Sanctity (23 page)

Our first stop was at Charlie’s.  He
and Zach were waiting on the porch for us and stood to attention
when the limo pulled in.  We didn’t bother getting out, since
the more we moved the more we invited a mishap to our carefully
constructed looks.  As Zach settled into the limo beside Dani
he was dumbstruck.  He could not take his eyes off her and
could not think of a single compliment worthy of expressing his
appreciation. 

Charlie’s praise was simple and
effective, “You two look like you just stepped off the red
carpet.”

“Aww, thanks Charlie!” 

“Save a dance for me,” he said to as he
turned and winked at Danielle.

“Me too,” Zach piped up.

“Ah, so this is your plan to keep me in line
tonight,” I nudged Dani as I realized her intention was to have
everyone and their dates keep me too occupied to care about Brooke
and Jake and their attempted ruin of my night.

From Charlie’s we went to
Missy’s, then Christine’s, Jake’s and Patrick’s houses. 
Brooke lived closest to the school, so she was thankfully the last
stop and I didn’t have to spend much time in the presence of her
and Jake together.  Jake was careful not to make eye contact
with me and made very little conversation with anyone else in the
car.  It was obvious the others were making him feel the full
weight of his 
desertion
.

Missy and Christine couldn’t get over our
transformations.  “It’s so classy,” or “It’s such a timeless
look,” was repeated more than once to one or the other of us. 
We explained how we spent our day at the spa and talked about all
our pampering.  Danielle went on and on about Allan and his
mastery of hair and make-up.  She hardly ever wore makeup and
never managed to tame her hair in any way other than her standard
messy bun. 

“If I could get myself to look this good all
the time, I’d never see the light of day without makeup,” she
joked.

Brooke didn’t join in on the conversation
the rest of us girls were having but she was clearly envious of our
experiences with Allan and the day at the spa.  I found that I
felt so superior at that moment that I could have cared less that
she was even with us.  She and Jake seemed nothing more than
shadows stuffed into the corner of the limo; they were there but
they were not at all obtrusive.

When we got to the school there was a bit of
a logjam and we had to wait several minutes for a few of the other
limos to move away from the carpool lane before our driver could
pull safely in.  He came around and opened our door and though
they were sitting at the far end of the limo, Jake and Brooke make
a dash before any of us could even stir.  They stepped on a
few toes on their way out but no one seemed to mind just as long as
they were gone.

The limo driver bent down and reached for
Dani’s hand.  He helped her out, while Zach followed directly
behind.  The driver handed me out next then Missy and
Christine, Charlie came next and finally Patrick.  Charlie
took Missy on one arm and held out his other for me.  Danielle
and Zach led the way into the school, while Charlie, Missy and I
took up the middle with Christine and Patrick trailing in our
wake. 

The gymnasium was transformed for the night
with lights and decorations hanging from all the rafters. 
There were bunches of balloons strategically placed at intervals
along three of the walls.  Along the fourth wall were a number
of festively decorated tables holding bowls of punch and assorted
finger foods.  There were numerous couples already occupying
the dance floor and more strewn about in little groups from one end
of the gym to the other.  The stage was in full use by a local
cover band that was doing a fairly decent rendition of a classic
ballad.

In spite of all my misgivings up until then,
I was thrilled to be there.  Charlie released my arm, “Please
excuse me,” and he swept Missy out onto the dance floor.  Dani
was tugging on Zach and Christine and Patrick moved away to greet
some other friends.  I was left alone for the time being and
couldn’t decide what to do first.  Someone tapped on my
shoulder, “Would you like to dance?”  It was a boy named
Marshall that I knew through Danielle, though I was not all that
familiar with him. 

“Sure,” I smiled, anxious to not look so
lost in the midst of all those happy faces.

“You look incredible,” he smiled down at
me.  He was very tall and a little clumsy but a welcome
distraction nonetheless.

“Thanks, you clean-up nice yourself,” it
seemed the appropriate response to his easy-going manner.  We
made a little more small talk while we traced our little pattern of
circles on the dance floor.

