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I want to thank all the people that have helped me edit and critique this story. They are Angel O'Hare, Stacy Miller, Karen Page, Robi, Paula Dillon and especially Maddy Bell for allowing me to join her universe and giving me permission to write in it.

Based on the story Gaby, Book # 4 - Once Upon A Time In America By Maddy Bell

All Characters portrayed in the story are copywrited to Maddy Bell for her Gaby series found at Maddybell.com

Scene 7

Flirting

I could tell Sandy heard that exchange, her jovial air changed in a heartbeat. I turned to her and said, “Don't let it get you down, be the best woman you can be and show your dad what he is missing by treating you the way he does. Don't give him a reason to say I told you so. You are gorgeous, and don't let him pull you down.” as I hugged her.

She put a smile back on her face and said, “Thanks sis, with you here it will make it all the more tolerable, lets show that bigoted fool he has a wonderful daughter.”

“That's what I want to see and hear Sandy; lets go all out and show him what two girls can do tonight.” We both smiled at that.

We walked into the dining room and they were both sitting there. They turned to say something, until they saw us, and Mrs. Jones said, “Wow look at you girls. You're both gorgeous! Em you are a drop dead beautiful girl. Sandy you look great too, doesn't she Hun?” Turning back to a shocked Mr. Jones.

Mr. Jones had his mouth open and looked like a fish out of water. “Huh, oh yea, wow you ah … girls look great tonight, especially you Mfanwy.” smiling and winking at me.

I wasn't sure how to take that attention from him.

“Well, shall we head out?” Mr. J said, as he came out of his stunned appearance, then walked over to me and offered me his arm not even looking at Sandy. While Sandy and her mum wrapped arms together, I saw Mrs. J was really impressed with how Sandy looked and told her, “You are absolutely ravishing dear. I love that dress you have on. You look so happy, much better than this morning at least. Did something happen that made you this way?” Sandy was beaming at her mum, as they pulled each other close.

“I guess you could say that mom. I love having Em here, she is great. We are going to be as close as sisters, mum.”

I looked back over my shoulder and I saw the look Sandy had, I winked at her, and smiled.

Her dad heard that exchange and he almost choked. I saw him flinch when Sandy said we were going to be as close as sisters. I just grinned thinking ‘you just wait Mr. J; you haven't begun to learn about your daughter'.

The drive over, took about forty-minutes. We were in the parking lot of the Mountain Jacks Restaurant as Sandy said. “It looks like a very fancy place. I am glad I wore this dress.”

The place was a bit on the elegant side. There was a fireplace with a picture perfect fire in it and it felt real warm and homey, sort of like an English manor.

Both Sandy and I fit right in with the rest of the clientele. Mrs. J was elegantly dressed too, she was wearing an elegant full-length lavender evening gown, with a matching jacket. We women looked great.

The hostess showed us to our table close by the fire. I noticed a lot of men and boys were looking our way. Some had a strange look on their faces, with a sly grin, then nodded when I looked their way. I noticed some of the women had looked at us and didn't smile. When we arrived at our table, the hostess held the chair out for Mrs. J while Mr. J held my chair, after I sat down, he sat down in his own chair, leaving the waitress to go over and hold Sandy's chair. Then she handed us our menus and said, “Your waiter will be Corey. He should be with you shortly to get your drink order. Enjoy your meal and have a good evening.” as she left us. I noticed a lot of the guys, mostly boys, were still looking over at us, and I fond it a bit unnerving. I just put a nervous grin on my face and started reading the menu trying to ignore the stares.

Mr. J didn't know what to do, here he was with three great looking and elegantly dressed women and he could not say anything, for I could see he did not want to encourage his son/daughter. I could see it in his eyes that he was surprised at how good Sandy looked, but he did not want to complement her. So I asked him, “What do you think of how Sandy looks, Mr. Jones? Isn't she gorgeous?”

