by Leanne Baugh
An enormous white limo pulls up. Justin, looking awkward in his dark-brown suit and tie, gets out and holds out a gentlemanly hand for Grace. She looks radiant in a long, silvery off-the-shoulder dress. She runs up to me, her high heels clicking on the pavement.
“Oh my God, Abbs, you look amazing.”
“You, too. I knew that dress would look gorgeous on you.”
“Please save me from the Serena madness,” Grace says as Briar, Keegan, and Serena spill out of the limo. “She’s already slurring her words.”
Serena looks more like a bride in her white lacy sleeveless gown. Her bony shoulders and collarbones stick out sharply.
“Where’s Liam?” I ask.
“When he got to Serena’s and saw how drunk she was, he bailed. Said he’d drive himself. Didn’t even stay for pictures.”
Does this niggling feeling in my stomach mean I’m glad? Relieved? Pissed off? All of the above?
“Can’t imagine that went over well.”
“Like you’d expect. She hurled every insulting name at him she could think of and then poured herself another stiff one.”
Serena stumbles but grabs Briar’s arm to steady herself, and they wobble into the convention center. Justin stands at the door waiting for Grace.
“I’d better get going. See you in there.” Grace hugs me then joins Justin.
As they walk toward me, Jeannie’s chatting away with Dad, catching him up on all her news.
“Shall we?” I say.
“We certainly shall, Gorgeous,” Jeannie says.
A wave of pure joy washes over me as the three of us link arms and make our way to the door. The dining room is packed with about a hundred tables. With a sudden self-preservation reflex, I look around for Mason and Dax, even though I know they are in police custody. Fine by me.
Simon and Olivia, their eyes glued to each other, are at a table with Simon’s dad, Olivia’s parents, and Gus and his parents. Simon gives me a smile and a thumbs-up. Grace and Justin are sitting at a table with Justin’s parents and Grace’s mom and her new man, who’s wearing a loud plaid suit. Grace looks bored stiff. Briar, Keegan, and Serena are at a big table with their parents. Briar and Serena are joined at the forehead, laughing like hyenas. Serena’s mother, who usually is very elegant and composed, has an annoyed expression. Serena’s dad talks on his cell phone.
Liam and Penny sit at a table with a strange mix of students from the beekeeping club, the anime club, and the ping-pong club. With her dyed reddish-pink hair, Penny looks so out of place among this crowd of mostly Nordstrom mothers. She spots us, gets Dad’s attention, and points out the three empty chairs beside them. Dad nods and leads us to the table.
Oh, great.
When Liam sees me, his eyes widen. I wish I could read his face, but I’m going to assume he likes what he sees. He stands, shakes Dad’s hand, and gives Jeannie a quick wave. Then he stares at the swirly pattern on the carpet.
Penny hugs me. “You look absolutely smashing, Abby.”
“Thanks, Penny.”
Dad pulls out chairs for Jeannie and me, but I’m too antsy. I need the murky air cleared before I can enjoy the evening.
“Liam, can I talk to you?” I say.
He nods, reluctantly follows me out of the dining room into the foyer.
“What the hell?” I say.
“What?” He has the audacity to look surprised.
“You dumped me months ago when I needed you the most.”
“I know, I thought we’d already established that I’m an asshole.” He’s super-agitated, but I’m on a roll.
“And you promised me over a year ago we would go to grad together no matter what. Do you know that one of the only reasons I came back to Rocky View High was to go to grad with you?”
“I’m sorry, but—”
“Not only that, but then you agreed to go to grad with Serena and bailed on her at the last minute. How do you think she feels?”
“I should never have said yes to Serena in the first place. Look, Abby…I didn’t think you’d ever want to go to grad with me—the chickenshit loser.”
“You stood up to Mason and Dax. Hardly what I would call a chickenshit loser.”
“I was worried about you,” Liam says softly, hanging his head.
I sigh and take in how hot he looks in his navy suit and striped tie.
“If only you’d talked to me,” I say.
“I couldn’t.” Tears well in his eyes and his lower lip starts to quiver. “I just couldn’t.”
I want to hold on to my rage, my righteous indignation, but instead a warm tsunami of compassion floods my whole body. I wrap my arms around Liam and we hold each other for what seems like hours before we finally go back to the table.
***
Dinner’s over. While Jeannie talks to Schultzy and Mr. Hardy, I dance with Dad.
“Glad you came tonight?” Dad asks.
“Yeah, I am. Thanks for threatening to disown me if I didn’t come.”
“I threatened to disinherit you—I’d never disown you.”
“Well, thanks for that.” Dad gives me a big hug. It feels so good. Must be getting lessons from Angela. Speaking of…
“What’s new from Angela the environmentalist?” I ask.
Dad smiles. “She texted a few times from China. I’m still on her radar.”
“Sounds promising.”
“That it does.”
“You deserve to be happy, Dad.”
“So do you, Abby. So do you.” Another warm hug.
***
After dancing with Dad, I go to the washroom. Grace and Briar are standing outside a stall.
“What’s going on?” I ask, then hear puking sounds.
“Serena’s had a little too much to drink tonight. Apparently, she was slipping booze into her punch during dinner,” Grace says. “Briar, go get Serena’s mom. Serena needs to get home to bed.”
“No way, her mom will kill her. Besides, Serena’s been talking about the after-grad party for the whole year,” Briar says.
More puking. Moaning.
“I don’t think Serena’s going to any after-grad party tonight,” Grace says.
Briar hesitates then leaves. I look under the stall and see that Serena’s white dress is stained with barf. “You okay in there?” I ask.
Serena says something incoherent and pukes again.
After Serena’s parents take her home, I go back to the table where Liam, Penny, Jeannie, and Dad are talking. The music starts again and Liam stands, holds out his hand to me.
The song is “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” by Simple Minds. We dance. Dance like we used to, all crazy-like. Shaking our bodies, twisting, twirling each other around, and laughing our asses off like no one else in the world exists.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Oceans of thanks go to:
Diana Cranstoun, Tricia Dower, Adrian Hill, Diana Jones, and Shannon McFerran—my insightful and talented writing friends, whose thoughtful comments on those raw early drafts nudged me to finish this novel.
Susan Mayse who has challenged me to deep dive into the art and craft of writing and offered much needed encouragement along the way.
Becca Lee and Ijeoma Umebinyuo for allowing me to use their beautiful words.
Heather Camlot who helped shape the story with her remarkable editing prowess.
Kathryn Cole who uncovered the story’s potential, and the entire team at Second Story Press.
My family and friends who have been my most devoted cheerleaders, even when I didn’t think there was much to cheer about.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Born in Calgary, Alberta, Leanne Baugh first fell in love with writing for film. She won three screenwriting awards and had two screenplays optioned. She soon switched to writing fiction a
nd recently finished her third Young Adult novel. When she isn’t at home walking the beaches in Victoria, B.C., she’s off travelling the world.