rated *

 

 

I Know a See-crud

by CMW

 

It had been six years. Six years since that day in the stable and their first kiss. Six years since they finally admitted their feelings for each other. And six years that Trixie and Jim had been dating in secret. Most people knew, but still the majority of the Bob-Whites remained in the dark. Dan was the only Bob-White to have discovered their secret. Jim and Trixie had planned on telling everyone else during that first Christmas, but changed their minds after Trixie had seen firsthand how incredibly annoying and threatening Brian behaved towards Jim. Furthermore, Diana and Honey had hung mistletoe all over the entire Manor House in an effort to force Jim and her into kissing. So Trixie and Jim had decided to just let them figure it out on their own.

And amazingly, no one else had figured it out, and they kept their dating a secret. It was easier after Dan and Mart left for college, as that only left her parents and Bobby at home, and they all knew the truth. Trixie was still amazed that Bobby could keep the information to himself, evidently he had matured a lot since his "see-crud" days.

It was even easier hiding their relationship once the girls graduated high school and went to separate colleges. Honey had chosen to go to the same school where Brian was taking his medical classes and Diana had opted to attend the same college as Mart. Trixie had decided to attend the same college where Jim had just started his graduate classes. There were a couple of close calls when they were almost caught in flagrante, but luckily, with Dan’s warning phone calls, they were able to handle those situations without getting caught.

So, after six years, their dating was still a secret. Trixie was honestly rather disappointed that Honey never figured out the relationship, evidently Honey wasn’t as observant as Trixie had thought. It made Trixie wonder if Honey would even be an effective detective. Apparently these concerns were also shared by Honey, and she decided in her sophomore year that she wasn’t cut out to be a detective and switched majors. Honey realized that her legendary tact and diplomacy and Diana’s ability to smooth ruffled feathers could be put to good use. Soon they would be opening their own mediation/arbitration company that, with all of the business contacts they had through both of their fathers, was sure to be a success.

Although Trixie was initially disappointed, she quickly rebounded and had plans to open the Belden-Mangan Detective agency with Dan. Jim hadn’t taken to that idea very well and had even considered changing his major and joining the agency as well. Trixie and Dan eventually managed to lessen Jim’s jealousy, especially after Dan finally settled down into a long-term relationship.

The other relationships within the Bob-Whites continued to progress nicely. Mart and Diana were disgustingly happily engaged. Brian and Honey continued to date but were waiting until Brian’s residency was determined before announcing an engagement. And Hallie was now the eighth Bob-White after she moved to New York and started dating Dan.

But now, for the first time in ages, they were all together again. In fact, they were on an official Bob-White trip. Mr. Wheeler had invited all of the Bob-Whites and their families on a vacation to Las Vegas to celebrate the college graduations of Trixie, Honey, and Diana.

*     *      *

The first day had been spent together touring some of the sites of Las Vegas. They had seen the show Jubilee! at Bally’s on their first night. The women had enjoyed the singers and dance troupes, while the men, especially Terry, Larry and Bobby, had enjoyed the sinking of the Titanic and Samson destroying the temple.

The next night, everyone separated for their own fun. The parents went to see Cirque du Soleil's with the younger children, leaving the Bob-Whites to their own devices. Trixie had managed to talk the girls into seeing the Thunder from Down Under, a male revue show, leaving the men behind. Not wanting to be outdone, Jim convinced the guys into going to the Sapphire Gentleman’s Club. Not surprising, everyone stumbled in very late and very tipsy that night.

The following day was devoted to family activity. They all took a horseback canyon ride through the desert. Most likely, the Bob-Whites would have enjoyed the trip a lot more had they not been hung over. By the end of the two-hour trip, everyone was recovered enough to enjoy the beautiful scenery. That evening, the entire group went out to a fancy dinner. The Belden parents managed to win the scuffle for the bill at the end of the night and paid for the entire party.

The fourth day, everyone once again segregated into different groups. The parents divided up by gender with the men heading off to a local golf course and the women going shopping. Mary and Kerry, the Lynches 13-year old twin girls, went off shopping with the mothers, while Bobby, Terry and Larry went off to enjoy all the amusement park rides at the various hotels.