Mr. J just sputtered and said, “Oh, ah … umm yes h .. she does look beautiful tonight doesn't h … er she.”

I could see Mr. J wince after that statement; he must have been kicked hard under the table, as he gave his wife a stare. I could tell Sandy wanted to laugh, for she knew what happened, but tried to ignore it.

The waiter showed up, and he introduced himself, “Good evening Ladies and Sir, my name is Corey and I will be your waiter tonight. Is there anything I could get anyone to drink tonight?” He turned to Mrs. J and said, “Ma'am?”

“Could I have a glass of White Zinfandel, please?”

“Certainly Ma'am, and what may I get for your lovely daughters, Miss?” as he turned to Sandy.

“May I have a sweetened iced tea please?”

“Certainly miss, and what may I get for you Miss?” he turned to me and gave me a large smile.

“Ah .. well, first I am not their daughter, I am a foreign exchange student from England, and they are my hosts. Second what would have you got to drink?”

“Oh, sorry I didn't know. You looked so beautiful, just like your host mother and her daughter,” pointing at Sandy, “that I thought you were family.” He really started to blush. “But now that I hear you talking, I can tell you have a really neat accent. I'm sorry Miss. Ummm … to drink; we have …” He started to rattle off a bunch of drinks some of which I did not recognize.

“Could I have a diet coke please?”

“Certainly Miss, and what could I get for you Sir?”

“I want a Jack Daniels on the rocks.”

“Very good Sir. I will get your drinks and be back shortly to take your order.” as he looked at me he was blushing, but still smiling, then turned and left.

Sandy looked at me and started to giggle, “Did you see the way he looked at you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Sis! He thinks you're cute.”

“What? No way.” As I turned to look at him, as he walked away, he turned and saw me looking, then smiled even more. What is it with guys?

Mrs. J picked up on it and she too started to giggle. “Mfanwy face it, you British girls just attract all of the guys.”

“Nuh- huh, no way, there is no way he is attracted to me.”

“Want to bet Em?” Sandy said.

Mr. J just sat there embarrassed, still hurting from the kick, or is he embarrassed because his daughter is telling me that the waiter has a crush on me?

Mrs. J said, “Mfanwy, I told you this afternoon that you would be a guy magnet, this is the second guy to fall for you today.”

“Oh do tell Em, who was the first guy?” Sandy asked.

Getting embarrassed, “It was just the other waiter at the restaurant we ate at, for lunch. His name was Jason; he was cute for an older Guy.” giggling “He lives here in Waynesboro someplace.”

“Maybe you should introduce me? Maybe we could go on a double date with him and Corey?”

“What! Sandy he was way to old for me, he had to be eighteen or older.”

“So? Older men are more experienced, they know how to treat us properly.”

“What!?!”

Sandy cracked up laughing, and Mrs. J did likewise at that remark. Mr. J was turning red; I thought he was going to bust a blood vessel or something. I could see him biting his tongue and glaring at his Daughter.

Sandy ignored her dad and said to me, “Well what do you think of Corey?”

“Oh come on you can't be serious, I am too young. Besides he looks to be 18 too. He is cute. He would be right for you though. What do you think Sandy?”

“Yes he is cute Em, maybe we can fluster him. Want to try it? We'll just flirt with him a little.” She giggled as did I.

“Ok let's do it.”

Mr. J stepped in at that time and said, “Behave yourselves girls, this is not a place to be joking around. Especially …” Doing a hard look at Sandy, “You Sandy.” Looking with an evil stare.

“Oh lighten up Mr. J, we are just going to have a little fun. It's not like we are going to hurt anyone, besides it will be fun.” I smiled at him.

He turned to me and said, “I will decide what is right Mfanwy, and this just isn't the place for it. Ouch!” He quickly looked at his wife and I saw she gave him the evil eye and he shut up, I think she kicked him again.

At first I didn't know how to take Mr. J, then I heard Mrs. J say, “It's not going to hurt anyone if the girls want to have a little fun John, so just don't worry about it, ok?”

