Chapter Three: Dinner and a Show
Donna, Rosie, and Tanya stood in Donna's bedroom that evening in their costumes, doing each other's hair and make-up. Tanya sat at the vanity table, going on about some new boyfriend of hers, while Donna covered her head in hairspray. Her thoughts weren't on the show, though. They were glued to her romantic dinner with Sam. It freaked her out sometimes how much she adored him. Who knew she could turn into jelly that easily in the presence of another person? She thought about the first time she had seen him in 21 years last year (not to mention two other former 'significant others'). She had slid down the hotel door, going through a breakdown, not to mention she looked like a rag mop. But apparently Sam didn't care about that. Sam, Sam, Sam. . .
"Donna! Donna!" Tanya coughed, pushing her friend's arm away from her head. "That's all the hairspray I need!"
Donna made an "oops" face and put the spray down on the table. "Sorry, Tawn."
Tanya checked herself out in the mirror. "It's alright, Don." She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'll let it slide this one time."
Rosie pushed her materialistic friend out of the way and began putting cover-up under her eyes. "You can't blame her, Tanya." She turned and gave Donna a big smile. "It's her anniversary."
Donna smiled back at her goofy friend. Tanya bit the inside of her cheek and took a seat on the bed, looking around the room. "Yea, speaking of Mister Wonderful Architect, can't you organize for him to put a dressing room in this hole hotel?"
Rosie stood up and let Donna sit down. "Sorry, Tawn," she said, "but that wasn't in the original plan."
Tanya laughed. "Oh yeah. *The* plan. The plan you created and then brought to life without his knowledge or approval."
Donna grinned at Tanya through the mirror. "Yep, that's the one." She tapped on the cold floor. "It's our brainchild."
Tanya and Rosie exchanged a glance. Donna saw them do it, and she knew the reason too. The whole "Sophie's biological dad" thing came flooding back to her.
Rosie reached over Donna and grabbed a lipstick tube. "So how's married life been anyhow? I mean, is it the rare, fairytale, ride off into the sunset, sugar-coated, happily ever after life or it realistic?"
Donna just laughed. "Oh no. It's been real alright."
Tanya gave her a confused look. "But you two looked so lovey-dovey."
Donna rolled her eyes. "C'mon, Tawn. This is me and Sam we're talking about here. We fight our stupid, pointless battles all the time. One time I almost shoved an eggbeater down his throat. Picture those rams out in the wilderness that always butt heads and that's me and my sweetie."
The three shared a laugh. Rosie handed Tanya a tube of roll-on body glitter, jokingly whispered, "See if it'll show up in between your wrinkles," and bent down beside Donna.
"Good for you, kiddo," she said to her through the mirror. She gave her a squeeze around the shoulders. "You deserve to be happy."
Donna squeezed back. "Thanks Rose."
There was a knock at the door. "Ladies, you're on in five," Pepper called from the other side. "But you better hurry. The crowd's getting testy."
"Okay!" they shouted at the same time.
"Well, here we go, gals," said Tanya a little too overdramatic. She linked arms with Donna who linked arms with Rosie.
"This is going to be a show to remember, folks," said Donna confidently, a picture of Sam floating in her head. "This is going to be a night to remember."
~ ~ ~
The lobby of the Taverna was over-crowded with people for the show. They sat in chairs and on the floor, waiting to see the infamous Donna and the Dynamos, back together again.
Sitting in one corner of the room was Sam, Sophie, Bill, and Harry. She didn't want to, but Sophie couldn't help thinking that one of these men could be her dad, even though she was perfectly content with her step-dad, especially since her mom seemed so happy with him. During her welcome back party, they never left each other's side. He nuzzled her neck; she leaned on his shoulder; so on and so forth. She wasn't about to take the credit, but Sophie was glad she had sent out those invitations, or else she might be the married one right now and her mother wouldn't be so happy.
"So how's life with a Dynamo, Sam?" Harry asked him as he took a sip of his drink.
"Well, I don't know," Sam replied. "You could very well ask Bill here the same question."
Bill chuckled. "Yea, Rose's great. Despite the long distance thing, we've made it work pretty well."
Sophie jumped in. "You ever think about committing, Bill?"
Bill looked surprised by the question. "Well, I don't know. Rosie and I are both living our own lives and our pretty set in our ways. It's good the way it is."
Sam laughed. "Rosie couldn't possibly be doing anything."
Harry shook his head. "No Dynamo has. Never will."
"Except for Donna," Sam added slight defensively.
Bill nodded slowly in agreement and turned to his British friend. "You can't argue with that, mate." He took a sip of his drink. "But I got to tell you boys, Rose is wonderful. If I thought that she was ready and I felt ready, I would pop the question. But I doubt a sheila like that will want to pick up and move to Australia."
