Thanks to Kathy and Susan G. for their input (and
Susan's expert editing).



Shall We Dance?

"Hey, Mom?"
   "Yes, Candy...?"
   "Who taught you how to dance?"
   Carolyn looked up from the book she was reading and
over at her
daughter who was lying in the middle of the living
room floor watching
television.  "Your grandfather taught me a long time
ago.  Actually, I
think I was just about your age, too. Why do you ask?"
   "Well, with the Valentine's Day dance coming up, I
just figured...
well, you know... I should probably learn how to dance
the
old-fashioned
way like you do."
   "Old-fashioned?" her mother feigned insult.
   "Yeah, you know. All that waltzing and stuff; like
when we went to
the Centennial Ball. I mean, I know how to dance to
rock and roll all
right, but Mark says this dance is more formal. I know
he's taken
lessons so I just thought that I should learn how to
do it the other
way. I don't want to look like a dork or anything."
   Carolyn covered her mouth with her hand so her
daughter would not
see
her smile.  "By all means, we don't want you to be a
dork.  I'll be
happy to teach you some steps."
   "Great! So what do we do?" Candy asked as she
jumped to her feet.
   "Well, first thing we need to do is make some room.
Help me move
the
sofa against the window seat."
  Together they cleared a space in the center of the
living room.
  "Okay, now we need some music," Carolyn stated as
she removed a
record
from its sleeve and placed it on the turntable of the
phonograph. She
placed the needle on the record and the sound of a
waltz filled the
room.
   Carolyn and Candy stood facing each other, ready to
begin the
lesson.

   "Now, Candy...you put your hands here and here and,
oh, wait... I
have to think for a moment. After all, I'm not used to
leading."
   After a moment of fumbling through some steps, they
began to move
about the room.
   "May I ask what is going on here?" the Captain's
deep voice
reverberated through the room.
   "Mom's teaching me how to dance!" Candy smiled
exuberantly.
   "TRYING to teach her, Captain," Carolyn remarked as
she struggled to
concentrate on her steps.
   The Captain watched for a moment as the pair took
few more steps,
tripping repeatedly over each other's feet.  "I must
say, Madame... you
seem to be experiencing some difficulty. At this time,
thanks to that
Cupid fellow, I find myself still in a 'solid' state.
as it were.
Perhaps *I* may be of some assistance?" he said as he
stepped forward.
   Candy took this as her cue to step back and let her
mother dance
with
the Captain. She was completely shocked when Captain
Gregg bowed to her
instead of her mother and gently took her hand in his
own.
   "May I have this dance, Miss Muir?" he asked Candy,
and gently
kissed
the top of her hand.
   Just as the Candy felt the Captain's lips touch her
hand, she also
felt a slight sting at the base of her back.  Captain
Gregg smiled at
Candy then took her in his arms to begin the lesson.
Candy stood
motionless, staring into the Captain's eyes. She
wondered why she had
never noticed before how they were the same color as
the cornflowers
that grew on the side of the baseball field. As Candy
stood there,
mesmerized, she thought that the Captain was even more
handsome than
Bobby Sherman!
   "If you are ready, Candy ...we shall begin," the
Captain remarked.
   Candy could only nod in response.
   "Madame, if you would be so kind as to restart the
music..."
   "I would be happy to!" Carolyn replied then
repositioned the arm of
the phonograph.
   "Now remember, Candy... do not look down at your
feet... just look
at
my face and I shall lead you about."
   "Uh-huh..." was Candy's dreamy reply.
    It took only a few awkward moments before Captain
Gregg and Candy
were gliding effortlessly about the room. When at last
the music ended,
the Captain once again bowed to Candy. She blushed to
her ears. Carolyn
applauded from the side where she had watched the
lesson.
   "Excellent, Candy!" the Captain praised the girl,
"You are doing
splendidly. I am sure your friend, Mark, will be quite
impressed!"
   "Who?" Candy asked somewhat dazed.
   "Mark, the young man who will be escorting you to
the dance. I
assumed it was the same Helmore lad in whom you
expressed interest
earlier."
   "Can we do this again, Captain? I really think I
could use the
practice, don't you?" Candy asked with her hands
clasped together in a
pleading position.
   "Certainly, Candy. When you return home from school
tomorrow we
shall
practice again," the Captain patted Candy gently on
the cheek.
