Pink is Not My Color

Connie and Joanne reach Virginia after their long drive. While telephoning Mitch from outside his apartment, Connie surprises him by appearing at his door. They apologize for their recent argument and forgive each other, but Mitch must rush to a meeting about the closing stages of the Andromeda case. Their reunion is far shorter and less romantic than Connie imagined.

The women stay with Agent Peter Bourland, his wife Janelle, and their middle-school daughter, Michaela, who prefers to be called Mike. Janelle shares Joanne's love of antiques and hopes to accompany her to the Smithsonian, where an expert will examine the old compass. Peter's work delays him again, however, leaving Janelle without someone to care for Mike.

Mitch also cancels dinner with Connie because an important assignment has arisen in forensics class. Connie offers to stay with Mike so that Janelle can join Joanne. She pretends the cancellation does not hurt, but another eagerly anticipated moment with Mitch has disappeared.

Mike studies sports scores so she will be ready to talk with her father when he calls to apologize for missing her basketball game. She and Peter have also begun building an enormous treehouse, though his long hours have left her doing much of it alone. As Connie helps with construction, she finds a hidden pair of outgrown ballet shoes and an old dance photograph.

Mike admits that she still tries on the shoes but refuses Connie's offer to style her hair like the girl in the photograph. Ballet and pretty hairstyles seem too girlish, and Mike is certain that others - especially her father - would dislike them. Connie respects her refusal but wonders why she is hiding something she enjoys.

Peter's absence is also straining his marriage. Janelle confronts him after another late night and says that his family has barely seen him for months. Peter believes the Andromeda case is urgent because dangerous people must be stopped, but Janelle is tired of making excuses for him to their daughter.

At Mike's next basketball game, she struggles until Peter finally arrives. Eager to please him, she plays with sudden intensity, dives after the ball, and sprains her wrist. The injury keeps her out of basketball for three weeks, yet Connie notices that Mike sounds less disappointed than expected.

Connie raises the subject of ballet again. Under pressure, Mike reveals the belief guiding all her choices: she once overheard her father say that he had wanted a boy. She has taken up the sports he loves and abandoned ballet because she thinks Peter will not want her unless she acts like the son he wished for.

Connie tells Peter what Mike believes. When Michaela enters with the hairstyle and clothes she has chosen with Connie, Peter first assumes she has been dressed against her will, then realizes his daughter genuinely enjoys looking that way. He is startled to learn that she likes ballet as well as some sports and has been hiding part of herself for his approval.

Peter admits that he once mentioned hoping for a boy, but he never meant that he regretted having Michaela. He and Janelle love her because she is their daughter, not because of anything she does. He wants a long, honest conversation about which activities she truly likes. They begin reconnecting while the whole group works together on the treehouse.

Connie finally meets Mitch for dinner, but he arrives late, takes a work call, and repeatedly checks his watch. He turns down another assignment for her sake, yet neither of them can enjoy the evening while he longs to return to it. Connie releases him to go and once again sits alone with the painful feeling that she expected too much from their time together.