The Midnight Dancers: A Fairy Tale Retold (32 page)

Rachel was struck by his open-handedness. “Alan, that’s very trusting of you, and very generous. “

“No problem,” he nodded. “I know you’ll be careful with it. I cleaned all the junk out of it—I think it should hold you all. It’s only supposed to hold ten people, but it’s a calm night, and I don’t think you’ll have too much trouble. I know you know how to drive it, Rachel.”

“Sure,” Rachel said. “Do you need a ride back?”

“Nah. I can walk back to my house. It’s not far.  Besides, there’ll be less people in the boat that way.”

“How can we get it back to you?” Rachel asked.

“Just leave it on your beach, and I promise I’ll come back and get it before sunrise.”

Rachel looked at the other girls. They were clearly disappointed, but Prisca shrugged.

“We’ll miss you, Alan.”

“Thanks. Like I said, I’m really sorry this came up. We were all looking forward to it.” He handed Rachel the keys.

“Why don’t you just show me everything, just in case?”

“Okay.” He and Rachel started towards the boat, but Debbie and Linette barged ahead of them and jumped in first. The rest of the girls followed.

As usual, there was some scrambling about in the dark to get places. 

“Shoot! Sorry, I stepped on someone’s foot,” Alan’s voice came through the dimness.

“It was mine,” Debbie piped up.

“If that was you, why didn’t you yell?” he asked in disbelief.

“I’m trying to learn to be tough,” Debbie said.

Alan turned on the dashboard light and showed Rachel the controls. “And just in case,” he said, “Here’s the emergency gear. There are flares here—you break them to light them—and also there’s an alarm. You turn it on here. That’s if you’re stranded, or sinking, or attacked by pirates, or whatever. It’s pretty loud.”

“Awesome,” Rachel put her hands on the steering wheel and felt ready to go. “Thanks for setting this up for us, Alan.”

“No problem. Like I said, I’m sorry about the mess-up. Save a piece of cake for me.”

“I’ll save you mine, since I can’t eat any,” Prisca informed him.

Alan scrambled back onto the shore, and the rest of the sisters got into the boat. It was congested. All the seats were full, and some sat on the floor. Alan untied the boat and gave it a heave forward, and they drifted out of the willows towards the island. After they were sufficiently away from the shore, Rachel started the motor and thought suddenly,
I wonder if Paul made it on board
. Unexpectedly alarmed, she looked over her shoulder. After a brief search, she turned back, stifling a laugh. Paul was hunched up in the back corner of the boat, a black lump, and Linette and Debbie were sitting on his back.

The other sisters apparently didn’t notice or care to notice. As they chugged through the water, the boat noticeably dragging with its overload, the sisters chattered about the usual things, with eager anticipation. Rachel concentrated on driving the boat, only half listening.

When they neared the portico, the girls fell silent. The stone steps were lit with small candles, and the house itself was ablaze with light.

nineteen

Rachel and her sisters stared in awe. Michael and a group of men stood on the quay, waiting for them. As Rachel pulled up, Michael stepped forward. “Throw me the rope,” he said. “I’ll tie up.”

He was more dressed up, with a gray silk shirt and a blue jacket, his hair slicked back—all in all, he looked even more handsome than usual.

He gave a hand to Prisca, the first to step off the boat. “The birthday queen. My, you look radiant tonight.”

“Thank you, Michael,” Prisca said. With her hair swept softly back into a sophisticated bun at the nape of her neck, Rachel thought her younger sister looked older than her now-sixteen years.

“But where are the others?” Michael asked, helping the other sisters out of the boat. “Alan? Keith? Pete?”

“They couldn’t come,” Cheryl said, and told them of the last minute-change in plans.

Michael’s face fell. “Well, then it doesn’t work as well as I thought,” he said. “I promised everyone a dance partner tonight, but seeing that the other fellows are missing, we’ll be short, just as we usually are.”

“That’s okay,” Tammy said loyally. “We’re used to having fun here, and we can do the same tonight.”

“I’m sure you will,” Michael said, giving an arm up to Rachel. “Debbie, Linette, aren’t you coming?”

“We’re just fixing our nails,” Debbie called up. Neither of them had moved from their ‘seat,’ and both were busy with nail files. “We’ll come out in a minute.”

“Suit yourself,” Michael said, turning away. “Rachel, you look ravishing. Prisca, enchanting. Come and meet my friends.”

Rachel looked around. Dillon, Mark, and Brad were still here, of course. Rachel had noted that the guests of the rich seemed to stay on indefinitely.
I can understand why
, she thought.

The new guests were introduced as fraternity brothers of Michael’s. “Rachel, meet Craig and Todd. And Prisca, meet Brandon.”

Brandon had a smooth, handsome face, dark hair, and large blue eyes. He was young looking, even though Rachel was sure he had to be at least twenty-five. He took Prisca’s hand and shook it, flashing a movie star’s grin. “Hi, Prisca.”

“Hi,” Prisca breathed, her acquired sophistication temporarily melting. Michael winked at Rachel.

“Let’s go up to the house,” he said.

He took Rachel’s arm and Brandon took Prisca’s arm, and Michael led them across the portico to the stone steps, which were lit with candles in paper bags. The other guys took two girls each. Casting a glance backwards, Rachel saw that the other girls had immediately paired up with their buddies.
Good
, she thought. Then she looked around at the enchantment they were entering.

As they approached the house, it seemed to stretch and broaden before them. Rachel made out a veranda that wrapped itself around the three-story house. There were numerous windows, most of them lit. As they climbed the last of the stone steps, three broad wide steps led up to the house itself, to French doors opening out on to a wide deck.

