Disclaimer: I do not own 'I Love Lucy' ~ I hope you enjoy my story!

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One Friday afternoon, Ricky had something to tell Lucy. His publicity agent had planned a job for Ricky and the orchestra, and then had forgotten to tell him… until today.

"Lucy," Ricky said as he walked into the apartment. He shut the door, then walked over and sat down on the couch.

"Yes?" she asked, coming from the bedroom.

"Well," he said slowly. He didn't really want to tell her. "I have to go away for the weekend."

"What?… Why?" she asked, as she sat down next to him.

"Me and the guys have a job out of town - we're going to be on a television show," he explained. "The show is tomorrow night, so we're leaving tonight, and we'll be back Monday morning."

"Oh, well, can I go with you?"

Ricky shook his head, "All the reservations have already been made."

"Oh," she said, dissappointed. She had wanted to do something with Ricky this weekend. She didn't know exactly what yet, but she hoped they could make some plans. Then she realized what Ricky said, and suddenly she was interested, "A television show?"

He sighed, this was why he hadn't wanted to tell her. "Yes, but you cannot be on it. Even if I agreed to let you, they don't have any room for any more acts." He smiled, "But, I think I can make it up to you."

"How?" she asked curiously.

He pulled some tickets out of his pocket, "I'm going to take you and the Mertzes out for a special night tonight. We'll go to the theater to see a play; and after that, we'll all go to dinner and dancing."

Lucy smiled, she hadn't gone to see a play in a long time. She hugged him, "Oh, Ricky, thank you!"

He pulled her away, and pointed a finger at her, "But you have to promise not to bug me about not bein' able to go."

She shook her head, "No, I won't." But then she remembered something, "Didn't you say you had to leave tonight?"

"Yeah, I do," he nodded. Then he shrugged, "But not until later."

"Oh, okay," she said happily, hugging him again.

The Mertzes walked in then. "What's going on?" Ethel asked.

Lucy let go of Ricky, and stood up. "Ethel, guess what," she said excitedly. "Ricky's taking us all out to the theater, and then we're going to have dinner, and we're going dancing!"

"What for?" Ethel asked, surprised.

After Ricky had explained everything, Ethel was just excited as Lucy. "What time do we leave?" she asked.

He looked at his watch, "Well, we should probably go soon."

"Okay," Lucy said as Ethel started walking toward the door. "Just let us get ready…"

~~~~~

"So, are you girls enjoying the show?" Ricky asked the two of them at intermission.

"Oh, yes!" Lucy exclaimed. And Ethel added, "Thanks for asking us to come."

"What do you think of the show, Ricky?" Lucy asked. Ricky didn't answer her. She shrugged and started looking around.

"How about you, Fred?" Ethel asked. He didn't answer her, either.

Lucy saw where drinks were being sold. "Ricky, would you mind getting me a drink?" Again, Ricky didn't answer her. This time, she followed his gaze. When she found what Ricky was staring at, she sighed heavily. She nudged Ethel and pointed to two young, beautiful girls - twins.

Ethel nodded, "Oh, no wonder Fred's drooling!"

Lucy shook her head, and turned to Ricky – his eyes were bugged out and his mouth hung open. "Ricky? Ricky? Ethel and I are going back to our seats now."

The twin girls walked away - Ricky and Fred's gaze followed them until they left the room.

"Hmm?" Ricky asked. "Did you say something?"

Lucy sighed, "Yes, I did." She looked at him angrily, "I asked you about the show, I asked you to get me a drink, and then I told you that Ethel and I were going back to our seats."

"I'm sorry, I guess I didn't hear you," Ricky told her.

Lucy nodded, "I know you didn't!" She and Ethel turned to head back to their seats. Ricky and Fred didn't follow them right away.

Once they were seated, Lucy got an idea. "You know, they're always looking at girls that are younger - and more attractive - than us." Ethel remained silent. "Well," Lucy went on. "What if we found two men - two handsome men - and just admired them." She thought a little more, then added, "We could do it at dinner tonight."

"You mean us, act like they just did?" Ethel asked.

Lucy smiled and nodded, "Yeah - all we--"

Ethel shook her head, "No. I don't wanna act like Fred. I'm not drooling in PUBLIC!" She thought about it, then added, "Or anywhere else."

Lucy sighed, "You don't have to… Did you see Ricky? I couldn't get that look on my face…" suddenly she gasped, her eyes widened and her mouth hung open.

"Lucy, what is it!?" Ethel gasped, grabbing her friends' arm.

Lucy's face returned back to normal. "Nothing," she chuckled. "I was trying out Ricky's face."

"Oh," Ethel sighed. "You looked more like you were suddenly scared."

Lucy waved her hand, "Well, we don't have to act exactly like they did - let's just find some men, and then watch them, smile, and pretend to be interested in them."

Ethel smiled, "Okay." She didn't like most of Lucy's idea's, but… this one didn't sound too bad…