Part Two: The Perfect Night

April 14, 1971

"Lisa, I'm SO nervous!!!" Celeste wailed into the phone. She was talking to her friend as she waited for Alan to arrive for their date. That morning, Celeste had gone after school to Hammond as usual and happily told Alan she could go. His face had lit up and his smile was the biggest Celeste had ever seen it. After getting home, she had gone to her room to figure out what to wear, and then she had madly tried to fix her hair. She remembered that Alan had said to keep it casual, but she still wanted to look nice for him. Now she was sitting in her room, staring at herself in a tall mirror and talking to Lisa at the same time.

"You'll be fine, C; trust me!" Lisa comforted her friend.

"That's what you said when we met at camp and you told me to follow you to the lake by a shortcut. I ended up with poison ivy," Celeste reminded her.

Lisa chuckled uneasily. "That's right! Oops. Sorry about that."

Celeste merely rolled her eyes, examining herself again in the mirror. She noticed her hair was starting to fall out. "AAAGGHH!!!" she cried.

"What?"

"My hair is too short to do anything with it!!!" Celeste freaked out.

Lisa's laugh came over the phone. "Just wear it down, then! You know how Alan loves it when it's down and flipped out!"

"Yeah. But that wouldn't look good with my outfit."

"What're you wearing?"

"A skirt."

"A SKIRT???!!!"

"Yeah."

Lisa scolded Celeste like crazy over the phone. "CELESTE!!! You can't wear a SKIRT! That's just not you. Alan said casual, right? So be casual. Throw on a white tank and your best pair of overalls. Keep your hair down. That's what he told me he loves you wearing and looking like."

"Really? He told you that?" Celeste asked, bewildered as to why he'd like her in such simple attire.

"Sure as shootin'. He loves how you aren't all fashiony and beauty-concerned like the other girls. He loves your spunk and how you work on cars all the time for your job."

Celeste blushed. "Really? That's... flattering."

"You bet it is!" Lisa exclaimed. "So are you gonna wear that?"

Celeste paused to look at herself in the mirror one last time. She inspected herself intensely. She had to admit that she did not look like herself. A skirt on a weekday, on her? It wasn't normal. Her hair up on a weekday, on her? Not usual. Glancing quickly at her clock, she noticed she had at least five minutes before Alan would arrive. Celeste grinned and spoke into the phone to her best friend, "Yes. I will wear that and keep my hair down. Geez, man, how do you do it?"

"What?"

"Convince me on stuff like this?"

Lisa laughed hysterically and gasped for breath. "Oh, my gosh! I don't know, I just DO! Maybe it's because I'm right."

"You're weird!"

"Thanks!"

"You're welcome. Bye!"

"Bye!" Lisa giggled as she hung up.

Celeste rolled her eyes as she set her phone on its cradle. She smiled and quickly changed. Letting her hair out, she ran to the bathroom and combed through it, checking her small amount of makeup as she did so. Celeste had to admit she liked herself better now than how she had been before. Collecting her purse, putting on her birthstone necklace, and sighing with satisfaction, she went downstairs to wait near the door. She peeked out the window on the door, but there was no sign of Alan. She couldn't wait!

"Why are you wearing THAT?" Celeste jumped as Chad's voice interrupted her thoughts. She hadn't noticed him slouched on the couch in the family room, eating popcorn and staring dumbly at the TV. He was now turned around, gaping curiously at his sister's simple outfit over the back of the couch.

Celeste glared back and informed Chad, "For your information, Lisa told me that Alan loves it when I look like this."

"Really? That's FUNNY!!!" Chad roared.

"Why?"

"The clothes are so... so simple!"

"Exactly!" Celeste exclaimed. "Alan likes me like this because I'm not into fashion and all that like the other wimpy girls. He likes me like this because it's who I am."

Chad immediately closed his mouth and looked thoughtful. "Oh." As he turned around, Celeste stuck out her tongue behind his back and grinned.

