Prospective Partners
by MBP MWFAN318@aol.com
The families of two men who plan to form a partnership meet.


Lily threw her instructor to the mat. Enzo sprang to his feet as his pupil
stalked him. He moved towards her. Lily grabbed an arm, stuck her small foot
into Enzo's midsection, and fell backwards. The man flew over Lily, landing
hard behind her.

"You're getting good, Miss Lily," Enzo said as he rose to his feet carefully.

Lily blushed at the compliment and continued after Enzo, her bare feet moving
quickly but silently over the huge mat. When she got close enough, Lily threw
a short, hard punch into Enzo's belly. The shot landed higher than expected,
connecting solidly with the man's solar plexus. This knocked the wind out of
him. With Enzo dazed, Lily took advantage and hoisted the good-sized man onto
her slim shoulders. Lily was about to spin him, when she thought she heard a
voice from downstairs. She carried Enzo to a wall and leaned him against it.
She went to the door.

"Mommy," Lily called downstairs after opening the door. "Did you call me?"

"Yes dear," Missy Gilmour said to her daughter. "The Jones will be here
shortly. You should get ready."

"I'll be done in a second," Lily answered. She shut the door and moved to
Enzo, who was still a little dazed from Lily's unexpected blow. The girl
repositioned her airplane spin and spun around several times before dumping a
dizzy Enzo onto the mat.

"I have to go shower," Lily said to her instructor as she left the room. "I'll
see you tomorrow."

Enzo could only nod.

The four Gilmour daughters sat in age order on the enormous sofa in the huge
living room of the Gilmour mansion. Vanessa, at 17 the oldest, wore an elegant
navy blue dress with a large strand of pearls. She was the most conservative
of the girls and had already been introduced as a debutante. Vanessa was tall
and slender and striking; she looked every bit the lady.

Next to Vanessa sat Tiffany. She was 14 and the rebel of the group. Tiffany
was wearing blue jeans and flip-flops. Her exasperated mother couldn't get her
into a dress for the occasion, but Mrs. Gilmour managed to persuade Tiffany to
wear a good polo shirt, as opposed to the old tee-shirts she usually wore.
Tiffany was short for a Gilmour as she stood barely 5 feet tall. She had short
dark hair and an interesting face; Tiffany was possibly the prettiest of the
girls. And that was saying something.

A year younger than Tiffany, Lily was 3-4 inches taller than her sister. Lily
favored her sister Vanessa (and her mother) in her appearance. But unlike
Vanessa, who was always a lady, Lily was the tomboy of the group. She loved
the workouts with Enzo and played all types of sports. Her mother hoped she'd
grow out of it and become a lady but her father thought it was good for her.
Lily wore a pretty pink dress with white ruffles. It may sound redundant, but
she looked like a little girl.

Emily rounded out the group. She was 11 and a mix of the rest of her family.
Emily wasn't going to be as tall as Lily or Vanessa, but would be taller than
Tiffany. She was a combination of her parents: the fairness of her father and
the darker, striking looks of her mother. Emily was everyone: athletic,
ladylike, rebellious, intelligent. No one personality trait stood out. She was
dressed similarly to Lily, in that Emily was wearing a simple dress, but it
was a yellow print.

The girls, with the usual exception of Vanessa, were chatty.

Tiffany asked, "How did your workout with Enzo go, Lily? He's such a hunk."

"Can't you mind your manners just this once?" Vanessa scolded as the other
girls giggled.

Paying no mind to her oldest sister, Lily answered, "Enzo says I'm doing
really well. I really like that throw where you put the foot in the stomach.
What did Enzo call that: the topogiggio?"

Tiffany guffawed. "Tomoenage. Yeah, it's cool. I haven't quite gotten the hang
of it yet." The girls turned as they heard their mother enter the living room.

"I want you to be especially good today," Mrs. Gilmour said to her daughters.
"Your dad and Mr. Jones are looking into a partnership that will be beneficial
to all of us."

The doorbell rang. Mrs. Gilmour called up to her husband, then answered the
door. On the other side were Mr. and Mrs. Jones, and their four children. The
three boys were dressed identically in expensive navy blue suits and black
loafers. The girl matched Vanessa almost exactly, down to the pearls and
pantyhose. Her dress was just a shade lighter. The Jones family entered the
house. The Gilmour children came over to meet them.