The Bob-Whites headed off for a day of fun. They also enjoyed the amusement park rides and toured the incredible hotels in Las Vegas. They were just passing one of the many chapels around Las Vegas when Trixie interrupted everyone’s conversations.

"Hey…you know what? We’re in Las Vegas. And what do people do in Las Vegas?" She asked loudly, causing the group to stop walking and look at her.

"Ummm…lose money," answered Diana.

"And more money," added Brian.

"And borrow more money to lose that money too," Dan finished.

Trixie grimaced. "I mean besides gambling. Does that chapel give you an idea?" she said, pointing at a quaint looking chapel beside the road.

"Well, yes, many people do choose to celebrate their marriage nuptials in Las Vegas. Especially since there are no waiting periods or blood tests required. In fact, since 1993, over 100,000 marriage licenses have been issued each year in Clark County, the county in which we are currently residing." Mart said.

Trixie rolled her eyes. "See you always know all these facts…but do you act upon them?" She taunted her brother.

Mart raised an eyebrow. "What, and elope here in Las Vegas? Are you crazy, Moms would kill me."

"And my mom would kill us both. Although the idea does hold some merit, Mart. That’s really a cute chapel." Diana laced her arm through Mart’s.

"Aren’t any of you guys going to be daring? I mean, we’re in Las Vegas, baby." Trixie looked around at the other couples, all of whom were looking at her like she was crazy.

"Oh, you’re all a bunch of chickens." Trixie turned to go, but jumped when Jim ran in front of her.

"Fine then, Trix," Jim said, grabbing Trixie’s hand. "Why don’t you put your money where your mouth is."

Trixie’s jaw dropped. But still, her shocked look was NOTHING in comparison to Brian’s, Honey’s, Diana’s, Mart’s, or Hallie’s. Dan just stood there, smiling widely as he realized that this scene was completely staged.

And Trixie and Jim played their parts well. Trixie pretended to be surprised. Jim managed to look amazingly casual, even when he dropped to one knee right on the pavement, in front of Trixie, the rest of the Bob-Whites, and completely random strangers walking on the street.

"Trixie Belden, I’ve kept my feelings for you a secret for years. I’m now ready to profess before our friends, our families, and before God my deep and abiding love for you. Will you marry me?"

The tears in Trixie’s eyes were not just acting this time. Then she remembered her audience.

"Are you crazy? I mean…didn’t I say I wouldn’t marry you if you were the last man on earth?" Trixie had planned that response for weeks now.

Jim smiled. "You know, somehow I expected an answer like that. Where’s a pile of snow when you need one?" He got serious. "Trixie, I think your words at that time were as false as mine. I’ve loved you since the day we met and I want to spend the rest of my days with you."

Again, the tears in her eyes weren’t false.

By this time, Brian had almost managed to completely shut his mouth. Diana still looked completely dumbfounded. Mart kept opening and shutting his mouth, looking for all the world like a blond, blue-eyed goldfish. Honey had placed one slender hand over her mouth and tears were forming in her eyes as well. Hallie had turned and gripped onto Dan’s arm in order to prevent herself from falling to the ground. And Dan stood there with the same smug look on his face.

"Are you sure?" Trixie whispered to Jim.

"More sure than I’ve been about anything in my life," Jim said sincerely.

"Then OK….let’s go get married." Trixie said, tugging Jim back up to his feet. They turned and smiled at the others and started walking towards the chapel.

That movement galvanized the others. They ran after the couple.

"Are you insane?"

"Are you crazy?"

"You can’t get married!"

"What are you thinking?"

"You can’t do this!"

Trixie turned around. She put on her most innocent look. "What? You guys always pressured us to date, what’s wrong with us getting married?"

"But-- but--but that’s different. You’re supposed to do the dating part before getting married. And the engagement part," Honey stammered.

"This isn’t time to be impulsive, guys. Marriage is a serious matter," Brian said, trying to grab Jim’ s shoulder.

"How can you call this impulsive?" Jim asked. "We’ve been in love for over 13 years."

"Yes, but you haven’t been in a relationship during that time," Mart replied.

