by Tamie Dearen
Would they think it was too soon? Would they agree to an engagement before he’d finished grad school? Would they believe he could support her before he’d even applied for a job?
He rang the doorbell with a vague hope no one would answer.
“Spencer. Come in.” Gherring stepped back from the open door, gesturing with his hand. “We were just having ice cream. Would you like a bowl? Actually, Anne was having ice cream. She had a craving for chocolate chip mint ice cream, so I had to go buy some.”
“Uhmm, no thank you.” he mumbled, shuffling through the door.
“Is something wrong? You seem upset.”
“No, uhmm... No sir. Everything’s fine. But I wanted to talk to you.”
“Come in. Have a seat.” Gherring guided him to a chair near the couch and sat beside Anne.
When Spencer finally looked up, both were staring at him with wide expectant eyes. He tried to speak, but discovered his tongue was sticking to the roof of his mouth.
“Eh-hem. Excuse me,” he croaked. “Could I get a glass of water?”
“Sure.” Gherring disappeared, returning quickly with the promised water.
He gulped down a few swallows, looking everywhere in the room but at the Gherrings.
“I... uhmm... I wanted to ask Emily... I mean... I wanted to ask you if I could ask Emily... to... uhmm... to marry me.” He closed his eyes and cringed. He felt the blood pounding in his head. That was awful. Were they laughing at him? He couldn’t even bring himself to look.
Suddenly, he heard Anne make a funny sound. He looked up and she was giggling with her hand over her mouth. “Steven, was it that hard for you when you asked my dad?”
“Ten times worse,” he admitted with a grin. “And your father grilled me before he gave me an answer.”
They really were laughing at him. Did that mean they were turning him down? Gherring walked over to shake his hand. “I’m sorry, Spencer. We shouldn’t tease you. We’ve been hoping for this, son. You already have our blessing.”
“Really?” He stood up, feeling a weight lifted from his shoulders.
“Of course. We know you’ll take good care of her—you already have.” Anne rose and hugged him.
“I was afraid you’d think I shouldn’t ask while I was in school.”
Anne grimaced. “That’s because you don’t know I married the first time when I was still a sophomore in college. I’m sure you’ll do fine. I assume y’all talked about this a little?”
“Yes, we talked a few weeks ago. She wants to wait a long time. I’d rather not wait so long—a year at the most. But, we’ll work it out.”
“Are you sure y’all talked about it? I’m surprised she didn’t say anything to me. The last time she talked to us, she still thought you were losing interest in the relationship.” Anne chewed her lip.
“No. We talked about it after Sunday night dinner a few weeks ago. Maybe she’s still unsure, though. Maybe she didn’t want to tell you until I’d asked her formally. After I give her the ring, she’ll feel better. I know I’ll feel better to make it official.”
“And your mother and father know?” Gherring asked.
“Yes, sir. They love Emily. And my sisters like her better than me.”
Anne said, “I have a ring that belonged to my mom. I’d love for you to use the stones in her ring. You don’t have to, but it’s going to be hers someday. The ring that belonged to Tom’s mother is going to Charlotte.”
“That would be awesome. Charlie’s going to help me chose a setting for her. But she seems so sentimental—I bet she’d love having the stones from her grandmother’s ring.”
“When are you going to ask her?” Anne asked.
“As soon as I can get the ring and come up with a cool way to ask her. I’ve been working nights parking cars and saving up the money. I’ve hardly seen her the past couple of weeks, between parking cars and dance lessons. But it’ll all be worth it in the end.”
Anne disappeared into the bedroom in search of the heirloom ring, and Gherring was left alone with Spencer.
“Spencer, I have a bit of advice about these Best girls. They get a notion in their heads, and it’s hard to convince them otherwise. Are you positive Emily knows you’re in love with her?”
“I’m sure. But even if she had doubts, she won’t have them after I give her the ring. Right?”
“Yes, the thing is... Well, I almost lost Anne between the time I bought her ring and when I actually asked her to marry me. I really don’t want you to make the same mistake.”
If Gherring wanted to scare Spencer, he’d accomplished his goal. How was he going to make sure he didn’t lose her? “Okay. Thanks for the advice.”
“Here’s the ring,” said Anne, handing him a small box.
“And let me hook you up with my jeweler,” said Gherring. “He owes me. He’ll take care of you and give you top priority.”
“Thanks so much. This wasn’t nearly as awful as I thought it’d be.”
Anne laughed again. “Glad we weren’t as frightening as you thought.”
*****
Becca had been very methodical in her planning. She knew she might only have one opportunity to talk to Spencer. Since she’d taken the ballroom dance classes in the past, she was aware of the schedule. This Wednesday would be the tango roundhouse dance, where every man would rotate dancing with every woman. He’d have to dance with her if she went, unless he wanted to cause a scene. Becca had an in with the dance instructor, who’d already informed her Spencer was talking about getting engaged soon. She had to act fast, to keep him from making the biggest mistake of his life.