Mr. J glared at her and he got the message and nodded his head frowning, still red with anger.

Sandy and I smiled at each other. Mr. J knew he lost the argument and shut up. We all turned to our menus and started to see what we wanted. I saw they had vegetable lasagna, hmmm that sounded good. I know what I want.

The waiter came back and dropped off the drink orders. He asked, “Are you all ready to order then?”

There was a general agreement from everyone.

He turned to Mrs. J and said, “Ma'am what would you like to have?”

“Could I have the small Filet Mignon?”

“Certainly Ma'am. How would you like it cooked?”

“Medium rare please?”

After telling him all of the other things you get asked by a waiter, such as if you wanted potatoes, what style, vegetables, etc. etc.

He then turned to Sandy as she smiled seductively at him, and she ordered in the most seductive voice she could muster, “Could I have the stuffed flounder seafood dish, please?”

I saw our waiter respond to her seductive smile and I grinned, as he started to blush.

Sandy coyly looked at him and filled in all of the other questions.

Our waiter, bless him, cleared his throat and continued on as if nothing was happening.

I swear I could feel the heat from his body turn up. I could see Mr. J was just about to pop. I never seen him so red? I wondered if he was going to have a stroke before dinner arrived. Mrs. J was smiling at the proceedings, she kept looking at me and I could tell she was about to lose it into a laughing fit. I turned to look at her and she smirked. Coughed and looked down like she dropped something.

The waiter finally turned to me and asked, “What can I get you Miss?”

I looked at him and smiled just like Sandy, cocked my head to the side and seductively said, “Is the Vegetable Lasagna any good?”

He about dropped his order tablet. He cleared his throat and said, “Um … Certainly Miss, I hear it's umm … delicious.” He put a big smile on his face for me.

I looked thoughtfully and said in my best feminine, high class, formal, British accent, “Well in that case my good man, on your recommendation, I shall try your vegetable Lasagna.” Giving him one of my biggest smiles and winking at him.

“Umm … Very good Miss. You won't be disappointed.” as he let go with a bigger smile.

I giggled, and he just blushed.

He turned to Mr. J, who recovered and said, “I would like a T-Bone, medium rare, with French fries and Italian dressing on the salad.”

“Very good sir. Is there anything else I could get for you? An appetizer perhaps?”

“How about an order of potato skins?”

“Very Good Sir.” As he finished writing down the order “I will get this entered.” as he took the menus from us, he turned to me, smiled and winked.

I just looked at him and grinned my sweet little girl grin, as he turned to place the order. I do think he was walking funny as he retreated towards the kitchen. Hmmm I wondered what his problem is, grinning to myself.

I could see Mr. J wanted to say something to both of us, but kept glancing at his wife. She was giving him the 'don't you dare' look.

Sandy and I looked at each other and started to giggle. After a bit even Mrs. J started to giggle. Mr. J was in a huff.

After we settled down, I thought about the appetizer? Yum, Potato skins; that should be delicious. “Are the Potato skins good here?”

“Em, wait until you see them, they are delicious, I promise.” Said Sandy.

Mrs. J said, “They are good for you too, most of the vitamins and minerals that are good for your body, are in the skin of a potato.”

“Really, that I didn't know.”

As we were talking, I could see Mr. J had calmed down and said, “Mfanwy, potato skins here are really good, they leave a lot of the potato in the skin, plus they put different types of cheeses on top of the potato, sometimes they put bacon on it, then they bake them in an oven so the cheese melts over the potato. When they take it out they put a bit of chopped up chive on top of it, which is like a green onion, then they bring some sour cream which you can dip the skin into.”

“Hmmm sounds good.”

“You will like them, Em.” Sandy said.

The waiter came back more composed, smiling and put a platter of potato skins in the center of the table, and put a small plate in front of each of us, “Can I get anyone anything else?” looking at all of us.

“Mr. J looked at us and then said, “No I think we are set for the moment, thank you.”

