Copyright © 2020 James Russell Stoakes
All rights reserved.
http://JamesStoakes.com
The week was a blur to Sarah. She had had little time to spend with Alice, and she worried about her between working and studying. Jason was back, and Sarah did not trust him. After Alice’s warning, Sarah had caught him staring at her several times. His presence made her uncomfortable, and she made sure to never be alone with him per Alice’s advice.
To make things worse, Sarah had seen Jason entering the store fifteen minutes earlier. “There are only two supermarkets in town,” Sarah said to herself. “He was bound to come in here sooner or later. It was inevitable,” she reasoned to herself.
She scanned the last item that Mrs. Hanson had put on the belt. “Your total today is $76.42,” she said with a smile that faded as she noticed her next customer. Mrs. Hanson prepared to insert her card. “Credit or Debit?” Sarah asked her politely, but a bit shakily.
“Credit,” Mrs. Hanson said. “Double points on groceries,” she added with a grin.
Sarah pressed the appropriate keys on the register, “Whatever that means,” she thought but instead said, “All set.”
Mrs. Hanson put her card in the machine, and moments later, the receipt streamed out.
“Have a great day,” Sarah said. “See you again soon!”
“Thanks,” Mrs. Hanson said as she turned to take possession of her cart from the bagger. “Thank you,” she said to him in passing.
Looking up, Sarah saw Jason there. “Did you find everything you were looking for?” she asked as she began scanning his items.
“I did,” Jason said. “How are you today, Sarah?” he asked.
Ignoring the fact that he was staring at her, Sarah answered politely. “I’m fine.” She the last item and looked at the register, “Your total is $22.47,” she said.
Jason reached into his pocket, pulled out some cash, and peeled some bills out of the wad. “Anything exciting going on this weekend?” he asked as he handed them to Sarah.
“No,” Sarah lied. She couldn’t wait to get done with her shift. Robbie was taking her to the winter dance tonight. She couldn’t help but look towards the clock.
“We should go out,” he said confidently.
Sarah involuntarily looked into his eyes. He had a grin on his face that made her want to recoil. “My boyfriend might not like that,” she answered as confidently as she could.
He brushed his bangs out of his face casually with his free hand. “When you tire of high school boys, let me know,” he said obnoxiously. He picked up his bag and began walking out.
“What a creeper!” the next person in line exclaimed quietly to Sarah.
Jason looked back and laughed, having overheard the young woman. Sarah began mechanically ringing up the purchases as though nothing had happened. She passed the last item over the scanner. When she looked up, she suddenly realized that the woman had been talking to her.
“Are you okay?” the woman asked, “Is he going to be a problem?” she asked again, indicating Jason, who was walking across the parking lot now.
Smiling, Sarah told her, “He’s always been a bit weird. Everything is fine.”
“If you say so,” the woman said, unconvinced. “He gave me the willies.”
“Yeah, me too,” the woman behind her volunteered. Both women stared at Sarah for a moment.
Sarah looked up at the screen, “$14.32,” she said and began bagging the items.
Bob arrived with a tray of money. “After this customer, I’ll be taking over,” he said, smiling. “I know you need to get going.”
“Thanks, Bob,” Sarah said. She handed the change back to her customer. “Have a nice day!” she chirped before pulling her tray and letting Bob take over.
“You look absolutely beautiful!” Sarah’s mother asserted as Sarah descended the stairs. This was the first time she had seen the dress that Alice and Sarah had picked out. It was a tight, all-white, full-length gown that sparkled in the light. Alice had sewn sparkling snowflakes and stitched them to the skirt. She had her blonde hair up high in a classic bun with a long wooden hairpin holding it in place.
Mr. Mitchel stood to see what his wife was seeing. He smiled when he saw his daughter standing on the stairs. “I agree with your mother’s assessment,” he said. “Beautiful.” He noticed the modest neck-line and the white gloves that went to her elbows. “I approve,” he added and received a scowl from Sarah.
“I’m not sure if it bothers me that you felt you needed to approve it or the fact that I’m happy that you do,” Sarah said as she finished the descent. She walked over to him and hugged him. “Thank you, daddy,” she said.
Headlights passed across the room as Robbie pulled up in front of the house. “It looks like your ride is here,” Mr. Mitchel said.