Suddenly, Celeste heard a car pull up. She peered out the door's window and saw Alan's red '67 Mustang park next to the curb. She took a deep breath and leaned against the door, her heart pounding hard. It's okay, man, Celeste told herself, because he's just a friend. But then it hit Celeste that they wouldn't be friends anymore. They were now boyfriend and girlfriend. Something made her sad: she wanted their friendship to keep going, but she also liked Alan as more than just a friend. That attraction had driven Celeste into accepting Alan's offer of this date. She decided that she wanted to go out with him, but she'd have to talk to him to see if they could still have fun like they had when they were just friends.

The doorbell rang. Celeste jumped and slammed her hand over her heart, scared out of her wits. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes for a few seconds, and then opened the door.

"Hi!" Alan said brightly, a big smile crossing his face.

His grin hypnotized her for two seconds before Celeste could answer, "Hi! Come in."

"Thanks!"

As Alan stepped into the entryway, Celeste's parents came from the kitchen and greeted him. Chad simply waved and kept watching TV, though everyone knew he was still secretly listening in. Alan also listened carefully, but to the Harringtons' specific instructions.

"Celeste needs to be home no later than 11," Mr. Harrington began.

"Yes, sir!" Alan agreed politely.

"And treat her with respect," Mrs. Harrington added.

Alan looked at Celeste tenderly. "That won't be a problem." Celeste blushed.

Her dad noticed and smiled. Changing the subject, he asked, "So, Alan, where are you planning on taking our daughter tonight?"

"I don't know, Mr. Harrington," Alan shrugged and continued, "I was going to let her decide. I mean, I wouldn't want her to feel pressured into going somewhere she didn't want to go."

"That's very considerate of you," Celeste's mom voiced her approval. "But why would she not want to go where you would've picked?" Celeste noticed her mom's deceiving question: she was testing Alan to see if he would reply the way she wanted him to.

Alan quickly redeemed himself. "Oh, don't take me wrong on that, Mrs. Harrington. I would never take Celeste somewhere unsafe. I don't even go anywhere unsafe. I'm just saying that what if she felt like pasta but I took her to a place where the restaurant served hot dogs?" Mrs. Harrington nodded, getting the answer she had hoped for.

Celeste smiled. "Thanks for thinking of me like that."

Alan grinned back at her. "You're welcome."

The Harringtons said good-bye to their daughter and Alan and closed the door behind them. Celeste was just about to walk to Alan's car when he stopped her on the porch steps by gently grabbing her arm.

"Hey, I got something for you. Wait here." Alan held up his hands in a stopping gesture and ran to his car. After opening the passenger side door and picking something up from the seat, Alan raced back over to Celeste with his hands behind his back. He grinned and said, "Close your eyes."

Celeste giggled and replied, "Okay!"

Alan made sure she wasn't looking and then placed a single rose in her hand. "Okay. You can open your eyes now."

Celeste gasped as she saw the beautiful red flower in her grasp. "Alan! It's gorgeous! How did you know I liked roses?"

"You do?"

"Yes! They're my favorite flower in the world!"

"Oh! Wow," Alan exclaimed happily. "I didn't know that. Just made a good guess then, man. Oh, and it's got a tiny vase with it in the car so it can stay wet while we're gone."

"How spiffy!" Celeste smiled.

"Spiffy?" Alan questioned.

"Oh, a wonderful little word I heard one of my friends say!"

"Uh-huh," Alan teased her.

Celeste laughed and then thanked Alan for the rose. He escorted her to the car, opened and closed the door for her, then hopped in himself. After starting the car and pulling away from the curb, Alan asked, "So where do you want to go?"

"Actually, when you mentioned pasta, that sounded kind of good!"

"Are you serious?" Alan laughed.

"Yeah, man! Let's go to an Italian restaurant," Celeste decided.

Alan smiled. "Well, all rightee then. Italian it is!" He turned a corner and headed towards the best Italian place he could think of. "Is Tuscany okay?"
Celeste's eyes widened. "Tuscany? That's so... expensive!"

Alan shrugged. "It's not too bad. There are more pricey places we could've gone, like the Steak House. Besides, it's not like I'm broke or anything, and you are worth it."

Celeste blushed and looked out the window. Suddenly she realized that they were way too casual for Tuscany, and then that brought up the reminder that she had to ask Alan if they could still have fun now that they were dating. She glanced at him and wondered how she'd tell him.

