Chapter 5
The blossoms of early spring decorate the
trees outside a huge church. The inside of the church is more elaborately
decorated with beautiful lilies. Decorators scampered about the church putting
finishing touches on what was to be the “wedding of the century” according to
Time magazine. Sarah gazed around the chapel with a mixture of concentration
and awe. Never in her life had she seen anything quite so beautiful and at the
same time, never in her life would she have appreciated it the way she did now.
Sarah smiled proudly until something caught
her eye. She stared for a moment at an arrangement of flowers standing next to
the organ and then pulled a few flowers from it. She thought for a moment and
then replaced the flowers in different spots managing to fill a gap that had
previously been there. She took a step back to examine the bouquet and nodded
in approval. Janet walked up behind her and stared at the flowers. “You’re
right.” She said with an impressed look, “They look much that way.”
Sarah laughed. “My father’s never going to
believe that you convinced me to come to work with you.”
“I hardly believe it myself!” Janet said
throwing an arm around her niece. “But you have quite the knack for it. Now if
I could only get you in a skirt my mission would be accomplished.”
Sarah smirked. “Keep dreaming.” She laughed,
“I would almost put money on the fact that the first time I wear a dress I will
be the one walking down the aisle.”
“And when do I get to have the pleasure of
planning your wedding?” Janet teased.
Sarah was about to reply when they were
interrupted by the sound of a suggestive cough. Both women turned around to see
Lance standing at the back of the chapel with a table cloth draped over his
head flowing to the ground behind him as if it were the bride about to walk the
aisle. Sarah laughed and then turned to her aunt and said, “You can book the
chapel the day Lance agrees to marry me. Just make sure he knows I get to be
the only one in a dress.”
Janet laughed hysterically. Sarah grabbed a
handful of babies breath and ran to Lance. She gave him his bouquet and
playfully walked with him up the aisle. The two laughed the entire time. Janet
watched them with amusement. Sarah and Lance had become practically inseparable
and Janet was often amazed that it took a boy to give Sarah that feminine touch
she so desperately needed. Janet’s look of amusement turned to a look of pride.
She was proud of how far Sarah had come in the few short months she’d been
there.
**********
Weeks later Sarah and Lance sat in the school
library pouring over textbooks that were spread out over the entire table. Sarah
was trying her best to make sense of the Greek mythology she was reading while
Lance focused on more important things. He frowned as he watched two students
hang a large banner advertising the spring formal. Sarah tapped her pencil on
the page of the book as the words began to fall into place. “So Prometheus is
the guy who stole the fire!” she said excited that she’d found the answer she
was looking for.
Lance frowned at her statement but not for the
reason she was thinking. “I bet Prometheus went to his prom.” He said with a
pout, “PROM-etheus! It’s spelled in the guy’s feaking name. He was probably the
king.
Sarah pushed away her books with a heavy sigh.
“I thought we agreed not to talk about prom anymore.” She said sternly.
“But it’s prom!” Lance whined again, “There’s
your wedding, and then there’s prom! It’s you chance to become a queen for a
night. You have to come!”
“A queen for a night huh? Now I understand why
you want to go so bad.”
Lance rolled his eyes at the lame insult and
Sarah laughed. “I’m sorry, but standing around in heels all night with five
pounds of glue in your hair just so you have a picture in your photo album
doesn’t sound so fun to me.”
Lance wrinkled his nose. “Besides, what good
is being a queen if you don’t have a king?” Sarah said with a hint of
disappointment in her tone.
“Is that what the real problem is? That you
don’t have a date? Honey all you had to do is say so, I can find you a date.”
Lance looked around the library. The first guy
his eyes happened upon was a boy wearing a Star Trek T-shirt, punching an
equation into a calculator. “I bet he doesn’t have a date yet.” Lance said as seriously as he could, pointing
at the boy.
Sarah followed his gaze just in time to see
the guy wipe his nose on the sleeve of his shirt. “Well, somebody sign me up
then.” She said sarcastically.