 When the song ended, he thanked me and
pointed to where he and his group of friends had stationed
themselves and said, “If you get lonely, that’s where I’ll be,” he
smiled.

I turned to search the crowd for
Danielle.  When our eyes met she gave me a quick thumbs up and
a huge grin to let me know that Marshall was part of the
plan.  I smiled back and made a path towards the
refreshments.  Someone was thoughtful enough to have brought
bottled water; there was a bin of ice with dozens of little bottles
sticking out.  I took one and carefully sipped away at it
while trying to preserve my lipstick.  I surveyed the dance
floor and sought out my friends.  Dani was with Zach, Charlie
and Missy.  The tempo was pretty upbeat so they were all
dancing together in a little crowd near the middle of the
floor.  As I finished up my drink I noticed Brooke and Jake in
the corner nearby.  Brooke was tugging on Jake’s arm trying to
get him to dance with her. 

“Jake must not be much of a
dancer,” I thought to myself.  They were on the floor earlier
while I was dancing with Marshall, so he must have been one of
those 
slow song
only
 guys.  Brooke was clearly
disappointed and grabbed the next boy that walked by and dragged
him onto the floor leaving Jake scowling in their wake.  She
was full of smiles and could seem to care less about her date than
she did about having fun.  She looked to be having a little
too much fun for Jake’s liking.  As I watched her she became
more and more provocative with her moves and Jake became
increasingly annoyed watching her fool and flirt with her
partner.

Having never really cared for her I left off
watching them.  I knew that they were well on their way to
spoiling the night for one another.  I shuffled across the
dance floor and joined my friends.  The party had grown a bit;
Christine and Patrick were with the others and the expanded crowd
gave me a little more confidence in my own dancing.  Everyone
seemed to be enjoying themselves and I felt like I actually might
have gotten the better deal after I witnessed the recent actions
and reactions that took place between Brooke and Jake.

When the band slowed things down again
another of Dani’s friends was quick to fill the void and kept me on
the dance floor along with all the other couples.  
Danielle was at my elbow as Zach whirled her around, “see, I told
you we would make sure you had a good time.” 

I was having a good time too, a surprisingly
good time.  After we’d all been on the dance floor for about
an hour it was mutually agreed upon that we needed to take a little
break.  Danielle and I made our way to the restrooms to
freshen up and the guys were left in charge of securing some seats
so we could have a bite to eat and drink when we got
back. 

“I can’t tell you how many compliments I
have heard about you tonight.  Everyone thinks you have the
most amazing dress and that you look absolutely stunning,” Danielle
was breathless with excitement as she told me this. 

“Ha,” I replied, “I haven’t heard a single
compliment all night that wasn’t directed at you.”

“That’s because everyone is too intimated to
say anything to your face and if anyone says anything nice about me
it’s just because I’m your friend.   You look like a
movie star,” I was shaking my head at her, “no, really, you
do.”

“If you say so but honestly, there are
plenty of other people here that would wear that title better than
me.”

“Like who?”

“Like you, for one.”

“Ugh, take the easy way out, why don’t you?”
Dani laughed.

“Whatever, it doesn’t matter anyway. 
Are you having a good time?”

“The best.”

“Me too, and that is all I hoped for with
everything that has happened.  Let’s get back to the
others.”

We linked our arms and rejoined our
friends.  The guys all stood up and offered their seats to us
which we gratefully accepted.  I sipped on another bottle of
water and inspected the people milling about nearest us.  It
was nice to see everyone in their best looks; the boys and girls I
knew or just recognized.  I smiled and nodded to a few that
happened to catch my eye.  After a number of minutes Danielle
announced that she was getting restless and motioned to Zach to
head back out on the floor.

I admired their moves as they danced
together a few yards from where I was sitting.  I was not
anxious to get back out there so I sat and tapped my foot and drank
my water.  I continued my people watching.  I noticed
Brooke and Jake having an obvious argument on the other side of the
gymnasium.  It was not something I really wanted to witness
but it was hard to take my eyes away.  They were standing near
the doorway.  The music died down just as Brooke raised her
hand and slapped Jake across the face.  Though there was
plenty going on all around them it was obvious that everyone in
their vicinity heard it clear as a bell and they all turned their
heads in Brooke’s direction. 

