The dancing event.

After the delicious food, I take my bottle and drink some beer. Then I let out a loud burp. Everyone looks at me. "Sorry." The men start to laugh about it while the ladies roll their eyes. "Typical men." Franny says but she smiles with a teasing expression. I grin at her. "I'm happy to see my youngest being a good eater again." Mom says, dad chuckles and shakes his head. She looks at him. "How are you feeling?" "Better." "I think these pills are what you really need." He nods. "I think you're right." "You should thank your youngest again for his stubbornness." He smiles and stands up. Several people start to clean the tables. Frances stands up and went to help them.

I see dad walking to the dance floor. He grabs the microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, are you ready for the dancing?" Everyone cheers at him. He smiles. "The music will begin to play as soon as we start. We used to divide boys and girls, but Cath and I have been thinking about doing it differently this year." I look at mom who is smiling at dad. Frances came back and stands behind me. She lays her arms around me and I look up at her. I see her smiling as she looks at dad. I lay my hands on her arms and look back at dad. Jack is still watching us. I'm not really paying him much attention.

"We're dividing young and old this time. So, there will be winners under the kids and under the adults. Both a man and a woman, a boy and a girl, will win. The winners will have bragging rights until next year. We still do this for having fun and being together." Dad explains. Bryan and Sean came to us. Frances and I look at them with a smile. "You're both ready?" I ask, they nod. "Are there any rules?" Bryan asks. "Usually the dancing starts with an easy routine. Just try to copy the other kids." Frances explains. Bryan nods and looks at dad again.

"The typical rule for someone who falls off is still the same. That means, no kicking or pushing, and if someone has lost balance in the routine, they fall off and need to leave the dance floor. This time we want to see you all making couples. Look for someone you want to dance with and try to stay in sync. The last couple who stands, wins. We'll start in thirty minutes." He pauses a little. "Let's do this!" Dad takes the microphone to the side of the dance floor and went to the DJ who will do the music. I remember that we used to have a live band, but maybe that has gotten too expensive these days.

I see my son frowning. I guess he didn't expected the couple part. I didn't either to be honest. I see two girls coming, they giggle a little as they look at Sean and my son. Frances smiles. "Hey." One of them says. Bryan turns and looks at her. I see a little flush appearing on his face. "Sean, would you like to be my partner?" The blonde asks. "Sure, Amy, let's do this." He extends his hand. She takes his hand and they walk to the dance floor. Frances smiles as she watches her son. Bryan is still looking at the cute brunette. "Hey, I'm Lucy." She looks at him with her big brown eyes. "Hey, I'm Bryan." He whispers shyly. "I know, everyone is talking about you." Frances giggles a little. "I know how that feels." Bryan looks at Frances for a second. She gives him a wink.

"Would you like to be my partner for the dancing?" Bryan looks back at her and inhales deeply. "I would like that, but I never really danced western before." She giggles. "I'll show you." Bryan nods and they walk to the dance floor. "They're cute." Frances whispers near my ear as she leans in. I chuckle. "They're still young." "True love can happen on all ages…" She gives me a little kiss behind my ear. I close my eyes as I enjoy the feeling. "Look at us." I chuckle a little as I open my eyes again. Jack came to us and clears his throat. Frances stands straight and looks at him with a smile. I look at him as well.

"Baby…" He starts, taking a deep breath. "Would you like to be my partner?" She turns and lays her hand on his arm. She leans in and gives him a kiss on his cheek. He starts to smile. "I'm sorry, Jack, but I'm already taken." She let his arm go. He looks at her face and then at me. I start to feel sorry for him, but I shouldn't be sorry. For all those years that he tried to keep Frances away from me, this is my payback to him. "Hasn't my cousin got a partner already?" I give him a grin. "Frances is my partner, cousin." "Where's Britney?" "She's at the ranch, it's a long story." "Are you cheating on her? I've seen you two kissing." "In truth, I am, but for my feelings I'm not. Why do you think I said to you yesterday that we should end the stupid bet?"

Jack sighs deeply. "I get it, Baby has chosen you already, hasn't she?" I look at Frances who smiles. She gives me a kiss. "I'm gonna get something to drink." She walks away. Jack and I look after her and Jack sits down. I look at his face and I see him smiling. "Was I so bad to you in the past?" He asks. "You were, you were ruining it constantly for me. I don't know why you did those things." "Jealousy…" I keep watching his face. "Everyone saw the way you and Baby looked at each other. I could see how much our friends wanted you two to be together. It was always about you and her. I felt like I didn't count, so I thought if I try to keep her away from you, then people would finally notice me."

I snort and shake my head. I look at his face and start to chuckle. "Yeah, you had your ways, cousin, but do you know that if you hadn't, I never would've went to Juilliard or being famous now." "So, you want to thank me for that?" "Yes and no, I still think you're an ass for all that you did, but I forgive you." Jack chuckles. I start to laugh about his face. "Thanks, Dancer, I just hope that we can stay close." "We will, don't worry… just don't try anything with Baby, okay?" Jack smiles and stands up. "I won't, I promise." "Good." I sip my beer and look at the dance floor where the kids are practicing for the event.

