Weathering Stormy

by Auburn J. Kelly

  “I know, Trudy. I know. But I can’t help but feel rejected. You know? It hurts like hell.”

  “I know, baby.” She pulled her into a much needed motherly hug, “I know it hurts, but I promise you…everything will work out the way it’s supposed to.”

  Stormy held her out at arm’s length so she could see her eyes, “Do you really believe that, Trudy? Because I really need to believe that. The last few weeks…. I just don’t know how much more my heart can take.”

  Trudy tucked a stray strand of hair behind Stormy’s ear, “I have to believe that, sweetie. It’s what keeps me going.” There was a sadness in her eyes that contradicted the soft smile on her lips, “One way or the other, things will work themselves out even if it’s in a way we don’t expect. We just have to keep the faith, focus on the good in people. Otherwise all the bad stuff will swallow us whole.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Stormy barely recognized the reflection staring back at her, “Oh, Trudy! I love it. You are an absolute miracle worker.” Her waist length chestnut mane was done up in big, loosely piled curls with little wispy tendrils trailing down the sides of her face.

  “Nonsense. I’ve always said you have gorgeous hair. You just need a lesson on how to use hair products,” Trudy laughed.

  Stormy couldn’t quit looking in the mirror. Her hair was perfect and her makeup was flawless. Trudy had managed to give her that sultry smoky-eyed look, something that she’d never be able to duplicate in a hundred years. And her jewelry sparkled even in the dim lighting of the tiny bathroom. The choker style necklace made up of lavender crystals, on loan from Trudy’s shop, set the dress off spectacularly.

  A streak of remorse ran through her as she stood in front of the floor length mirror. She’d never really noticed a resemblance to her mother before, even though plenty of people had said it in the past. She’d always dismissed them as being nice and never once admitted to herself that she had anything in common with Marni Black. But the irrefutable evidence was literally staring her in the face. The high cheekbones, the almond shaped eyes, the thin nose…. They were her mother’s features beyond a shadow of a doubt. And it was at that moment that Stormy realized that she missed her mama…and tears began pooling in her eyes.

  “Don’t you dare blink! Just hold on…let me get a tissue.” Trudy was back in a flash, waving a Kleenex. “Can’t have you messing up my masterpiece,” she smiled. “Now what in the world has you so upset, sweetie? This is your big night…you’re supposed to save the tears for afterward,” she joked.

  Stormy stared into the light blue eyes of the woman who had been more of a mother to her than her own mama had ever been. “You’re so good to me, Trudy. And I am so grateful that you’re here with me. I just…. After everything Mama put me through…I still feel like she should be here. I just can’t quit wondering about the what-might-have-beens. You know?”

  Trudy nodded and blotted Stormy’s eyes with the tissue once more. “I know, baby,” she said softly.

  ****

  With her emotions carefully put away and her makeup retouched, Stormy was ready for the prom. “I sure hope I don’t break my neck on the way down the stairs.” The three-inch ivory-colored heels were beautiful, but she feared that they might just be the death of her.

  “Wow, Stormy. The guys will be drooling and the girls are going to turn green with envy.”

  She waved her away. “Yeah, right.” She loved her makeover, but she still felt like a fish out of water, almost like she was borrowing someone else’s skin. She cursed the butterflies that bounced around in her stomach and took a long steadying breath. The thought of seeing Brylan for the first time since their little episode on the couch had her tied up in knots. She was planning to apologize for unleashing her wrath on him that night…if she didn’t lose her nerve.

  And then there was the fact that he would have another woman on his arm at the prom. She didn’t like it, but she had to take it for face value. Brylan was out of her reach, and there was no use pining away for something that could never be.

  She was startled by a knock at the door. Trudy shot her a wink on her way to the door, opening it up to reveal a very nervous sounding Nozz. “Hi, Ms. Carmine.”

  Stormy rolled her eyes. She’d told him a million times, every time he visited her at the store, that it was okay to call Trudy by her first name. But she guessed she couldn’t knock the guy for having manners.

  Trudy let out a long, exaggerated wolf-whistle, “Well look at you, Nozz! You look like you just stepped out of GQ magazine! I think my heart just skipped a beat.” Stormy couldn’t see him because Trudy was blocking the doorway, but she would bet that Nozz’s cheeks were about ten different shades of crimson.

  “Well, come on in, sexy,” Trudy flirted. She was such a riot. And when she finally stepped to the side, so that Stormy could see him fully, it was obvious what all the fuss was about.

  There stood Nozz, tall and confident in a black tux, white shirt, and finished off with a violet tie. His normally shaggy blond hair was pulled back, and for the first time Stormy could see his whole face.

  She had never realized just how good-looking the guy actually was, with his chiseled features and gleaming emerald eyes…. He was a little bit beautiful, and it sort of took her breath away.

  When she finally found her voice, Stormy stepped out into the soft light of the living room lamp and drew his attention, “Hey Nozz.”

  His mouth gaped open at the sight of her.

  “Wow. Stormy.”