"Well, no, not during that entire time. But don’t you think that it’s time we admit to everyone how we feel and tell the whole world?" Trixie replied.

"Not like this! You can’t get married!"

"Actually, I think we can, Mart." Jim opened the door for Trixie and followed through. They headed up to the counter.

"Excuse me, Mrs…" Jim looked at the nametag on the woman behind the counter. "Mrs. Baker. My name is Jim Frayne and this is Trixie Belden. We’d like to get married today. Do you have any openings for this afternoon?"

The woman checked the computer. "Why, yes, we actually do have an opening in one hour. Shall I put you down?"

"No!" cried most of the Bob-Whites.

Trixie ignored them all and turned to Jim. "Oh, I don’t know, can we manage to be ready in one hour? I’d like to get a dress…and we need some rings."

"Actually, we have full packages available. We have dresses for both brides and the bridesmaids available. And we have tuxedoes in all sizes, so we could outfit the groom and the groomsmen. And we have a deal with a local jewelry shop so we could easily purchase some rings for you. Would you be interested in a package plan?"

Trixie turned to the Bob-White women. "That sounds really nice, I’d really like to have you three be my bridesmaids."

"Do you have something in blue? It’s my favorite color." Jim asked, smiling at the woman behind the counter.

"We have many different options. Do you want the entire group as your wedding party? If you would like to do that, we can separate the men and women and try some of the options."

"That sounds like a great idea," Trixie said.

A nicely dressed man came out of the back and led the men away. Protesting the entire time, the Bob-Whites followed Trixie and Jim into their respective changing rooms.

Hallie grabbed Trixie and spun her around. "OK, seriously, Trixie. You can’t just suddenly decide to marry someone. This is a bad idea."

Trixie shook off Hallie’s arm and continued to follow Mrs. Baker into a back room. The room had a large three-sided mirror under soft lighting. There were also a number of pink suede-covered chairs. Trixie sat down and invited the others to do the same.

The other girls refused to sit down, swarming around Trixie and trying to talk her out of this ridiculous idea.

Mrs. Baker calmly walked back into the room carrying a few blue dresses. Trixie decided upon a light-blue ensemble with a taffeta skirt and wrap-around blouse top. Mrs. Baker asked Honey, Diana and Hallie for their dress sizes. They all blindly answered and then turned back to Trixie.

"Trixie! Are you really serious about this?" Honey asked.

"Honey, I really love your brother. I want to spend my entire life with him. Just because we haven’t seemed to have a normal relationship to others doesn’t mean that it’s any less real to us."

The other women continued to stare at Trixie. Mrs. Baker came back with their dresses and took Trixie back to try on some bridal gowns. When she returned in the dress, the others were still talking about her.

They all shut up when they saw Trixie, looking incredibly beautiful in her bridal gown.

The dress was eggshell-colored, with a boat neckline and very few embellishments. She had the veil in her hand, but she had put her hair up with curls framing her face.

"Oh, Trixie," Diana said, bringing her hand up to her mouth. "You look so beautiful."

Honey just stood there with tears in her eyes.

Hallie stared at Trixie with a quizzical look on her face. "That dress…looks familiar."

At that moment, there was a knock on the door. Mrs. Baker walked over and opened the door for Mr. and Mrs. Belden. Mrs. Belden’s light blue dress was very similar in style and color to the bridesmaid’s gowns. She looked at Trixie and then turned to her husband, looking very debonair in his tuxedo even as he wiped away a few tears from his eyes.

"Oh, Trixie. You look so beautiful," Mr. Belden whispered. "Just like your mother."

"That’s where I saw the dress! It’s Aunt Helen’s!" Hallie cried.

Honey and Diana looked shocked to see the Beldens.

"Wait, you know that Trixie and Jim are getting married?" Honey asked in shock.

"Of course we know. You don’t think Mr. Honorable would ask Trixie to marry him without first getting our permission, do you?" Mr. Belden asked, finally regaining control of his emotions.

"Then--then-- then this wasn’t an impulse move?" Diana stuttered.

Trixie grinned widely. "No, we’ve been planning this for months now."