She and Lance burst into laughter causing the
boy across the room to look up from his calculator. He gave them a disgusted
look and hissed at them pressing his finger to his lips. Sarah and Lance only
laughed more.
********
Spring was almost a distant memory now as the
different shades of green deepened with the oncoming heat. Brian sat at a
stoplight just up the street from the auto repair shop. He sighed thinking that
he used to visit that shop a lot more often. A weary smile crossed his lips as
he remembered a time when he had a reason for going there. He looked at the new
Volvo he was now driving and almost felt sad that it never broke down; not that
being at the shop was as fun anymore anyway.
Brian noticed a very familiar red Corvette in
the garage and couldn’t help the smirk. Brian used to get excited when his cars
would need work, but nothing tortured his little brother more than having his
precious car up on the blocks. Brian looked up and down the street wondering
where his brother might be and noticed a for lease sign in the window of the
vacant building to his left. It was a decent size building with a large enough
parking lot adjoining it.
Brian sat lost in thought until he heard the
horn of the car behind him. He looked up to see that the light he’d been
waiting on had turned green. Instead of his previous destination, he decided to
pull his car over. He peered through the windows of the empty building and then
looked again at the phone number on the sign. He searched his pockets for a pen
until her recognized the sound of Fluffy’s annoying little yap. He looked up
and saw Nick exiting a bridal shop holding a leash. Fluffy was nearly strangling
himself attempting to free himself from Nick’s grip. Nick growled out of
frustration at the noisy little ball of energy. “You brought that on yourself
you know.” Brian laughed.
“Brian!” Nick said surprised to see his big
brother. “What’s goin’ on?”
“I was just passing through, saw Fluffy.”
Brian chuckled and then corrected himself, “Well, heard him is more like it.”
Brian looked curiously at the bridal gowns in
the window in front of him. “So did Deanna convince you that Fluffy needed a
real daddy?” he teased.
Nick shuddered at the idea. He looked in the
shop at Deanna who was busy talking to a lady behind the counter. “No!” Nick
laughed, “It’s nothing that scary. Deana had to get measured for a dress. She’s
going to be a bride’s maid at her friend’s wedding in a couple weeks.”
“A wedding.” Brian smirked sounding a little
sorry for his brother. “That should be fun for you.”
“You remember Veronica? The art major from
NYU.”
Brian thought back to the only date he’d been
on in the last year; a total disaster. “I believe it was art history” he
corrected remembering very clearly the awkward night.
“Yeah whatever.” Nick said, “The point is, the
wedding is in New York.”
Nick grinned but Brian seemed to miss the
point. “I don’t have to go.” Nick laughed.
Brian smirked but saw Deanna walking toward
them so he changed the subject. “What’s your car doing at the shop?”
Nick’s mood changed instantly. “Transmission.”
He grumbled casting a longing look up the street. “Two weeks! Can you believe
it?”
“You shouldn’t ride her so hard.”
“On the bright side,” Nick said as Deanna
arrived at his side, “I get to borrow the Porsche.”
Brian threw a smile Deanna’s direction.
“You’re going to trust him with a car that can go nearly 300 miles an hour?”
“Can it really go that fast?” Deanna asked in
surprise.
“Probably only when driven by the pro’s” Brian
said.
Nick grinned wickedly and Deanna gave him a
warning look but then smiled at Brian. “I guess I’m going to have to trust him
sometime if we’re going to be partners an all.”
Brian’s eyes lit up. “So then, you’ll do it?
You’re meeting went well?”
Deanna laughed but nodded her head. “My
lawyers looked over everything and so did my insurance carrier. They were
impressed with your business proposal and when I told them about you they
actually said to send them your resume if you change your mind.”
“Really? Wow!” Brian said completely
flattered.
