Free Double Date by Melody Carlson Page A

sleighs will be displayed around the perimeters of the dance floor and they’ll be voted on. The winners will get a fabulous prize.”
    â€œInteresting,” Amanda said. “What kind of prize?”
    â€œWell, this is the top secret part,” Bryn said. “There’s a chance that some very valuable tickets could be involved. It’s not for certain yet, but we hope to get two tickets to the Rose Bowl and—”
    Several whoops from the few guys in the room interrupted her.
    â€œSee, already we have interest,” Bryn pointed out. “And those tickets will be for the guys. For the girls we hope to get something equally fun. Maybe the red carpet at the Oscars.”
    Now some of the girls got excited.
    â€œWhere exactly are these tickets coming from?” Amanda asked.
    â€œWe have some resources in mind.” Bryn winked at Abby. “Some folks in this town with very deep pockets, if you know what I mean.”
    â€œThe reason this is such a great plan,” Abby said eagerly, “is that it becomes a lot more than just another dance. It’s a way to help others. What better time to reach out to the less fortunate in our community than at Christmastime.”
    â€œHow do we know where these so-called less-fortunates can be found?” Amanda questioned.
    â€œWe’ve already started to contact some outreach groups. So far they all seem eager to work with us. They have plenty of names to share,” Bryn told everyone.
    â€œI suppose it could work,” Amanda conceded. “But it seems complicated to me.”
    â€œNot after you think about it for a while,” Bryn told her. “There’s another element we thought would be fun to add to the whole thing. We want to make it a double date night for everyone. Two couples coming together.”
    â€œWe decided that the two couples will work together on one sleigh,” Abby explained. “That will make the sleighs even better and take some of the pressure off.”
    â€œSince the whole event is kind of dual purposed, it makes sense to have it be a double date as well.” Bryn beamed at the group. “So what do you all think? Does it sound like a fun plan?”
    A few more questions were asked and answered, and enthusiasm was steadily growing. Soon it seemed that everyone was on board, and before long, they were all talking at once.
    â€œOkay, everyone!” Bryn clapped her hands to get their attention. “We need to make two committees. One committee will be responsible for the dance in general, and I nominate Amanda Norton to head that one.” She did a quick yea and nay vote and Amanda easily won. “The second committee we’ve decided to call Project Santa Sleigh, and I want to nominate Abby to head that one.” Again she had them vote and Abby won.
    â€œI’m not trying to turn this into a competition,” Bryn told them. “But it will be interesting to see which committee puts forth the best effort. Will the Christmas ball be remembered as a fabulously fun social event, or will it be remembered as a fantastic philanthropic event that made children smile? Orbetter yet, will it be both? It will take everyone pitching in to make it happen.”
    She sent the two committee heads to separate corners of the room and challenged everyone in the room to make a decision. “Both committees are equally important,” she called out as people began moving about, deciding which committee to join. “We can’t do one thing without the other.”
    Although Devon had originally planned to be on Abby’s committee, she was having a sudden change of heart. She really, really wanted to be on Amanda’s committee and to work on things pertaining directly to the dance. She’d never helped with that sort of thing before—choosing a swanky location and glitzy decorations and helping to make all sorts of glamorous decisions—it sounded fun.