Her mother stepped toward Laura Jo with an imploring look on her face. “Will you tell us about our granddaughter?”
“You knew?” Laura Jo was thankful for Mark’s steady hand steady on her elbow.
“Yes, we’ve known for a long time.” Her mother’s look didn’t waver.
They had known and they still hadn’t helped? Or they’d known that Laura Jo would throw their help back at them if they offered?
“Please, tell us about her,” her father pleaded.
Laura Jo spent the next few minutes telling her parents about Allie. They seemed to hang on every word. Had they changed?
“Thank you for telling us,” her mother said with a soft sigh when Laura Jo finished.
They were interrupted by the krewe captain getting the attention of the people in the room. He announced the buffet dinner was being served and gave directions about which tables would go first.
“We should return to our table,” Laura Jo said.
It was her mother’s turn to give her an entreating look. “Laura Jo, may we see Allie sometime?”
Laura Jo stiffened but she forced her voice to remain even. “I’ll have to think about that. She knows nothing about you.”
Moisture spring to her mother’s eyes.
The table next to her parents’ rose to get in line for their meal.
“I think it’s time that we returned to our table, Laura Jo. It was nice to meet you both, Mr. and Mrs. Herron.”
Mr. Herron blinked as if he had forgotten Mark was standing there.
“Thank you for coming over, Laura Jo. It’s wonderful to see you.”
Her mother sounded like she truly meant it.
“It’s nice to see you, too.” Laura Jo turned and headed back to their table on shaky knees.
Mark leaned in and asked, “You okay?”
“I’m good.” She smiled. “Really good, actually. Thanks for encouraging me to speak to them.”
He grinned. “Hey, that’s what a good date does. So are you going to introduce Allie to them?”
“I don’t know if I’m ready for that but at least I’ll think about it.”
“Sounds like a plan. Hungry?”
“Much more than I was a few minutes ago.”
“Good.”
They returned to their table and had to wait until a few tables on the other side of the room lined up and then it was their turn. Mark placed his hand at the small of her back again. As disconcerting as it was to have him touch her, he’d done it enough over the past couple of weeks that she’d grown to not only expect it but to appreciate the simple gesture.
They were almost to the buffet tables in the middle of the room when Mark jerked to a stop. She turned to question him about what was wrong. He stood looking in the direction of a group of people who were obviously together. His face had darkened. All pleasantness of a few minutes ago had washed away. One of the group was in a wheelchair. Did he know the man?
Mark quickly regained his composure and closed the gap between him and her.
“Are you okay?” she whispered when he came to stand next to her.
“I’m fine.” He added a smile that for once didn’t reach his eyes.
They stood in line for a few minutes, working their way to where the plates were stacked. A large floral arrangement was positioned where the tables intersected. On the four tables were shrimp cocktail, gumbo, salads of all types and prime rib, with a man serving that and desserts.
As they slowly filled their plates, Laura Jo saw Mark glancing toward the end of the line. She noticed the man in the wheelchair. This time Mark seemed even more uncomfortable about the situation.
As they went through the line Mark spoke to people. Thankfully everyone accepted her as his date and nothing more. Maybe she could get through this evening after all. She’d been a teenager when she’d last been at this kind of function. She had matured and changed since then.
During the meal, Mark spoke to the woman to the right of him. Laura Jo had a light conversation with the man in full regalia to her left. Once during the meal Mark gave her knee a reassuring squeeze. That little gesture said, We’re in this together. She appreciated it. Except for Marsha, it had been her and Allie against the world.
She had finished her dinner when Mark got her attention and asked her to tell the woman he’d been talking to about the shelter. The woman told Laura Jo that she would like to help and how to contact her.
The conversation was interrupted by the captain announcing that it was time to introduce the krewe directors.
Laura Jo smiled at Mark and mouthed, “Thank you.”
He put his arm around her shoulder and gave her a gentle hug and whispered in her ear, “You’re welcome. See, it’s not as bad as you thought.”
“No, it hasn’t been. Thanks to you.”
He kissed her temple. “You can really thank me later.”
Before she could react to that statement the captain started calling names and people were lining up on the dance floor that was acting as a stage.
It was her turn to feel Mark stiffen. She saw the man in the wheelchair Mark had looked at earlier propelling himself across the stage, while an attractive woman walked beside him.
She glanced at Mark. His focus was fixed on the man. “Do you know him?”
“Yes.”
“He’s your friend from the accident, isn’t he?”
“Yes.” The word had a remorseful note to it.
The next man was being introduced and she didn’t ask Mark any more. With everyone having been presented, the crowd clapped in appreciation for the work the board had done on the dance.
The captain then asked for everyone’s attention again. “The king and queen and their court have arrived.”
There was a hush over the room as the first lady-in-waiting and her escort were introduced.
The young lady wore an all-white dress made out of satin and adorned with pearls and sparkling stones. Her white train trailed across the floor. It was heavy, Laura Jo knew from experience.
