Weeping Willows

All's Fair in Love and War

Chapter 29

The two of them slowed to a stop as the song came to an end. Ryan was smiling down at Elizabeth who was still looking about the room disoriented. His smile morphed into a frown as he took a good look at her.

"How did you get the Victrola working Lizzy?" Elliot's question went unanswered as she stood there in bewilderment. Ryan and Elliot looked at each other before watching her cautiously.

"Elizabeth?" Ryan tentatively called to her while pushing stands of hair out of her face. She didn't hear either one of them however completely lost in her thoughts. Elliot stood coming over to the pair waving his hand in front of her face but still garnered no response. Ryan was just about to shake her a little to try and bring her out of it when Mikey burst into the room startling them all.

"Hey, we have music! Check this out you guys." He called out to the rest of the house. Jan and Addison were the first in the room followed shortly by Clayton. While Addison, Clayton, and Mikey were admiring the machine Jan joined Ryan and Elliot at Elizabeth's side. Concern graced her angular face as she looked Elizabeth over.

"Are you feeling okay? You look paler than usual which is saying something." Elizabeth gave her a weak smile that did nothing to ease Jan's anxiety.

"I'm fine." She tried to reassure them, but the words did very little in the way of that. At that point Mikey had abandoned the other two to join their small group.

"You look like you've seen a ghost." He pointed out making Ryan, Elliot, and Jan glare at him, but Elizabeth just chuckled.

"No, no ghosts. I was just lost in thought is all." She said flippantly trying her best to appear unshaken by her experience. Elizabeth didn't want to say anything and have them think she was losing it. At this point she was trying to convince herself she wasn't going insane. She waved them off trying to get them to stop hovering. Having so many people pushed into her personal space was making her feel claustrophobic. Taking the cue both Elliot and Mikey stepped back, but Ryan and Jan remained where they were. With a spark of mischief twinkling in his eye Mikey spun Jan around causing her to lose balance and fall into him. He grinned impishly taking one of her hands in his while mashing her lithe frame into him with the other arm. At this point Jan resembled a cat dunked in water and if Mikey didn't have such a tight hold on her she might have truly attacked him.

"Let's dance." It was all the warning he gave Jan before spinning off with her. She started hurtling a slew of cuss words and insults his way while trying to extricate herself. Everyone clapped along with the music egging Mikey on in his antics. Much to Jan's dismay he had too good a hold on her and she just couldn't seem to free herself. He was smiling broadly as he led her in a mockery of the waltz. Every time he spun Jan in a clumsy circle she would stumble over her feet or his. Jan would have found herself on the floor more then once if his arms weren't holding her so securely. Elizabeth giggled at her friend's plight causing Jan to send a murderous glare at her. Ryan offered his hand waiting for her to take it and join him in dancing with the other couple.

This time instead of trying to do the dance correctly they followed Mikey's lead and just had fun with it. Once Elizabeth and Ryan had started dancing with them Jan stopped fighting her partner and just decided to go with it. She even kept dancing when Ryan and Mikey switched the girls. Ryan led Jan around while Mikey spun Elizabeth out. Pretty soon Elliot and Clayton moved onto the floor too. Clayton cut in pulling Jan from Ryan's arms while Elliot tried to do the same. Being quicker than Ryan was though Mikey was able to evade him for the first couple times before passing Elizabeth over. Ryan and Mikey went to sit with Addison who clearly couldn't join in the fun due to her advanced pregnancy, but she seemed to be having enough fun clapping along and verbally guiding her husbands moves. Elizabeth found herself laughing at his attempts to follow Addison's guidance which a few times looked more like some kind of seizure/headbanging at times. By the time the song was over Elizabeth was sure Addison was purposely giving him confusing directions just to watch him flounder. When he stepped away, gave her a bow that was comical and overly done, Elizabeth was in tears she was laughing so hard. Everyone else was in hysterics as well with the exception of Elliot himself. Trying to look as dignified as possible he strode back to Addison's side with his head held high and his broad shoulders square. The weird event momentarily forgotten until a young woman giggled beside her. Looking to the side Elizabeth could vaguely make out a woman's figure before it vanished as if it dissipated in the rays of the sun.