She looked from one face to the next to the
next then whirled about anxious to get away from all the curious
stares.  The band started playing again, it was another ballad
and it acted as a signal for everyone to resume the
festivities.  She was hiding her face and Brooke didn’t see
that there was someone standing in the doorway about to step
through into the gymnasium.  She walked directly into him and
was obviously dazed by the mishap.  My breath felt caught in
my chest and I felt a little dizzy, lightheaded as some memory
tried to force its way out. 

Brooke was looking up into his face but he
was not looking at her.  She seemed to be trying to get his
attention, to apologize or, “What is she doing?” my mind
shouted.  It looked like she was trying to flirt with
him.  He was not paying any attention though.  She
reached up her arms as though to put them around his neck and drag
him onto the dance floor.  He grabbed her wrists and gently
forced her arms down in a very matter of fact manner, as though his
reaction was the most natural thing in the world.  He looked
down at her and raised his brows in disapproval as he stepped to
the right and around her. 

Another of Dani’s friends, Kevin, stepped in
front of me and obstructed my view.  It took a moment for me
to realize that he was asking me to dance.  He was looking at
me oddly and waiting for my reply.  My heart was pounding
though in some strange anticipation and I stood up.  Kevin
thought I had accepted his invitation and held his hand out but
instead of taking it I tilted up on my toes and looked over his
shoulder.  The familiar stranger was right behind him. 
Kevin turned around, “Oh, excuse me, I didn’t know you were there,”
he stuttered.

“It’s quite alright,” the man smiled. 
He had a single rose bud in his hand and pinned it to the strap of
my dress.

 “Michael,” I whispered in
disbelief.

His expression was full of affection as he
took me in his arms and tucked me under his chin, “Elayna,” he said
my name, inaudible to anyone but myself.  His voice unlocked
all my memories and they suddenly came flooding back to me.  I
felt like I could cry, I was so happy and confused; I was feverish
with the overload of emotions.  He pulled away.

“Would you excuse us a moment,” Michael said
to Kevin, his voice was gracious and apologetic. 

“Yeah, no problem,” Kevin quickly stepped
away.

There were a million things I wanted to say
but Michael put a finger to my lips, “Let me talk first,” he took
my hand and led me out of the gymnasium.   Once we were
in the hallway he stood me in front of the office and pointed to
our reflection in the window there.  “They don’t see me the
way you do.” 

I looked at our reflection and there I was
but I was not standing with Michael, well, it was Michael but a
somewhat younger Michael.  He looked 19 or 20 at the
most.  I admired us for a moment and turned and smiled up at
him.  “I like you better as I see you.”

“And I like you better as I see you,” he
took my hand and held it over my head.  He gave me a gentle
twirl and studied me from head to toe.  “I knew you would be a
beautiful woman when you grew up but I think I underestimated how
very much so,” his eyes were full of admiration.  “I’m so glad
you wore my dress.  I knew it would be perfect for you.”

“Oh,” I said, “of course, that was you,” I
was so relieved to learn this.

“I have missed you so much, Elayna.  I
cannot tell you how many times I have resisted the urge to come and
see you,” his words were earnest and heartfelt.  “My thoughts
have been full of you ever since…” he broke off unwilling to finish
the thought.  “It is better that I didn’t though.  I
would only have been a distraction and kept you from enjoying a
normal, happy life.  Have you been happy with Margaret? 
Has my mother been good to you?”

“Everything has been wonderful. 
Margaret has taken such good care of me.  I love her, Michael,
I really do.”

He looked very happy to hear this, “And
Kaley, how is your puppy doing?”

“She’s my shadow, always at my heels. 
Absolutely enormous now, people move to the other side of the
street when they see us coming.  She is really an angel
though, all bark and no bite.”