"You're gonna dump Britney?" I look back at him. "Yep, tomorrow I'll be dropping her at the airport and end the relationship." Jack nods with a smile. "Good, because she ain't no good for you." I think as I watch his face. "You wanna tell me something?" "You're not the only one cheating." I start to frown. Frances came back and gave us a beer. I lay my arm around her waist and she lays her arm around my shoulder. "What have you seen, cousin?" Jack looks at Frances for a second and then back at me without a smile. "Well, for one she's way too flirty to men." Frances thinks about what she had seen.

"She always has done that, but I flirt too." Frances giggles as she looks at me. I look at her. "You're so typical." I give her my teasing half grin. "Britney did more than just flirting." I look back at my cousin. He takes a long sip. "Tell me more." "Well, for instance, yesterday when I introduced her to Kevin and Grant, they were all over her. When you were talking to your father later on, I saw her disappearing with Kevin in the bushes. The day before when we met our cousin Philip for the first time." He takes another sip. "I went inside to get me a beer and I saw them sneaking upstairs." My frown gets deeper and I start to wonder how long she's been cheating on me now. I look at Frances and she sees my frown. "Jack ain't lying."

"You've seen something too?" She nods. "I was dressing the table for lunch. I wanted to go inside to get the bread when I heard noises. I looked inside through the window to see what it could be, and I saw her and Philip kissing." I take a very long swirl from my beer. They just gave me another reason to dump her stupid ass at the airport tomorrow. "Why you didn't told me?" "I didn't think it would matter, seeing we had sex that morning." "I knew it!" Jack says. I chuckle about his reaction. "Stop it, Jack, you've been hearing Johnny talking about it last night." Jack grins and I roll my eyes.

We see dad walking to the kids with a smile. "Well, I'm gonna see if I can get a partner, otherwise I need to forfeit to you." I chuckle as I shake my head. "I win this from you by default, you know that." Jack laughs as he walks away. "He's getting to terms." Frances says. I look at her and smile. She sees my face. "What are you up to, mister?" I grab her and pull her on my lap, she shrieks and giggles as I grab her and plant kisses all over her face. I never felt the need to show affection in public, but Frances seems to make this out and I want to give her attention. My family is looking at us. Mom smiles. Dad sees us and sighs. "Son? Are you done?" He said it through the microphone. Everyone starts to laugh.

I look at him and start to grin. "All right, people, let's start with the kids. I hope you all have practice a little." Dad looks at Bryan who smiles at him. "Stand next to your partner on the dance floor. You know the routines. There are five in total, I hope you can make it to the last one." Dad steps off the dance floor. I watch the kids standing ready next to their partners. I see my son looking at Lucy, they smile at each other. "Bryan never has done this, has he?" I look at Frances. "Yeah, he never really showed any interest in dancing. At least, not to me." "Then this can be quite hard. Sean will win." She says in a teasing tone.

"You forget that Bryan has my blood." I give her a wink. She giggles and gives me a kiss on my cheek. Penny and Billy join us at the table. "Where's Kaylie?" Penny smiles as she looks at me for a second. She points and I see Kaylie standing next to a boy. Her face, total excitement, I chuckle about it. "She's deffo like you, Pen." Penny chuckles. "Okay, kids." Dad says from the side. "When the music starts, you start to dance, okay?" He sees them all nodding. "When the music switching, the dance routine changes as well, so be aware of that." Bryan inhales deeply. He knows he probably won't win this, but he will try to have fun and he likes Lucy a lot.

Bryan looks at Sean, who is talking to Amy, they're giggling. Bryan smiles about it. Then the music starts, and Bryan looks at Lucy who nods at him. They start to dance the first routine. Sean and Amy are mimicking funny faces as they dance. I look at my son and see his focus. "Smile." Lucy says as they turn. He looks at her, she nods. "Look at that." Billy says. Bryan is loosening up. I watch them and start to smile. "He has your talent, Johnny." Penny says. "He's a natural." I whisper. A few couples already fell off and walk away. "What happens if it's a tie after the last routine?" Penny asks. "Then there's a sort of dance off, improvising, showing off." Frances explains.

"Did that happen already?" Frances looks at Penny with a smile. "Every year." I chuckle about it. "So, we'll be having a dance off then?" Billy asks. I laugh about it, Frances giggles. "We'll see." She winks at him. Jamaal came to us with a smile. I look at him. "You don't have a partner?" "Yeah, I do. Your son is amazing, Dancer." I look at my son again. The music changes, and so does the routine. Lucy giggles as they made the sidestep. Bryan takes her hand and guide her into an underarm turn before they stomp the ground. I whistle on my fingers. Others are cheering when they saw it.

