"Ruthie! You look beautiful!" Meredith exclaimed entering Ruthie's bedroom. She was holding a garment bag and her hair was wild with curlers.
Ruthie looked at Meredith and smiled. "I'd say the same, but the truth is that your hair looks a little scary!"
Meredith laughed, touching one of her many curlers. "I had no idea what I was going to do with this hair of mine, but I figured I'd set the curlers just in case. Hi Mrs. Camden."
Annie smiled at Meredith. "Meredith, you haven't yet met Mary or Sarah, my daughter and daughter-in-law. Girls, this is Meredith. She's Mac's date for tonight."
Meredith sat down beside Ruthie and mouthed, "Where's Sandy?"
Ruthie shrugged. "Hiding?"
The truth was that Ruthie was actually feeling a little badly for Sandy. All of the girls in the house were locked away in this room, without a care for the whereabouts of Simon's new girlfriend. Ruthie was sure that they would have even accepted Rose, the royal pain! But she thought it best to stay silent. After all, the jury was still out on how Ruthie really felt about Sandy.
The next hour was spent in a sea of perfume, hairspray, makeup and panty hose, until two very beautiful girls emerged, ready for a wonderful night.
Everyone had left the room until just Ruthie and Meredith were left. Ruthie ran to her door and closed it lightly. She turned to Meredith and smiled. "I'm so nervous. You?"
Meredith let out a huge breath, plopping down into Ruthie's bed. "I thought I was the only one. I feel a little weird going with Mac, even though I think he's a really great guy. I feel like we hardly know each other and proms are supposed to be all romantic and stuff."
A flash of worry crossed over Ruthie. Meredith looked gorgeous. What if Martin took one look at her and regretted breaking up with her?
"I know what you're thinking and you can stop. Martin and I are just friends now, Ruthie. He is crazy about you and you're crazy about him. If ever there was a couple more meant for each other than you two, I've never seen it. I'm just worried about having to kiss Mac at the end of the night," Meredith admitted. "Is it expected?"
Ruthie laughed. "I wish kissing was the only thing I had to worry about."
Ruthie instantly blushed, feeling completely embarrassed for having let the words slip out of her mouth. The last thing she wanted to do was confide in Martin's ex-girlfriend about her sex problems.
"Are you and Martin?" Meredith asked. "Wait! Stop! I really don't want to know."
"We're not. Yet. Martin's been acting really weird lately and Mac mentioned something about some big surprise Martin's been planning for prom night. What could that be?" Ruthie asked, joining Meredith on the bed.
Meredith knew that Martin had slept with Sandy, but she doubted he would ever try something like that with Ruthie Camden. But sometimes people can surprise you.
"Girls!" Annie called. "The boys are here!"
Martin was still fidgeting with his tie when he rang the Camden's doorbell. He wished he hadn't let Mac talk him into renting a tuxedo; he felt stupid.
"Quit it!" Mac yelled, slapping Martin's hand away. "Why are you so nervous? You're taking your girlfriend. I'm the one bringing a virtual stranger!"
The door opened just then, revealing three large males with arms crossed over their chests, guarding the entry.
"Reverend Camden, Matt, Simon! Hey guys!" Mac said with a smile, walking into the entry. "Are the girls ready?"
Martin stepped forward, just as Mac had done, but the three Camden men also stepped forward, blocking Martin's entrance into the house. Martin found himself up against a force to be reckoned with.
"Can I come in?" he asked.
"Eventually," Matt said. "But first there are some rules we need to go over."
"Rules?" Martin asked, his face beginning to heat up.
"Rules," Simon responded. "Ruthie is to be home at midnight…on the dot."
"Of course," Martin agreed. "I wouldn't think of…"
"Second," Eric began. "You and Ruthie are to go straight to the prom and nowhere else. When you leave to take her home, make sure that you come directly here and make no pit stops on the way."
"Where else would we go?" Martin asked, confusion written all over his face.
"Don't play innocent with us!" Matt yelled. "We know all about your 'plans'."
"And it's not gonna happen!" Simon assured, stepping forward once again, until he was chest to chest with Martin.
"What's not going to happen?" Martin asked. He was completely confused now and a little scared. He didn't want to say something that would anger these three even more.
"The motel, the backseat, the janitor's closet, wherever you had planned to take Ruthie," Matt replied heatedly.
Martin's eyes grew large, finally comprehending what was being suggested. "You think that I…? I would never… I think there's been some kind of misunderstanding!"
"What's a misunderstanding?" Ruthie asked, entering the conversation.
Martin looked up and his breath caught. Ruthie was standing mid-way on the stairs, her dark curly hair up, a few loose tendrils framing her beautiful face. And her dress! It was gorgeous! Ruthie was wearing a gold strapless dress, the bodice wound tightly around her small waist, the skirt flowing freely down her short, but perfect legs. A small black shawl was resting just over her shoulders and she was clutching a tiny gold purse. Martin took a step backward.
"So what's the misunderstanding?" Ruthie repeated, looking from her brothers and father to Martin for some type of explanation.
Mac had pulled Meredith away from the drama and was shaking his head at Ruthie, trying to warn her not to get in the middle of whatever was going on.
Ruthie, ignoring Mac's non-verbal advice, came down the stairs and gave her father and two brothers another questioning look.
"You're not going!" Matt blurted out.
"Matt Camden!" Sarah yelled, dragging Matt away by the arm. "We talked about this and you agreed to stay out of it!" she hissed at her husband.
"What is going on here?" Ruthie asked, looking at her father, guessing that he was to blame for all of this.
Martin, still reeling from how beautiful Ruthie looked, stepped forward, past Eric and Simon, to stand beside Ruthie. He placed a protective hand on the small of Ruthie's back. He didn't know what to say to her. The last thing he wanted to do was tell her that her family was thinking Martin planned to sleep with her tonight. But, as it turned out, he didn't have to.
"He's planning something for you tonight," Simon warned.
Ruthie smiled and looked up at Martin. "Like what?"
Martin bent lower and whispered, "We can talk about it later."
"No!" Matt shouted, moving away from Sarah. "Tell her now. Tell her here, in front of her family. Tell her your big surprise."
"Fine," Martin said, taking a deep breath. He turned to Ruthie and took her hands in his. "I was going to tell you tonight, but since it appears that things don't stay a secret long around here, I'll tell you now. I'm not going to Florida State for college. I've decided to stay here, in Glen Oak."
Ruthie didn't know how to respond to such a wonderful piece of news! She smiled up at Martin and threw herself into his arms, kissing him fully on the mouth. In the background she could hear her father clear his throat, but she didn't care. Martin was staying here! This was the best news ever!
"I thought you wanted to play pro ball?" Simon asked.
Martin smiled back at Ruthie and blushed. "It's sort of all thanks to Sandy really."