Sophie giggled. "Oh, I don't know about that, Bill." She looked up at him. "She thinks you're one hefty slice of the outback."
Everyone at the table laughed. Sophie was also glad that Bill and Rosie had gotten together through her scheming.
Suddenly, the lights went down and Eddie appeared at the top of the stairs.
"Ladies and gentlemen," he announced, "welcome to this very special performance here at the Taverna. It is special to all of us here tonight because this is the first performance in exactly one year done by these fine young-at-heart ladies."
Everyone laughed.
"It is also special," Eddie continued, "because our leading lady, Mrs. Donna Carmichael, is celebrating two very important events tonight: the return of her darling daughter, Sophie, and her very first anniversary with one of the luckiest men in the world, Sam Carmichael."
Everyone smiled in Sam and Sophie's direction.
"So ladies and gents, I and the rest of the staff here at the Taverna would like to present to you the legendary Donna and the Dynamos!"
The audience exploded into applause as a spotlight shown down on Rosie, Tanya, and the ever-lovely Donna as they walked down the stairs in their white spandex, singing, "Super trouper beams are gonna blind me but I don't feel blue like I always do cuz somewhere in the crowd there's you."
Sam heart leapt for joy. Donna had pointed at him.
When the performance was done, Donna, Rosie, and Tanya took their bows and got a well-deserved standing ovation from everyone in the crowd.
Donna was all smiles. "Thank you!" she shouted over the noise as it gradually died down. "Thank you so much for coming to this special event. It really means a lot to me and to my family. I appreciate all you guys coming out here for my special day, especially my best friends." She and Tanya and Rosie shared a big group hug. When they pulled apart, Donna turned back to the crowd and shouted, "Now get outside and get your party started!"
Everyone shouted, including Rosie, who automatically latched onto Bill, and Tanya, who headed to her room to change. Once everyone was gone, Donna walked over to Sophie and gave her a bug hug and kiss on the cheek.
"You were fantastic, mom," said Sophie exuberantly. "You'll never lose your touch."
Sam wrapped his arms around his wife from behind and kissed her cheek. "Nope, she never will."
Sophie giggled and turned towards the door. "I'm gonna leave you two alone." She waved and walked outside.
Donna turned around to face Sam and kissed him. When she pulled away, she said softly, "I'm so lucky I get to spend the rest of my life with you."
Sam smiled and began pulling her towards the stairs. "And I'm so lucky that I have such a beautiful, talented, young-at-heart wife."
Donna grinned at him. "Hmmm, I'd like to meet her."
Sam laughed and pulled Donna up the stairs. "Go on upstairs and get changed." He kissed her hand. "Hurry back."
Once Donna was in her room, smoothing out her new white blouse and khaki capri pants, things started to flood back to her. She first thought about Sophie yelling at her, stating something that resembled, "You never did the marriage and babies thing. You just did the baby thing," which she couldn't say now. She also remembered telling Sam that every morning she thanked Christ she didn't have some middle-aged, menopausal man to bother her and that she was feel and she was single and it was great.
Yeah right.
When Donna went downstairs, she gasped. Off on the corner table was a candlelit meal of lamb chops, rice almandine, and red wine. Sam was standing beside the table with a smile on his face.
"You look amazing," he said as she walked towards him. "And I thought my setting was the most beautiful thing on this island."
Donna put her arms around him and kissed him lightly. "It doesn't hold a candle to me."
Sam laughed. "Shall we eat?"
Donna took her seat and picked up her wine glass for a toast. "We shall."
About an hour later, the food was gone and the couple was completely full.
"That was great," Donna said painfully. "But I'll have to exercise my eyeballs out."
Sam rubbed his stomach. "How can you even think about exercise? My goal is moving."
Donna laughed wiped her mouth with a napkin. Then she looked into Sam's eyes form across the table. "Thank you so much. This was incredible." She sighed. "And it makes up for every sin you ever committed."
The two laughed and Sam rested his hand on his wife's. He looked at her and suddenly felt so incredibly happy. He remembered saying in his proposal, "Donna, let's try it. . ." but those words were long gone. They were in this for the long haul. They had already gotten through 365 days of arguing, arguing, arguing. . . and total and completeness happiness.
"I've got one more surprise," he said suddenly, reaching into his pocket.
"What?" Donna asked.
Sam got down on his knee beside Donna and looked deep into her eyes.
"Donna, I love you. I always have and I always will." He pulled out a ring box and flipped it open to expose a silver ring with three diamond studs in the middle. "This is the ring I would have given you if I had performed a proper proposal."
Donna wiped a tear away from her cheek. "Oh, Sam! It's beautiful! But your proposal was just fine the first time."
Sam laughed. "You called me nuts, remember?"
Donna buried her face in her hands as she laughed and cried at the same time. Sam took her hand and slipped the ring on her finger. She poked an eye out to look at it.