"Allow me to introduce my family, Mrs. Gilmour," said Mr. Jones. "My name is
Samuel Jones and this is my wife Penelope." The adults shook hands.

Samuel continued, pointing at a tall, handsome young man with sandy hair.
"This is our oldest son Robert. He's 19 and a sophomore at Harvard."

Missy Gilmour shook Robert's hand. "Our daughter Vanessa is considering
attending Radcliffe next fall."

"It would be nice to have friends close by," Mr. Jones continued generously,
nodding at Vanessa. "And this is Samuel Jr., pointing at a slim dark-haired
boy nearly as tall as his older brother. He's 17 and he hates his name. Just
call him Sam." A chorus of "Hi, Sam" filled the air.

"This is our only daughter Penny. She's 16 and only two months away from her
coming out. Your Vanessa has already been introduced, hasn't she?"

"Yes," said Mrs. Gilmour. "In fact, she's been to a half-dozen in the past
nine months."

"Then they'll have something to talk about," responded Mr. Jones. "And last,
but by no means least, is our youngest son Michael. He..."

Lily interrupted, "You go to Tillman, don't you?" Lily asked, mentioning the
private school she attended. "You're in my English class."

Michael answered, "Right. And you're Lily Gilmour. I thought the name sounded
familiar. You're on lots of teams, aren't you?"

Lily was about to answer when her mother interjected, "We'll have plenty of
time to talk later." She glanced upstairs. "Oh, and here's my husband Walter."

As expected in such occasions, the host's grand entrance was last. Walter came
down the stairs and shook Samuel's hand. The Jones were reintroduced to Walter
who in turn introduced his children.

"Supper won't be for a couple of hours," Walter said. "There are
hors-d'oeuvres in the den, and plenty of snacks in the kitchen. Why don't the
adults retire to my study to discuss a little business and let the children
get to know each other." Mr. Gilmour's words were more a command then a
suggestion. Within seconds, the eight youths were eyeing each other
uncomfortably. Lily broke the ice.

"Hey, Michael, you want to come up and see my room? I have lots of great
stuff."

"Sure," the 13-year-old boy said eagerly. "Lead the way." The two Tillman
students vanished up the stairs.

Robert and Vanessa seemed a natural pair, considering their age and choice of
college. But life rarely worked the way one expected.

Penny started talking with Vanessa about debutante parties and clothes;
subjects Vanessa adored. The two became fast friends, as they ignored the
others.

Robert took more than a passing interest in Tiffany. She was too young for
him, but she was gorgeous. Moreover, how could he not appreciate a girl who
would wear blue jeans (and flip-flops) to such an important occasion? He
looked in her direction.

"How about the grand tour?" he asked Tiffany, flashing his most ingratiating
smile.

Tiffany matched Robert's smile with a dazzler of her own. "Let's go," she
replied, grabbing him by the hand.

Sam and Emily had nothing to say to one another. There were too many years
between them; too much of a personality difference. Emily was ebullient; Sam
reticent and a little angry with life. He turned to the girl.

"Could you direct me to the lavatory?" Sam said haughtily, using a word he
never before used. He just wanted to get away.

"Sure," answered Emily, pointing to the west side of the house. "You go
through that passageway, make the first left, and the bathroom is three doors
down on the right."

Sam thanked Emily and hastily vacated. Emily left for the kitchen to get a
snack, leaving Vanessa and Penny chattering away.

Robert and Tiffany were still holding hands as they ascended the stairs to the
upper floor. He was talking.

"You have a great house. It's so, what's the word, lived in. My mom is
fanatical about appearances. If you entered our house, and nobody was home,
you wouldn't be able to tell if anyone actually lived there."

Tiffany said, "Well, it might be that way here if my Mom had her way. But my
Dad thinks a house must be used to become a home. He usually gets his way."

"I'll bet you take after your Dad," Robert said smiling. He had already seen
in his brief time with Tiffany that she was certainly strong-willed. She also
resembled her father, except for the color of her hair.

"I'll take that as a complement," Tiffany smiled back. "Vanessa is all Mom,
right down to her correct shoes. I'm not picking on my Mom - she's great - but
we sometimes don't quite see eye-to-eye."

"What about the other girls?"

"Lily has a little of both in her, although she's probably more my Dad,
especially athletically. The jury is still out on Emily."

"Oh, and this is our rec room," Tiffany said, getting back to the tour. She
opened the door to a large room, with a mat that nearly covered the entire
floor. There were some barbells and dumbbells in the corner and an exercise
machine off the mat. A soccer ball, several jump ropes and a medicine ball
were strewn all over the place.