The girls all started to shriek at that statement when suddenly everyone heard a very loud, very deep voice bellowing, "What do you mean you’ve been dating my sister?"

Brian Belden came into Trixie’s room looking angrier than anyone had ever seen him. He was closely followed by Mart, looking just as angry.

"You’ve been dating? When? How? I am going to kill him! I’m going to kill you! How DARE you not tell me that you were dating!" It appeared that the Belden temper had NOT, in fact, skipped Brian.

Honey jumped into the conversation. "Dating! How long have you been dating?"

At that, everyone started yelling at Trixie.

It all stopped after an ear-piercing Bob-White whistle from the doorway. Dan stood there, holding a blindfold in his hand. Behind him were Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler, who, like the Beldens, were dressed up for a wedding.

"OK guys, let’s all settle down and let Jim and Trixie tell their story. But first, Trix, Jim wants you to blindfold yourself so you don’t see him before the ceremony. He’s already blindfolded."

"Ummm…it’s too late to do that superstition bit about not seeing the bride the day of the ceremony," Trixie replied.

Jim’s voice answered from the hallway. "Well, no, but I want to wait to see how incredible you look in your wedding gown. And I think what’s good for the gander, is good for the goose."

Trixie reluctantly took the blindfold and tied in around her head. Dan then pulled a similarly blindfolded Jim into the room.

Dan smiled at the other Bob-Whites. "I’m also here to say that just cause Jim is blindfolded does not mean this is a time to jump him and beat the crap out of him. I’m going to protect him, OK?"

Feeling slightly confident in his safety, Jim began speaking. "OK, I know everyone is probably upset. So let me just explain what’s going on. Trixie and I are getting married today in Las Vegas…but trust me, we’ve had this planned for months now. In fact, Mom and Dad arranged the whole trip at our request in order to get everyone here in Las Vegas."

Honey turned to her parents, "You mean you knew they were going to get married?"

Mr. Wheeler laughed. "Of course we knew. Considering the fact that Trixie asked us permission to marry our son, we had to know."

"Trixie asked you for permission?" Diana asked.

"Well, I don’t see why it’s only the groom that has to ask the bride’s parents for their blessing. I figured it was only fair to ask Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler for their blessing too."

Jim, Dan, the Belden parents and the Wheeler parents all smiled. The others were still too shocked to find this amusing.

"And what’s this about you guys dating without telling us?" Honey asked Trixie and Jim.

Jim answered, "Well, we’ve been dating for awhile now."

"How long?" Mart asked accusingly.

"About 6 years."

The sounds of five people yelling, "What" "How long???" and "You never told me!" filled the room. Once again, a shrill Bob-White whistle filled the air and silenced everyone.

Hallie spoke up into the silence. "And why is it, Daniel Mangan, that you don’t seem terribly shocked by all of this?"

Dan looked up and saw everyone staring at him. "Well, actually, I’ve known they were dating for years. Don’t look at me like that, Hallie, it was their secret to tell."

"You mean you told Dan and not me?" Honey cried to Trixie.

Trixie was disconcerted by the lack of eye contact she could have with her best friend with the blindfold on. "We didn’t tell Dan. He figured it out on his own and tailed us. But we did tell the adults, we really weren’t trying to hide our relationship."

"Oh, really?!" Brian said, with a murderous glare at Jim that luckily Jim couldn’t see. "Then why weren’t we told?"

"Well, mainly because you guys were all so annoying trying to pressure us to date. When we did start dating, we decided not to give you the satisfaction of knowing you were right. We had planned on only doing this for a while, but then you all upped your pressure tactics. So we upped our secrecy." Trixie said.

"But, now we are telling you. And we are asking you to help us celebrate our wedding." Jim turned in the direction that Brian’s voice came from. "Brian, I’d be honored if you’d A) not kill me and B) be my best man. And as my best man, you need to tell me…how gorgeous does Trixie look?"

Brian glared some more at Jim and then slowly turned and looked at Trixie. He finally seemed to notice how beautiful his sister looked in his mother’s bridal gown, and his brown eyes softened. "She’s an incredibly beautiful bride."

