her Frosted Flakes, so the smells wafting from the food tables thoroughly excited her. She followed the Moscovitzes to the growing line of hungry people, happy at her previous insistence on vegetarian fare. Sure enough, some of her meatless favorites dominated the table, along with chicken, beef, and seafood. Passing over what looked like pork chops, she piled her plate with macaroni and cheese and grilled vegetables.
"Hungry, Princess?" Michael, who was standing right behind her, grinned. "Because I don't think you have quite enough food on that plate of yours."
His pointed stare at her heaping plate of food caused her to look down. Any more added would probably cause a massive overflow. "Well they bought these plates way too small," Mia exclaimed, indignant.
Michael laughed. "That's what you get for picking up a SALAD plate, Thermopolis." He showed her his own plate, which was nearly twice the size of hers. "But then again, you are a vegetarian and all!"
Mia tried hard not to melt as Michael's smile bored straight into her heart. What was it about that face that attracted her so? She watched as he trotted to the start of the line, grabbed a regular size plate, and came back. He expertly tipped the overflow of food from the salad plate onto the new one, and handed it to her with a flourish. "Voila," he said, smiling. "Fit for a princess!"
Mia giggled. "Merci beaucoup!"
"Whoa whoa whoa, lets not start Frenching here in front of these poor people!" He winked and began to head back to their table, making Mia temporarily unable to walk; however, she soon gained her composure and followed him.
"Why are you so happy?" demanded a fuming Lilly back at the table. She had obviously not gotten over the little kiss thing earlier. Mia, on the other hand, had pretty much forgotten about the whole thing: she was a bit busy with Michael. Not as busy as she'd like to be with him, mind you, but she figured it was a start.
Mia sat down and began shoveling food in her mouth. "Why do you think!" She was greeted with a stare and decided to clarify. "I'm happy because I now have real food in my system!"
"Yeah, that's definitely it," Lilly said, still looking a bit miffed. "So when are you gonna give your speech?"
"Ugh," Mia groaned. The speech. She had almost forgotten about that. So nice of Lilly to remind her before her food had been properly digested. The mere thought of talking about her mom and Mr. G in front of 200 people was almost more than she could stand, but she figured there was no way out. Especially since she was supposed to give it while people were eating. She looked at her mother at the next table over. Sure enough, she was looking at her, expectantly. Nervously, Mia pushed back her chair and stood up. "Um, excuse me," she said. The room continued to be full of chatter.
"Could I please have your attention for one moment?" A loud voice next to her had finally managed to quiet the crowd. Mia looked to see that Michael had stood up and was now speaking once more. "Our very own Princess Mia would like to say a few words on the subject at hand. So here she is!" Applause broke out and Mia strongly considered running out of the room, but didn't want to appear chicken in front of Michael.
"Hi everyone, um, Mom asked me to give a speech, so, well here I am." The words she had rehearsed countless times in front of her mirror at home seemed to be coming back to her! "At first, I was a bit mad about Mom and Mr. G's relationship. I kinda expected it not to last. I mean, he does teach math and all. But once I realized that I was, well, stuck with him, I began to think of all the possibilities. No longer paying for tutors. Getting that little extra help on quizzes..." She let the sentence trail as the crowd laughed. "I guess that old saying is true: there really is a silver lining in every cloud. So, Mom, don't get a divorce or my grades will slip even further! But anyways, good luck! Especially on that honeymoon..." Mia could hardly believe it! The room was filled with the sound of people clapping. For her! She had actually made a speech without freaking out too much or throwing up!
"Nice job Thermopolis, maybe there's hope for you yet," came the familiar voice from next to her.
Mia grinned, "Thanks Michael."
"And now its time to cut the cake," her mother announced to the guests, who clapped even louder. She and Mr. G fed each other cake, then passed out pieces to everyone else. "And I almost forgot something! Frank and I prepared a little surprise for everyone! All the males please move to the left, ladies to the right. If you are one of those people who refuses to attach a biased label to whatever parts they have, then stay in the middle." This was met by laughter, but everyone parted accordingly. Helen turned her back to the women and launched the bouquet over her shoulder. Amazingly enough it sailed right through the air and landed right in Mia's arms. She looked surprised, but giggled anyways.
"Like mother, like daughter," someone called out. "Hey! Not fair!" Another said.
Mr. G turned his back on the guys, who were looking nervous, and threw something into the air. It was caught by Michael, who held it up with a confused look on his face. It was a frilly, lacy garter.
Mia wondered what was going on. What would he do with a garter? Her question was answered when her mother said "Alright, it looks like we have the next happy couple right here! Michael, would you please be so kind as to slip the garter onto your sweetheart?"
Michael slowly walked over to Mia and knelt down in front of her. He smiled up at her and her heart began to race. Carefully, he slipped the garter over her heeled shoe and slightly up her leg, thinking to himself all the while what a lucky guy he was. He had always wanted to do this to her! And he had the whole week to show her just how much he liked it! Things were definitely picking up for him!