"Umm... Alan?" she started hesitantly.

"Yeah?"

"Aren't we a little... like, underdressed for Tuscany?"

Alan looked at their clothes. "I guess so, but that doesn't matter. We're out to have fun tonight!"

Celeste was excited when she heard Alan's words. He had specifically brought up what she had wanted to ask him without even knowing it! "Actually, that's something I was going to ask you about. I-I was thinking before you picked me up that I really liked how much fun we had before you asked me out, and I was... hoping that we could still be crazy and fun, and not just focus on all the mushy liking and solitude stuff. I mean, that would be nice occassionally, being just with you, but I don't want to hold onto that mindset for a long time. I want to have fun times as well. Heck, we might not even stay together, but while we are, I want things to sort of be the same. Take it slow. You know what I mean? That's like, okay with you, right?" Celeste looked at Alan, expectantly awaiting his ominous answer.

But it wasn't ominous after Alan said it. "Celeste, that's precisely what I wanted for us to do, too. I loved having fun with you and with our families, but I also wanted a little greater relationship with you. Now that I have that, I am so glad you don't want to stick with the 'just each other' idea. I want to have fun and move slowly, too. That's one reason why I waited this long to ask you out. I knew you were young and didn't want to pressure you right away into a relationship with me. I waited until you were older; it almost killed me, but I lived. And being with our families and friends during with this relationship will be great for us: it'll let us share our relationship with them and they'll be able to help us and give us advice about it."

Celeste sighed heavily. "Oh, my gosh, Alan! I'm so relieved you wouldn't believe it! Well, maybe you would, since you wanted the same thing I did!"

Alan laughed. The rest of the ride was spent talking about cars, football, and more things the two had in common. As they arrived at Tuscany and Alan parked the car, the couple started to argue jokingly on whether or not girls were smarter than guys. They kept on fighting as Alan opened doors for Celeste. They were still vehemently yet teasingly tossing opinions back and forth as they walked into the restaurant. The man at the front desk looked at them skeptically as Alan sighed with faked exasperation and told him they needed a table for two. A waiter got them two menus and told them to follow him. Alan and Celeste resumed their conversation. They noticed the waiter was trying not to look at them or listen, though he did glance back every few seconds. As they were seated at their table, Alan and Celeste paused in their discussion long enough to thank the unsure waiter, who hurriedly took their order of drinks and left.

"Was it just me, or did he look really weird at us?" Celeste leaned in and mumbled to Alan.

Alan grinned. "He looked weird at us, man."

"Hopefully it wasn't because of how underdressed we are," Celeste absently said, gazing around at the fancy restaurant. There were white pillars with fake grapevines on them lining the walls, and gold statues were placed in various spots around the room. There was even a working stone fountain in the very center of the restaurant, surrounded by lush, green plants.

Alan glanced around also and replied, "No, it was because of our little debate. And please forget about our clothes. It's not like it matters anyway, man."

Celeste thought of something. "Hey, Alan, why'd you want us to be casual tonight?"

"Oh, yeah! I guess I forgot to tell you. One reason was because of that whole thing of us still acting like we did when we were friends, and also I... I really like you in those clothes," Alan blushed a bit.

As Celeste grinned, she looked at his set of jeans, white shirt, and light green overshirt. She replied, "I like you in that outfit, too."

"That's why I wore it!" Alan revealed.

"Well, that's why I wore mine!" Celeste laughed. "But really, Alan, those clothes do look good on you. They bring out your eyes and hair."

"Great," Alan mumbled, touching his hair. "Now you're turning into a fashion girl!"

"No, I'm not!"

"I know, I was just teasing!"

"Dummy."

Alan started to laugh so hard he had to lean back and hold his stomach. After calming down slightly and wiping a tear from his eye, he said, "I'm gonna compliment you now!"

"Okay!" Celeste agreed. She had no problem with that.

"Well, let's see. First of all, those overalls show how incredibly skinny you are. Second, the tank allows me to view your muscular arms. Third, your outfit brings out your hair and eyes just like my clothes do to me, and finally, that gold necklace kind of matches your hair."