Sarah hugged him a little harder, “He can wait,” she said. A moment later, she released him and hugged her mother as well. A knock at the door beckoned. Mr. Mitchel greeted Robbie and brought him in.
“Wow!” was the first thing Robbie said when he saw Sarah standing with her mother.
Mr. Mitchel playfully punched Robbie in the shoulder. “You’re damn right, wow. I still cannot believe she married me,” he said as he walked over to Mrs. Mitchel. “Stop staring at my wife!” he laughed.
Mrs. Mitchel slapped him on the arm and took his hand. Robbie, quick as ever, agreed. “I’m sorry, Mr. Mitchel. I couldn’t help myself.”
Sarah stepped towards Robbie, “You guys, just stop.” She grabbed his arm and looked his white tux over. “You look nice!” she complimented him.
“I have something for you,” Robbie said, lifting the small bag in his hand. He fished a corsage from within the bag and began removing it from the plastic case. “The florist was successful in achieving what I asked,” he said, presenting two roses tied together. One rose was blue, and the other was green and closely resembled the color of Sarah’s eyes. Robbie started to pin it onto Sarah but chickened out and handed it to her. “I’m afraid I’m going to stick the pin into you,” he said sheepishly.
“It’s perfect!” Sarah said, taking the arrangement from him. She deftly pinned it to the front of the dress. “I’m ready. I assume the car is warm,” she asked, putting on a light jacket.
“It is,” Robbie confirmed. “Bring a winter jacket too, just in case. We can leave it in the car.” Sarah took her winter coat down and draped it over her arm. “I can take that,” Robbie offered. Sarah handed the heavy jacket to him. “We will be home by ten,” Robbie announced to the Mitchels.
“Have a good time!” Mrs. Mitchel chimed.
“But, not too good of a time,” Mr. Mitchel laughed and then added in a more serious tone, “No, really. Behave,” he warned.
“We will,” Sarah confirmed as she opened the door.
The music was louder than Sarah liked, but that wasn’t unusual at events like this. Robbie had gone to get her a glass of punch while she sought an empty table for them to use.
“I hope my gloves do not get stained from the punch,” she worried. A few people were sitting at tables, and a few were sitting in the bleachers. Five or six couples were dancing already and appeared to be having fun.
She looked to the door in time to see Marry arrive with her date, Dan Roche. Mary directed an intense glare towards Sarah before handing over her jacket and turning to say something sweetly to Dan. Sarah watched as Dan left Mary alone. It was only a moment more before Mary began to march towards Sarah.
“Oh, God. Here we go,” Sarah thought. “That’s a lovely dress,” Sarah said to Mary once she was close enough to hear her.
“I’m not here to play nice, Sarah,” Mary said snidely. “I want Robbie back!”
“What do you mean, you want him back?” Sarah asked, confused. “You only dated a few times.”
“Is that what he told you?” Mary fumed.
Robbie chose that moment to return with a cup of punch in each hand. “What’s going on?” he asked as the song ended.
Mary spun quickly and accidentally knocked one of the cups from his hand as she yelled, “We need to talk.” Juice from the cup landed on both of them and spattered their attire.
Nearby laughter and a few gasps caught Mary’s attention. People were staring, and she had not counted on an audience. Mary began to cry in frustration and felt the need to flee the situation she had created. She backed up, with her hands held out in disbelief of the mess that was all over her. Her face twisted in anger as she rushed out the door of the gym. Mary’s temper was legendary, so vice-principal Martin said nothing and stood aside as she approached the door.
Dan arrived as Mary sped away. Unfazed, he handed his now extra drink to Sarah. “She’s been kinda moody ever since I picked her up tonight. I might need a ride home,” he confided as he handed some napkins to Robbie.
Robbie accepted the napkins and began wiping off. “It’s a rental. I hope it doesn’t stain.” Most of the droplets stayed on the surface and wiped off.
“The jacket looks like it was treated,” Dan observed.
Sarah’s mind was whirling. She took a sip of the punch and sat down. Once Robbie had finished wiping, the boys both sat down with her. A new song started, and Robbie smiled at her. “Ready to dance?”
“Was there more to your relationship with Mary than you told me about?” Sarah asked.
Dan stood. “I’ll look for you two later,” he said and hastily departed.
“No,” Robbie said flatly. “We only dated for a few weeks.”
“Well, she sure seemed to think there was more to it,” Sarah said quietly.