Robert said, "This is great. We have a small game room - antiseptic, as Mom
likes it - with a pool table and a ping-pong table. But nothing like this." He
walked over to the weight set. "Does you Dad use this?"

"Actually, we all do," Tiffany replied.

"You lift weights?"

"Yeah, but only light ones. We also do calisthenics, aerobics, jump rope,
wrestle, and some martial arts. We have a trainer from Italy named Enzo. Dad
thinks it's good for us to stay in shape and learn to take care of ourselves."

"He's right," Robert stated. "Did you say you wrestle?"

"I did. I'm pretty good at it, although Lily is much better. She's the
jockette of our bunch."

"Want to have a go at it?" Robert asked, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
Tiffany returned the gaze.

"Why not. Why don't you go into the locker room there," Tiffany said, pointing
past the left side of the mat to a door that Robert had not noticed. "That's
the men's room. There may be something there for you to wrestle in."

"Be right back," Robert said, and disappeared through the door. Tiffany
considered wrestling in her jeans, but decided to change. She went into the
woman's locker room.

In Lily's room, Michael whistled at the posters on the wall. One of Derek
Jeter was prominently displayed, as well as Hulk Hogan. She also had a poster
of Pele, the retired soccer star.

"Boy, my Mom would die if she saw this room," Michael said. "I have
lithographs and prints on my wall. She'd never let me put up stuff like this."

"Dad says that it is my room, and I can do what I like with it. And this is
what I like."

"Yeah. I notice you have no rock or movies stars, like most girls. You're
really into sports."

"Yes. I love to play. Do you have a favorite sport?"

Michael said, "I'm on the soccer team at Tillman."

"Me, too," Lily replied. "I start at left forward."

"Well, I'm a defenseman. But I'm a reserve, not a starter."

Lily said charitably, "If you want, we can get together and practice. Maybe I
can help you become a starter."

Michael took it poorly. "What do you mean, you'll help me? You're on the
girl's team - that's why you start. I'd start if I played with the girls."

Lily said evenly, "I start because I'm good. I'll bet the girl's team can beat
the boys."

"No way," Michael snorted derisively. "Our team is faster and stronger and too
big for the girls."

"You're not much bigger than me," Lily said. She and Michael were
approximately the same height, although he was 15-20 pounds heavier. "And I'll
bet I'm stronger and faster than you."

"No way."

"Why don't we arm-wrestle?" Lily asked.

"You're on," Michael said as he laid down on the carpet. There was no table;
the only place to arm-wrestle was on the floor. Lily joined him and they
locked hands in the classic arm-wrestling position.

"Why don't you start us," Lily said to her opponent.

"OK," replied Michael. "Ready, set, go!"

At the word "go," Lily quickly pulled Michael's hand to the carpet. It was
over in a second.

"You jumped the gun," Michael said unbelievingly at the swiftness of the
match.

"No, I didn't," replied Lily. "But let's do it again, just to make sure."

"OK," Michael said, without much confidence. He put his arm back up, and Lily
grasped his hand with her own. "Ready, set, go!"

This time the match started evenly. Michael was feeling better, but after a
couple of seconds, Lily said to him, "Are you ready now?"

When Michael affirmed his readiness, Lily banged him to the carpet. She held
him there until she caught his eyes.

"Wow," Michael said, impressed. "You're really strong. Can I feel your
muscle?"

Lily knew Michael was okay. "Sure," she said as she tightened her biceps.
"Check it out."

And Michael did.

Robert exited the dressing room wearing one of Enzo's bathing suits. It fit
him fairly well. Tiffany was already there, wearing a one-piece exercise
leotard. She looked at Robert. He was in shape and well-muscled, not as a
bodybuilder or even a swimmer, but as a normal young man. He was handsome with
that sandy hair and those piercing blue eyes. Tiffany's heart fluttered.

Robert regarded his petite opponent. She was beautiful and well-proportioned
for her height. Tiffany had surprisingly full breasts and a well-rounded butt.
And she had great legs and pretty feet; Robert had noticed them in the
flip-flops. He was still amazed he was about to wrestle a girl; not just a
girl but one who was nearly a foot shorter and five years younger than him. He
didn't expect a competitive match, but it would be fun to roll around with
Tiffany. Robert just didn't want to hurt her.