I watch how more couples walk away. When the music changes the last time, there were four couples left. Including Kaylie and the boy she's dancing with. Dad came to us with mom and smile. "My grandson is a natural." I look up at dad and smile. "Yeah, I never saw this side before." "He seems to love it." Mom says, she feels proud of him. Sean looks at Bryan and smiles. "You're amazing, brother." Bryan looks at him and grins. "You're both going down!" Kaylie shouts. I start to chuckle about it, everyone has heard her. The fourth couple made a mistake and walks away. Dad walks to the dance floor as the music ends. The kids stop dancing and look at him.

"Normally a dance off is between two persons, now I've got three little couples." Frances giggles about it. "That's my girl!" Billy shouts. Kaylie looks at him and giggles. "Cath?" Mom walks to dad and he smiles. "What are we gonna do?" Mom looks at the kids. "A dance off like we always have, but this time we let the audience decide instead of waiting until someone fails." Dad thinks and smiles. "Kids, come here." They went to him. "You're gonna improvise a little, you can use steps from the routines if you like. You get one song to show what you're worth and then we'll let everyone else decide who wins, okay? The winner will get a big glass of soda." He sees them nodding. Kaylie grins, she grabs the boy his hand and pulls him to the middle of the dance floor.

Bryan walks with Lucy to the right side of where Kaylie is standing. Sean to the left side. Dad watches them. I watch Bryan and Lucy whispering a little. He nods a few times. Improvising a dance when you haven't danced before is nearly impossible. Kaylie whispers something in the boy's ear, he nods at her with a smile. "Ready, kids?" Dad asks, they look at him and nod. Dad looks at the DJ and gives him a nod. I watch how focused they all are. It's really adorable to see.

The music starts and they start to dance. Everyone starts to cheer for their favorite couple. I watch how my son lifts Lucy up and does a heel turn. He, then throws her over his shoulder and they dance in sync while smiling. I put my fingers in my mouth and whistle loudly. "That's my boy!" Frances smiles. She sees her son struggling a little, maybe it's because he's used to win this often. Kaylie made a pirouette and the boy lifts her up after. She giggles as they did a few steps from one of the routines. "This is going to be difficult." Jamie says. "Look at her, she's amazing." I say, Penny is having a proud smile on her face. "Your son is amazing too, Dancer, he really has never done this before?" Bianca asks. I look at her. "No, never, or at least not that I know of."

The music ends and everyone cheers for the three little couples. Kaylie has a huge grin on her face. I chuckle as I watch her waving at her mother and Billy. They wave back at her. Dad walks to them and smiles. "This is going to be hard, you're all very good." He looks at everyone else with a smile. "Okay, so I want you to clap for the one you think is the best." He walks to Sean and Amy. "What do you think of Sean and Amy?" The family claps, I whistle on my fingers. Some others are clapping too. Sean smiles. "Your son is amazing, Baby." She looks at me. "He is, but he needs more practice and Will used to do that. He hasn't been practicing much the last three years, but that might change soon." She winks at me. I smile and give her a kiss.

Dad walks to Bryan with a proud smile. "What about Bryan and Lucy?" The applaud went really loud. I whistle on my fingers again. "That's my boy!" Penny chuckles as she looks at me. Dad walks to Kaylie and the boy. "What about little Kaylie and Simon?" He asks and smiles as he looks at them. Everyone starts to cheer and clap. The roof almost blew off the building. I start to laugh, Penny grins as she looks at me. "She has used her cuteness as well." I say teasingly. Penny laughs about it. "Well, she's the best nevertheless." She winks. Dad smiles when he sees Penny and Billy coming to the dance floor. "Mommy! Daddy! We won!" Kaylie giggles when Penny lifts her up to hug her. "I'm so proud of you, sweetie." "Yeeeey!"

Billy chuckles as he takes her over, she gives him a kiss on his cheek. "A big glass with soda is waiting for you two, go get them." Dad says. Billy puts Kaylie down. She takes Simon's hand and they run to the bar. "Okay, people, thirty minutes and it's time for the adults." Dad puts the microphone aside and looks at his grandson. "Son, I'm very proud of you." Bryan looks at him and smiles. "Thanks, pawpaw, I had so much fun." He hugs his grandfather. Dad chuckles a little. "Great to hear." He let Bryan go. "Go to your father." Bryan nods and looks at Lucy. She looks at him with a smile. He extends his hand. "Come." She takes his hand and they came to us.

"You're amazing." Sean says, Bryan looks at him and they hug in a brotherly way. "You are too." Bryan replies. "I haven't been practicing anymore since dad left." "Maybe you can practice again when dad has put up the dance school." Bryan smiles as he thinks of the dancing. "I never thought I could do this, or that it is so much fun to dance." Sean chuckles about it as they arrive. I stand up and grab my son in a tight hug. "Dad!" As I give him a kiss on his head. The rest chuckles. "I'm so proud of you, son." I let him go and he looks at my smiling face. "It was so much fun." "I didn't know you could dance." "I've never done this before." "You want lessons?" I see him starting to grin. I want to let my hand go through his hair, but he ducks away. He looks at Frances and hugs her as well. Sean came to me for a hug. "You need more practice, son, and I'll be happy to practice with you." Sean looks at my face with a big smile. I smile as I look at Frances. She has seen a change in her son.