A Lifetime Made for Two

Ch. 9: Pineapple Pizza

Piper didn't see much of Michael for the rest of the morning but Calvin and Sylvia approached her after lunch.

"Hi, guys," Piper smiled.

"Hey. Um. We were wondering if you wanted to star gaze with us tonight when it gets dark. For the past couple years we've sat out on my mom's car and talked while watching the stars," Calvin said.

"Sure! That sounds like fun. So just when it gets dark?"

"Yeah. I'll come find you," Sylvia offered. "And you might want to wear a heavy sweatshirt or something cause it gets pretty cold."

"Ok. Will do. Well, I look forward to tonight." Piper's cheeks dimpled as she smiled at Calvin and Sylvia as they walked towards the rec. room together. She continued to smile as she strolled towards the kitchen.

"What's up with you?" Nick asked teasingly.

Piper stopped just before entering the dish-room and moved towards the food bar that Nick was cleaning. "What?"

"Why are you smiling?"

"Oh. No reason."

"Sure. Was it Michael?" Nick hinted.

"Actually, no. But speaking of Michael, I have hardly seen him all day. Is he ok?"

"As far as I know, yeah."

"Huh. Anywho, do ya'll need any help?" Piper cocked her head to the left as she asked.

"I'm sure they'd appreciate some help washing dishes. And then you can talk to Michael."

"Great. Thanks."

As Piper opened the door to the dish-room, she was startled by something hard and cold hitting her arm. Actually, it was a lot of little somethings. She stopped in the doorway with her hands up in defense and her mouth open in surprise. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stood as still as statues until Tim started giggling. Then the dish-room broke into a roar of laughter as no one could contain themselves any longer. Piper grabbed a handful of ice cubes and started chucking them at Lily, Tim, and Michael. Nick walked in and tried to stop everyone, but only accomplished getting himself into the middle of it. So he joined in. Everyone had fun bombarding each other with ice cubes and using the powerful spray nozzles to drench those on the opposite side of the room when Michael froze and everyone noticed Katherine standing in the hallway from the dish-room to the breakroom. She didn't say anything for a minute and everyone stood in awkward silence, only the water dripping from their drenched clothes breaking the silence. Katherine spoke, evaporating the mood.

"I didn't see anything. Just make sure this dish-room is spotless before you go on break."

"Will do, Kathy," Anthony said.

A sigh of relief escaped everyone's lips when Katherine had exited the dish-room.

"That was close," Lily said.

"It wasn't close. We got caught," Michael argued.

"It was lucky for us Kathy was in a good mood," Piper stated. "But we had better actually get to work. Where can I help?"

"Lily and I have the sinks covered so you can help Michael with the dishwasher," Tim said.

The sinks Lily referred to were three large silvery vats, placed against a wall at one end of the large, white-washed room. A loud metal box that faced the three sinks was set into the corner of an 'L' in and out for dishes. Gleaming racks were positioned close enough to each washing area to be convenient enough but not cause claustrophobia. The door to the dining room was standing guard on the other side of the dishwasher's metal dirty-dish counter, and a small hallway led to the supplies closets and breakroom. This opened opposite the door to the dining room.