Tiffany began moving around the mat, bouncing lightly on her toes. Smiling,
Robert did the same. She made the first move, grabbing him around the waist to
try a hip toss. Robert was too big and strong. He simply picked her up off the
ground and dropped her unceremoniously on the mat. She quickly got up, her
nimble mind remembering some of Enzo's instructions.

Tiffany flew at Robert and tried to kick his feet up from under him, pushing
him at the same time. He momentarily lost his balance but regained it quickly.
Tiffany dropped down and attempted a spinning leg move, trying to sweep out
Robert's legs. This didn't work either as his legs were too well planted. She
scrambled away before Robert could retaliate; she needed another plan.

Tiffany realized she needed to get Robert down on the mat. But she couldn't
let him get his weight positioned there, or she would be finished. Making
herself available, but staying in total control, Tiffany allowed Robert to
grab her and pull her to the mat. Before they even hit, Tiffany was already on
the move. She spun on top of Robert, back- to-back, as Robert ended up below
her. Tiffany grabbed one of his arms with both of hers and twisted. Before he
could react, her weight pushed him to the floor, and her control of his arm
made it difficult for Robert to get leverage. He flailed below her for a few
seconds, before relaxing to take stock of the situation.

Robert could scarcely believe Tiffany had such control over him. He had one
arm free, plus his weight and strength. Once Robert stopped panicking, he was
able to push off the ground with his free hand and his body. Tiffany lost her
balance and control of the arm; Robert was able to dislodge her. Tiffany
recovered quickly and dove at Robert while he was still off balance, knocking
him on his back. She tried for a schoolgirl pin, but Robert just shrugged her
off; he was too strong to hold that way. He got to his feet, breathing a
little heavily, as Tiffany rose also. She regarded him with amusement as he
looked at her with new respect. He was stronger but she was the better
wrestler. He would have to be careful.

Vanessa and Penny were still gabbing as they made their way up the stairs,
heading for Vanessa's room. She had lots of stuff that Penny would love. On
their way, they had sounds from one of the rooms.

Penny asked, "What's that noise?"

"Oh," replied Vanessa, "That's our recreation room. There's obviously
something going on in there. Why don't we take a peak?"

Robert dogged Tiffany around the big mat, trying to corner her. He got hold of
her a couple of times, but she squirmed away. She was stronger than she looked
and slippery. Then Robert made a mistake, stepping the wrong way and losing
his balance. He was moving, this time, so Tiffany was able to continue his
momentum, and hip-tossed the big young man.

Vanessa had cracked the door just in time for she and Penny to see her brother
flying through the air. Vanessa managed to cover Penny's mouth before she
screamed.

"Shh, you'll disturb their concentration. Let's be quiet and just watch."
Vanessa removed her hand from her friend's mouth as the two of them watched
Tiffany follow her move. She dug her pretty feet into Robert's neck and took
control of his arm, twisting his wrist. Robert writhed in pain but couldn't
dislodge Tiffany. Every time he would try to rise, she would twist his wrist;
he would be forced back down. Penny watched in awe.

"How is your sister beating up my big brother? I don't understand it."

"We've all had some training," Vanessa replied. "You should see Lily. She is
really strong. I could show you a few moves, if you'd like."

Penny quietly giggled. "Well, I've never had any problem with Robert, but I'd
like to show Sam a thing or two. He's always picking on me."

"Why don't we leave these two and go to my room. I'll show you some good moves
and some great clothing."

"OK," whispered Penny. "I wouldn't want to embarrass my brother anyway."

The two girls left just as Robert managed to extricate himself. He was in
pain, however, and couldn't really defend himself. Lily turned him onto his
front, sat on his back, and brought his other arm up behind him - she didn't
want to hurt the same arm.

She said to Robert, "Have you had enough? I think it would be better if we
stopped now."

Robert agreed. He tapped the floor twice with his free hand, signaling his
submission. Lily let go of his arm and sat on the mat, waiting for Robert to
sit up also. He did so, a little painfully, trying to rub some circulation
back into his arm.

"Jeez, Tiffany, I can't believe what you just did to me," Robert said as he
recovered. "You beat me fair and square."

Tiffany asked, "Are you OK? Are we OK?"

"I'm a little embarrassed at being out-wrestled by such a pretty - and young -
girl. But I'm OK. I tried my best. There is no shame in losing if you try your
hardest."

"My Dad always says that."