The other girls couldn’t help oohing and aahing as they approached the house, but Rachel was silent, entranced by the beauty. Michael led her through the doors to a living room where a buffet table was set out. Candles flickered in silver candlesticks over a generous repast of appetizers and desserts, with a round white birthday cake in the center, studded with sixteen candles. Jazz music came softly from hidden speakers.

The girls exclaimed over the preparations, and Michael said, “First things first,” and lit a wooden taper from the candles, then lit the birthday candles on the cake.

They all sang, “Happy Birthday!” and Prisca enthusiastically blew out the candles, laughing and waving away the smoke. “I’m getting so old!” she panted.

Michael cut her the first slice, put it on a paper napkin, and handed it to her. She thanked him, and then at once, all the sisters remembered.

“Oh my gosh!” Prisca gasped first. “Michael, I’m so sorry—I can’t eat this. I went to the doctor’s today, and he told me I have a wheat allergy and glucose intolerance.”

“You’re kidding,” Michael said slowly, and Rachel prayed he wasn’t angry.

“No, I wish I was, oh, I wish I was!” Prisca moaned. But she looked over the other food and brightened. “But there’s so much here I’m sure I’ll be fine. And this does look so delicious. You all will have to eat an extra piece for me. Brandon, would you start with this one?”

She went on so gaily, slicing the cake for the rest of them, and Rachel observed the cloud on Michael’s brow pass. 

“A wheat allergy?” he said in a low voice to Rachel. “Is that true?”

“Yes, it is,” Rachel said. “She just came back from the doctor’s today. She wasn’t allowed to eat the birthday cake we had made her at home, but Cheryl whipped up a wheatless chocolate cake for her.”

“I wish I had known,” Michael said, critically appraising the food. “There’s not much here she can eat.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I’m sure she’ll be fine, like she said,” Rachel assured him.

The group eagerly started on the food, and after Rachel had eaten a bit, Michael looked at her and said, “Care to dance?”

“Of course,” she said, looking around. There didn’t seem to be space to dance in the crowded room.

“Out here,” he said, and led her out another set of French doors to a shaded stone porch that ran off in both directions. The music was louder outside, an inviting melody.

It was captivating, but Rachel was aware of the need to keep the buddy system going. Perhaps Paul’s intuition was affecting her.
Where was Paul now?
she wondered as she said, “Let’s see if Prisca wants to join us.”

“Why not?” Michael said, a faint smile on his face. Rachel had thought that he had observed the mechanics of the buddy system early on, but it didn’t seem to bother him.

Rachel approached Prisca, who was perched on the edge of a chair talking to Brandon, who seemed to be engrossed in every word she was saying. Rachel didn’t particularly like the way he was looking at her younger sister, despite his good looks.

“Prisca, you want to dance with us?” she asked, and Prisca stood up, dusting potato chip crumbs daintily off her dress. “Of course!” she said, and glanced at Brandon. “If that’s all right with you.”

“Absolutely,” he inhaled, and took her hand.

Rachel noticed that Tammy and Dillon and Taren and one of the new guys followed them out onto the porch. The twins’ buddies followed them loyally and stood by the door, watching. Michael swung Rachel into the dance, and said, “By the way, that’s an exquisite dress you’re wearing.”

“I made it,” she admitted, since he wasn’t likely to ask.

“Really?” he raised his eyebrows. “A girl of hidden talents.” He twirled her around. “Just as I suspected.”

The dance moved around them, and Rachel felt a glow of appreciation. She basked in the dance, and forgot momentarily about buddies and worries and apprehensions. Her dress swirled around her, the blue and black satin glinting, the glass beads flashing. Michael seemed to appreciate her dancing as well.

“You’re exceptional,” he said to her.

After a dance or two, she tired, and Michael nestled her in his arms and danced lightly, humming to her. “Want to go for a walk?” he asked softly.

Her gaze traveled to Brandon and Prisca. She noticed Brandon was leading her sister, strolling around the bend of the house, following the veranda. “Sure,” she said, and instinctively followed Brandon and Prisca.

Michael didn’t seem to mind. So they walked, and the music followed them. “You must have speakers all the way around the house,” she remarked.

“Actually, we do. They’re in the trees. It’s convenient for large parties,” he said. 

“You can’t see them at all,” she said, after looking around.

“There’s one right there,” he said, pointing, putting his arm around her.

She couldn’t see, but noticed then that he had moved his face closer to hers. The closeness was invigorating. She sighed, and he held her.

Then she became aware that Brandon and Prisca were out of sight. Again, she wondered where Paul was. “Shall we go on?” she asked, after allowing the moment to politely linger.

“Certainly.”

They strolled around the corner of the deck, and Rachel noticed that there was still no sign of Prisca and Brandon.

“Rachel.”

“Yes?”

“Would you dance with me again?”

“Okay.”

He held her and twirled her again, then pulled her back into himself. But this time he put his face next to hers and kissed her. She enjoyed the kiss, but when she tried to pull back, he kept going. It was different. She began to decline, but he put his finger under her chin, and said, “Rachel, aren’t we on this road together?”

“Yes,” she said, uncertain.

“Then let me take you to the next step.”

He lowered his lips upon hers, but this time she turned her face away.

“What’s wrong?” he asked gently.

She murmured something incoherent.

He traced her collarbone gently. “I want you to want to go forward with me, Rachel. Lovely Rachel.”

“I’m not sure if I want to yet,” she said.