Shirelings
Chapter 5
The Brandy Hall Birthday Ball: Part 1
The Master of Buckland's seventy-seventh birthday happened to fall on a balmy June day and by early evening nearly all the preparations were in place. The party tents had been set up in the field just outside of Brandy Hall hours ago. The tables were properly arranged with all the invitees' name-cards placed upon their designated seats. The Brandybuck matrons tended to the massive quantity of food that was just about ready, while their husbands rolled in barrels of ale (and took tiny surreptitious sips, of course). Festive streamers hung about the edges of the tents, lush flower arrangements lined the perimeter, and lanterns of bright and varied colors were already lit despite the sun not being quite gone yet. Even the band had arrived and were setting up their instruments on a little platform that had been built just for the occasion. The only thing that was presently missing from the party was the guests.
The invitations had stated that the party would start at nightfall, though Merry, who had been forced by his parents to pen the invitations, was shocked that so many of their friends and relatives would take it quite so literally. There was only one invited family that had arrived so far and they'd come a week early, being that their one and only son, Pippin, was already there gallivanting with his best friend. So instead of waiting idly, Merry, Pippin, and the other younger hobbits took to the empty field beyond the party area and arranged a ball game that was not uncommon in most parts of the Shire.
Merry and his male Brandybuck cousins, Berilac, Doderic, Ilberic, and Merimas made up the one team, while Pippin was forced to play with his one unmarried sister, Pervinca, and the Brandybuck girls, Celandine, Mentha, and Melilot. Both Berilac and Pippin had volunteered to guard their teams' respective goals; though Berilac had done so due to his great skill and experience as goalkeeper, while Pippin, on the other hand, simply did not want to run around. Fortunately for him, his sister was rather athletic and managed to keep the ball away from their goal, allowing Pippin to daydream and gaze at anything but the game's action.
As he stared out into space, lost in thought, his focus suddenly shifted from the purplish-orange hue of the dusky sky to the road that ran along the field and headed towards Brandy Hall. There he spied several carriages and wagons approaching, and he knew the frightfully dull game would be replaced with a lively party soon enough. While wondering about who was in the carriages, Pippin managed to let slip the first ball that had gotten past Pervinca, much to his teammates' chagrin.
"Now, Pip, you're not even trying," laughed Merry as he did a little victory jig, having kicked in the first goal of the evening.
"I can't help it if we Tooks are naturally unsuited for this sport, if you even want to call it that," said Pippin, picking up the large leather ball. "Now golf, there's a game I can get behind."
"Oh, is that so?" said Pervinca rolling her eyes as she came up to the edge of the goal box. "If we are so 'naturally unsuited' for footie, why am I so good at it?"
"Well, clearly, you're not as Tookish as I," proclaimed Pippin. "You must get it from Mum's side of the family."
"Why, you impertinent little prat," said Pervinca, her eyes ablaze and a dangerous smile gradually forming. "You'd better hush up and throw that ball back before I stand you on your head and show everyone who is really the more Tookish one here."
Pippin knew she could do it, having been wrestled by his sisters into humiliating and somewhat traumatic dress-up games as a child more times than he was comfortable admitting. Still, he was a (nearly) fully grown hobbit and wasn't going to take any more of her guff. He slowly raised the ball high in the air and then suddenly spun to the side and threw it far off towards the road. Everyone groaned and Pervinca threw her hand to her forehead in aggravation.
"Oh, clumsy me," sang Pippin. "Not to worry, I'll go fetch it right back!"
As he trotted off after the ball, he flashed a cheeky grin at his sister, who grumbled and shook her fist halfheartedly. Ilberic rubbed Pervinca's shoulder in an effort to placate her, but she shrugged him off and went to talk strategies with the rest of her teammates.
Pippin stopped at the fence and lingered even after finding the ball; he scanned the crowd of hobbits climbing out of their wagons and heading for the party to see if he recognized anyone. Most were older and none too familiar looking, but when he spotted one particular mess of curls, his face lit up and he dropped the ball to wave.
"Hello there! Mundee! I said he-llo!" he called out while flailing his arms a bit too excitedly. His ludicrous performance caught the attention of Mundee as well as the rest of her family. Her father glared at Pippin but begrudgingly allowed her to go off and greet him. She dashed over, followed by a young lad that Pippin presumed to be her brother.