"Well, my dad would be pretty humiliated to have his son beaten by a girl. But
I don't agree with him. I think your Dad is correct."

"That's a good attitude," Tiffany said. She leaned over and kissed Robert full
on the lips. "You're a really good guy."

"You're amazing," Robert replied, with the taste of her kiss still on his
lips. He got up. "I think we should shower and change."

"OK." I'll meet you out here in 15 minutes. The two went to their respective
locker rooms.

Sam was now upstairs peering into the various rooms. He opened the door to
Lily's room and saw his younger brother feeling Lily's arm.

"What's going on in here?" Sam asked.

"Come in here and feel Lily's muscles," Michael said, excitedly.

"Girls don't have muscles," Sam said.

"This girl does. Come over here and take a look."

Sam walked over to look at Lily. There was a definite bump in her biceps. Sam
grabbed it. Lily's biceps was hard.

"You do have some muscle, Lily," he said somewhat condescendingly to the
younger girl.

"Why don't you arm-wrestle her?" suggested Michael.

"Don't be ridiculous," scoffed Sam.

Lily said, "Are you afraid of being beaten by a girl?"

"Of course not. I just don't think it's proper."

"So, you are scared. You know I can beat you," Lily teased.

The barb had it's desired effect. "You don't stand a chance. Let's get this
over with."

The two combatants were on the floor ready to go. "Why don't you start us,
Michael?" Lily said.

Michael put his hands over their locked ones. "Ready, set, go!" he said as he
released their hands at the word "go." The match started.

Sam pulled hard to bang down Lily's hand. So he was shocked and dismayed to
see them still locked in the upright position. And he was even more shocked
when she started winning.

"She's winning, she's winning," Michael cried.

Sam used Michael's words as inspiration. He pulled hard at Lily's arm,
managing to get a slight advantage. But Lily would let him go no further. She
redoubled her efforts. Despite Sam's desperate resistance, Lily started to
take him down. Inch-by-inch they moved. Sam fought with everything he had, but
Lily was stronger. Then her progress stopped temporarily.

Sam looked up and saw Lily was simply holding him steady. She was smiling at
him. He saw her bare feet behind her, idly moving up and down. She was a
pretty 13-year-old girl, and she was stronger than him. Lily let him have that
thought for a second, then banged down him arm with no more resistance.

Michael look at Lily with unabashed reverence. He pulled Lily's hand from his
brother's and took it in his own. He looked wildly at Sam, trying
unsuccessfully to suppress a smile. He didn't say anything. There was nothing
to say.

Sam rose and walked out of the room without a backwards glance. There were
tears in his eyes. He opened some doors and finally entered the rec room. He
sat there, trying to recover.

A little later, Penny and Vanessa passed by the rec room. The door was open
and Sam was sitting on the floor. Robert and Tiffany were nowhere to be found.
Penny walked in.

"Are you OK, Sam?" she asked as her brother seemed out-of-sorts. Sam didn't
answer.

"Sam?" Penny tried again.

He said nothing but got to his feet and turned away. It was obvious that Sam
had been crying. Penny didn't get along too well with Sam, but she was still
concerned.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

"Just get away from me," Sam said.

Penny went over and tried to console her brother. He pushed her. Without
thinking, Penny grabbed the offending hand and twisted. Sam could only move
with the twist; he went flying head-over-heel as Penny completed the throw
Vanessa showed her. Keeping his arm twisted behind his back, her weight
keeping him pinned, Penny easily controlled Sam.

"Sorry, Sam, but I'd think twice before bothering me again. I don't know
what's eating you, but you can't take it out on me." With that, Penny released
her brother. Vanessa was too much of a lady to even snicker. The girls went
back downstairs.

Sam followed the girls down the stairs, then turned in the opposite direction.
He had to get away. He found himself in the kitchen where Emily was eating
some ice cream. She offered him the scooper.

"Thanks," Sam said, as he ladled a few scoops for himself. The two of them sat
quietly eating the comfort food.

"Would you arm-wrestle with me?" Sam asked Emily when they were done. He
needed to feel "male" again. Surely he could beat an 11-year-old girl?

Emily put her arm up on the table and they arm-wrestled, Sam winning pretty
easily. He still wasn't satisfied. First, he was supposed to beat Emily.
Second, it still didn't change the fact that Lily beat him. And finally, Sam
expected an instantaneous victory over Emily. He had won quickly, but had felt
her resistance every step of the way. It was harder than he expected and that
fact bothered him as much as anything else. He pouted.

