"Well, it's certainly been an interesting three months. I hope you have a nice life in Amish country, farm boy!" Marianna mutters under her breath as Oskar's plane takes off from the airfield.

"What's that?" asks Ellie, who is waiting for her boyfriend Zachariah Ezekiel to finish his work in the control tower. "Did you say something about Amish people? Zachariah was Amish until he discovered aviation... and then he found out he was afraid of heights, so he became an air traffic controller."

"I know, Ellie, you've told me a million times, I know he's allergic to heights. Do I look fat in this dress?" Marianna is wearing a billowy white sleeveless dress, made out of some sort of gauzy material. "I mean, it *is* a maternity dress, and I am sorta pregnant, but do I look fat?"

Ellie rolls her eyes. "You look like you're three months pregnant and wearing white."

"I'm fat." Marianna laughs at the face Ellie is making. "I really don't care, okay? Let's get back to the Club before people come after me. I told them I'd be okay, but if I'm not back by five, they're going to think I threw myself off a cliff or something."

They walk to the control tower, where Zachariah is pulling on his bomber jacket. The wind has picked up considerably in the past few hours, and a storm is gathering over the ocean. Marianna drives quickly to Club Calypso.

Marianna pulls her VW Beetle into the alleyway and walks in through the kitchen door just as the rain starts falling. After checking to make sure no problems have occurred in her absence, Mari heads out to the bar area, Ellie and Zachariah still tailing her.

"Marianna, how are you?" asks UPChuck. He looks more closely at her in the dim lighting. "Are you crying?"

And, indeed, there is a huge drop of moisture rolling down her cheek, but... "No, it's raining. I'm fine, perfectly fine. Would you like another drink?" she asks. She does not want to discuss the afternoon's events. She is vastly relieved that Oskar has left, and would now like to completely forget about him.

"No more drinks tonight, thanks, but maybe Dream could use one of your elf-skanks." Mari follows his gaze to the catatonic elf, precariously perched on a barstool next to Uly. "She had a bad day at rehearsal for Torturo," he whispers. "Inda was sort of upset because Karina went back to Nashville. He'd hoped she'd stay to play the part of Lauren, but she's still mad at him."

"Oh, dear... who's playing that part now, then?"

"He hasn't found anyone yet," says Dream dully. "He's holding auditions constantly, but nobody's as good as Karina, or so he says."

"You mean, he's looking for someone just like her, not someone to play the role?"

"Yeah, and he's completely stressed out and taking it out on us."

Marianna slides a drink across the bar at Dream, who stares at it warily. "Oh, just drink it already. It's a nice, relaxing tea, plus some other good stuff. It won't kill you." Dream cautiously sips the drink, finds it to be drinkable, and sits quietly for the next few minutes. "So, anyone seen Christianne tonight?"

"No," says UPChuck. "I think she went to church with Marlboro."

"Yeah, and it's early yet... but if we don't see her by nine, I've got to go find her. I have to ask her something..."

"You want to know what the afterlife is like?" He smiles. Marianna, who is scared of practically nothing, fears death more than anything. Rather, she does not fear death itself, but she fears an eternal life following death. She cannot conceive of eternity or infinity. UPChuck knows this, and preys on Mari.

"Bloody bastard," she mutters good-naturedly. "One of these days, Uly, you're gonna wake up dead." She grins wildly. "Think about that."

Daniela DeSka, of course, is dancing. For the first time in her life, the Dancin' Queen is wearing khakis. To be more specific, she is wearing khakis, a white t-shirt, a fishing hat (complete with flies), and platform sneakers. "What, you expected me to be wearing flats?" Daniela asks a passing dancer, who looks at her confusedly and spins away. Neil St. James, dancing opposite Dani, smiles at his odd girlfriend. She glares at him, as he is not supposed to be smiling, but swing dancing with her.

Swing is Daniela's latest passion, and, as usual, the entire Calypso Beach population has followed in her footsteps, quite literally. As Dani flies across his back, Neil looks completely surprised, as if he had no idea this was going to happen. He probably didn't, but thankfully Her Highness is an amazing dancer, and can make even the biggest klutz look good. (Oh, yeah, she's hovering over my shoulder right now, making me say these things!)

All of a sudden, Daniela grabs Neil's hand and runs toward the bar. People jump out of the way (Marianna accidentally knocks UPChuck over- "Eeek! Sorry!") as Dani leaps onto a barstool, and from there onto the bar itself. Neil manages to trip his way up after her, and she proceeds to twirl, leap, and basically fling herself about as the crowd looks on. Random people cheer as Daniela dances from stool to stool; the only thing keeping her from falling as she twirls along is Neil's tenuous grip on her hand. She pirouettes at high speed as the barstools spin beneath her feet, and suddenly she flies through the air!

