Senior Prom 17
When I was a little girl back in the early eighties I loved disco music. I thought the BeeGees were dreamy, and Mary Lou and I taught ourselves to dance to their songs. Of course true disco was already dead at the time, and we soon moved on to the girl dance hits like "I Will Survive," "I'm So Excited" and "It's Raining Men."
Being at Grandma's senior prom was like being stuck in a disco time warp, and as I stood behind the refreshment table with Stan Holloway I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. When the DJ put on "Staying Alive" and all the little old blue-haired ladies and pot-bellied, bald-headed men broke into the Travolta Saturday Night Fever dance moves I had to excuse myself to the ladies' room. Mary Lou met me there and we clutched each other, tears of laughter rolling down our cheeks.
It had been a struggle, but thanks to Mary Lou, lots of girl talk, and a trip to the mall I was feeling better.
oOo
Tank had dropped me off at Mary Lou's just before lunchtime, and I cried my way into her kitchen, the whole story splashing out of me with my tears. Mary Lou held me and patted my back and finally guided me into a chair.
"Omigod, you slept with Ranger?" No sooner had I sat down at the kitchen table than she pulled open her freezer, rummaging around and coming up with a half gallon of ice cream.
"Yeah." I sighed and mopped tears from my cheeks. "I wanted to tell him I love him, but I just couldn't say it."
Mary Lou opened a drawer and pulled out two tablespoons. "And…?"
I took the tablespoon she handed me and dug out a hunk of heavenly hash. It's in the Burg Girl Rule Book that the crying party gets the first bite. "I thought if I couldn't tell him, I could show him, so…" I pushed the ice cream across the table and shoved the big spoon into my mouth.
Mary Lou took the carton and began digging around the edges with her spoon, loosening up the contents to make it easier to get. "So how was it? Is he, like, really, uh… skilled?"
"You wouldn't believe it," I told her. "Mad skills."
She fanned herself, took some ice cream and passed the carton back to me. "How many times?"
I kept my eyes on the chunk of chocolaty goodness I was scooping up. "I don't know. I lost track."
"Oh… my… effing… God!" I glanced up and Mary Lou's mouth was open and her eyes were glazed over.
"Yeah."
A crafty look came over her face. "Tell me exactly what Ranger said to you in the gym," she ordered. "His exact words."
"He told me to go home, to go away, that he didn't want me there."
"He was upset, right?"
"That's putting it mildly. He was… wild, almost feral."
"Did he say he didn't love you?"
"Well, no…"
"Did he say he didn't want to see you later?"
"No…"
"And he tried to call you right away, right?"
"Maybe…"
"Lenny!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.
Lenny was out back with their boys playing catch, but at Mary Lou's screech he came lumbering up the back steps and plowed into the kitchen. "What's the matter, Sweet Cheeks?"
"I need you to get lunch for the boys. I have to take Steph to the mall."
oOo
So here I was at the prom in a glamorous sheath dress in glittery black, the clingy style enhancing my curves. The deep v-neckline showed off my assets, considerably augmented by a black push-up bra from Victoria's Secret. And the just-above-the knee hemline drew attention to my legs, their shapeliness boosted by black strappy sandals with four-inch heels.
Mary Lou spent an hour putting my hair up in a sophisticated twist with curly tendrils framing my face, and another half hour applying makeup with such skill that you could hardly tell I was wearing any. I looked great, and I felt pretty good. I refused to let myself think about Ranger or any of what had happened between us the past three days. Deny, deny, deny, credo of the Burg girl. So what if I didn't have anyplace to sleep tonight.
Stan's mouth dropped open when I walked through the door of the Elks Lodge, and he came straight across the ballroom to me.
"Steph, sweetie, words fail me," he said, taking both of my hands in both of his and kissing my fingers. "Your beauty takes my breath away."
"Thanks, Stan." I looked him up and down. "You're not so bad yourself."
That was an understatement. Stan in a tux was mouth watering.
He kept hold of my hand and led me across the room to the refreshment table. We stood together, serving cups of punch and passing out little crustless triangle sandwiches and homemade cookies, taking turns going back into the kitchen to replenish the food and drink. Stan was warm and witty, and I enjoyed chatting with him in between ladling out punch for the seniors.
About halfway through the evening Grandma, resplendent in sparkling red sequins, came over, dragging a small, skinny-yet-pot-bellied man with a shock of white hair bristling out in all directions and the cummerbund of his tux up high enough to support his droopy man-boobs. "Stephanie, I'd like you to meet Ernie. He has an apartment in the Hooper Building." A well known senior domicile.
Grandma pulled me down to the end of the table, leaving Ernie to make small talk with Stan. "I'm going to Ernie's place for a nightcap after the dance," she said in what was, to her, a soft voice. I thought she must be getting a bit hard of hearing, and like many of the seniors she talked extra loud to make up for it.
"Looks like I'm going to get lucky," she continued, opening her small evening bag to reveal about a dozen condoms in brightly-colored wrappers. "I brought one of every flavor." Wa-aay too much information.
Ernie glanced toward us and smiled at Grandma. I didn't think there was anything wrong with his hearing.
"Did you mention it to Mom?" I asked, hoping that I wasn't going to be the one to break the news that would send her straight home to the ironing board and the Jack Daniels.
"Yup. She's not very happy," Grandma gave me a little wink, "but I'm expecting enough happy to make up for it."
As the end of the evening drew near, Stan turned to me. "I think the refreshment business is dying down. How about a dance?"
I nodded. Why not? I was a free woman, no commitments, no prospects. The thought gave me a hollow feeling in my chest.
Stan spun me out onto the dance floor, holding me close. I leaned into him, resting my cheek on his shoulder. He was a really great guy, I thought, nice, smart, a hard worker. And Burg, don't forget that. My mother would be thrilled if I started going out with him. And his son… Instant grandson. Dad would probably be pleased, too.
I'm looking too desperately, I thought. It was probably best to swear off men for a while. My heart was still raw with Ranger's rejection, and it wasn't the right time to take up with someone new.
As we returned to the refreshment table hand in hand after our dance I said to Stan, "Do you think we should start cleaning up now?"
But I didn't hear his answer. A shiver worked its way up my spine, raising all the little hairs on the back of my neck. My arms broke out into goosebumps and my heart thundered like tympani drums.
Only one person made me feel this way. I yanked my hand out of Stan's, whirled around and strained to see through the crowd on the dance floor.
TBC