"Perfect fit," they said at the same time.
Donna, Rosie, and Tanya stood in Donna's bedroom that evening in their costumes, doing each other's hair and make-up. Tanya sat at the vanity table, going on about some new boyfriend of hers, while Donna covered her head in hairspray. Her thoughts weren't on the show, though. They were glued to her romantic dinner with Sam. It freaked her out sometimes how much she adored him. Who knew she could turn into jelly that easily in the presence of another person? She thought about the first time she had seen him in 21 years last year (not to mention two other former 'significant others'). She had slid down the hotel door, going through a breakdown, not to mention she looked like a rag mop. But apparently Sam didn't care about that. Sam, Sam, Sam. . .
"Donna! Donna!" Tanya coughed, pushing her friend's arm away from her head. "That's all the hairspray I need!"
Donna made an "oops" face and put the spray down on the table. "Sorry, Tawn."
Tanya checked herself out in the mirror. "It's alright, Don." She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'll let it slide this one time."
Rosie pushed her materialistic friend out of the way and began putting cover-up under her eyes. "You can't blame her, Tanya." She turned and gave Donna a big smile. "It's her anniversary."
Donna smiled back at her goofy friend. Tanya bit the inside of her cheek and took a seat on the bed, looking around the room. "Yea, speaking of Mister Wonderful Architect, can't you organize for him to put a dressing room in this hole hotel?"
Rosie stood up and let Donna sit down. "Sorry, Tawn," she said, "but that wasn't in the original plan."
Tanya laughed. "Oh yeah. *The* plan. The plan you created and then brought to life without his knowledge or approval."
Donna grinned at Tanya through the mirror. "Yep, that's the one." She tapped on the cold floor. "It's our brainchild."
Tanya and Rosie exchanged a glance. Donna saw them do it, and she knew the reason too. The whole "Sophie's biological dad" thing came flooding back to her.
Rosie reached over Donna and grabbed a lipstick tube. "So how's married life been anyhow? I mean, is it the rare, fairytale, ride off into the sunset, sugar-coated, happily ever after life or it realistic?"
Donna just laughed. "Oh no. It's been real alright."
Tanya gave her a confused look. "But you two looked so lovey-dovey."
Donna rolled her eyes. "C'mon, Tawn. This is me and Sam we're talking about here. We fight our stupid, pointless battles all the time. One time I almost shoved an eggbeater down his throat. Picture those rams out in the wilderness that always butt heads and that's me and my sweetie."
The three shared a laugh. Rosie handed Tanya a tube of roll-on body glitter, jokingly whispered, "See if it'll show up in between your wrinkles," and bent down beside Donna.
"Good for you, kiddo," she said to her through the mirror. She gave her a squeeze around the shoulders. "You deserve to be happy."
Donna squeezed back. "Thanks Rose."
There was a knock at the door. "Ladies, you're on in five," Pepper called from the other side. "But you better hurry. The crowd's getting testy."
"Okay!" they shouted at the same time.
"Well, here we go, gals," said Tanya a little too overdramatic. She linked arms with Donna who linked arms with Rosie.
"This is going to be a show to remember, folks," said Donna confidently, a picture of Sam floating in her head. "This is going to be a night to remember."
~ ~ ~
The lobby of the Taverna was over-crowded with people for the show. They sat in chairs and on the floor, waiting to see the infamous Donna and the Dynamos, back together again.
Sitting in one corner of the room was Sam, Sophie, Bill, and Harry. She didn't want to, but Sophie couldn't help thinking that one of these men could be her dad, even though she was perfectly content with her step-dad, especially since her mom seemed so happy with him. During her welcome back party, they never left each other's side. He nuzzled her neck; she leaned on his shoulder; so on and so forth. She wasn't about to take the credit, but Sophie was glad she had sent out those invitations, or else she might be the married one right now and her mother wouldn't be so happy.
"So how's life with a Dynamo, Sam?" Harry asked him as he took a sip of his drink.
"Well, I don't know," Sam replied. "You could very well ask Bill here the same question."
Bill chuckled. "Yea, Rose's great. Despite the long distance thing, we've made it work pretty well."
Sophie jumped in. "You ever think about committing, Bill?"
Bill looked surprised by the question. "Well, I don't know. Rosie and I are both living our own lives and our pretty set in our ways. It's good the way it is."
Sam laughed. "Rosie couldn't possibly be doing anything."
Harry shook his head. "No Dynamo has. Never will."
"Except for Donna," Sam added slight defensively.
Bill nodded slowly in agreement and turned to his British friend. "You can't argue with that, mate." He took a sip of his drink. "But I got to tell you boys, Rose is wonderful. If I thought that she was ready and I felt ready, I would pop the question. But I doubt a sheila like that will want to pick up and move to Australia."
Sophie giggled. "Oh, I don't know about that, Bill." She looked up at him. "She thinks you're one hefty slice of the outback."
