***
Two hours later, three beautiful women descended the stairs. Laura was beautiful in her black velvet dress that came just to the knees. She wore her hair down, but pulled back on one side with a diamond barrette. Skye followed in her blue velvet and a heart shaped necklace, diminutively placed at the décolletage of her dress. She had her long dark tresses tied back and fastened with a white bow at the back of her neck.
Sara was absolutely resplendent in a long black sequined dress that framed her lovely figure. She had her hair in a French twist and one of Laura’s diamond clips fastened in her hair.
After a while, the front door bell rang and all three women invited the guests in.
Chad was dumbstruck by a mature looking Skye.
At the sight of Laura, Todd felt a little ill at ease, but she soon made him laugh with her sharp tongue and wit.
The guys were not dressed as elegantly as the ladies, but soon the house was full of fun and laughter.
By 10:00 pm, things were really warming up. The doorbell rang once again, and to everyone’s amazement, stood Carol Jean holding hands with Ron Andrews.
Carol Jean was wearing a very pretty, long blue dress with matching heels, and her hair was piled on her head, with a matching blue ribbon holding it in place.
“Well, you did invite me, didn’t you?” Carol Jean asked looking at a surprised Skye.
“Absolutely, come on in,” Skye laughed.
The evening went along smoothly, everyone enjoying themselves drinking Skye’s punch and eating the snacks set out. They watched the usual Parkerville photos of current events of the soon-to-be previous year.
Right at 11:30 pm, Laura grabbed Skye and Chad, and quietly took them into the hallway. No one seemed to notice their leaving, except Todd.
“Okay, here we go.” She drew her finger along the line of the secret room and led them in.
“Laura, your mom is going to kill you . . . then me,” Skye whispered in fear.
“Now, come over to the desk,” Laura said, ignoring Skye’s warning. She reached behind the desk and plugged something in. It took her a moment, but all of a sudden, a small TV began to play. It was showing Times Square in New York City and the crowds that had gathered.
“Look, the ball is at the Allied Chemical Building. Oh, I can’t wait to see it come down. You’re just wonderful, Laura,” Skye gushed.
Chad was simply mesmerized by it all. “You know, my dad has a room like this. How strange is that?”
Laura pulled up a small bench, which just fit two, and asked both not to make too much noise when the ball came down, and come back out to the living room.
Todd was standing directly in back of Laura, shaking his head. “Hey, why can’t we stay and watch?”
“Oh, get out of here, we can’t get caught you big jerk.” She laughed, pushing Todd out of the room, noting that it was now 11:45. Todd grabbed Laura’s hand and headed for the sofa.
“Wait, we need some pots and pans to bang at twelve,” Laura hollered. She ran into the kitchen, but only found two black, wrought iron pans. “These are too darn heavy to bang together. Oh, wait; there are some pots in the cabinet. Let’s take them all.”
Carol Jean and Ron were sitting on the sofa, when Todd and Laura appeared.
None of the teens were watching the TV, as they were concentrating on each other.
Ron and Carol Jean were having a very private conversation on the sofa, with Ron’s arm curled around Carol Jean’s shoulders, and Laura was nestled on Todd’s lap with her arms around his neck.