"Make a bigger fuss, why don't you!" she laughed. "They couldn't hear you in the Far Downs!"
"That's fine, then, because I was only aiming for the White Downs," said Pippin, going along with the joke. "So I take it you received my letter then?"
"No, I don't think I have," said Mundee slowly as she wracked her memory trying to remember if she'd gotten anything in the mail recently. Then suddenly she snorted and shoved his shoulder. "Go on! You sent me a letter? What was it about?"
"Oh, not much," said Pippin as his eye wandered back to her father, who continued to give him a nasty look. Pippin gulped as he saw him pull out a small envelope from his chest pocket, tap it menacingly, and slowly put it away. "Has your father said anything about me recently?"
"No, why would he?" asked Mundee, raising an eyebrow.
"No reason," replied Pippin, shaking off his fright. "So, if you didn't receive my invitation, how are you here?"
"You are not the only person with the power to grant invitations, Mr. Almighty Peregrin, sir," said Mundee, folding her arms. Her brother, who'd found the ball and taken to dribbling it deftly between his feet, looked up and blew a raspberry in agreement.
"If you must know, we were invited by the Master himself," she went on. "I wouldn't say he and my father are very old friends, but they do know each other. Mr. Brandybuck must have hired Dad and I suppose he did a good job."
"A good job doing you-don't-know-what, correct?" said Pippin grinning.
"Very correct," said Mundee smiling back. "But even if I knew, I'd hardly tell you, would I?" Her brother sighed loudly and came up to them, still bouncing the ball around.
"If you two could stop smirking at each other, I'd like an introduction!" he said saucily. Pippin and Mundee stared at him a second before turning back to their conversation.
"That would be your brother, then?" said Pippin, pointing back at the boy with his thumb.
"Oh, I wonder whatever gave it away," said Mundee rolling her eyes. "Pippin, Drufo. Drufo, Pippin. There, now you are all introduced."
"Pleasure to meet you, Drufo," said Pippin shaking the boy's hand. "If I know anything about older sisters, it is that they relish torturing us younger brothers. Well, I say be strong and don't let her get the best of you."
He patted the boy on the shoulder and let him run off to play with the ball some more. Suddenly there came a great stomping of feet and before Pippin could duck or hide, he was being pinched sharply on the ear.
"Does it really take ten minutes to fetch a ball, Pip?" said Pervinca as she pulled his face down to her level. Turning to Mundee, however, she put on a sweet face and extended her hand. "Hi, sweetheart- I'm Pervinca, the charming, fashionable and talented older sister. Who would you be?"
Mundee couldn't help but giggle at Pippin's plight, being so dominated by one so much smaller than he. She took his sister's hand and said, "Mundee Took from Long Cleeve. Nice to meet you!"
"Oh, a North Took! That's fun!" said Pervinca with earnest delight, but still without letting go of the increasingly reddening ear. "Anyway, we have a game to finish, so if you don't mind..."
"Oh, can I play?" cried Drufo as he ran up to the group. "I promise I'm good! Look!" He proceeded to juggle the ball from knee to knee, causing Pervinca to gasp with surprise and simultaneously release her brother.
"Well, it looks like you've found yourself a replacement!" she said as she linked her arm with Drufo's and dragged him off to the playing field.
"I like him," said Pippin as he rubbed his ear. "Shall we head for the tents? I'll wager there's a roast goose waiting for us."
"Oh, that sounds marvelous!" said Mundee rubbing her hands with glee. "But perhaps I could say hello to your handsome cousin first?"
Pippin shook his head as she climbed over the fence and began to make her way towards Merry. He hooked his arm around hers and started to somewhat forcibly lead her to the party.
"I really don't think that's a good idea right now," he said in response to her pout. "Best to leave him alone tonight altogether. But you can put that lip away, because I promise the party will be memorable regardless."
Mundee continued to frown, but now in an entirely silly and exaggerated manner. She allowed herself to be lead away and even started to skip as the music grew louder and the smell of the food became more distinct. Pippin, as always, refused to skip.
Saradoc Brandybuck, the celebrated hobbit of the evening, stood at the entrance to the party area welcoming the swarming guests with the help of his wife, Esmeralda, who seemed to recognize most people better than him, despite being four years his elder. He gave her a grateful smile for dealing with the previous couple, two crotchety older hobbits whose names rested on the tip of his tongue but simply wouldn't come to his mind. Now came two that he could never have trouble remembering.