Everyone at the table laughed. Sophie was also glad that Bill and Rosie had gotten together through her scheming.
Suddenly, the lights went down and Eddie appeared at the top of the stairs.
"Ladies and gentlemen," he announced, "welcome to this very special performance here at the Taverna. It is special to all of us here tonight because this is the first performance in exactly one year done by these fine young-at-heart ladies."
Everyone laughed.
"It is also special," Eddie continued, "because our leading lady, Mrs. Donna Carmichael, is celebrating two very important events tonight: the return of her darling daughter, Sophie, and her very first anniversary with one of the luckiest men in the world, Sam Carmichael."
Everyone smiled in Sam and Sophie's direction.
"So ladies and gents, I and the rest of the staff here at the Taverna would like to present to you the legendary Donna and the Dynamos!"
The audience exploded into applause as a spotlight shown down on Rosie, Tanya, and the ever-lovely Donna as they walked down the stairs in their white spandex, singing, "Super trouper beams are gonna blind me but I don't feel blue like I always do cuz somewhere in the crowd there's you."
Sam heart leapt for joy. Donna had pointed at him.
When the performance was done, Donna, Rosie, and Tanya took their bows and got a well-deserved standing ovation from everyone in the crowd.
Donna was all smiles. "Thank you!" she shouted over the noise as it gradually died down. "Thank you so much for coming to this special event. It really means a lot to me and to my family. I appreciate all you guys coming out here for my special day, especially my best friends." She and Tanya and Rosie shared a big group hug. When they pulled apart, Donna turned back to the crowd and shouted, "Now get outside and get your party started!"
Everyone shouted, including Rosie, who automatically latched onto Bill, and Tanya, who headed to her room to change. Once everyone was gone, Donna walked over to Sophie and gave her a bug hug and kiss on the cheek.
"You were fantastic, mom," said Sophie exuberantly. "You'll never lose your touch."
Sam wrapped his arms around his wife from behind and kissed her cheek. "Nope, she never will."
Sophie giggled and turned towards the door. "I'm gonna leave you two alone." She waved and walked outside.
Donna turned around to face Sam and kissed him. When she pulled away, she said softly, "I'm so lucky I get to spend the rest of my life with you."
Sam smiled and began pulling her towards the stairs. "And I'm so lucky that I have such a beautiful, talented, young-at-heart wife."
Donna grinned at him. "Hmmm, I'd like to meet her."
Sam laughed and pulled Donna up the stairs. "Go on upstairs and get changed." He kissed her hand. "Hurry back."
Once Donna was in her room, smoothing out her new white blouse and khaki capri pants, things started to flood back to her. She first thought about Sophie yelling at her, stating something that resembled, "You never did the marriage and babies thing. You just did the baby thing," which she couldn't say now. She also remembered telling Sam that every morning she thanked Christ she didn't have some middle-aged, menopausal man to bother her and that she was feel and she was single and it was great.
Yeah right.
When Donna went downstairs, she gasped. Off on the corner table was a candlelit meal of lamb chops, rice almandine, and red wine. Sam was standing beside the table with a smile on his face.
"You look amazing," he said as she walked towards him. "And I thought my setting was the most beautiful thing on this island."
Donna put her arms around him and kissed him lightly. "It doesn't hold a candle to me."
Sam laughed. "Shall we eat?"
Donna took her seat and picked up her wine glass for a toast. "We shall."
About an hour later, the food was gone and the couple was completely full.
"That was great," Donna said painfully. "But I'll have to exercise my eyeballs out."
Sam rubbed his stomach. "How can you even think about exercise? My goal is moving."
Donna laughed wiped her mouth with a napkin. Then she looked into Sam's eyes form across the table. "Thank you so much. This was incredible." She sighed. "And it makes up for every sin you ever committed."
The two laughed and Sam rested his hand on his wife's. He looked at her and suddenly felt so incredibly happy. He remembered saying in his proposal, "Donna, let's try it. . ." but those words were long gone. They were in this for the long haul. They had already gotten through 365 days of arguing, arguing, arguing. . . and total and completeness happiness.
"I've got one more surprise," he said suddenly, reaching into his pocket.
"What?" Donna asked.
Sam got down on his knee beside Donna and looked deep into her eyes.
"Donna, I love you. I always have and I always will." He pulled out a ring box and flipped it open to expose a silver ring with three diamond studs in the middle. "This is the ring I would have given you if I had performed a proper proposal."
Donna wiped a tear away from her cheek. "Oh, Sam! It's beautiful! But your proposal was just fine the first time."
Sam laughed. "You called me nuts, remember?"
Donna buried her face in her hands as she laughed and cried at the same time. Sam took her hand and slipped the ring on her finger. She poked an eye out to look at it.
"Perfect fit," they said at the same time.