Celeste nodded thoughtfully. "Good reasons."

"Thank you! But honestly, Celeste, you look good. And the necklace just tops it off. Where'd you get it?"

"I don't know," Celeste shrugged. "I got it for my birthday. I came home after school and there was a package on the kitchen table. This was in it, but there was no tag or anything to show who had given it to me. Anyway, I rarely wear it because it's so nice and expensive."

"'Cause it's made of gold, right?"

Celeste looked confused. "Yeah. How'd you know?"

"Plus, that's a real blue topaz and there's a tiny letter C right above it," Alan continued, purposefully avoiding her question.

Celeste held her pendant and looked at it closely. "Hey! You're right! What the- how did you-"

"I got it for you."

She stared at him in awe. He had gotten it for her? She had not expected that. She quietly spoke, "YOU got it for me?"

"Yeah!"

"But you and your parents already gave me those overalls and 20 bucks!"

Alan shook his head. "Those were just from my parents. I wanted to get you something special, something just from me."

"I can't believe it. I love it so much. Thank you, Alan!" Celeste gratefully told him. "For four months you've never said anything, so I figured you didn't notice it and I assumed you hadn't given it to me."

"Well, I did! I waited to tell you until we went on our first date, just to make the necklace seem more special. I had a little 'c' specially engraved on there for you. Lisa helped me pick it out," Alan explained smoothly.

"She DID???!!! Why, that little brat! She looked like she didn't know a thing about it and swooned over how amazing it was!" Celeste freaked out loudly.

"Oh, she knew. It's called acting, Celeste," Alan joked with her.

Celeste leaned over and slapped him on the arm. "Shut up, Mister Five-Times-Player-of-the-Week!"

Alan laughed as Celeste alluded to his accomplishment that year in football. He had had a tremendous year, being awarded Player of the Week five times from the local newspaper and the game-winning ball twice from Coach Yoast. His teammates now saw him as more than a scrawny little boy trying to play football; they still saw him as a skinny teen, but one who was amazingly determined to do his best and had great potential. He had proved himself this past season to be a real player, giving all his effort and playing so well he had been greatly rewarded.

Celeste waited until Alan's laughter had tuned down into a chuckle to say, "Alan, I really do appreciate this necklace. I know it cost you a lot, and I want to sincerely thank you for even considering to buy it for me. Thank you so much."

Alan looked at her affectionately, grinning slightly, and replied, "You're welcome, Celeste. Just seeing your smiling face makes me forget about any costs: it was totally worth it."

Celeste blushed as their waiter came back to take their order. Alan and Celeste had to scramble to figure out what they wanted; they had been too busy talking to even check out the menus. After a few minutes of frenzied chaos, the couple ordered their dinners. Celeste ordered her favorite, cheese ravioli, while Alan ordered a pasta and bean soup, throwing in a salad for them to share. The waiter took their menus, gave them their drinks, and left to get their orders to the kitchen.

After Celeste took a sip of her drink and bit into a piece of garlic bread, she swallowed and grinned. "You know, I could've been really mean to you."

Alan's eyebrows came together as he looked at her in confusion. "Huh?"

Celeste took another bite of her bread and replied casually, "I could've ordered the most expensive meal on the menu just to test you and see if you'd pay for it."

"What??? Where'd you hear that?" Alan was very amused. He took a drink from his cup as Celeste continued.

"My mom. She did it to my dad on their first date, even though she hated the meal."

Alan spit out some of his drink as he started to laugh hysterically. He choked on some of the liquid and started coughing as well. Celeste couldn't help but laugh at him because he looked so funny. Alan calmed down enough to talk and clean up his mess. "Oh, my gosh! Your mom really did that? That SO seems like something she'd do, man!" he chuckled, grabbing some napkins and wiping up the drink.

"Isn't it funny? But I'm not mean. I couldn't do that to you!" Celeste giggled.