When she had designed her train so many years ago it had had the family crest in the center with a large, pale pink flamingo rising from it. The bird’s eye had been an onyx from her grandmother’s train when she had been queen. Each pearl and precious stone were sewn on by hand. It had been edged in real white fox fur. She’d worn long white gloves that had reached above her elbows. She’d been told she’d never looked more beautiful.
And this happened every year. The pomp and circumstance of it all still astounded her.
She and her mother had designed and planned her dress and train for months. They had even taken a trip to New York to look for material. A designer there had made the dress then it had been sent back to Mobile, where a seamstress that specialized in embellishments had added them. What she would wear consumed their family life for the entire year before Mardi Gras.
She had no idea what her dress and train had cost but she was sure it would have been enough to run the shelter for two or three months.
“I bet you were a beautiful lady-in-waiting. I’m sorry I didn’t pay more attention,” Mark whispered close to her ear.
She smiled.
The couple walked to the captain and his wife on the stage and curtsied and bowed, before circling back to the rear of the room. By that time another couple had moved forward. The entire court was dressed in white, with the females having different dress and trains that had their personal design. The escorts wore identical outfits. Each couple paid their respects and this happened eighteen more times.
From the court would come next year’s king and queen of Mardi Gras. Since her grandmother had been queen, Laura Jo had been on track to be the queen the year she turned twenty-one. The king would reign the year he turned twenty-five.
She glanced at Mark, who was watching the stage more than the couples parading up the aisle. “I did notice you and you were a handsome king,” Laura Jo whispered.
“Thank you, fair maiden.”
Laura Jo giggled. She knew well that there was a private and public side to Mardi Gras. It all started around Thanksgiving, with all the coming-out balls for the girls. The society families held the balls and she’d been a part of the process. She’d loved it at the time. Now she looked back on it and saw how spoiled she been and how ignorant of the world. Not until she had gotten away from her parents’ house had she realized how many people could have been helped with the money that had gone into just her dresses for Mardi Gras.
As the royalty came into sight, Laura Jo couldn’t help but be amazed at the beauty of the couple’s attire. No matter how many times she had seen this type of event, she was still left in awe. They wore matching gold outfits trimmed in gold. The king’s clothing was adorned as much as the queen’s. She had gold beads that came to a peak halfway up the center of her skirt. The bodice had swirls and curls covering it. They carried crowns on their heads that glittered in the lights. The king carried a diamond-headed walking stick while the queen held a scepter that matched her crown.
Laura Jo had forgotten the artistry and how regal their trains were. They were both at least twenty feet long. Theirs, like those of the ladies-in-waiting, told a story of their life. The king’s had his family crest with a hunting motif around it, which included an appliqué of a deer head. The queen’s train was also appliquéd but with large magnolias in detail. Around the edge was a five-inch border of crystals that made it shimmer. The neckline had a collar that went from one shoulder to the other in the back. It stood up eight inches high. It bounced gently as the queen walked. It was made from a mass of light and airy bangle beads formed into magnolias and leaves, the centers being made out of pearls.
Their trains alone could buy a room in the house they were looking at for the shelter.
“How did it feel to be the man of the hour?” Laura Jo asked Mark.
“At the time, amazing,” he answered in a dry tone.
CHAPTER SEVEN
WITH THE INTRODUCTIONS COMPLETED, everyone returned to their meals and the band struck up a dance tune. Couples moved toward the dance floor.
“Why don’t we have a dance before we go and talk to a few more people about the shelter? I think we could both use a few minutes of fun.” Mark stood and offered her his hand.
“One dance.”
As they entered the dance floor he brought Laura Jo close. She fit perfectly. Wearing high heels, her head came to his shoulder. The band was just beginning the first notes of a slow waltz. Laura Jo put her hand in his and the other on his shoulder. His hand rested on the warm, creamy skin visible on her back.
“You know, I think I like this dress more now than I did when I first saw you in it.” The words were for her alone.
She glanced up, giving him a shy smile. Seeing her parents again seemed to have taken some fight out of her. She had to have missed them more than she’d admitted. Leaning in, she put her head into the curve of his shoulder. Mark tightened his hold and slowly moved them around the dance floor.
Other couples surrounded them but for him there was only he and Laura Jo. For once he wished he could hold one woman forever. He’d never allowed himself to dream further but with Laura Jo anything seemed possible.
They were returning to their table when Mr. Washington approached. “I was telling a buddy of mine about the work your young lady is doing. He would like to pledge fifty thousand.”
Laura Jo gasped.
“Baba McClure has had a little too much to drink already and he has pledged another fifty.”
Laura Jo squeezed his arm.
“The thing is,” Mr. Washington went on, “you’d better go over there and get something in writing or they may not remember in the morning.”
“Do you have a paper and pen in your purse?” Mark asked Laura Jo.
She picked up the tiny purse she had brought. “I have a small pen. I’ll ask at the registration table if they have something we can write on.”
Mark watched Laura Jo go. She was soon back. Mr. Washington showed them across the room and introduced them to the two men and let Laura Jo take it from there. Despite wanting to distance herself from her background, she had a way of charming people that had been instilled in her. She soon had a makeshift agreement from both men and had promised she would see them the next day.