  He’d gone temporarily mute. All he’d ever seen her in was baggy tee-shirts and jeans, so he was obviously a little stunned. “You…you’re uh…freaking gorgeous.”

  Now it was her turn to blush. “Thanks, Nozz.”

  “I mean it. You’re…wow.”

  Stormy giggled like a little girl while the two of them just stared at each other, starry-eyed.

  It was Trudy’s voice that broke the spell that bound them, “Okay, you two,” she grabbed her camera and ushered them out the door, “We’ve established that you both look pretty darned incredible, so now let’s get downstairs while it’s still light out so I can take some pictures.”

  The stairs were even trickier than Stormy anticipated. She had one hand on the rail and the other looped through Nozz’s arm, with Trudy following closely behind them. If all else failed, she was hoping Trudy could grab a handful of hair if she started to fall.

  Better to have a bald patch on her head than wind up as a splattered mess at the bottom of the stairs.

  She focused on one slow, steady step at a time until they reached the bottom. And when she finally looked up, she was face to face with a tuxedo-clad, heart-stoppingly handsome Brylan.

  And she forgot how to breathe.

  “Brylan,” she stammered, “What are you doing here?”

  There was no smile, no hint of a dimple anywhere. In fact, she’d never seen him look so solemn. He had his hands shoved in the pocket of his crisply starched jeans, causing his tuxedo jacket to bulge out on the sides. His expression was unreadable.“I…just came to see you off. Thought you might need a ride to the dance.”

  Stormy couldn’t tear her eyes away from his. There were a million things tumbling around in her head, making speech all but impossible.

  “I have my mom’s car,” Nozz interjected. Stormy had almost forgotten he was standing beside her. Brylan’s gaze jumped from her to Nozz. “Damn, Nozz. Almost didn’t recognize you, buddy. You clean up really nice.”

  “So do you, Coach. But aren’t you a little overdressed for chaperoning?”

  Brylan looked down at the ground and kicked at a little rock at the edge of the grass with his shiny black cowboy boot. “Wasn’t my idea.”

  Trudy began to clear her throat loudly, drawing their attention away from each other. “Time to get this show on the road. Stormy and Nozz…over by that big oak tree.” She pointed. “It will make a nice backdrop.”

  Nice save, Trudy. The awkwardness was get
ting to be unbearable.

  After Trudy got enough pictures taken to fill up an entire album, Nozz and Stormy headed to the car with Stormy cursing her shoes the entire way as her heels sunk into the soft dirt. When they reached the car Trudy placed a hand on her shoulder and whispered in her ear, “Be strong, girl. And have fun.” Stormy spun around and grabbed her up in a bear hug, “Thank you for everything, Trudy.”

  ****

  Nozz didn’t say much in the car on the way to the prom, but he did manage to steal several glances at Stormy’s overabundant cleavage. She wanted to say something snarky or clever just to break the ice, but her mind wouldn’t cooperate.

  Instead, it was filled with thoughts of Brylan, standing there with those big, broad shoulders, dressed in that charcoal colored tux jacket and starched jeans. His dark, wavy hair was gelled to perfection and the top button of his white shirt was undone with his black tie hanging loosely around his collar. It’s a good thing his mood was somber, because if he had grinned at her she would have collapsed into a purple heap of mush right there at the bottom of the stairs.

  For the life of her she couldn’t figure out what he was doing there. It should have been quite obvious that she and Nozz had transportation. For Pete’s sake, there were two extra cars in his driveway. Not to mention that she still had her truck.

  Was he looking for an excuse to talk to her?

  Stormy’s stomach started doing summersaults when they pulled into the crowded parking lot. Music echoed from inside the brightly lit gymnasium as several couples trotted across the lot and headed inside. A knot formed in Stormy’s gut as panic tightened its grip on her. When Nozz approached her side of the car she pushed the lock. Amusement twinkled in his eyes when he grasped the door handle and nothing happened.

  “Stormy,” he said flatly, “what are you doing?”

  She rolled the window down a couple of inches. “I can’t do this. Th…there’re too many people here.”

  Nozz shoved his hands into his pockets. “Uh, that’s kind of the point.”

  Stormy stared at her hands in her lap, too embarrassed to look him in the eye while she tried to get a handle on her nerves. She jumped when she heard the sound of the driver side door open and Nozz hopped back into the car. “What are you doing, Nozz?”

  “Well…I’m hoping to go to prom…but I’m not going in there by myself.”

  “Sure you can. P…people go stag all the time,” she stammered.

  “It’s not really stag if your date is in the car.” He looked at her with a lopsided smile. She realized that she wasn’t just sabotaging herself, but she was ruining the night for one of her best friends. So, she swallowed hard and took a few cleansing breaths until she felt the panic recede a little.

  “Okay, you win.” She placed her hand on his forearm, “Just…stay close, okay?”

  Nozz put his hand on top of hers, “You’ll have to beat me away with a stick.”

