Last Dance

by Melody Carlson

  As she went downstairs, DJ hoped that she wasn’t being vengeful. It’s not like she wanted to punish Madison just to see her hurt. But she did want Madison to take responsibility for her actions. And maybe even to learn from her mistakes. What was wrong with that? Just the same, DJ was relieved to hand it over to Grandmother.

  “Don’t you think you should tell the others?” Taylor asked DJ as they got ready for school on Monday morning. DJ had just disclosed the prom night bathroom incident without really meaning to, probably because she felt nervous about Madison and her friends.

  “Why?” DJ did one last swipe of mascara.

  “In case Madison has mafia ties and she’s put a hit on you?” Taylor’s words were sarcastic, but her eyes showed concern.

  DJ laughed. “Yeah, right.”

  “Well, the idea of Jolene barricading the door of the bathroom is a little creepy, don’t you think?”

  DJ nodded. “Yeah, I’ll admit I was a little worried. I mean, I thought I had a good chance of getting out alive, but I didn’t want to ruin your dress.”

  Taylor tossed her makeup sponge at DJ. “Okay, let’s just get serious for a moment. Madison knows that you know. You are like a witness. What if she attempts some crazy stunt to keep you from talking?”

  “I already talked.”

  “Yes, I know. But Madison isn’t the brightest porch light on the street. And besides that, she’s just plain mean.”

  “Seriously, Taylor, what do you think she’d do?”

  “Pay someone to beat you up when no one’s looking.”

  DJ considered this. “Oh.”

  “Or she might go after one of the other girls. You said it yourself, it sounds like she hates all of us.”

  DJ frowned. “I just don’t understand how a person can be so filled with hate and have much of a life.”

  “That’s her problem…Madison needs to get a life.”

  “And she needs God.”

  But Taylor had convinced DJ. When Grandmother excused herself early from the breakfast table to meet with Eliza’s mother, who had offered to help with the fashion show during her remaining week in Crescent Cove, DJ told the rest of the girls about Madison.

  “I can’t believe you didn’t tell us during prom,” Casey said in an offended way.

  “Because I didn’t want to ruin things,” DJ told her.

  “So why are you telling us now?” Eliza sounded slightly irritated.

  “Because I told her to,” Taylor admitted. “We all know Madison is a loose cannon, and she seems to hate us all equally. Think about it. If she had no concerns about locking DJ in the bathroom and using force to take her cell phone—at the prom—what else do you think she might do?”

  “Or get someone to do for her,” DJ added.

  “Plus, she’s probably still mad that she didn’t win prom queen,” Kriti pointed out.

  “But I didn’t take that from her,” Eliza protested.

  “That’s not all,” DJ said. “Grandmother knows about all this and she’s removing Madison from the fashion show this week.”

  “So Madison won’t be a very happy camper.” Taylor refilled her coffee.

  “I feel kind of sorry for her,” Rhiannon said.

  “I sort of do too,” DJ admitted. “I mean, I don’t like what she’s done, but I do feel sorry for her. It’s so desperate and pathetic…like she’s on a path to self-destruct.”

  “I don’t feel sorry for her,” Kriti said firmly. “She’s evil.’“

  “I agree.” Casey pounded her fist on the table. “And if she comes after me, I’ll be ready.”

  “How?” Taylor asked her.

  Casey shrugged. “I don’t know. But I’ll be looking over my shoulder this week.”

  “Speaking of this week,” Eliza directed this to DJ. “Why don’t we drive over to New Haven in the next few days?”

  “To check out Yale?” asked Taylor. “Or to play hooky?”

  “Both,” Eliza told her slyly.

  “I guess we could do that.” DJ reached for her second blueberry muffin, thankful that Grandmother wasn’t around to frown at her caloric consumption.

  “I can drive if you want,” Eliza offered. “And Lane can be our guide.”

  DJ thought about her unfortunate ordeal with Madison and the possible repercussions, and figured one day out of harm’s way might be a nice little break. “How about tomorrow or Wednesday?”