“Hey now!” Nick said seeing how excited Brian
got at the idea of some big shots being impressed with his work. “No straying
from the plan! This isn’t just your business you’re starting up here.” he
teased.
Brian laughed again, “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
He teased. “But don’t just think you’re gonna be able to coast on through this
whole thing. Eventually there will be some work involved.”
Brian, Nick and Deanna all had a good laugh
and then spontaneously decided to go out to lunch in order to celebrate.
**********
The sun was shining beautifully as a bell rang
out sending students fleeing in every direction. Lance slumped down into the
passenger seat of Sarah’s mustang on the verge of tears. “How could he do it on
the day of the prom? My life is officially over.” He stated dramatically.
“Your life is not over.” Sarah reassured him
with a sympathetic smile and a soft pat. “You said it yourself last week that
you didn’t think things were going to work out between the two of you.”
“But I was going to wait until after the prom.
How could he do that? I already bought the tickets. I put a deposit down on my
tux… My beautiful white tux.”
Sarah tried to keep a somber face while Lance
sighed, “It was the only one in all of San Francisco with a fuchsia tie and
cummerbund combo.”
“Fuchsia?” Sarah asked stifling a laugh.
“Not that anyone will ever see it now.” Lance
spat bitterly.
Sarah sighed. She felt bad for her best
friend, but she still didn’t see what the big deal was. “I believe your exact
words were, ‘JC is as exciting as church.’ If that’s the case the dance
wouldn’t have been much fun anyway. At least this way you won’t have a bad
memory to haunt you forever.”
“But now I’ll never know.”
“It’s just a silly dance.”
Lance’s pout turned serious. “It’s not just a
dance.” He said trying not to become angry. “It’s senior prom. It’s one of
life’s defining moments. They make entire movies about it. It’s like a right of
passage into adulthood.”
Sarah giggled. “You afraid you’ll have to join
Peter Pan in Neverland if you don’t go to your prom?”
Lance’s smile returned for a brief moment.
“Although I wouldn’t mind spending a night with the lost boys,” he said with a
giggle, “I just don’t want to get old and have an empty photo album because I
never did anything in life. Taking a bad picture is worth it if there’s a
possibility that it could turn out to be your favorite one.”
Sarah was surprised at how profound her friend
sounded. He was talking about prom and yet his words struck a chord in her
heart. Sarah started her car and her mind drifted into thought.
As soon as she was home she wandered into
Janet’s office where she found her aunt flipping through swatches comparing
different shades of blue. Sarah came around behind her and then pointed to one
of the fabrics. “I like this one.” She said, “Nice and light.”
Janet smiled. “That’s the one the bride
picked. Unfortunately the groom likes this.”
Janet flipped to a blue camouflage and Sarah
snickered. “Looks like you have your hands full with this one.” She laughed.
Sarah looked down on the desk and picked up a
ring of fabrics that were all different shades of pink. She stared at the
colors for a moment and then asked, “Which one of these is fuchsia?”
Janet stared curiously at the suspicious look
in Sarah’s eyes and pointed to the right square. Sarah smiled. “I need your
help with something.”
A few short hours later Sarah stood on the
front steps of Lance’s house. She was a vision in fuchsia. She pulled a pink
rose from a plastic case, trying her best not to mess up her fresh manicure.
She tugged at her dress and brushed a curly ringlet from her eyes and then took
a deep breath as she rang the bell. Lance opened the door wearing nothing but
pajama pants and a fuchsia bow tie. He stood in stunned silence at the beauty
standing on his porch. Sarah blushed, took a slow spin and then held out the
boutonniere. “I decided I didn’t want an empty picture book either.” She said.
Lance took the flower and Sarah wiped a single
tear from his cheek. Without warning Lance leapt into Sarah’s arms practically
knocking her off her feet. Sarah laughed and said, “Don’t take too long getting
ready. There’s a difference between fashionably late and over.” Lance was
overcome with excitement and dashed off so fast he left Sarah standing on the
porch.
***