"And Honey, I’d be delighted if you’d be my maid of honor. I’m sorry we kept it from you for so long, but after a while, it just became a habit."

Honey still looked hurt, but a look of realization came over her face as she cried out. "Oh my God! You guys are actually getting married. And you’re going to be my sister!"

Trixie waved her arm in Honey’s direction, trying to grab her hand. "Yes, Honey we are. Now will you please get my husband-to-be…" Trixie paused as she and Jim both smiled. "out of here and let’s go get married. We’ve got a bunch of guests waiting for us."

"Guests!" Hallie cried. "You have guests?"

"Of course. We want to share this event with everyone. So we invited people to a mystery wedding," Jim said.

"Meaning the guests don’t know who’s getting married?" Mart guessed.

"You got it, almost-twin. The invite comes from all the Bob-Whites parents and guardians and it invites people to witness two Bob-Whites declaring their love. We’re hoping people think it’s Brian and Honey. In fact, we’ve got some ideas planned. Anyway, the men need to get out of here. This blindfold is annoying."

Jim, Mart, Dan and Brian left the room, Mart muttering to himself that he couldn’t believe he missed all the signs of his sister dating and complaining that love must indeed be blind if his devotion to Diana made him oblivious to his sister’s behavior.

Trixie took off her blindfold and invited her mother to help her put on the veil. There were tears in Mrs. Belden’s eyes as she assisted her daughter.

A knock on the door was quickly followed by Bobby Belden appearing in the doorway. Trixie looked in shock at Bobby. At 15, Bobby looked just like Mart did at that age, however, Mart had never worn these type of clothes. Bobby was wearing another of the bridesmaid’s dress with high heels. He pranced into the room.

"Robert Andrew Belden! What are you doing in that? You’re supposed to be in a tux."

"Ah, the tuxes are uncomfortable. This fits much better." Bobby grinned at Trixie.

"This isn’t a time to joke around. Go get changed into the tux." Bobby smiled, doing one last twirl as he left the room. Trixie grimaced. How come he manages to move more gracefully in a dress than I do?

Mr. Belden sighed loudly. "He’s never been the same since he tried on your clothes, Trixie."

Another knock on the door and Mrs. Baker entered into the room. She had another woman with her who looked familiar to Trixie.

"This will be your organist. I wanted to verify that you still want her to start playing the Wedding March before your last bridesmaid enters the room."

Trixie nodded. "Yes, it’s part of the ruse to make people wonder who’s getting married." Trixie looked closely at the organist. She gasped, "Mrs. Miller!"

Mrs. Miller smiled. "Yes, it is me, Trixie. Your first grade music teacher. The one you landed on when you fell off the stage dressed as a daffodil."

Trixie was appalled. Oh God, now I’m terrified I’ll do something clumsy and stupid and ruin my wedding day.

Diana and Honey noticed Trixie’s discomfort as Mrs. Miller and Mrs. Baker left the room. "It’s OK, Trixie. You aren’t the same person you were back then." Honey reassured her.

"Besides, this isn’t as hard as dressing as a daffodil. There’s no stage to fall off," Diana added.

"Aww! You guys are so great. This just goes to show your mediation company, ‘Doves of Peace’, is going to be a huge success."

Mrs. Baker came back into the room. "Alright, so the bridesmaids should go outside and get ready. I believe the order is Hallie, then Diana, and then Honey, correct?" Trixie nodded. "Mrs. Belden, Mrs. Wheeler, please come with me so the mothers can be escorted down the aisle. Mr. Wheeler, I believe you are waiting to go in until later so that they can’t guess who’s getting married, right? We’ll show you the secret passage to go down once Trixie and Mr. Belden head down the aisle." Everyone left, leaving Mr. Belden and Trixie alone with Mrs. Baker.

"Secret passage!" Trixie’s ears perked up.

"Why, yes. This building was once used as a gangster hangout. They had all sorts of secret passages to avoid the G-men. Anyway, you two need to practice the walk down the aisle."

"Practice?" Mr. Belden asked. "Isn’t it just a slow march?"