  “Great. I’ll check with Lane and we’ll nail it at lunchtime. We’ll need to get excused from school.” Eliza frowned. “And I’ll need to go shopping.”

  “Shopping?” DJ looked confused.

  “Ninety percent of my clothes are toast, remember?”

  “Oh, yeah.”

  “Plus, I’ll need something extra cool to wear on campus.”

  “Right…”

  “Have you seen Casey?” Taylor asked DJ in an urgent voice when they met in the cafeteria.

  “No. What’s up?”

  “She must’ve made Madison’s hit list.”

  “What? Why? Is she okay?” DJ remembered Casey’s words about being ready to take Madison on. What if it had really happened?

  “Apparently Seth got drunk on prom night and spilled the beans to Jolene that Casey is pregnant.”

  “Andjolene told Madison.”

  “And now Madison is telling everyone. She’s ecstatic that one of the Carter House girls is pregnant.” Taylor scowled. “If Madison had more brains, she could’ve used it as blackmail to keep the heat off of her.”

  “Do you think Casey knows?”

  “That’s my guess. She wasn’t in my economics class.”

  DJ pulled out her phone and hit speed dial. After a couple of rings, Casey answered in a dejected tone. “Hi, DJ.”

  “Case? Are you okay?”

  “How do you define okay?”

  “I heard what happened.”

  “Yeah…I guess I should’ve known it would slip out. But I didn’t think it would come from Seth.”

  “Taylor said he was drunk.”

  “Figures.”

  “So where are you?”

  Casey sighed loudly. “Sitting in the town park with the pigeons and other losers.”

  “Oh, Casey you’re not a loser.”

  “I just can’t—can’t do this, DJ.” Casey’s voice broke.

  “Do what?”

  “I can’t face everyone—not with them knowing. I can’t come back to school.”

  “But what’ll you do?”

  “I don’t—don’t know.” She sniffed loudly.

  “How can I help you, Casey?”

  “You can’t.” There was a pause. “It’s like I almost…almost made myself believe it wasn’t true. This past weekend I pretended I wasn’t pregnant, and it seemed real. And then I came to school and reality slapped me across the face.” Now she was crying really hard.

  “I’m coming to get you,” DJ said. “Stay where you are.” DJ closed her phone and turned to Taylor. “She sounds desperate.”

  “Do you want me to come?”

  “I don’t think so. But could you go talk to Mrs. Seibert? Go ahead and tell her what’s going on. We can trust her. And she might have some advice.”

  DJ met Conner on her way out. “Hey, where’s the fire?” he said.

  “Ask Taylor to fill you in,” she said quickly. “And pray for Casey.”

  He nodded and DJ ran toward the parking lot. She drove straight to the park, but when she looked around she didn’t see Casey. Finally she spotted her sitting on the ground beneath a tree with her head tucked into her knees. DJ ran over and threw her arms around her. “Casey it’s going to be okay.”

  “How can it be okay?” Casey looked up with a tear-streaked face. “My life is over.”

  “No, it’s not. Lots of girls have lived through—”

  “I’m not lots of girls.” Casey stood with a defiant expression. “And I know what I have to do.”

  “Call your mom?”

 
She shook her head and began walking away. “No. My parents are not going to find out about this because it’s over with.”

  DJ walked with her. “Meaning?”

  “I’m ending this pregnancy.”

  “But Casey…” DJ reached out to stop her from walking.

  “It’s my life, DJ. My choice.”

  “But are you making this choice because it’s what you want? Or are you making it because of Madison’s interference?”

  “I’m not strong enough to do this.”

  “You have friends, Case, and family.”

  “You offered to help me, right?”

  “Of course.”

  “Then drive me to the women’s clinic.”

  DJ bit her lip.

  “If you don’t drive me, I’ll just walk.”

  “I’ll drive you on one condition.”

  “What?”

  “That you let me call my grandmother.”

  “Your grandmother already knows what’s up.”

  “She knows you’re pregnant. She does not know you’re on your way to get an abortion.”

  “Fine,” Casey snapped. “Call her.”