She was dressed to entice, in a skin-tight black dress with a deep v in the front that displayed her assets well. The slit on the side of the dress went all the way up to her hip so when she lifted it, her entire leg was exposed. She had on five-inch platform shoes that made her legs look longer. She was certain when he saw what she was offering, he wouldn’t be able to resist. And all she had to do was get a picture with him taking advantage of her, and the uptight, virginal Emily would drop him like a hot rock. The dance studio photographer was in on the plan, although he didn’t know her intentions. She’d only told him she was going to get dirty with Spencer, and she wanted some pictures. She was more than willing to make it worth his while to do her a favor and give her copies of the pictures. Even if Spencer turned her down, she might be able to use one of the pictures with them dancing together. And the photographer was willing to text the picture, so Emily wouldn’t know it came from her.
She wanted Spencer, but she wanted to hurt Emily even more. She was so angry with Steven Gherring for filing charges against her. The search warrant and police questionings were frightening and humiliating. And it had cost her a lot of money to hire an attorney. Granted, her parents had paid for the lawyer, but they’d cut her allowance afterward. Overall, Gherring had made her life miserable for a while, and she’d almost been caught red-handed. She could have been sent to prison. She wanted revenge, and the only way to hurt him, was to hurt Emily. She’d come to despise the sickly sweet girl who’d taken Spencer’s attention away from her. Emily Best didn’t deserve him, anyway.
She peered into the studio where the teacher was explaining the rules for the roundhouse tango. She spied Spencer across the room. She was a little disappointed he hadn’t dressed up. Most of the women wore nice dresses on roundhouse night, and a lot of the men wore slacks and dress shirts. But Spencer was clad in jeans and a sport shirt. Of course, he still looked hot. Nothing could prevent that. But the pictures would have been so much better if they’d both been dressed up.
Alumni were always invited to roundhouse night, so there were a number of other girls that’d returned for the opportunity to practice the tango. Sizing up her rivals, she only found one girl who presented real competition. She was tall, with long blond hair, but her dress was nothing spectacular. Satisfied in being the most alluring girl present, she flung the door open and sauntered acros
s the floor, deliberately ignoring Spencer. She planned to adopt an air of total surprise when she saw him.
Spencer studied his feet while the teacher clarified the rules for the evening. He had to switch partners, dancing with all the women present. A number of extra women and a few extra men from previous classes had joined for the reunion dance. He noticed a lot more girls nearer his age. The thought of dancing with them made him even more nervous than dancing with the older women that were normally in his class. He wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans.
Glancing up at a late entry, he spotted a young girl in a skimpy black dress. He returned to the obsessive contemplation of his shoes, but heard the guy next to him murmuring something about the new girl. He peeked under his eyebrows at her, and felt a heavy rock in his stomach. It was Becca.
His mind raced. She was listening to the teacher and hadn’t seen him yet. Maybe he could slip away without causing a scene. But the teacher clapped her hands, couples paired up, and tango music blared.
Maybe he could manage to avoid dancing with Becca. If not, he could at least refuse to speak while they danced. His first partner was one of the younger alumni. He was shocked when she danced much closer to him, repeatedly rubbing her body against his.
“Spencer.” He heard the teacher’s amused voice over his shoulder. “Now you see how you really dance the tango. It is the dance of love. Don’t look so frightened.”
He recovered from his shock enough to finish the dance and moved to the next partner, who was an older woman, a newbie, like him. He was grateful her dancing was much more tame in comparison to the first girl.
Then Becca was in his arms.
“Spencer?” Her eyes were wide and innocent, but he didn’t believe it for a second. “What are you doing here?”
“Taking dance lessons.”
She danced with him like the other younger girl had, maybe even more suggestively. “Spencer, let’s get together after class. I’ve got some great moves to show you.” She twirled in his arms and lifted her leg high, totally exposed by the slit in her dress. Then she pushed her body against his and slid down his leg, before rising again just as suddenly to fling her arms around his neck. He flinched and closed his eyes, as she pressed her lips to his.
“What are you doing?” He peeled her arms away and gave her a furious shove. “What are you doing?”
“Only the tango.” She pushed her lower lip out in a pout. “But we could do more, if you want.” She lifted her arms toward him.
“Stop it, Becca. I’m not interested in anything you’re offering.”
“What do you mean?” Her voice was indignant. “I’m talking about dancing the tango. What are you implying?”
“I’m not implying anything. I’m telling you straight out I’m not interested in you. I’m in love with Emily.”
“I don’t know what you see in that skinny witch!” she spat out.
He felt rage building inside and struggled to control himself. Other people on the dance floor had stopped to listen to the angry exchange. How he wanted to punch her in the face. But instead, his voice trembling with rage, he told her, “You aren’t worthy to be in the same city with her. Not even to be in the same state or country!”
He spun around and stomped out the door. His dance lessons were over.
*****
Emily tried to concentrate on the little ball she was supposed to hit with her racquet. But the noises were so loud, echoing in the room, bouncing off the walls, reverberating in her head. With every loud bang of the ball on the racquet or hitting the wall, she flinched, closing her eyes. Invariably, she swung and missed, often being pummeled by the ball as it bounced off the wall. She wanted to curl up into a small lump and hide in the corner.