"Well, no, Trixie has opted to do a line dance of sorts down the aisle." Mrs. Baker responded. "I believe it’s three steps forward, three shuffles back. So, the music would go Dum-Dum-Da-Dum for your three steps forward, in the pause, you’d shuffle quickly back."

Mr. Belden looked hopeful. "So, if we’re taking three steps forward and three steps back, that means Trixie will never get to the front, right?"

Trixie smiled up at her father. "No, Daddy, we’ll still make it. I’m still going to marry Jim."

Mr. Belden sighed. "Oh, well. A dad can hope."

Trixie and Mr. Belden left the prep room and stepped out into the hallway. Trixie was thrilled. It’s finally time. I’m finally going to marry James Winthrop Frayne the Second. I’ve dreamed about this since I met him.

She sighed. She was so happy, nothing could ruin this day for her.

Honey turned and smiled at her as Wagner’s Wedding March music began filling the hall. Honey stepped in, Trixie could hear the gasps as everyone realized that since Honey was the last bridesmaid, Trixie must be the bride. She smiled at a secret well kept.

Then, it was their turn. They walked into the room, doing the little dance thing. Trixie looked to the right side of the aisle. Jim and Trixie had decided to forego the traditional groom and bride’s side, that would have given everything away. So Trixie saw a mix of their friends and family and smiled at them all. Miss Trask, Mr. Maypenny, and Regan sat in the second row, behind both of the mothers. Juliana and Hans were there with their two children. Bob and Barbara Hubbell were behind them, sitting next to Ned Shultz. Dot Murray had NOT been invited. Pete Kimball was there as well, with his arm around Linnie Moore. Trixie’s eyebrows raised at that.

She then turned to the left. And gasped at who she saw.

These people she also recognized. But she was dismayed to see Jonesy in the front row, smiling evilly at her. Jeff and Al were next to him. Behind them were Richard Blank and Tilney Britten. In the next row sat Snipe and Bull Thompson, as unshaven and slovenly as always.

Couldn’t they at least have cleaned up for my wedding? Oh God, what am I thinking?

In the next row, Oliver Trolliver sat next to Luke and the other members of the Cowhands, all wearing their jackets and cowboy boots. Behind them the two Slims, Slim Novarski and Slim Sanderson, sat next to Jake Burton and Rancy Miller. In the row after that, Big Tony, Blinky and Pedro grimaced at her, almost shielding Pierre Lontard and Mr. and Mrs. Aguilara from view. Behind them were Hank Jenkins, Sammy, Al Finlay, Gordie McDuff, Roger Higgins, and Sax Jenner. Behind them, the Glen Road counterfeiters sat in the same row as the Mead’s Mountain counterfeiters, all comparing their handiwork. Scarface and Louie were looking sideways at the money, trying to figure out how to steal it, counterfeit or no.

Next to them sat Alfred Dunham and Thea Van Loon. The two scuba divers sitting next to her looked very odd in their wetsuits.

At least it’s a suit, I guess.

In the second to last row were Peter Ashbury, Opie and Fred Swisher, Smiley Jackson, Nick Morgan, and David Maypenn…no, Lawrence Howard.

In the last row sat Margo Birch, Lewis Gregory, Andy Kowalski, Laura Ramsey and Mark McGraw.

Trixie vaguely remembered there should be additional attendees on this side. Oh, that’s right, James Slettom, Carl Reid, Paul Gale, Harry Kemp, Professor Conroy, and Jon Burke really aren’t good enough to be included in this dream. Dream! Is that what this…

*     *      *

Trixie woke up with a start. She rubbed her eyes. Looking at the clock to her left, she saw that it was a little after 2:00 am.

Oh God, it was just a dream. Where am I? Oh, right, Honey’s. And in three days, I WILL tell her at the mega-dinner about dating Jim. I couldn’t bear for Honey to be mad at us.

Trixie looked over at her best friend. As usual, nothing woke Honey up from her beauty sleep. She lay there, a sweet smile on her face, her hair fanned out on the pillow around her, surrounded by a thin beam of light.

Why can’t I look like that when I sleep? Trixie grumbled, running a hand through her tousled, sandy curls. She was suddenly aware that the light around Honey was coming from the hallway.

