“Change your style. For three hours. For one night. What could it hurt? We'll show some leg, some bosom, and pay close attention to whoever comes into our orbit, and Eddie will sit up and take notice. Trust me.”
“Who are you going to play sexy lady with?”
“My mirror,” Carrie said, holding a skirt up against Jeannie's body. “Remember, I'm doing this for you.” But in truth, she wasn't sure that she wasn't doing it for herself as well.
Â
THE GRANGE HALL was right in the middle of town behind the Main Street antique shops and village stores. Music was already blasting into the starry night when Carrie turned into the crowded parking lot.
“I'm not sure this is such a good idea,” Jeannie said tentatively.
“Let's just go inside and see what Eddie says.”
“He won't notice.”
“He'll notice,” Carrie said firmly, turning off the ignition. “It's just you haven't worn a skirt in so long, you don't know what to do with your legs.”
“Yeah. Maybe.”
“Look, the real key is the pay-attention part, and getting what you expect. So you'd better aim high, Jeannie, because I expect Eddie to hustle you out of there inside an hour.”
“A nice fantasy, Carrie.”
“Well, visualize. The mind is very powerful. And you've been underutilizing your power. Come on.” Carrie swung out of the car and purposefully went around to Jeannie's side and opened her door. “Let's go, let's go, let's go...”
“It sounded better when you were reading about it,” Jeannie muttered. “Okay, I'm coming.” She felt naked even though she was smartly and thoroughly clothed. It was just that Carrie's wardrobe didn't run to T-shirts, denims, and sneakers.
Carrie had found a stretchy bodysuit with a surplice
neckline that fit her, and they'd paired that with a long gauzy button-down skirt that revealed a lot of leg, and a pair of sandals. Jeannie had to admit wearing more sophisticated clothes did make her feel different; and they weren't too outrageous, she consoled herself as she and Carrie climbed the steps to the hall. Of course, everyone probably expected that kind of thing from Carrie, who'd always had a reputation for dressing conspicuously. But
her?
Okay. She had to change that kind of thinking. Carrie had drilled it into her. The attitude tonight was not
I can't.
She was supposed to be visualizing
I can and I will. I can and I will walk into the crowd and expect that people are going to react positively to me.
“Hey Jeannie. Wow, you look nice.”
“Jeeeaannnieeeâhow you doin'?”
“Jeannieâcome on over...”
She turned and caught Carrie's eye. Carrie grinned and waved her on.
In the center of the hall, the musicians were taking a break and the crowd was milling around waiting for the start of the next set.
“Jeannie...let me look at youâ”
Carrie heard the affection in their voices as everyone called out to Jeannie, beloved, kind, gentle Jeannie who had been part of the community her whole life.
Who couldn't love Jeannie?
What the hell was wrong with Eddie?
Jeannie grabbed her arm. “He's over there,” she whispered. “Near the bandstand. Surrounded as usual.”
Carrie stared at him. Fifteen years had put weight on Eddie Gerardo, and diminished some of his hair. But otherwise, like Jeannie, he hadn't changed much. He was still affable, sociable and flashy, and she still didn't
like him. He owned the real-estate business in town, and he and Jeannie were comfortable but obviously not close. Carrie couldn't help wondering if this was what her life would have been like if she had married young and stayed in town.
I could never have borne all this unhappiness the way Jeannie has, and they have no children, either, after all this time...
“Oh, here's Dr. Tom Kelsey,” Jeannie said suddenly. “He's the new vet in town. Hey, Tom, come meet Carrie Spencer.”
“Hi.” He held out his hand. Tom had a very firm handshake and deep blue eyes. Carrie liked him instantly. “Welcome back.”
“So even the newcomers know about the town pariah,” Carrie said.
“Actually, it was in the Paradise paper. You know, the list of summer people already in residence. I just happened to read it because I had an ad right on that page.” He smiled at her disarmingly before he turned to Jeannie. “You look great.”
“Thanks.”
Carrie dug her arm into Jeannie's side.
“So do you,” Jeannie added, fixing him with an intense look.
“Would you like to dance?” he asked as the musicians mounted the stage.
“Uh...”
Carrie pinched her.
“Yes.”
Two of the band members played a long get-ready note on their fiddles, and couples began pairing up.
“Don't tell me that's Truck on stage,” Carrie said in surprise.
“Oh yes. He learned to play at college.” Jeannie
grabbed Tom's arm. “See you.” They whirled off onto the floor with other tapping, bumping, twirling couples, and Carrie edged back to the sidelines to watch Truck as he sawed away at his fiddle and stomped all over the stage.
Why am I watching him? No, I'm watching Jeannie, who's a really good dancer. And Dr. Tom seems to like her, maybe a little too much.
Tom was a lot taller than Jeannie, and he had his arm around her at that point as they two-stepped around the room. Jeannie looked both fragile and happy.
“Is that
Jeannie?
” a voice demanded at her elbow.
Eddie. He sounded a little amazed, and not his usual smooth self.
She turned to look at him. “Hi, Eddie, nice to see you too, and yes, that's Jeannie.”
“I thought you two were cooking something up.”
“I'd say Jeannie's cooking tonight She's a terrific dancer.”
“Yeah, she likes to come to these things,” Eddie said, his attention torn between Jeannie and the two women he had been talking to. “It's not quite the evening out you're probably used to.”