Emily was an astute little girl. She said to him, "Let me guess what this is
about. You arm-wrestled with Lily."

Sam looked at her amazedly. How could she know this?

"Don't worry about it. Lily can beat lots of guys; even my Dad. She's really
strong."

This made Sam feel a little better.

But then, Emily said, "I gave you a little fight, didn't I. I bet when I'm 13,
I'll be able to beat you."

Sam felt bad again. "No way."

Emily laughed, "Yes, way. I can probably beat you in fighting now, anyway."

"Yeah, right," Sam sniggered.

"I can too," Emily said. "I think I'll go tell Robert about Lily."

"No, you won't," declared Sam as he sprang from chair. He darted after Emily,
who ran, laughing, deeper into the east wing of the house. As he got into the
hallway, Sam looked at the maze of rooms and had no idea where Emily went. She
could be anywhere. He looked into each room for a sign of the girl; she was
nowhere to be found.

As Sam was about to give up, Emily exited a hall closet and jumped onto his
back. The sudden collision knocked Sam down. Emily took both of his hands
behind him and twisted and pulled them away from his body. Her feet were
pushed into his back; the pressure was enormous.

"Ow, ow," Sam cried as Emily continued to twist his arms. "Let me go."

"Are you going to behave?" asked Emily.

"Yeah. Now please let me up."

Emily released Sam and got to her feet. He quickly followed suit.

"I told you I was better at fighting," Emily said teasingly. She grinned at
him from the disadvantage of more than a foot.

"You didn't beat me," Sam said savagely. "You cheated. If this was a fair
fight, I would have knocked you silly."

"Then let's have a fair fight. We'll go up to the rec room and see who's the
better fighter." When Sam hesitated, Emily continued, "Or do you think another
girl is going to beat you again?"

Sam had painted himself into a corner. He was sure he could whip Emily, but
he'd had enough of losing to girls for one afternoon. But he couldn't back
down now.

"OK," Sam said glumly. "Let's do it."

He followed Emily up the stairs.

In a never-used cubbyhole between the two locker rooms, Robert and Tiffany
were kissing. Tiffany used to hide in it; nobody else knew about it. He had
put his suit back on, but without the tie and jacket. Tiffany was back in her
jeans and polo shirt. She was still barefoot, however, and curled her into
Robert. There wasn't room to sit any other way. Robert was as close to heaven
as he had ever been. He kissed Tiffany passionately. Tiffany also was happy.
But not as happy as Robert, because she was pragmatic. She kissed him deeply;
physically; it was similar to the way she wrestled. She stopped his next kiss.

"Look, Robert, I know you feel the same way about me that I feel about you.
But we need to be practical. You're going back to Harvard next week. I'm just
going to start high school. We can't be a couple. As much of a rebel as I am,
I can't see you introducing me to your college friends, nor can I see our
parents being happy. This was great. When you come home from school, if you
still want to see me, then give me a call. And maybe in a couple of years, if
we still feel the same, we can try it."

Robert immediately knew Tiffany was correct. "I don't know what I was
thinking. Obviously, not with my head. You're absolutely right, Tiffany." He
stopped to ponder the situation briefly. "Could we just kiss awhile?"

"I don't see why not," Tiffany smiled as she kissed him hard again. She
teased, "Now, isn't this better than wrestling with me."

"It's safer," Robert agreed. "But now, with you curled into me, it is easy to
believe the wrestling never happened."

"Do you want to try again?" Tiffany laughed.

"Kissing: yes. Wrestling: no. Now kiss me."

And she did.

Emily and Sam undressed for their upcoming battle. She kicked off her shoes
and she was ready. Sam removed his suit jacket, tie, shirt, socks and shoes,
and was also ready. Sam was nearly as tall as his older brother, but without
the physique. He was just beginning to fill out, as he was always skinny and
tall for his age.

Emily looked like your typical 11-year-old. She was slim, pretty and vivacious
and she couldn't wait to wrestle. His age and size advantage meant nothing to
her; she thought she could take him. She danced lightly around the mat,
waiting for Sam to attack.

Sam expected to win. In fact, he had to. His defeats to Lily and Penny had
galled him. He really needed to beat this preteen princess. He advanced
towards Emily who attempted to swipe his feet out from under him. Sam
responded in kind and the twosome did a little dance as each tried to trip the
other. Emily placed herself in good position and kicked the back of Sam's
knees while pushing with her body. He took a seat on the mat.