"Odovacar! Rosamunda! How good of you to come!" he said shaking hands with the Bolger patriarch while Esmeralda and Rosamunda air-kissed each other about the cheeks.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world, old boy!" laughed Odovacar while clapping Saradoc on the back. The Bolgers visited so rarely that it was quite the treat to see them, even if only half the family had shown up. Odovacar noticed his friend looking past him to see where the younger Bolgers were and cleared his throat, snapping Saradoc back to attention.
"I'm afraid the children couldn't make it once again," he explained. "They are both feeling a bit ill."
"Oh dear, how very sad," said Esmeralda. "And this would have been their first visit to Brandy Hall. Whatever is the matter with them?"
"Just sniffles, dear," Rosamunda lied with a comforting smile. "Nothing to fret about."
In reality, Estella had refused to come after her terrible quarrel with Merry (and especially after he called the pancakes she'd baked for breakfast the next day "chalky" and "grainy"), and Fredegar had been forbidden from leaving the house after coming back that night missing a tooth. But even if the Brandybucks were old friends, they didn't need to know everything.
"Well, I hope they're feeling better in time for the Free Fair," said Saradoc in reference to the annual fair that took place on the White Downs during Lithe. "We'll have something very special prepared for that," he added with a wink. Esmeralda hushed him up before he revealed too much and led the Bolgers to their table. She left just in time for another familiar couple to show up.
"Bandogrim! Delilah! What a treat to have you come all this way!" exclaimed Saradoc as the North Tooks approached. They were quite a bit younger than most of his generation, but Bandogrim's service had been invaluable in the past. He looked around but couldn't spot their children, either. He was beginning to fear some sort of plague had struck all the Shire's youth.
"Have you brought the kids or are they stricken with disease as well?" he asked as he scanned the crowd and couldn't find any other families with children. But Bandogrim and Delilah merely stared in surprise.
"No, they're very much at the peak of good health," said Bandogrim. Then with a chuckle, he added, "I daresay they are too healthy."
"Why, is there something going around?" interrupted his wife, who was prone to being overprotective. "Ought we leave? Oh, where is Drufo? I can't see him. I swear, if he's gotten that tunic muddy-"
But both Saradoc and Bandogrim had stood on their tiptoes and could see the field where all the younger hobbits were still thoroughly engaged with their game. Bandogrim pointed out his son and laughed to see how well he was doing at the sport.
"There's one- getting on quite well with the ladies, as far as I can tell," he said as he watched one of the Brandybuck lasses give his boy a hug after a particularly impressive save. But his expression soured as he turned his eye to his daughter who was coming up the field with Pippin close in tow. "And there's the other one, still hanging about with that foolish hooligan. I tell you, when I get my hands on that fellow..."
"What? That thin lad behind your Diamond? Why, that's my nephew, Peregrin," said Saradoc as he squinted to make out their faces. "Yes, I can see now. You mustn't worry, he's quite a dear lad. As harmless as a house-cat."
"I hate cats," grumbled Bandogrim as he continued to stare at Pippin angrily. But Saradoc only laughed and clapped him on the back.
"And wait until you meet his father, the Thain!" said Saradoc, causing the North Tooks' eyes to suddenly widen immensely. "He's a wily old codger, that one. You're going to love him! I bet he's already on the dance floor, as a matter of fact."
The Thainship had always been a sensitive topic for the North Tooks. Yes, it was a more or less nominal position and the true leader of the Shire was the Mayor, and, yes, since the Shire was in a nearly eternal state of peace, there was little need for a Thain to muster the troops. But every so often Bandogrim would wonder what it would be like to have that title and control... and Delilah would wonder what it would be like to be in charge of the hobbit that had that control.
"You'll have to introduce us," Bandrogrim said icily before leading his wife away.
After greeting several local families, Saradoc was pleased to see Esmeralda returning, looking every bit as smug and self-satisfied as she did the day he proposed to her.
"Well, there you are at last!" he cried, throwing his arms up in the air. "I was beginning to think you'd found a younger, more handsome hobbit."
"And then who would wash your unmentionables?" laughed Esmeralda as she patted his arm. "No, don't be silly. I was merely having a chat with the Bolgers."
"And prying into their business?" said Saradoc, a knowing glint in his eye.