“I can get used to anything,” Carrie said.
“So they say,” Eddie countered. “Well, good to see you, Carrie.”
“You too, Eddie,” she murmured, not even flinching at his snide comment, and certain he hadn't even heard her as he edged away.
This wasn't going to be easy, she thought. Eddie was not an easy man, and probably now he was too used to the way things were. It was going to take time to shake him up, and determination on Jeannie's part. At least he'd noticed that Jeannie wasn't looking quite the same.
And then she became aware that the music had slowed down appreciably, that Truck wasn't on stage, and before she could decide on a strategy, he came up right beside her.
“Care to dance?”
“I knew this would happen.”
“So did I. So what's your point?”
“I'm lending Jeannie moral support. I'm not supposed to have a good time.”
“Oh.” That devastating smile again. “Okay, dance with me and don't enjoy it.”
“I'm not going to
do
this,” Carrie said firmly. Truck had no business coming after her. She wasn't interested, especially after witnessing Eddie's flagrant indifference to Jeannie. That was what married life usually came to: a fragmented relationship held together by the tenuous strings of companionship, and sorely frayed without the glue of a family.
Not for me
...
“You don't have to do anything, just dance with me.”
“You said that yesterday too.”
“Did I? This isn't a lifetime commitment, Carrie. It's ten minutes on the dance floor.”
And in your arms.
She braced herself as he slipped his arm around her and took her hand.
“I know how you are,” he murmured as she wrestled with him for control. “This is just the slow dance.”
“Right. You think I don't know what that means. I know what that slow-dance business means, Truck.”
“It means we're dancing slowly, Carrie. To the beat Step together step. We learned it in high school. What do you think it means?”
It meant he was holding her too tight, too right, too close. He knew just how, just the way she liked it. They
moved together as if they'd been doing it forever, and that was scary too.
“Don't think,” Truck murmured. “Just...danceâ” He pulled her more tightly against him. Step together step, in perfect sync, her hips moving to the beat, moving against him where he fit so perfectly against her. She was made for him, he was convinced of it, and she wasn't immune to him either, on any level. He sent a covert signal to the band, and the music played on. Couples dropped out, regrouped, and returned to the dance floor with new partners. He held her still closer, enveloping her in his heat, moving his hands to enfold her more intimately.
“I have toâJeannie...” Carrie murmured.
“Jeannie's fine. Tom is right there, and Eddie's prowling the sidelines. You can't do anything right now, Carrie. At least not for Jeannie.”
“Oh yeah? Who for, then?” she asked combatively.
“How about you?”
“I'm fine, thank you, and getting as tired as the band must be. Why don't you have mercy on them and let them stop?”
“Not until I see you pushing and grinding and twining. In fact...”
“Truckâ”
“Here we go...” The music changed, fast as lightning. Lines formed all around them with hopping, stomping dancers, and Truck swung her around and pushed her into the line.
It was one of those sink-or-swim moments; she saw instantly that she'd be a step or two behind everyone else, and way out of her element, but she was game anyway.
Carrie saw Jeannie talking to a tall fair man, her gaze
intent, her body language fairly radiating confidence. She saw Eddie along the sidelines trying to keep track of Jeannie and several other of his women friends. She was very aware of Truck beside her, and the moves and kicks and thrusts of the dance, and how good he was at moving and thrusting.
She stopped dead on the floor. Was there never a moment when she wasn't thinking about him in sexual terms? Why was she thinking about him
at all?
She almost bolted
. It's just a dance, Carrie. There are sixty people on this floor. Sixty neighbors. What do you think is going to happen?
The music wound down and everyone applauded and went in search of refreshments. Truck took her arm and guided her off the floor. “Lemonade?”
“Please.”
“Here comes Jeannie,” he remarked, grasping Jeannie's hand and squeezing it as she passed him.
“Hey,” Carrie murmured.
“Uplift works,” Jeannie said excitedly, pulling her aside.
“No kidding.”
“Eddie can't figure out what's different. I can't thank youâ”
Carrie held up her hand. “Hold it, Jeannie. This isn't a done deal with Eddie. This is an ongoing process. It's going to take a lot of time and effort...and attitude.”
“I know, I know.”
“And patience.”
“I know...but he's taking me home. Usually he stays and I go home alone. Don't you think that's meaningful?”
“I think you confused him tonight. At least two men
that I saw were very attentive to you, and I'm guessing that doesn't always happen.”
“Oh, it happens. He just never notices.”
“You should go home with him then. I'll get someone to take me home.”
“Okay. Sometime this week I want to go shopping.”
“It's a date.”
Jeannie squeezed her hand and flew across the dance floor as the band started warming up again. Eddie waited for her by the door. He entwined his arm with hers as they exited, and Carrie watched skeptically.
It was a hard thing to watch, Jeannie's pain, then her sudden hope. Maybe she'd done her a disservice. All the sexy-lady business was nothing more than a bandage over long-festering wounds that Carrie knew nothing about. Didn't want to know anything about. She wasn't going to be here long enough to get involved. Eventually, all she could do for Jeannie was leave her behind, and everything else.
Everyone else.
“So Jeannie's gone home.” Truck handed her a paper cup of lemonade. “And I take it you're stranded.”