“Ok, if you need anything just let me know.” as he turned and left the table.

I tried one of the skins, took off the bacon bits and found it delicious. “Hmm this is good.”

Everyone smiled at me.

As we were all eating the appetizer, a thought came to me about tomorrow. “Sandy, what should I wear to school tomorrow? I mean at our school we have to wear a school uniform.”

“Em you can wear what ever you want to wear that is comfortable, as long as it's decent. You probably want to wear Slacks and a blouse, with a sweater to keep warm. Wear some comfortable shoes, I expect you will be doing a lot of walking.”

“Do you know what we will be doing?”

Mrs. J said, “They will tell you who you will be partnered with while you're attending school here, and you will shadow them and take their classes. They will show you around the school, and let you know where the classes are. They will give you a locker too, to store your books and clothes. Then they will introduce you to the school administrators and principal so you know who to go to if there are any problems, or if you have any questions.”

Sandy smiled at this but didn't say anything.

“What's a principal?”

“Well he is the person that runs and administrates the school. He is the boss of all the teachers.”

“Oh the Headmaster.”

“Headmaster?”

“Yes that is what we call our head of our school.”

“Yes that makes sense, here he is our principle person to go to, alias the principal.”

We all chuckled at that.

“They also will give you a tour of the area so you can get acclimated, and know where the other students usually hang out. So it's a general orientation just to make you comfortable Em. Classes will actually be starting on Tuesday.” Mrs. J stated.

“Are you coming Sandy?”

“No, Em. Officially I am your host, but I am not part of the exchange program, even though I am hosting you. The reason is, another person, David, was supposed to be your host before me, other than Dan. Unfortunately, just before Christmas, he and his brother died in a car accident. There was a scramble to find another host family. Instead of calling off the trip, my mom offered to be the host because of the lateness in getting one. My … uh … dad was concerned about me being a host, but he was told that a boy would be coming and it was an emergency situation because of what happened. He reluctantly agreed to allow us to host him.” as Sandy turned to look at her dad, he started to give her a scowl. “Well when you turned up, he felt a bit uncomfortable at the thought of having another girl around.”

“I am not uncomfortable with having another girl around the house so … n … ah … Sandy. It's just … I felt taken, lied to. Um … we were told one thing, and we got … ah … um … another unexpected, … ah … well we got Mfanwy. No offense Mfanwy, I feel you are great, but it was just a shock after I was expecting a boy by the name of Rhod, is all.” realizing he was making himself look foolish.

How could he admit his daughter shouldn't have a girl for a roommate? It was funny to watch him squirm, and squirm he did, and his wife just let him dig himself into a hole he would not be able to get himself out of. At least not without admitting his daughter used to be his son. I started to wonder if he would eventually shut up, realizing how bad he was sounding.

“Well anyway, my mother decided I could host you as far as staying with us, since I had the room and could take care of you. Sure you could have stayed in the big house. After all, there are lots of rooms there. But mum thought it would be better if I helped you, or even Rhod, if he would have showed up.”

“Being a senior and 3 years ahead of you, I am sure there will be different arrangements made at school as to whom you will shadow. So I guess I am not really considered as ‘one of the exchange students', but I don't mind. I am just glad you are my roomy … sis. I am glad you are a girl, instead of some boy, for I wasn't sure how I could relate to a boy.”

I again saw her dad start to turn red, and saw him want to say something, but he held his tongue.

“I heard that there will be a few excursions where I may be able to join you.” she continued.

“Well I am very happy you are my host. I am pleased you will be able to come with us to some of the things we will be going to. Being that I am an only child, I am happy you feel that I am like a sister to you, for I feel you're one for me … sis.” as I smiled at her.

I was watching out of the side of my eye how this news was being received by Mr. J, not good by what I saw, especially when I called Sandy sis. Gees he really is taking this hard, is he heartless? I wonder if he ever really loved his son.