  Once inside the gymnasium, Stormy had to push down the urge to run back to the car. Sensing her discomfort, Nozz gave her hand a squeeze. Maybe it was her imagination, but it seemed like every pair of eyes was fixed on the two of them. Nozz leaned in closely and said, “I’ve always wanted to be the guy with the prettiest girl in the room on his arm.” He was giving her that big goofy grin of his and some more of her nervousness dissipated.

  “So what do you want to do? Dance? Mingle? Sit?” he asked.

  “Sit. Definitely sit,” she insisted. “For a little bit anyway.” He nodded his understanding and led her to a table on the backside of the room where it seemed less crowded.

  Stormy was impressed with the way the decorations turned out. She didn’t detect a specific theme, but the place looked surprisingly chic. The tables were draped in white tablecloths, with the soft flicker of battery-powered candles and pastel rings of flowers as centerpieces. Hanging from the ceiling were silver, white, and powder blue streamers.

  Who knew a high school gymnasium could be converted into such an elegant ballroom?

  Across the gym, there was a small stage set up where a band cranked out really loud, fast country music. Stormy and Nozz sat quietly while taking in the scene. People were dancing and laughing and seemed to be having a genuinely good time. Stormy was grateful for Nozz and his easy-going personality as he sat there with her, content to be a spectator. It was why she liked him so much. With Nozz there was never any pressure. No expectations.

  As her eyes wandered around the room they finally settled on Brylan. He was standing next to the table of refreshments and appeared to be having a conversation with the assistant baseball coach. She thought the guy’s name was Strausse, but she wasn’t certain. She didn’t keep up with anything sports related around school.

  On Brylan’s arm, was a very bored looking young woman in a form-fitting, short dress which Stormy deemed inappropriate for a chaperone. The offensive hot-pink color clashed with her ivory skin and short black hair, and the five-inch stilettos were a bit over the top.

  “Nozz? Who is that woman with Brylan?” She was pretty sure she already knew the answer.

  “That’s Pam. I’m not sure what her last name is. She’s the one that’s been after Coach for weeks now. You mean you haven’t seen her over at Coach’s house?”

  She shook her head. “No. Is she a teacher too?”

  “Not yet, but I hear she’ll be teaching here next year. Why?”

  The woman suddenly turned away and ran to greet someone who just entered the room. The light bounced off her shiny black bob with each step.

  Ah ha. She remembered. “She’s the one that was so rude to me in the hallway on my first day.”

  Nozz scrunched up his eyebrows in confusion. “The bitchy one you told me about? I thought you said she was a teacher.”

  “I thought she was. She acted like she belonged there… and that I didn’t. It pissed me off.”

  “Huh. That’s weird.” He shrugged his shoulders. “She’s kind of a weird chick anyway. I don’t know what Coach sees in her.”

  Right answer. It earned him a few more points in Stormy’s book.

  The band started playing one of Stormy’s favorite ballads by Brooks and Dunn. “I like this music. I’m so glad they decided to switch it up a little bit. The new stuff is okay…but it doesn’t have the same heart, the life in it that the earlier music had. It was so gritty and raw. Hit you right in the heart kind of stuff. Ya know?”

  The corner of Nozz’s mouth turned up in a small smile. “I couldn’t agree more. I think we were just born in the wrong decade.”

  She giggled. “I think you might be right.”

  Stormy absently swayed from side to side while watching the band play when her view was suddenly obscured. Nozz was standing in front of her with his hand out. “Come on, beautiful. Dance with me.”

  ****

  “Hey, man. What do you have against paper cups?” Cooper asked Brylan, knocking him from his envy-induced stupor. He nodded toward the empty paper cup that Brylan had managed to twist and crumple to oblivion without even realizing it.

  “Nothing. Just bored I guess.”

  “Bored, huh? Try sellin’ that shit to somebody else, ‘cause I ain’t buyin’ it.”

  Brylan shrugged it off and tossed the cup into a nearby trashcan. Cooper was a good friend but, at the moment, Brylan was in much need of some space.

  Tension was rolling off him in waves. The night was a disaster. Pam was driving him crazy with her incessant chatter and he was tired of hearing her critiques. He didn’t care whose dress was outdated, which girls were wearing the wrong shoes, which boys needed their hair cut, or who looked silly on the dance floor. Those kids were there to have a good time. Who was she to judge them? Her comments were mean and uncalled for. Had he not been committed to stay, he would have left her standing there alone with her opinions.

  And then there was the music.

  The song they were playing, about broken dreams and lost loves…the band may as well have been pouring gas
oline on his heart.

  “Brylan?” Cooper was still trying to get his attention, but it was fixed on Stormy as she glided across the dance floor with Nozz. He saw Nozz lean in close to her ear and say something. Her head tilted back as she laughed, her eyes sparkling in amusement. She was so damned beautiful. Why had he suggested they go to prom together? What on God’s green earth made him think that was a good idea?

  I’m a glutton for punishment, that’s what.

  He thought back to earlier, when he first saw her coming down the stairs of the apartment. He thought surely his heart would explode. His lungs had seized up and refused to drag in a breath. And now it was happening again.