Somehow the two got on the subject of cats and how they each hated them, particularly Alan's mom's feline. Celeste called it a stupid little vermin of white fluff that didn't deserve to be living, not on this earth at least. Just as the waiter brought them their food, Alan mentioned that he believed the cat was the devil himself. Celeste chuckled and readily agreed. The waiter again left in a hurry, not even daring to look at them anymore. The couple ignored him, prayed, and continued with their conversation, now eating as they went. Time flew by and before they knew it, two hours had passed since leaving Celeste's house. Alan asked for their bill, payed, and escorted Celeste out of the fancy restaurant. As they drove out of the parking lot, Alan spoke first.

"Hey, I had an idea of what we could do now." He glanced sideways at her.

"What is it?"

"Does roller skating at the rink sound okay?"

Celeste's face lit up. "Yes!!! I haven't been skating for so long!"

Alan grinned, looked behind him, and then turned to the left, heading for the rink. They arrived, payed for their skates, and put them on, chatting the whole time. For an hour and a half, they raced, twirled, bumped, and pulled each other, having the most fun they'd had with each other in a long time. At one point, Alan went to get them something to drink as Celeste rested on a bench. He came back and after they had sucked down their drinks, a slow song started to play. The lights went down and a bunch of couples raced onto the rink. Alan stepped onto the rink also, staying right by the side, and held his hand out for Celeste, "wondering if her ladyship would like to come skate?" Celeste laughed and accepted the cute offer, placing her hand in his. They skated together in silence for the most part, holding hands the whole time. Celeste thought she'd almost faint; everything was so romantic, and the way Alan held her hand, calmly yet tightly, made Celeste feel secure. THIS was real romance, not all the locking lips and totally over each other junk. She just wished more people would see that and stop acting so disgusting.

"So what do you want to do now?" Alan asked Celeste as they left the rink. "We still have an hour and a half before you have to be back home."

"Let's get some ice cream or something," Celeste opted.

Alan nodded and suddenly grinned. "Hey, I got it! Let's go to the little ice cream parlor right in front of the park and then take a short stroll."

"In the park? Now? But it's 9:30!"

"So? We'll have the place to ourselves, unless there's other couples there. But we could still have fun; we could walk by the pond and skip rocks or something. That is, if you want to," Alan seemed almost embarrassed by his offer.

Celeste thought he was just so wonderful for thinking of something so romantic and old-fashioned yet fun. She smirked mischievously. "Sure! Bet I can skip rocks farther than you can!"

"You cannot."

"Can to!"

"No!!!"

"Yes!"

"We'll just see about that, man! You're on," Alan accepted the challenge. They parked outside the parlor and went in, checking over the selection of desserts and ordering what they thought looked most tasty. They sat down at a table and talked some more on miscellaneous items. Half an hour flew by, and they headed for the park. Both eager to beat the other at skipping rocks, they headed first to the pond, digging around to find as many small and flat rocks as possible. Each gathered four and Alan let Celeste go first. Hers went five skips then sank. Alan tossed his and mocked Celeste jokingly when it skipped six times. She haughtily threw her second stone, achieving eight bounces. Alan glared. They kept going until all their rocks were gone and it ended up in a tie. The couple shrugged and laughed.

After walking around the little pathways in the park, Alan and Celeste noticed a couple sitting on a bench. They were kissing like mad and were all over each other. The Christian couple quickly walked by in disgust and went towards a little white gazebo with a forest green roof. They sat down in it on white benches placed all around the inside. Alan glanced far behind him at the now departing couple and sighed.

"Man, I hate that," he moaned.

Celeste nodded grimly. "So do I. I was just thinking earlier tonight at the rink about why more couples don't realize how wrong that is. Why can't more people be like us? All we did was hold hands."

"Because we're all sinners. Lust is such a strong temptation," Alan sighed sadly. "I'm so glad I've decided to never do any of that until I'm married."

Celeste sat up straight, her interest snagged. "You have?"

Alan looked at her in fear that she might think he was stupid for holding to faithfulness. "Umm... yeah. That doesn't sound like... weird to you, does it, man?"

Celeste grinned from ear to ear, which made Alan's heart beat faster, and she replied, "NO! Not one bit! That's exactly what I stick to, also! I have chosen to stay pure to my future husband. And... oh, gosh, Alan! I am seriously so overjoyed you feel the same way! You rarely find guys like you anymore, ones that actually care about God and staying true to their future spouse."