Mrs. J was happy, for she was beaming at me and said, “I am glad you girls are so compatible, I am sure we will all benefit from this experience. Won't we hunny?”

“Huh … oh … a … yea. Experience yea, … great yea.” As he looked at his wife with the same scowl he gave Sandy a few moments ago.

I swear he is going to have a stroke before the evening is done at this rate.

I saw I could read him like a book, is this how girls do it? I suppressed a giggle.

About this time Corey came carrying a large tray with another person in tow carrying a similar size tray. Both were filled with food.

Everyone got their portions, and I looked at the slice of Lasagna that was put in front of me. It was huge; this could feed me for a week.

We were all quiet while we were eating. The Lasagna was very good, but I could only eat one third of it.

Mrs. J asked, “Do you want a Doggie Bag dear?”

I said, “Huh? What is a Doggie Bag, I don't have any pets.”

They all laughed at me, while I looked puzzled. Mrs. J said, “No dear, it's not for a pet. If we want a box to take the food home, we call that a Doggie Bag, for people use to make an excuse they would give the remainders to their dog. They knew fair well it was for them later. So it became known as a Doggie Bag.”

I finally comprehended what she said and then giggled, “Yes I would love to have a Doggie Bag.”

“Would you like some dessert Em?” Mrs. J asked. “They have a great Apple Dumpling with vanilla ice-cream.”

“Apple Dumpling?”

“Yes it is a peeled sweet apple, that is dipped in a sweet dough, then deep fried to a golden brown and a scoop of ice-cream on top, and some butterscotch syrup drizzled over top of it all. It really is delicious, it's sort of a mini Apple Pie.”

“We have the same thing back home. Hmmm sounds good, but I am stuffed, I am sure I couldn't eat the whole thing.”

Sandy said, “I will split it with you Em.”

“Ok, that sounds like a good idea.”

Corey came over shortly after, and took our dessert order.

Mr. J was unusually quiet, but I figured I better let that go and not start anything for fear he would become unhinged again.

“Sandy, where is the ladies loo?”

“Oh, good idea Em, I think I saw them near the entrance. I will come with you.”

She stood up, and the two of us went to find the loo. I looked back at the table and I saw that Mr. and Mrs. J seemed to be having a quiet, heated argument, judging by the body language I saw. I am not sure Sandy noticed. At least I hope not, she is in pretty good spirits.

After we got done with the necessaries, we touched up our make-up and Sandy made sure we were alone. She came over to me and gave me a hug and said, “Thanks for being here Em. I couldn't have survived dad the way he is. I wish he would lighten up and accept me for who I am. We have had this ongoing feud every time we go out. I usually prefer to not go out with him, for he always manages to embarrass me in some way. This is the first time I really enjoyed myself, at his expense for a change. I bet he is going to have some really big black and blue marks on his shins.” as she giggled at that thought.

“Serves him right Sandy. He really is an overbearing prat, if I do say so myself, he is horrible. Was he always like this?”

“Well he does demand that things be done his way all of the time. Mom and I never really had a choice, and my mom usually goes along with it, so as not to argue.”

“Well maybe we can do something about that while I am here. It's fun to see him trying to skirt your situation, now that I know the truth about you. It's hilarious in a way.”

“Yes isn't it? He really has been putting his foot in his mouth hasn't he? I hope he enjoys eating filet of sole.”

“Filet of sole?”

“Eating the sole of his shoe, for he has been putting his foot in his mouth all day. It's an expression where he said many foolish things.”

Laughing I said, “Yes that he has.”

The door opened to the restroom and Mrs. J came in. “Are you two ok? Sandy?” looking at us with concern.

“Hi mom. Yes we are just fine. Why is there a problem?”

“Oh, … ah no not really, I was just concerned about you is all. Dad seems a bit put out about … something, is all, and I felt it might have … a … umm … affected you? Are you ok Mfanwy?”