"As I am wont," replied Esmeralda, nodding with pride. "And it's good I did, too. I learned a little bit more about the little ones' 'maladies'. It turns out, our Merry had quite a bit to do with it."
"You don't say!" Saradoc gasped. "He didn't push them into the Water, did he? When I was his age, I was always pushing my cousins into the Brandywine. Merimac would always get such pneumonia..."
"Your son did not push anyone into a river," sighed Esmeralda. "Rosa was very vague, but I got the sense that there'd been a great deal of arguing while he and Peregrin were visiting."
"You don't think...? I mean, it couldn't have been that serious? Could it?" Saradoc wondered about the nature of those arguments and couldn't help but wish that his son would confide in him more often. Esmeralda sighed again and gazed off into the distance where she could see Merry sitting on top of a hobbit-pile of young Brandybucks.
"Perhaps we've been too lenient with him," she mused aloud. "Perhaps we should have stressed the importance of family and hard work and responsibility more. I do hope he does something with his life."
"And what's more, I would like some grandchildren!" added Saradoc with a stomp of his foot.
But Esmeralda began to wave to the newest batch of incoming guests. And at the front, none other than Saradoc's much younger cousin, Frodo Baggins. Though their parents had been siblings, Frodo could easily pass for his son or nephew. It was actually quite uncanny how young the fellow appeared; he looked nearly the same as he had when he'd come of age sixteen years ago.
"Hello dear Frodo!" he said, drawing him into a warm embrace. Frodo barely escaped the tight hug only to be caught by Esmeralda, who proceeded to pinch his cheeks.
"Ah, it's very good to see you two again," he stammered as he pulled away and began to rub his reddened cheeks. "Very good to be back at Brandy Hall again."
"Well, if it's so good, why don't you move back?" laughed Saradoc. Before Frodo could formulate a response, Saradoc noticed a close friend of the family's and became distracted.
"Maggot, old bean!" he shouted over Frodo's shoulder. "I see you've brought the Missus! I hope you've brought some of your mushrooms, as well!"
Hearing Farmer Maggot's name, Frodo went pale and had to excuse himself, muttering something about finding his friends. He ran away from the older Brandybucks before he could be spotted by his childhood nemesis. Granted, he looked older than the last time he stole from Maggot's crop, but if he knew the Master of Buckland, there was sure to be a lengthy introduction. He certainly didn't need to risk a public flogging.
Just as Frodo thought he spied Pippin entering the party pavilion with what appeared to be the same girl who'd left her clothes at Bag End, he was suddenly being pinched and patted again. This time it was Pippin's parents, Paladin and Eglantine Took. The Thain and his wife were far and away the oldest of the various family leaders assembled there, but they were quite a bit more spirited than even some of the younger hobbits.
"Frodo, you cheeky monkey!" exclaimed Paladin, who had always been a little eccentric and had only become more-so upon recently acquiring his seat of power. "Come tell Uncle Pal and Auntie Eggie all about your fabulous bachelor life!"
Frodo smiled and took a deep breath, preparing himself for the unavoidable and winding conversation that was sure to follow.
Meanwhile Pippin was navigating the already crowded party tent where he expected his family to be sitting. He was surprised that none were seated yet, especially since the food was already being served. Mundee, who'd followed close behind, picked a name-card off a nearby table and snorted.
"And of course they put down my proper name," she said, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "On the bright side, it looks like we'll be sitting right next to your family!"
"Oh, is that so? And where are might they be?" said Pippin with poorly attempted casualness as he craned his neck to see if her terrifying father was anywhere within the vicinity.
"You know, I haven't the foggiest idea..." said Mundee before climbing up on a chair and scanning the area.
"Why, there they are by the fence," she said as she spotted them at the edge of the pavilion. Her father was trying to calm down her mother, who appeared to be having a fit... and after finding her brother, she understood why: Drufo had slipped into a pile of mud and spoiled all his clean new clothes. She shook her head and climbed back down, only to find that Pippin was already seated at his table with a mountain of food stacked upon his plate.
"You've got to be joking," she gasped. Then to her complete and utter amazement, Pippin began to shovel away at the food like a hobbit three times his size. One that hadn't eaten in several months. "I don't believe it," she muttered, in awe of his preternatural ability to masticate.
"What? It's a party, I can eat how I want!" said Pippin. Or he would have said, had his mouth not been filled with half-chewed chicken and cabbage and potatoes. Instead it came out sounding a bit like Orc gibberish.