   "That sounds like a good idea. You can practice
before your friends
arrive for the sleepover. Right now, though, it's time
to finish your
homework, Candy," Carolyn remarked.
   Candy just stood staring up at the Captain. 
"Candy?" Carolyn tried
to get her daughter's attention as she leaned a little
closer to Candy.
   "Hmm... yes... oh, sure Mom! I'll get right on it.
Thanks again,
Captain," Candy said as she scooped up her books from
the chair then
slowly backed out of the room, her eyes never leaving
the Captain.
   After Candy was gone, Carolyn turned to the
Captain.  "That was a
very sweet thing you did, Captain."
   "Madame... why do you always insist on referring to
my actions as
being 'sweet'? If I have told you once, I have told
you a thousand
times... I am NOT, nor have I EVER been sweet!"
   Carolyn just rolled her eyes and turned away,
muttering, "Here we go
again..."
   Meanwhile, Candy made her way up the stairs to her
room, humming a
waltz to herself. She passed right by Jonathan in the
hallway but did
not see him standing there.
   "Hey! Whatcha' doing?" Jonathan asked, following
Candy into the
bedroom. He stood there with a puzzled look on his
face as he watched
his sister dancing about the room with an imaginary
partner.
   "I'm waltzing. What does it look like I'm doing?"
Candy tried to
ignore her brother as she twirled around.
   "That's goofy! Nobody dances like that unless
they're real old!"
   "Oh, Jonathan! This is the way people dance when
they're grown up...
and have someone 'special' to dance with..."
   "Like Mark?" Jonathan stuck out his tongue and
pulled a face.
   "NOOO! I mean someone REALLY special..." Candy
began to dance about
the room again. Jonathan just shook his head and
walked out of the room
muttering something about girls being weird.
   When she finished her dance, Candy plopped her
books down onto the
bed, picked up her notebook from the pile then sat
down upon the window
seat. Taking her pencil, she opened the notebook to a
blank page and
began scribbling, "Candy Gregg… Mrs. Candy Gregg… Mrs.
Daniel Gregg…"
   The following day proved to be absolute torture for
Candy. She spent
the entire day daydreaming about Captain Gregg and
watching the clock
in
anticipation of going home. When the school bell
sounded at the end of
the day, Candy was the first out of the classroom.
After what seemed
like hours, the school bus arrived at Gull Cottage. As
the bus drove
away, Candy raced up the flagstone walk and burst
through the front
door.  She was so excited that she ran right passed
her mother.
   "Ah… hello, there!" Carolyn called after her
daughter.
   "Oh… hi, Mom… where's Captain Gregg?" Candy asked,
beginning to push
the furniture out of the way to clear the floor.
   Carolyn was a bit surprised at Candy's behavior but
assumed she was
just excited about her sleepover.  "I'm not sure,
dear. I haven't seen
the Captain much this afternoon."
   Candy looked panic-stricken.  "You don't suppose he
forgot about me,
do you? He promised we could practice today."
   "How could possibly think that I would forget? I am
a man of my
word!" the Captain announced as he appeared beside
Candy.
   The girl twirled around and looked adoringly at the
Captain.  "I
knew
it. I just knew you wouldn't forget."
   "Fine, you two can practice for a little while but
then you have to
help get things ready for the sleepover tonight.
Understand, Candy?"
   "Sure, Mom. Whatever! Come on, Captain, let's get
started," Candy
said enthusiastically.
   Carolyn stood back and watched Candy and the
Captain dance. She was
pleased to see her daughter so happy but thought it
was a bit odd that
Candy was suddenly so interested in the Captain's
attention. She
shrugged it off as just her imagination and went off
in search of
Martha
to help get the food ready for the
sleepover.
  Candy, with the Valentine card she had made at the
sleepover in
hand, made her way down the stairs to find the
Captain. When she
reached
the foyer, she crept quietly to the double doors and
turned the handle.
She slowly opened the door and peeked into the room
and smiled as she
saw the Captain, his back turned toward the doorway.
   'Perfect,' she thought, 'he's here.'
  However, her smile quickly disappeared when the
Captain moved to the
side to reveal Carolyn was also in the room and that
they were
dancing.
Not the way the Captain had taught Candy to dance, but
slow dancing,
pressed against each other, looking lovingly into each
other's eyes. 
Ever so slowly, Candy closed the door, hoping they
hadn't noticed she
was there.  Suddenly, her bottom lip began to quiver
and tears formed in her eyes. The Valentine card she
had made for the
Captain slipped from her hand and landed on the floor.