Josh shook his head as she jumped and squealed, rubbing her leg where the ball had bruised her. “Emily, I don’t think this is working. Tell me again. Why are you trying to learn to play racquetball?”
“Because I thought Spencer and I could play together if I learned how.”
He chuckled. “Why is it you’re always injuring yourself in an effort to please Spencer when it’s absolutely unnecessary?”
“That’s not true,” she said, annoyed at the petulance in her voice.
“But it is true. Did he ask you to learn how to play racquetball?”
“No.”
“So, it was all your idea. Right?”
“No. Charlie suggested it.” His face contorted with pain, and she regretted saying her sister’s name. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t going to talk about her.”
He grimaced. “As much as it hurts, I’m still hungry to hear about her. Is she... Is she okay? Is she dating someone else? I really need to know.”
“Josh, I shouldn’t talk about her.”
“Please,” His eyes dropped, and his shoulders slumped in defeat. “She won’t talk to me or write me back. Does she hate me that much?”
“Josh. I’m so sorry. She doesn’t hate you. But I told you she might not give you a chance. I know it’s not fair.”
“So, you think I should simply forget about her? Move on with my life?” His face was incredulous, as if the very idea was preposterous.
“Probably so. I don’t think there’s much chance she’ll change her mind. At least not as long as you’re separated by half a country”
“Will you promise me something?”
“Sure, if I can.”
“If she ever moves here, even if it’s a year or two from now, will you tell me?”
“Sure, Josh. But don’t you think you’ll have another girlfriend by then, or maybe even be married?”
His eyes met with hers and held them fast in a piercing gaze. “No, I don’t think so. I’m not giving up hope unless I find out she’s married to someone else.”
She broke off from his intense regard. “Okay. I don’t think that’s wise, but it’s your life.”
“So I have a great idea. Instead of staying here and collecting more bruises, why don’t I walk you back to your place? You can tell me why you think you need to learn how to play a sport for Spencer, and I can talk you out of it before you kill yourself.”
“Do you really think I’m that hopeless?”
“You’re far from hopeless, but you need to pick a quieter sport. And whatever it is, you need to wear padding from head to toe. You just get hurt too easily.” His green eyes danced with laughter. “And after I convince you not to hurt yourself anymore, you can tell me a few stories about Charlie. I only want to hear what she’s doing. Tell me about her rafting, about her signing up for classes and what she’s going to take. I’ll be happy with any news at all. I’m starved for it.”
“Okay,” she agreed, secretly happy her racquetball career had met an early demise.
Spencer paced in the lobby of Emily’s building. He’d gone straight from the dance class, hoping to talk to her. He wasn’t even sure what he was going to tell her. He still hoped to surprise her at the wedding, so he couldn’t really reveal the events of the evening. But he felt almost dirty at the memory of Becca’s touch, and his ears burned from her remark about Emily. He just needed to hold her. He needed to tell her he loved her. He’d said it before. Hadn’t he? He wasn’t sure. But Gherring had warned him he could lose her. He needed to reassure himself. And he needed to reassure Emily.
But when he’d arrived at her apartment, she wasn’t home. And she hadn’t been upstairs at her parents’ place. And she hadn’t answered her phone. So he decided to wait for her. He’d wait as long as it took—all night if he needed to. And so, he paced.
He heard her voice before he saw her face. Her laughter rolled through the lobby. His heart lifted at the sound.
“Emily!” He turned toward the door with a longing smile. But the smile melted from his face when he saw whom she was with. “Josh.”
“I can explain,” she cried, rushing to him. “Josh was teaching me to play racquetball.”
“It’s okay. You’re free to date him if that’s what you want
.” He didn’t mean those words, but he was so angry he could barely control himself.
“This wasn’t a date.” Tears spilled from her eyes.
“Look Spencer. I promise I wasn’t trying to make a move on Emily.” Josh reached out to put a hand on his shoulder, but he shook it off.
“You know what? It’s been a long night, and I’m going home. We can talk tomorrow.” To his intense embarrassment, he felt tears building in his eyes. He wanted to say something more. To clear the air. To hold her and kiss her and somehow make up. To begin again. But instead, struggling to hide his wet face, he hurried to the lobby exit and slipped into the warm night air.
*****
“Emily, I’m so sorry. I should’ve known. I would’ve been just as jealous. I was so bent on hearing about Charlie I didn’t think about what might happen.”
“It’s not your fault. I knew he was upset the last time we were together. I should have asked Steven to teach me, instead.”
“He’ll be okay tomorrow. We didn’t do anything wrong. Deep down, he knows that. He’s only being a guy, you know.”
“I know. It’s just so stupid—and all for nothing. I was terrible at racquetball.”
“Uhmm, yes. You were pretty bad.” He bit his lips trying not to laugh. “I’m sorry, I really am. Look, I’m going to text him and explain the whole thing.”
“That’s not your responsibility.”
“Of course it is. What if he says something to Charlie? I can’t afford a single black mark in her book, even a false accusation could mean the difference between a slim chance and none at all.”
“Okay. I’m going to try to call him. But Josh, thanks for trying, anyway.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?”