"How do you eat like that and stay so scrawny?" Mundee mused aloud.
"Aye, that's a bit harsh," said Pippin after finally swallowing. "It's all muscle, you know," he added, flexing his arm to little effect. "Anyway, you should see my sister's husband- why, he must surely be the thinnest hobbit I've ever known. Taller than me, too."
"Pervinca is married? But she didn't seem that much older than you," said Mundee while wondering whether Southern Tooks married earlier than most Shire hobbits.
"Don't be silly, I have two sisters besides her," said Pippin as he began to reload his plate. He turned away when he heard someone calling his name, giving Mundee the opportunity to sneak a drink of his ale, since her table only had a pitcher of juice. "Speak of the devil," he said to himself before shouting, "I'm over here, Pim! What is it?"
His second oldest sister, Pimpernel, came waddling over with her husband, Bartus Burrows, following close behind. Barty, as everyone preferred to call him, was indeed rail thin and rather tall, which was terribly amusing to Mundee considering how much shorter and wider his very pregnant wife was.
"Have you finally decided to take a break from your traitorous sport?" asked Pimpernel, who was of similar mind when it came to football versus golf. She sat down next to Pippin and poked their table's barrel of ale, making a face at the brew that she knew she couldn't drink in such a condition.
"Isn't there anything else to drink?" she said, aiming the question at her husband who quickly took to investigating the surrounding tables.
"You know it wasn't my idea to start up that game!" said Pippin. "Merry practically forced me to play! But go on, what were you shouting about for?"
"I'm getting to it," said Pimpernel as Mundee handed her a glass of apple juice. "Wouldn't you like to introduce me to your polite friend first?"
"Oh, Mundee's very polite. Nearly finished off my beer." Turning around to face a sheepishly grinning Mundee, he added, "Don't think I didn't see that."
"Well, dear, it's a pleasure," said Pimpernel shaking Mundee's hand. "I am Pimpernel, Peregrin's charming, clever, and talented older sister."
Mundee exchanged a knowing look with Pippin, sensing a pattern with his sisters' methods of self introduction. Just then Barty darted over, clutching several glasses of various liquids.
"I've found three types of ciders, some very light beer, and a glass of water," he said proudly as he maintained his tenuous grasp on all the beverages.
"Thank you, darling, but I'm afraid there's no need anymore," said Pimpernel after finishing her juice. "My brother's friend- er, Mundee, was it?- already took care of the matter. This is my husband, Barty, by the way."
"Juice! That's brilliant!" exclaimed Barty as he dropped all the glasses to shake Mundee's hand. "Oh, dear. There they go."
"And for once, I did not do it!" Pippin announced happily while Mundee bit down her lip to keep from laughing.
"That reminds me," said Pimpernel, slapping his knee. "Pearl is mad at you for that spill in the kitchen."
Pippin nearly choked on his food. "Spill? What spill? I was out in the field being a traitor, remember? If there was a spill, I certainly had nothing to do with it!"
"Well, you did and you didn't," said Pimpernel as she took a pickle from his plate. "Because technically the wee ones did it. But Pearl did ask you to look after them and you didn't, so in a sense you caused the spill."
Pippin stared at his sister dumbfounded. Having finished picking up all the broken pieces of glass, Barty looked up and added, "I wouldn't argue with that logic."
"Well, here comes your chance to make amends," said Pimpernel while pointing towards Brandy Hall. "Pearl's got Joe and the kids in tow, and she looks mighty miffed."
Pippin followed her gaze and saw his oldest sister making her way through the crowd while dragging along the older children, Priscilla and Jerold. Her husband, Jobold "Joe" Hornblower, trailed behind carrying the youngest of their small brood, Laila. Pippin would have found it humorous to see the giant bear of a hobbit pussyfooting about behind his fair-haired and very feminine wife, had she not been barreling toward their table with all the ferocity of a wolverine.
"But it isn't my fault!" cried Pippin, looking about at his companions in a panic. "She asked me to look after them while I was in the outhouse! I was in a very precarious state!"
"'Precarious state,' my eye!" growled Pearl as she marched up to the table. "You were hiding in there, and don't even pretend to have a stomach ache now, because I have seen that trick too many times!"