Her head dropped
forward and she slowly made her way up the stairs and
up to her room.
Once there, she let all the tears she had been holding
back come
pouring
out and she threw herself on the bed and cried herself
to sleep.
   When Carolyn and the Captain emerged from the
living room, Carolyn
happened to look down and noticed the envelope on the
floor addressed
to
the Captain.  "Oh, look… it's for you," Carolyn said
as she picked up
the envelope and handed it to Captain Gregg.
   "For me?  Tomorrow is Valentine's day. Why did you
not wait to give
it to me then?"
   "Captain, this card isn't from me. Maybe you should
open it now."
   "Alright, M'Dear…if you insist."  He quickly tore
open the hand-made
envelope and examined the elaborate design of the
card. He opened the
card and read the note aloud.  "Dear Captain, I think
you are the most
adorable man there is and you have coolest blue eyes
in the world. 
Will
you be my Valentine? Love for ever and ever, Candy."
   Captain Gregg looked at Carolyn who stood there
with her hand over
her mouth.  "I…I do not know what to say, Madam. The
"coolest"?  What
on
earth does that mean?"
   "What this means, Captain, is that Candy is another
one of Cupid's
victims and YOU are the object of her affection."
   "That is ridiculous! I am a grown man… she is but a
child… that can
not be it!"
   "I'm afraid it is true, Captain. It would explain
the way Candy has
been acting the past few days.  That's why she is so
excited when you
dance with her and protests so adamantly when the
lessons are over."
   Captain Gregg began to pace back and forth in the
foyer.  "I hope
you
realize, Madam, that I was not aware…"
   "I know that, Captain. The problem is, how do we
deal with this?  I
suppose I'd better have a talk with her."
   "Would it help if I talked to her?"
   "I don't know if that is such a good idea,
Captain."
   "I insist, M'Dear. I am somewhat of an expert on
dealing with
unsolicited attention from females."
   "Oh, really…?" Carolyn asked, a bit sarcastically.
"Thank you,
Captain, but I think I will handle this."
   "As you wish, M'Dear," he nodded.
    The next morning, Jonathan came downstairs and
announced that Candy
did not want to get out of bed and did not want any
breakfast. Carolyn
excused herself and went up to check on Candy.  She
found her daughter
was indeed still in bed with the covers drawn over her
head.
   "Candy, are you feeling alright?" Carolyn asked as
she sat down on
the edge of the bed.
   "No…" came the muffled reply.
   "Candy, would you please pull the blanket down so I
can talk to you
face to face?"  Reluctantly, Candy complied. Carolyn
could see that her
daughter had been crying.  "Do you think you will feel
good enough to
go
to the dance tonight?"
   "I don't think so, Mom."
   "That's too bad. I'm sure Mark will be very
disappointed."
   Candy stared at the ceiling and sniffled.  "Oh,
well. I'm sure he'll
find someone else to dance with tonight. After all,
there will be other
girls at the dance."
   "Candy, I really think you ought to reconsider…"
   "Mom, I don't want to go to the dance. That's it!
In fact, I never
want to dance with anyone EVER again.  Okay? So please
just leave me
alone!" With that, Candy buried herself under the
covers again.
  Carolyn was puzzled as to what would cause Candy to
change her mind
about the dance when she been looking forward to it so
much. She was
about to question her daughter further on the matter
when it suddenly
occurred to Carolyn what the problem might be. Was it
possible Candy
had
seen her dancing with the Captain last night? That
would explain why
the
Valentine card was on the floor outside the door of
the living room.
With the music playing it was quite possible that
someone could have
seen them and neither she or the Captain would have
known.  Carolyn was
not sure what to say or do to ease Candy's
disappointment so she left
the room and went in search of the Captain.
    It was lunchtime and Captain Gregg, armed with a
tray of food in
his
hands, approached the door to the children's bedroom
and hesitated a
moment before he knocked.
   "It's open," a small voice called out from inside
the room.
   Captain Gregg entered the room and found Candy
sitting on the window
seat with her legs tucked beneath her, staring out of
the window. Her
forehead was pressed against the glass, her eyes
looking out at the
bay,
but not seeing a thing.
   "Candy..." the Captain spoke softly.
   "Mmm..." was her only reply.
   "I have brought you a bit of lunch. Martha made it
especially for
you. It is your favorite … peanut butter and
strawberry jam."
