o O o
If Spencer hadn't seen it himself, he would never have believed Sam could be so still for so long. Although she rested motionless, there was an alertness about her that belied her languid pose. She focused on him with an intensity that would have been disconcerting if he were not himself equally focused on her. To his eye every breath she drew imbued her with more energy – a radiant nimbus of pheromonal magic. His hand flew across the page in a feverish effort to capture it, to transcend the merely physical paper and pencil, to produce ART.
Later he would add just a touch of color – the blue of the necklace, and of her eyes. The flush on her cheeks – maybe the polish on her nails. That would be more than enough; Samantha needed no embellishment. When he dropped the pencil with an air of finality, she sprang instantly to her feet. "Let me see," she demanded, padding lightly to his side to scrutinize the work.
"I don't know that any drawing can do you justice Mädchen. This is just a shadow; you are magnificent."
"That's nonsense Spencer; you haven't given yourself nearly enough credit. It's brilliant!" And, she thought, he was giving her far too much. In her mind there were two possible explanations for this. One, he was touched. Or two, he really loved her. Somewhere inside, the girl took another step closer to believing.
o O o
As predicted, Carly breezed in promptly at three, followed closely by her faithful entourage (otherwise known as Freddie and Gibby.) "Well Sam, for someone who stayed home 'sick' today, you're awfully peppy," she remarked, watching as the birthday girl demonstrated a dance sequence to Spencer for at least the fifth time.
"Spence, it's really not that hard," Sam insisted. "If you just put your feet down on the UP beats –"
Freddie laughed. "Well no wonder he can't figure it out Sam. Down on up? Up on down? What do you expect?"
Sam shook her head. "I've been trying to teach him the other half of my dance routine, but he just keeps getting all tangled up."
"He can't help it if you tangle him up Sam," Freddie pointed out. For some reason, Spencer seemed to find that terribly amusing, working hard to suppress the grin but failing miserably.
"I want to get tangled up!" Gibby interjected, "are we playing Twister?" – this with a most hopeful expression.
"It IS a party, " Carly chirped. "Sounds like fun!"
Gibby whooped and yanked his shirt over his head. "YES! I am the Twister King!" Beating his chest Tarzan-like, he added with a wink, "ladies, have I ever told you how limber I am?"
Carly shook her head emphatically. "No Gibby. And please don't." She took off up the stairs in search of the game, but Gibby was undeterred.
"She wants me," he stage whispered to Freddie from behind his hand.
"Has anyone ever noticed that Gibby inhabits an entirely different universe than the rest of us?" Sam asked.
"Sam, your birthday does not equate to 'be mean to Gibby Day.'"
"FREDWARD, I am not being mean to Gibby. I am merely pointing out a fact. If I were being mean to Gibby, he –" she stopped abruptly, flashing back to an entirely different conversation. 'Do you realize how far outside the realm of possibility this is….' And SHE said…
Feeling much more charitable towards the Shirtless Wonder, she finished "Hey Gib, good luck with that, ok?"
"Uh…thanks Sam. By the way, happy birthday!"
Sam flashed him a smile. "Since it is my birthday, I'd like to take a moment to make an announcement. Hey Carls!" she yelled towards the stairs. "Whatcha doin' up there?" In the kitchen, Spencer froze in the middle of transferring ribs from the crock-pot to a platter. Surely she didn't plan to stage a dog and pony show on her birthday… but what if she did? Maybe that whisper in her ear was getting too loud to ignore.
"Coming!" Carly clattered back down the steps, game in hand. "What's up Sam?"
"Well… something about approaching 18 and the imminent arrival of the real world made me start thinking a little bit more about what I want to do with the rest of my life." She glanced over at Spencer, who hadn't moved a muscle. "I know you three have already sorted through your multiple letters of acceptance and made up your minds where you're going to be in the fall. That's really awesome – I'm excited for you. As for me, I'm going to be here –"
Spencer closed his eyes. She was really going to do it. He set the fork down carefully. He'd promised himself he would back her up when the time came, and it looked like the time was now. Moving towards her, he thought that it really would have been nice if she'd at least tipped him off that this was coming, but –
"I applied to SCCC's Dental Hygiene program, because, well, I learned that a healthy smile can do wonders for self esteem. It seemed like a really…rewarding occupation. Anyway, I wasn't sure that my grades would be good enough, so I spent a lot of time working on the admission essay. The director said that she had never read such a moving personal statement. And before you ask Fredward, every word I wrote in it was true. "
Four sets of eyes focused on her as she concluded – "I got in!"
Carly squealed in delight. "Sam! You didn't TELL me! I'm so excited! Congratulations; I just KNEW you would come around; I was so worried about what you would do and OH, this is wonderful! Guys, isn't it wonderful?"
"Way to go Sam!" The guys agreed all around that it certainly was wonderful. Gibby bravely offered up a high five and was pleasantly surprised when she didn't knock him clean off his feet. Freddie was even more surprised when Sam gave him a hug - it was so un-Sam-like that he could almost imagine she was a REAL girl, like Carly or Melanie.
When she turned to look at Spencer, he could see the laughter in her eyes. 'Gotcha,' she seemed to say. But he was just so proud of her; it didn't matter that she'd almost given him a heart attack. As he'd had to promise so many times before, he just shook his head and smiled. "Later…"
"Who wants ribs?" he called out in his "manic" voice.
"Ribs? Spence, I LOVE you!" Sam sang back. The game forgotten, everyone laughed. ..typical Sam…
In the midst of the hoopla, Sam was the only one who saw the whisper on his lips. "I love you too..."