Alan smiled slightly and looked away, embarrassed by her compliment. The couple talked on and on about their views of purity and how everything would seem so much more special when they had the privilege of marriage. After talking for about 20 minutes, they fell silent and simply enjoyed the cool evening and its fresh air. As Celeste stared at the ripples on the pond, Alan looked intensely at her. She looked so pretty with the moonlight on her thin yet elegant face. He hoped desperately that they'd stay together for a long time. Suddenly, Celeste let out a quiet chuckle.

"What?" Alan asked.

"Oh, I was just thinking more about our purity deal and one of my favorite songs popped into my head."

Alan loved music and he knew Celeste did, too, so he inquired of her, "Really? What's your favorite song?"

"Well, I have TONS, but the one I thought of was 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough,'" Celeste told him.

Alan's jaw dropped in shock. "No way, man!"

Celeste looked at him quizzically, obviously communicating to him to explain why his mouth had suddenly formed a large O.

Alan smiled and his eyes lit up, saying, "That's one of my favorites, too!"

Celeste broke out into the song and after listening to her great voice for two seconds, Alan joined in. They were not afraid to sing out loud, because they had known each other for so long and had previously sung openly many times in each other's company. They took turns, Alan singing Marvin Gaye's part and Celeste singing Tammi Terrell's sections, and they both sang the chorus. When they were done, they looked at each other and laughed.

"Oh, this night has been SO much fun, man!" Celeste voiced her thoughts out loud.

Alan nodded, smirking, and looked at his watch. "Oh, crap! You have to be home in two minutes!" he cried, jumping up and grabbing her hand. They ran to the car, hopped in, and started driving to Celeste's house, teasing each other for losing track of the time. The two arrived at the house minutes after 11. Alan opened the car door for Celeste and helped her out, closing it behind her. They walked up the steps and stood facing each other.

"I had a really great time tonight, Alan. Thanks for everything," Celeste started.

Alan smiled happily. "Good! And you're welcome; I had fun, too."

As Alan lifted his hand, Celeste gulped in fear, hoping he wasn't going to try to kiss her. She wasn't ready for that; they had just gotten together and it would be moving too fast. But all her terror subsided as Alan smoothly held her hand, raised it to his lips, and gently kissed it, just like a present-day Round Table knight. He looked at her with a small grin on his face and whispered, "Good night, Celeste."

She stared at him and then smiled bashfully. "Good night."

As Alan drove off, Celeste held her rose tightly and watched him leave before she went inside. She felt so lighthearted and giddy from the whole night that she felt like she was floating on air as she walked up the stairs to her room.

When she passed her parents' bedroom, her mom saw her and called out, "Hey, sweetie! You're home. So... how was it?" Mr. Harrington walked up next to his wife.

Celeste grinned at them both. "Oh, my gosh, man. It was... wonderful." She preceded to tell them all details on where they went, what they did, what they talked about, and how incredibly chivalry-like Alan was, constantly opening doors for her and helping her in and out of the car. Her mom was particularly pleased to hear this. Celeste showed them her still damp rose and told them that Alan was the one who had gotten her the birthstone necklace, though both had suspected it before and were glad to hear their thoughts affirmed.

"Sounds like he spent a lot of bucks on you, honey!" her dad mentioned.

Celeste nodded. "I know." Suddenly, she burst into a smile and flung her arms around both her parents, hugging them tightly. "Thank you so much for letting me go!"

"You're welcome, Celeste," her dad smiled.

"We're just glad you had a good time," Mrs. Harrington added.

Celeste let go, said good night, and headed to her room. She sighed with a carefree sense of joy and collapsed onto her bed, just staring at the ceiling and thinking over the awesome date. Suddenly, she heard someone clear their throat. She looked at her door and saw Chad standing there with an excited grin on his face.
"So?" he asked. "How was it? Did you kiss yet?"

Celeste rolled her eyes, slammed the door in his face, and locked it. While she was getting ready for bed, she quietly sang, "'Cause, baby, there ain't no mountain high enough...'"