Chapter 17

Billie couldn't help feeling strange on the car ride to the school. She and Jimmy couldn't have direct contact, not any that they wanted, though she was aware that everything she said was important. Even if she was having a separate conversation with Mary in the backseat, she knew the man would be listening to her and maybe even watching through the mirrors in the car. It was all discreet of course, but she felt the pressure of it immensely.

It was a short ride. No one spoke of the encounter he'd had with Billie's mother, the gift basket on the front seat enough of an explanation to silence their concerns. For Mary, she wouldn't know if her Uncle John was in danger, that conversation not allowed to happen when non-family members were present. Though he looked slightly uncomfortable he didn't look frightened. Once he was back in the car his mood had eased almost to normal.

In the mans own mind he was reeling. He was no stranger to hiding, lying, and dealing with such situations on a daily basis. However, interacting with Billie's mother felt like something in a whole new league. There was more to prove and everything to loose. Everything involving the girl was extreme; there were no unimportant aspects. It may have appeared as though he was distant from Billie but at the moment there was no other choice. In order for them to have anything at all they needed to be demure. At that time it was essential. He hoped she understood this but really he had little doubt that she didn't.

On this ride he did have his nephew along with them. He and Norman spoke quietly to one another, creating a separate communication that remained only in the front seat. With these two distinct spheres happening in the same car John felt a little strange too. There were the girls and the boys; the front and the back. Though the couple were in such close proximity they were forced to be miles apart- but the secret that they shared kept them together. Even while they portrayed these indifferent exteriors they were entwined at the core.

Pulling near the school lot John parked and allowed the girls to exit. It wouldn't be the only time he did this. He and Norman said their goodbyes to the girls, wishing them a good time and to look out for the car later. While the two walked away from the vehicle and into the school, from behind his glasses John was watching Billie's figure. The dress, the one he'd bought her, was long and made her look extra tall. Or maybe that was her shoes; or the combination of both. Studying her backside that hugged into the dress as she walked he remembered to put the car in gear and drive.

The dance was in the school gymnasium. Paper garland in different colors posed as decoration, as well as ornaments from the ceiling and most every other surface available to reach. A band played, taking up one whole half of the space, and tables and chairs littered around a designated dance floor. Young couples hung around every corner, groups took up whole tables or stood together tightly, and other pairs were already moving on the floor. Almost instantly Billie lost Mary, she jumping from group to group and making sure just about everyone knew she was there, and that her dress was better than any other they would see that night. It amused Billie to see this, she hanging back and preferring to watch her friend.

Billie was not entirely forgotten and the two managed to remain close until Mary was asked to dance. Obliging instantly the girl was gone, swooped to the floor for more than one song. During her time alone Billie realized just how odd she suddenly felt there. Where once there was great excitement thinking any one of the boys she saw around her, dressed in his best jacket and tie, would dance with her, she was now thinking of another man entirely. His presence, now removed from the scene, seemed a gigantic waste of an evening. Mary, at least, was having a ball. Billie gazed down at her dress and though she hoped she looked presentable she realized that the opinions in the room hardly mattered.

Thinking about her outfit, Billie now remembered that she was out of the house and out of her mothers eyesight. Standing next to a small table that she and Mary had occupied, she unbuttoned and shrugged off her sweater, draping it over the chair. She felt cool, air now surrounding her upper body. Just like that a figure appeared at her side and Billie found herself smiling at a boy from one of her classes.

"Hey there, Billie. Gee, you sure look snazzy..."

He allowed his eyes to shamelessly travel over her body, they glittering with delight. For a moment she wished she hadn't taken off the sweater. "Thank you," was her shy reply.

"You wanna dance?"

It would have been rude to deny anyone. With a smile that wasn't necessarily sincere she walked with the boy to the dance floor. The hand on her waist felt like nothing more than a weight, and in his arms things seemed awkward- not like when Jimmy touched her.

The night went on with several more dances she felt she had to endure only out of politeness. It was Mary who was being the social butterfly and who she lost track of quite frequently. The back doors of the area were open, few couples lingering there, and those who did where more likely looking for a place to sneak off. It was quieter and the night air refreshing. Soon the dance would be over and others, like herself, were likely getting tired. She walked further and further out the back, to the point where her heels wavered unsteadily on grass so she could reach the fence post. There she hoisted herself up and sat upon the wooden rail, waiting.

The school was a strange place at night. She was used to it in full and assaulting illumination. Being there at night, dressed so fine and with the music of horns and drums coming nearby she tried to imagine it as the magical place the decorations tried to portray. Now for herself, and many others, it was like a big playground where everything off limits was suddenly on. It was still wrong, just like the way she sat upon the fence, but there was no authority to tell her otherwise. Without the supremacy it took on a whole new presence.

"Pssst."

She almost fell off the railing in fright. Stumbling off she turned toward the sound that had come from behind, invisible in the darkness, and was just momentarily frightened when a figure came into view.

"I scare you?" he asked with a smile. She would know that voice anywhere.

"What are you doing out here?" she asked, breathless though with a smile. In one expert move Jimmy leaped over the rail, landing with ease and leaning back against the post. He was used to such stunts, it almost being a signature move that he practiced during robberies, skidding across counters, but she wouldn't know that. In the shadows she could still see his smirk.

"I'm parked back there somewhere. Thought you might want to leave early. You look ready to go, where's Mary?"

The dance wasn't quite over yet but she could definitely stand leaving. Mary, however, would probably have to be pried out by the two of them. "Oh, she's inside, dancing..."

He looked toward the large building in the distance, its lights glowing and its music strong. He heard the refrain of a swing song, the upbeat rhythm and whirling horns, and wondered idiotically if anyone still danced the Charleston. There were few people out back and the ones who were hung by the door. Where he and Billie stood they were relatively alone, he more concerned as to why she was without company.

"Hasn't any one of these yahoo's asked you to dance?" he asked with a dull kind of tone. She giggled lightly, glancing over her shoulder back to the building.

"Just a few."

For whatever reason the dance didn't interest her, or perhaps it was more the people inside, and either way John was grateful. He started to get a little heated thinking about his next question, feeling like he was years younger and more like those boys inside than the man he was supposed to be.

"You wanna dance with me?"