Smiling broadly, Emily allowed the boy to get to his feet. She continued to
move, as Enzo had trained her, and Sam chased. His movement was somewhat
ungainly, reminiscent of the thin boy whose body and emotional makeup had not
quite caught up to his height. He was not weak, but he was clumsy. When Sam
got close, it was simple for Emily to unbalance the boy. She flipped him over
her shoulder and he slammed into the mat.

Again, Emily did not follow up on her throw. She waited for Sam to rise, her
hands on her hips, her body in a defiant but pretty pose. Sam wanted to stop
fighting but couldn't. He moved towards Emily, who didn't bother to flee. She
met him toe-to-toe. After a short tussle, she got the advantage, and Sam went
flying again.

Emily did not chase him, but Sam didn't bother to get up. He wanted the match
to be over. The small bit of fight in him when the match started had left.
Emily obliged and joined him on the mat, fighting for an advantage. Sam
resisted for a few seconds; then Emily got behind and on top of the boy who
was lying face down. Sam could feel the familiar sensations: the twisting of
the wrists; the pull of the arms; and the push of her feet as Emily applied
the same hold as she had downstairs. As the pain rushed into his arms, Sam
could only think the same thought over and over: she is only 11; she is only
11.

"Uncle," Sam said without waiting for Emily to ask. The little grade school
girl had beaten him easily and Sam just wanted to hide.

When Emily released him, Sam looked around and saw everyone: Tiffany and
Robert were standing near the door of the girl's locker room; Vanessa, Penny,
Lily and Michael were at the entrance. Sam buried his head into the ground.
Why did he everyone have to see this?

Robert walked over to his younger brother, his voice very gentle.

"Get up, Sam," he said quietly.

Sam didn't respond. He just tried to tunnel through the mat.

"Sam, look, if it makes you feel any better, Tiffany whipped me at wrestling
earlier."

Sam looked up for confirmation. He could see Vanessa and Penny nodding while
Lily and Michael looked surprised, but not shocked.

"I saw the match. You tried your best. There's no shame in losing. Emily is
just better than you at wrestling, as Tiffany is better than me. It's just the
way it is."

Sam sat up, while the others sat down in a circle. He felt strangely cleansed
by Robert's admission. Robert was the athlete and his Dad's favorite; the fact
he lost to little Tiffany made Sam feel a whole lot better.

The rest of the group was pretty excited. Even Vanessa, normally very
reserved, was more alive than normal. For one thing, she had made a new
friend. And for another, seeing her younger sisters beat a pair of older boys
infused a bit of confidence in Vanessa, as if telling her that she could
handle herself if necessary. For everyone else, what they got out of the last
couple of hours has already been explained.

The eight children of the Jones and Gilmour families descended the stairs.
Their parents were in the living room. A partnership had been made, that much
was clear. The two men who were very different would make good business
partners. And the women were very much alike, each woman's personality altered
by her husband's. The adults looked up at the sound of their children
approaching.

Samuel Jones said, "How did it go, children? Did we get acquainted?"

Robert answered for the group. "Yes, father. It was quite interesting, to say
the least." The others nodded their assent.

"And what about you, Samuel?" Mr. Jones continued. "Did you manage to annoy
anyone? You look a tad disheveled."

The girls winced and understood more about Sam. He looked at Lily and Emily
and said formally, "No, father. I found the Gilmour girls very stimulating
company. They are interesting and impressive young women." A quizzical look
passed across the face of the older man.

Walter Gilmour interrupted, "Dinner is ready in the dining room. Why don't we
adjourn there?"

The families were sitting at the huge dining room table which was pared down
for this occasion. The parents sat at the head and foot of the table. Robert,
Tiffany, Penny and Vanessa sat on one side; Sam, Lily, Michael and Emily on
the other.

Mr. Gilmour said, "I'm not usually one to say Grace. But I think this occasion
calls for it. Let's take each others hands, and give thanks for our new
partnership, and our new friendship."

Everyone grasped hands as Mr. Gilmour said an informal prayer. Tiffany kicked
off a shoe and put her foot inside Robert's pants leg. On the other side of
the table, as if an unspoken pact, Sam and Michael squeezed the hands of the
girls with extra force. Lily merely smiled at the playful gesture, while Emily
entered a squeezing contest with Michael.

This resulted in another win for the girls.