   "I'm not hungry."
  The Captain set down the tray on the bed. He wasn't
sure how to
proceed.  "Candy, I was hoping you and I could have a
little talk."
   Captain Gregg heard her sniffle and it tore at his
heart. He sighed
deeply as he realized her tears affected him as much
as her mother's
did.  "Candy... I wanted to talk to you about the
Valentine card."
   "It was stupid!" she blurted out. "I hate Cupid for
doing this to
me!"
   "In the first place, my dear, your card was
anything but ‘stupid'.
It was a lovely creation which I shall cherish always
because it was
made by you."
   Candy looked up, her blue eyes sparkling with
tears.  "Really?"
   "Yes, really…the card is precious to me because
YOU, my dear Candy,
are precious to me."
   "I am?" she asked, wiping her eyes with the back of
her hands.
   "I could not love you more if you were my own
daughter."
   Candy smiled through her tears then looked out the
window once
more.
"You love me as a daughter," she paused and thought
his words over in
her mind, "but you are not IN love with me."
   "Yes, my dear...that is correct. I believe you will
find in a short
time your feelings for me will change when you are no
longer under the
influence of Cupid's arrow."
   "I really hate that Cupid!" she sniffled once more.
   "Cheer up, my dear. That little prankster will be
gone before you
know it, everything will be back to normal and you
will not even give
me
a second look."
   Candy laughed.  "That's silly, Captain. I mean
you're always here.
Why wouldn't I look at you?"
  "What I mean to say is that soon a young man is
going to walk into
your life and steal your heart away for real. When
that happens, you
will never look at any man the way you look at him."
   "You mean the way Mother looked at you while you
were dancing?"
  "The way your mother looked at me?  Why ... I ..."
again he was at a
loss for words before clearing his throat and saying,
"yes, exactly
like
that."
   "I don't know, Captain. This hurts too much; I
don't think I EVER
want to be in love again."
   The Captain smiled warmly.  "Rest assured, my dear,
you will change
your mind."
   "I doubt it!"
   "We shall see. I will leave you alone now. Eat your
lunch and then
it
will be time to get ready for the dance."
   "Thank you, Captain. Thank you for… well… thank
you," Candy said as
she threw her arms around the Captain and gave him a
tight squeeze.
   The Captain was a bit surprised but he gently
patted her on the
shoulder. She looked at him with admiration in her
eyes. He could see
that the effects of Cupid's antics were beginning to
fade.
   A few hours later, Mark Helmore arrived to pick up
Candy for the
dance. Martha ushered him into the foyer and he waited
patiently as
Carolyn went upstairs to let Candy know he had
arrived.  As the girl
descended the stairs, Mark looked up at her and a
large smile crossed
his face.  "You look smashing, Candy!" he announced.
   Captain Gregg, unseen in the doorway to the
kitchen, watched with
pride as Candy greeted her date. She looked positively
radiant. 
Carolyn
moved to stand beside the Captain as everyone wished
the young  couple
a
good time at the dance.
   The Captain leaned over and spoke gently in Candy's
ear.  "You look
lovely, Candy. Have a marvelous time."
   Candy acted as though she had not heard a word the
Captain said. She
just stared at Mark with a dreamy look in her eyes.
The Captain turned
to Carolyn, with a somewhat bewildered look upon his
face.  "I believe
Cupid has struck again," he stated as he watched Candy
and Mark getting
into Mr. Helmore's car.  "She acted as though I was
invisible."
   "I don't think she saw any of us, Captain… only
Mark."
   "Well, I said it would happen. I just did not
expect it to happen so
soon."
   Carolyn looked sympathetically at him and gently
patted his cheek.
"That's alright, Captain. You will be just fine," she
lightly teased.
   "I think may I need help getting over this
rejection," he tried to
look sad.
   Carolyn could not help but smile.  "My dear
Captain…" she said as
she
slipped her arm through his, "I think I know just the
person who can
help."
  "You do?"
  "Yes, I do. You see, Kevin called a little while ago
to tell me he is running about a half hour late. That
means I have a little bit of extra time before I need
to be ready to go to the dance."
  "Kevin...the blasted 'peep'," the Captain muttered.
  "Just forget all about him for now, Captain. Just
follow me and I'll be happy to give you the help you
need,"
Carolyn smiled as she led the Captain into the living
room and closed
the doors behind them. A moment later, soft music was
heard coming from
behind the closed doors…