Pippin stammered wildly, trying to quickly concoct a plan. As luck would have it, he could see out of the corner of his eye that Merry and the rest of the Brandybuck gang had run into the pavilion. They seemed to be chasing after Mundee's brother, who was shouting that he was going to sound the Horn-call of Buckland.
"I'd love to stay and chat, Pearlie, but it looks like Merry might need my assistance more," he said as he stood up. He suddenly pushed Mundee towards her and added, "Have you met Mundee? She's from Long Cleeve!"
Then before anyone else could flap their gums at him, he ran off after Merry and disappeared through a side entrance into Brandy Hall. Sensing Mundee's feelings of abandonment, Pearl softened her expression and let go of her squirming children.
"There, there, poor thing," she said, rubbing Mundee's shoulder. "We all know how it feels to be let down by that one. Isn't that so?"
"Uncle Pippin dropped me when I was a baby!" said Priscilla with a large, gap-toothed smile.
"Don't mind her, she's exaggerating," laughed Joe. Then quietly, he added, "He did drop her, though. But she was a toddler."
Everyone laughed at the precocious statement, but the children weren't done talking about their favorite uncle.
"Uncle Pippin likes to wear dresses," said little Jerry in an attempt to best his older sister.
"Uncle Pippin wears a wig!" countered Priscilla.
"Uncle Pippin sounds like a cat when he sings!" cried Jerry as he jumped in the air.
"Uncle Pippin is a bundle of sticks someone threw a coat on!" said Priscilla with a stomp of her foot.
"Now, children, that's enough," said Pearl, although the children had already run out of steam and only little Laila was still babbling, albeit incoherently.
"I'm sure they have a point," giggled Mundee. "But I think I'd better go after him now."
"Suit yourself, dear," said Pearl. Then as an aside, she went on, "By the way, I'm Pearl- the charming, beautful, and talented older sister."
Mundee shook her hand and then ran off, smiling to herself at the final introduction. As she made her way to the other side of the party, she wondered whether Pippin had a silly title he used when introducing himself to his sisters' friends. By the time she reached the side door, she'd thought of five pompous descriptions he might use. Just as she reached out for the knob, a tall unfamiliar hobbit slid in front of her and blocked off the entrance.
"Hello, pretty girlie," he said smiling a wolfish grin that caught Mundee off-guard. "How can I help you, love?"
"Oh, hello," she said, feebly attempting not to blush. "I just need to get through that door, if you could please move aside."
"Ah, but I'm afraid I can't please move aside," he responded, mocking her ever so slightly.
"But I'd like to go after my friend," she said, growing a little bit annoyed now. "He just came in this way. I don't think anyone would really mind if I went in-"
"Well, I know I wouldn't mind, but here's the thing..." He bent down and lowered his voice, speaking now very seriously. "The Master of Buckland, whose birthday it is today, has placed me in charge of watching this door. He said to me, 'You watch that door and mind that no one enters that hasn't been staying at Brandy Hall.' And well..."
He looked Mundee up and down in a way that made her already burning cheeks flush a deeper shade of pink.
"No, I would have definitely remembered if I had seen you before," he said, folding his arms. "Can't let you in, even though I'd like to," he added with a wink.
Mundee sighed and began to wander off, thinking that now would be a good time to find Drufo. She hadn't seen him dash into Brandy Hall and assumed he was still rolling around in the mud somewhere. But before she had gone ten paces, there came a whistle from behind her and she turned around.
"I didn't say you had to leave, now did I?" said the hobbit standing guard by the door. Her good senses told her that this was not the sort of fellow to engage in conversation. But Mundee never listened to her good senses.
"Well, you didn't make it sound like you wanted me to stay, either," she said coyly. "What do you want with me, anyway?"
"Just someone to talk to! Is that a crime?" he said, raising his arms in feigned offense. "Or what, do you have some fine-talkin' lad that's waiting to dance with you? Go on, then, if that's the case. I won't come between you two."
Mundee snorted. "What, me? No one wants to dance with me."
"Why not?" said the hobbit, wagging his eyebrows. "You've got working legs, haven't you?"
"I suppose I do." Then with a grin that she couldn't hide any longer, she added, "Is that an invitation?"
"If it were an invitation, what would be your answer?"
"Well, I'd have to give it some thought, but I'd probably say..." Then grabbing his hand and pulling him toward the dance floor, she said, "Spin me!"