“No mom, really, I am fine. I like that Em is here with us, and it helps to … ah … make things better. Don't you think?”

“I am fine Mary, I have had a great evening. Really.”

“Well I just thought John was being a bit out of line, is all.”

“Men! What do you expect from them anyway? They think they are Gods gift to us women. Little do they know.” as I giggled.

“Too true Em, you are absolutely right. I think it is time to straighten him out.” Mrs. J said.

Sandy and I left and went back to the table. It looked as if Mr. J was very subdued as he gave Sandy the eye. I saw Sandy turn to him and smile. “Is anything wrong dad?”

He looked like he was going to lash out, then turned to me then back at Sandy and said, “We will discuss this later.”

“What is there to discuss? We had a lovely evening, didn't we Em?”

“Yes we did Mr. J. Was there a problem? For I certainly had a good time, didn't you sis?”

“Yes no problems here.” both of us turning to look at Mr. J.

Knowing what the problem was made it funny to watch him go through the range of emotions knowing what he was thinking. It took everything I had to keep from bursting into laughter.

Mrs. J returned about that time, and he was diffused.

After the bill was taken care of, we got up, and Corey told us, “Have a great evening ladies.”

We both turned to him and smiled and I said, “Oh we already did Corey. You have a great evening too.” giving him a big smile.

“You take care Corey, thanks for a great evening.” Sandy said.

We walked through the restaurant and I turned, to see Corey really beaming and talking to another guy, pointing over his shoulder to us. I noticed the other guy saw me, smiled and nodded when he noticed me. I just gave him a smile and left.

Our drive back was uneventful.

When we arrived home Mrs. J asked, “Would you girls like to come in for a cup of coffee or tea or something?”

We both declined.

Just about that time another car pulled into the drive. Sandy told me, “Oh, that is Elaine one of mom's friends, she is returning my baby brother.”

“Sandy you didn't tell me you had a brother.”

“Sorry Em, with all of the excitement over everything, I guess I forgot to mention it. He is only five years old, and he can be a handful at times.”

I saw Elaine carrying a bundle with a head lying on her shoulders. She walked over to Mrs. J and I heard her say, “Here is your darling, Mary. He was great all weekend. He played with Josh most of the time, and the two of them had a great time.”

As Mrs. J took the sleeping tyke as she said, “Thanks for taking care of him this weekend Elaine, I really appreciated it.”

“Oh it's no problem at all, they had a great time together, really.”

“Do I owe you anything?”

“No, not at all.”

“Thanks again Elaine. Oh Elaine, let me introduce you to our foreign exchange student from Warsop, England. Mfanwy, could you come her for a sec.”

“Sure Mary.”

“Mfanwy Morgan this is Elaine Hutter, one of my good friends. She had Kevin over the weekend for us while we were out.”

“Pleased to meet you Mrs. Hutter.”

“Oh please just call me Elaine, Mfanwy.”

“Ok Elaine, if you call me Em.”

“Deal Em. How are you enjoying your stay so far dear?”

Looking over towards Sandy, I smiled and said, “This is going to be a fantastic time. I love being here with Sandy and her parents, and now her brother, which I had no idea about.”

“Oh you will like him, he can be a dickens at times, but he is not all that bad.”

I smiled and Mrs. J said, “Well I better put Kevin to bed. Thanks again Elaine, I will talk with you later.”

“Ok Mary, see you later.” Elaine turned to Sandy, “How are you doing Sandy? Everything ok?”

“Yes Mrs. Hutter everything is fine.”

“Sandy! Stop making me feel so old, please call me Elaine”

“Ok Elaine.” as Sandy giggled.

“Well see you later Girls, I have to get going. My husband is on the warpath again. Typical men! Ta ta for now, looking forward to meeting you again Em. I would love to sit and just talk for a while.”

“Yes me too Elaine, take care.”

She got into her car, waved and drove off.

Sandy and I went to the carriage house.

“Sandy are you truly alright?”

“Sure Em, why do you ask?”