Patrons gasp as Daniela lets go of Neil's hand and flies across the room. Then applause, as she lands safely on her feet, crouching. She leaps up again, twirls once and bows, as the song ends.

In the anti-climactic bar-movements following, Neil climbs down from the bar, grabbing a Bahama Mama for Dani before he rejoins her in the Queen's Booth. Marianna helps UPChuck up from the floor, and they resume their previous positions at the bar.

"Sorry 'bout that!" she grins. "Never know what my stupid sister is going to do... caught me off guard."

"It's okay. You didn't hurt me... much." He looks at a bruise already forming on his arm.

"Aw, I'm sorry! Want ice for that?" She looks at him guiltily. "I've gotten so uncoordinated lately. Maybe I should just go to bed until it passes."

"Sleep is good food."

"Well, I wasn't necessarily talking about sleep... yes, sleep is good food. You're weird. I just mean that bed is safer than some places, like bars, if you're gonna be a klutz. Pillows and whatnot, y'know..." Marianna rests her head on the bar.

"Hey, Marianna!" Marianna cringes into the bar as she hears Christianne's voice. She doesn't feel like dealing with Tianne's preaching today, or seeing her being happy with Marlboro... never mind the important question Mari has to ask her. "Oh, hey, Uly. What happened to your arm?"

"Marianna," he says wryly.

Tianne looks curiously at the two before her. "Are you guys, like, involved?"

"No!" says Marianna incredulously as she lifts her head from the bar. "Ye gods, Tianne, we're just friends. And you know UPChuck's dating Dream right now!"

"What do you mean, 'right now'?" he asks. "You're talking like we're going to break up tomorrow!" A deadly silence falls across the little group as Dream floats into the bar.

"Guess what! Inda finally found someone to play Lauren!" she says.

"Where've you been for the past two hours, anyway?" asks Mari.

"Oh, I had a sectional at Tomas', and Inda dropped by, and I asked him how he was doing, and he said he'd found someone to play the part..." Dream sat down next to UPChuck, and he took her hand, but she took it right back again, talking with her hands in her excitement. "And you won't believe who he got to play her- Doreen!"

"DOREEN!?" Never before had there been such resounding disbelief in one room.

"Dream, I think you're spending too much time with Tomas," UPChuck says later that night. They are walking on the beach, watching the last remnants of the storm drift back to sea.

"What do you mean? We rehearse. And I'm spending just as much time with the other french horns... are you jealous of Tomas?"

"No, I just think you should spend more time with me if we're going to be dating." He turns and looks at the row of houses along the beach, and his gaze falls on Marianna's huge Victorian home, right next to his own futuristic mansion. "I mean, I spend more time with Mari than I do with you."

"Maybe you should be dating Marianna, then," Dream says quietly.

"Do you want me to be?" UPChuck frowns.

"Uly, if you can't accept my work, then you can't accept me. Marianna can spend more time with you, since you're both at the Club all the time... if you prefer her company, or her availability, maybe you should be dating her."

"I can't believe you're saying this..." He turns away, then turns back desperately. "You're kidding, right? You wouldn't break up with me now, just as things are getting back to normal around here?"

"I'm not breaking up with you." She makes a face at what she is about to say. "I'm setting you free. Go, live your own life. Stop hanging on to me."

He blinks. "I don't hang on to you. I have my own life... I want to have you in it. Is that so wrong?"

"It is if you want me to give up my own life for you."

"I don't want that. I want you to be happy."

"What will make me happy right now is if you... I don't know. I think we shouldn't go out anymore." She runs down the beach, toward Surf Strip.

"Dream!" UPChuck's voice echoes along the lonely stretch of sand. He watches the retreating figure, then turns toward his house. When he is almost there, he changes his mind, and crosses the backyard to Marianna's house. It will be a few hours until she gets home, but he can wait... she doesn't mind; that's why she gave him a house key.

o/Love me tender, love me true...o/ Priscilla Aaron sings to herself as she packs a small suitcase. She throws in the last pair of socks, then sits down at the desk in her room. She jots a few quick notes on her Elvis stationery, signs them with a flourish, and seals them. o/For my darlin', I love you, and I always will.o/ I'll have to drop these off before I leave, she thinks. Wouldn't want anyone worrying about me!

She stretches out on her bed, knowing it will be the last time for a long time that she sleeps in it. Tomorrow... I head for Memphis!