  While DJ called Grandmother, quickly giving her this news, Casey called the women’s clinic and asked if she could come in. They both hung up simultaneously.

  “Ready?” Casey asked with a hard look in her eyes.

  “I guess.” DJ walked slowly back to her car. She had no idea what, if anything, Grandmother could do to help, but at least she knew.

  “Can you move any slower?” Casey asked as DJ dug through her bag for her car keys.

  “I’m sorry,” DJ said indignantly. “I guess this is a little upsetting.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  Of course, the truth was, DJ was trying to stall. And when she took the wrong street to the clinic, Casey pointed it out.

  “Sorry…I feel like I’m in a fog.”

  “Whatever…” Casey fidgeted in the passenger seat. “And you don’t have to stay with me when we get there.”

  “Right…” DJ shook her head. “I’ll just dump you there, leave you by yourself, and go back to school.”

  “Whatever.”

  Finally they were at the women’s clinic. Thankfully, the receptionist wasn’t moving any faster than DJ had been. It took her several minutes to find the paperwork Casey had completed during her last visit.

  “Lucky for you it’s a slow day. If you’re willing to wait, the doctor can see you in about an hour or so.”

  “An hour or so?” Casey let out an exasperated sigh.

  “Unless you’d rather make an appointment for another day.” The receptionist smiled. “Then you wouldn’t have to wait.”

  “No thanks. I’d rather wait.” Casey turned and marched over to the waiting area and picked up a ratty-looking magazine and began flipping through it.

  DJ followed her, thanking God for this short reprieve and praying for a miracle. They’d only been there about ten minutes when DJ’s phone rang. She stood to answer it, slowly moving outside when she heard her grandmother’s excited voice on the phone. Grandmother wanted to know what was happening and whether or not Casey was “undergoing treatment” yet.

  DJ explained the hour-long wait. “But Casey seems determined.”

  “I just called Casey’s mother and told her what was going on,” Grandmother said. “Naturally she was extremely agitated and very concerned.”

  “And?”

  “And she wanted to call Casey and tell her not to do this.”

  “So is she going to?”

  “She’s worried that she and Casey might get into a fight and that Casey will proceed with the abortion just to show her she can.”

  DJ thought for a moment. “That sounds about right.”

  “So Mrs. Atwood asked if we would do what we can to dissuade Casey while she attempts to book a flight.”

  “She’s coming here?”

  “Yes.”

  DJ sighed. “Good.”

  “You say Casey has an hour-long wait?”

  “Around that.”

  “I’m leaving the house now.”

  “To come here?”

  “Of course.”

  Relief washed over DJ as she thanked her grandmother and hung up. She looked up at the clear blue sky and the few puffy white clouds floating overhead, and wondered why anyone would want to extinguish the life of anything. Then she asked God to do a miracle and to prevent Casey from going through with the abortion.

  18

  WHEN DJ RETURNED TO THE WAITING AREA, SHE somehow knew that she needed to keep the news about Casey’s mother to herself.

  “Who was on the phone?” Casey asked.

  “My grandmother.”

  “Oh…”

  “She wanted to know if you were, uh, being treated or not. I told her we had to wait.”

  Casey tossed the magazine back onto the pile and looked at her watch. “This is going to be a very long hour.”

  “Anyway Grandmother is coming over.”

  “Here?” Casey looked alarmed.

  “Yes.”

  “Did you tell her to come?”

  “No, of course not. She’s coming because she wants to. She cares about you, Casey.”

  “I don’t want her to come.” Casey looked anxious. “Call her back and tell her not to come.”

  “It’s too late. She said she’s on her way.”

  Casey glanced around the waiting area, reminding DJ of a trapped animal. “But why is she coming? There’s nothing she can say or do to stop this. It’s not like I need parental consent or anything.”

  “I know.” DJ put her hand on Casey’s shoulder. “She’s just coming because she wants to.”