Both men groaned and asked her to make it the day after. Before they left the table she gave Mr. Washington a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you.”
The eighty-year-old man beamed. “You’re welcome, honey.”
“Come on, I believe this deserves a victory dance.” She pulled Mark to the dance floor. A fast tune was being played.
“I don’t fast-dance.” Mark pulled to a stop.
“What was it you told me? Uh…let go a little.” Laura Jo started moving to the music. She held her hands out, encouraging him to take them.
He wasn’t going to turn that invitation down. After a few dances, both fast and slow, he said, “I’m ready to go if you are.”
“You’re really not any more into this stuff than I am, are you?”
“No, I guess being in California for so long got it out of my system.” And what had happened to Mike.
He had glimpsed Mike a couple of times across the room. They had never been near each other and for that Mark was grateful. Once he had thought his onetime friend might have recognized him. Dodging Mike didn’t make Mark feel any better. He still couldn’t face him. He used having Laura Jo with him as an excuse not to.
“Let’s go,” Laura Jo agreed. “But I need to stop by the restroom on our way out.”
Mark was waiting at the exit when Mike rolled up.
“So was the plan to leave without speaking to me?” he asked, looking directly at Mark. “Running out again?”
He stood dumbstruck. His gut churned. If Laura Jo showed up, would she recognize what a coward he was?
“No,” Mark lied boldly. If he could figure out how to leave without having this conversation, he would. “I hadn’t realized you were here.” Another lie. “It’s good to see you.” At least that had a small margin of truth.
“I’m not sure that’s true.” Mike’s gaze hadn’t wavered.
The ache in Mark’s chest increased.
“I hear you’re back in town and practicing medicine.”
“Yes, I’m in a clinic in Spanish Fort and living in Fairhope.” If he could just make it through some small talk, Laura Jo would show up and they could go.
“You always did like it at the summer house,” Mike said.
Mark glanced toward the other side of the room. “How have you been? I’m sorry I haven’t—”
A blonde woman with twinkling green eyes and a cheery smile approached. “I’d like you to meet my wife.” He reached behind him and took the hand of the woman. “This is Tammy.”
Mike married? “It’s nice to meet you.”
“And you, too. Mike has told me a lot about you.” Tammy continued to smile but it no longer reached her eyes.
Like how he’d been the cause of Mike being in a wheelchair for life, or the fact he had run out on him when he’d needed him most, or maybe the part where he hadn’t bothered to stay in touch, like he should have. Yeah, there was a lot to say about him, but none of it good. Or to be proud of.
Laura Jo walked up beside him. Could she see how uncomfortable he was? He took her hand and drew her forward. “Uh, this is my friend Laura Jo. Laura Jo, Mike and Tammy Egan.”
“Hey, I remember a Laura Jo. She was a friend of my kid sister’s. I haven’t seen her in years.” Mike gave her a searching look.
“You’re Megan’s brother?” Laura Jo studied Mike for a moment.
Great. Mike remembered Laura Jo when he himself hadn’t. He truly had been a self-absorbed person in his twenties. Maybe in many ways he still was.
“Yes, and you’re Laura Jo Herron.”
She smiled at Mike. “Was Herron. Now it’s Akins.”
“No matter the name, it’s good to see
you again.”
It was time to get out of there. Mark said, “Mike, I’m sorry, we’re expected at another dance.” Great. He was still running from Mike and lying to do so.
Laura Jo glanced at him but said nothing.
Mike rolled back and forth in his chair with the ease and agility of someone who had mastered the wheelchair. “I understand.”
Somehow Mark was sure he did. All he wanted was to get away, forget, and find some fresh air. “Nice to see you again, Mike.” Mark headed for the door. It wasn’t until Laura Jo put her hand in his that he realized he had forgotten about her. He was running blind.
* * *
Mark didn’t say anything on the way to his house. Laura Jo didn’t either. They had both had an emotional evening. She let him remain in his thoughts, not even interrupting him to mention that he wasn’t going toward her apartment. He didn’t even register that he’d driven to his house until he’d pulled to a stop in his drive. “Why didn’t you tell me to take you home?”
“Because I thought you needed someone to talk to.”
How like her to recognize when someone was having trouble. He was in need, but of all the people he didn’t want to look weak in front of it was Laura Jo.
“Let’s go in. I’ll fix us a cup of coffee.” She was already in the process of opening the car door. Inside the house, she dropped her purse on the table beside the door, kicked off her shoes then headed straight for the kitchen. When he started to follow she said, “Why don’t you go out to the deck? I’ll bring it to you.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it.” He sounded weary even to his own ears.
“I’m just repaying all the times you’ve been there for me.”
On the deck he sat in one of the chairs, spread his knees wide and braced his elbows on them. Putting his head in his hands, he closed his eyes.
Seeing Mike tonight had been as tough as it had ever been. Mark had prepared himself that he might see him at the dance but that didn’t make it any easier. It only added another bag of guilt to the ten thousand he already carried on his shoulders.
Now, with Laura Jo having seen his shame, it made the situation worse.
“Here you go,” she said from beside him.
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