“Well your father was really a prat today is all. I probably would have fought back. I certainly wouldn't allow him to talk to me like he did you. I really wanted to kick him myself.”

“Well dad is just upset he lost his son.”

“Well tell him to get over it, and to leave you alone if he doesn't like it.”

“That is easy to say Em, but it's a lot harder to physically do. Especially when he is your own father.”

“I guess. Still he really was bad today. We need to go on the offensive and make him see he has a wonderful and lovely daughter.”

“Thanks Em. Do you want something before bed?”

“No thanks, I think the day has caught up with me. I think I will go and get ready for bed.”

“Oh, ok Em, no problem. I am going to relax a while and watch a bit of TV.”

I went over to her and gave her a big hug and said, “Thanks for being my host, I don't know what might have happened if I had gotten another family as a host. I mean this is so neat to meet someone else like me, I can truly be myself and not have to constantly be on guard.”

“I agree Em, it's nice not having to worry about being found out by someone that could freak out, like when I first thought Rhod would be here.” We hugged again and smiled at each other.

“Goodnight Sandy.”

“Goodnight Em.”

As I went to my bedroom I took my HRT medicine and got ready for bed. I removed my notebook I was going to use for my Journal and started to write.

Day one, Sunday

We arrived at Grottoes, Virginia on Saturday evening. The local host families threw a party for us when we arrived. It was a great welcome party. I was introduced to my new host Sandy.

I have a wonderful host family. Their name is John and Mary Jones and their young five-year-old son Kevin. Their Daughter is Sandy, and she is a special girl, and is fantastic. She is ahead of me in school by three years, and is a senior, but I can see us really getting along together. Sandy lives by herself in a carriage house, which is located behind the main house where her parents live. This used to be the servants quarters for the main house, which is owned by her parents. The carriage house is above the garage for all of their cars. The carriage house is huge, almost as big as our home in Warsop. I have my own bedroom with its own loo, with a bath and shower.

Her parents live in the big house in front. The house is truly a mansion. The kitchen alone is as large as the whole first floor of our house. They live on a large estate, and there are plenty of woods surrounding the property. I wish it was warmer, for I would love to go for walks through the woods. The weather is quite cold here this time of year. There is no snow on the ground but there was ice covering all the trees and ground this morning. When the perfect blue sky let the sunshine touch the trees, after it rose over the mountains in the east, they just sparkled like jewels in a window. It was a picture perfect postcard.

Sandy had to work today so her Parents took me out.

They showed me the town of Grottoes, which is our hometown for the next 6 weeks.

Then they took me to Skyline Drive, which is in the Appalachian mountain range. It was absolutely breathe taking. Skyline drive is a very long road that runs along the top of the mountain ridge for many miles. We stopped at a restaurant located off of the Skyline Drive, just south of Big Meadows Campground and had a great meal, while looking at a spectacular view overlooking Virginia.

We had to head for home for a meeting Sandy and I where going to have with Miss Bell, at two thirty PM. The meeting was very enlightening, and it will go far to making this exchange trip be the best ever.

After Sandy returned from work and we finished the meeting with Miss Bell, Sandy and I got dressed in our best clothes and her parents took us out to a restaurant in Waynesboro, called Mountain Jacks. It was a very nice restaurant, and very good food. I still have a lot of food left over from there.

I can see why Americans seemed to all have a weight problem. The portions of food one gets in restaurants is humongous, I feel they could feed an army. The food is quite good too.

If we keep eating like this, I will be the one with a weight problem.

I noticed there were quite a few language barriers in our English versus their English. I do not think there will be anything we could not overcome, but I found it humorous. I guess their English, really is American English. Why don't they just call it American?

I put my notebook away, turned off the overhead light, leaving the one next to my bed on, made sure the alarm was set for seven thirty AM, then crawled under the covers, said a small prayer of thanks for having Sandy as my host, turned off the light and promptly fell asleep.

To be Continued

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