Oh, that’s what woke me up. Thank God, that dream was getting weird.

She quietly got out of bed and moved to the door. She was thrilled to see the light came from Jim’s room, where the redhead was quietly unpacking his suitcase.

He must have come home early for Christmas break!

She crept across the hall and quietly knocked on the doorframe. Jim turned with a start and looked surprised to see Trixie in his doorway.

He let her in and shut the door. "Oh, are you spending the night with Honey?"

"Yes, and I just had the strangest dream. You and I eloped to Las Vegas and surprised all the Bob-Whites." Trixie said with a smile, plopping on the bed.

Jim looked surprised. "Um, Trixie, we’re a bit young for that."

"No, no, it was six years from now. We were all adults. Except for Bobby, of course…and he was wearing a bridesmaid’s dress. I guess that came from seeing him in my clothes. God, I can even remember all the shows in Las Vegas we saw before we got married. That must have come from the Las Vegas special I saw last night on the Travel Channel." She giggled. "And my first grade teacher was there, and Dad and I had some dance to do to go down the aisle. And all of our friends were there….but all of our enemies too. And…Jim are you even listening to me?"

Jim looked up guiltily from his suitcase. "Well, honestly, Trixie, I’m trying to ignore you."

Trixie looked hurt. "What? Why?"

"I’m trying to control myself."

"Control yourself? Why?"

Jim rolled his eyes. "You know, Trixie. I’ll never understand how you can be so smart and intuitive about everything else and so naïve about this." He sighed at her look of incomprehension. "OK, let’s start with this. Where are you right now?"

"Umm, the Manor House," Trixie answered, still confused.

"More specific."

Your bedr--oh, your bedroom."

"More specific."

"Your bed. But Jim, I’m wearing flannel pajamas for God’s sake. You can NOT be turned on by that."

"Really?" Jim raised an eyebrow. "And what exactly are you wearing under those pajamas?"

For possibly the first time in her life, Trixie was momentarily speechless. "Umm…ummm…nothing," she finally stammered.

Jim groaned. "Trixie, you weren’t supposed to answer that. I mean, I knew that, but you weren’t supposed to acknowledge it." He turned around to finish unpacking.

"But Jim, they’re flannel pajamas...with baby blue flowers on them"

Jim turned around again and put his hands on his hips. "Yeah, and exactly how long do you think it would take for me to remove said pajamas?"

For the second time that night and possibly the second time in her life, Trixie was speechless. After staring intently at Trixie for a while, Jim forced himself to look away and continue unpacking.

Trixie finally composed herself. "I guess I should go back into Honey’s room then?"

Jim finished unpacking his clothes and closed his suitcase. "It’s probably a good idea. Not that I want you to go, this is probably the most alone time anyone will allow us to have."

Trixie smiled. "Yeah, in fact, I haven’t even gotten a welcome kiss from you."

"Trixie…" Jim stopped as Trixie stepped up to him and got on her tiptoes. OK, I can’t resist this.

Jim leaned down and kissed Trixie, trying his best to control his libido. He almost started congratulating himself, but then Trixie put her arms around his shoulders and pressed her body against his.

With a groan, he stepped forward and pressed Trixie against the door. "Oh, Trixie. God, I missed you." He started running kisses up and down her neck.

"Oh God, Jim, I missed you too. That feels incredible."

For a cold night in December, the heat in that room was rising. Jim kept telling himself to stop and kept failing miserably. He raised his hand along her side, inching higher and higher. Trixie could barely think clearly enough to determine if this was a good idea or not.

Suddenly, they heard a noise in the hallway. Both of them froze, trying to quiet down their breathing. They didn’t hear anything more, so Jim cautiously opened the door. Luckily, the corridor was empty and they both breathed a sigh of relief.

"I guess it was just old building noise," Trixie whispered.

"Yeah, but you still better get going before anyone does wake up," Jim said, giving Trixie a push in the direction of Honey’s room. She turned to him and pouted but then crossed the hall, relieved to see that Honey apparently hadn’t moved a muscle.

She settled into bed with a smile. Hmmm…I can’t wait to see what I dream now.

 The End

 TBH Main