  Casey grabbed up another magazine, flipping frantically through it without appearing to even look. DJ leaned back, closed her eyes, and silently prayed. After about ten minutes, Grandmother arrived. She sat next to Casey, looking out of place in the shabby waiting area in her pale green silk pant-suit, flowing silk scarf, and perfectly styled gray hair. But she didn’t seem to notice as she took Casey’s hand and began to talk.

  “Now, I know you’re not going to be pleased to hear this, but I spoke with your mother, Casey, and she’s getting a flight out here. If not today, tomorrow.”

  “What? You called my mother?” Casey’s voice was loud enough to draw the attention of the receptionist, who came over to see if there was a problem.

  “I am Casey’s guardian,” Grandmother informed her.

  “Casey doesn’t need permission for this procedure,” the receptionist said a bit brusquely.

  “I am aware of that. I only came to ask her to postpone this appointment until her mother arrives from California.”

  “Oh…” The receptionist looked around. “Maybe you should use one of the counseling rooms to talk privately.”

  Grandmother thanked her and the three of them were soon sitting in a small room, but it was Grandmother who did the talking. Casey and DJ listened.

  “I’m going to tell you both a story that no one else knows,” Grandmother began. “Or rather a confession.” She looked at Casey. “I was exactly where you are once. I was unmarried and pregnant, and I thought the only way out was to get an abortion, which wasn’t even legal at the time. But that’s how desperate I was.”

  DJ tried not to look as shocked as she felt.

  “In my industry, back in the fifties, unwed pregnancies were even less acceptable than nowadays. To me the only way out seemed to be to get rid of the baby and get on with my life.”

  “So did you?” asked Casey.

  “No.” Grandmother looked at DJ. “The baby was Desiree’s mother, Elizabeth.” Her face softened as she continued. “But it wasn’t easy…and it was a blow to my pride…but I never regretted it. Not for a minute.” She smiled at DJ. “I still don’t. It was my mother who encouraged me to keep the baby. She wanted to help raise Elizabeth and I let her. I suppose I do regret that.”

  “You mean
you regret keeping the baby?” asked DJ. “Instead of giving her up for adoption?”

  “No…no.” Grandmother shook her head. “I regret allowing my mother to raise Elizabeth. I wish I’d done that myself. But I was young and headstrong and my career was all I cared about.” She turned to Casey. “I’m not suggesting you’ll want to keep and raise your child, Casey, I’m just saying I don’t believe you’ll regret talking to your mother about it before you make your final decision.”

  “Please, talk to your mother first,” DJ urged her.

  Casey was crying again.

  Grandmother reached over and put her hand on Casey’s. “We respect that this is your decision, Casey, but if you make it too hastily…you could be sorry. And then it will be too late. What can it hurt to wait a week or so?”

  DJ handed Casey a tissue box, waiting as Casey loudly blew her nose.

  “I guess I can postpone my appointment for a week.”

  Casey stayed home from school on Tuesday and in the afternoon DJ drove her to the airport to pick up her mother. Casey fidgeted and fretted all the way there, but once Mrs. Atwood embraced her daughter in a long, tight hug, it seemed that Casey’s anxiety slowly melted away. DJ listened as they talked during the trip back home. She could tell Casey’s mom was treading carefully, trying to be understanding and supportive. And Casey steadily warmed up until DJ began to feel that hope was in sight.

  “I think you should come home with me,” Mrs. Atwood told Casey as DJ pulled up to the house.

  “What about school?”

  “You can finish up at your old high school.”

  “But graduation is only a few weeks away.”

  Suddenly they were arguing, and DJ made a quick exit from the car, hoping they could iron this one out themselves. She understood Casey’s mother’s reasoning—it did seem like a solution for Casey to go home. But she also understood Casey’s desire to finish the school year in Crescent Cove. Except now everyone knew Casey was pregnant. Could she live with that?

  On Wednesday morning, DJ and Eliza let Lane drive them over to New Haven in his car. DJ felt like a fifth—or was it a third?—wheel as she sat in the backseat. She had tried to entice Conner to come with her at the last minute, but he said it was pointless since he had no desire to attend Yale, much less to see it. She was worried that she’d offended him simply by asking.