Every straight male in the world would want to be me. To have these two on my arms was going to cause a problem. How would I top this next year? I would set Caryn on that project first thing on Monday.
Out of respect to Frank and Adrienne, we stood out front for several minutes. When we finally walked in, I had to smile. My dad had hired my brother and sister-in-law to help him with our prom. I’d wondered where Peggy had gone with the boys. They must have gone to Greg and Angie’s to watch my niece and nephews.
Greg acted as the host and took us to our seats. Two eight-couple tables had been reserved for my group. Everyone else was already here. It was just like Adrienne to want to make an entrance. First, there were the couples I’d put together: Halle and Ben Doman; Zoe and Trip James; Pam and Ridge Townsend; Tracy and Jim; Maria Dowe and Ryan Barlow; Brook and Zak Verwood; Cassidy and John Phillips; Gina and Bill; Johan and Leah Johansen; Wolf and Sarah Spence. The added couples were Tim and Brit, Yuri and Jan, and Roc and Piper. The final addition was my half brother Phil with a girl I didn’t know.
Angie was our server and took our drink orders. There was a set menu that you had to preselect, so there wasn’t much else for her to do at this point. Your choice of entrée was vegetarian, beef, or chicken. I’d picked vegetarian because they were serving one of my favorites, eggplant parmesan.
Greg came to our table.
“For those who want a photo to remember tonight by, it’s your table’s turn,” he announced.
Adrienne had arranged for Jackie Chan to take the pictures. I was glad that she did because there wasn’t the traditional arch with plastic flowers. Instead, Jackie used a blue background to which she could add anything later.
It was amusing to have two models there who had been in the business for years. They each had ideas as to what they wanted their Prom picture to be. Jackie bit her bottom lip when I shrugged at her. Whatever they wanted, they could have, as far as I was concerned. When they were finally done, Jackie showed me some possible backdrops. I was impressed when one of the options was the bluff on my farm that overlooked the river.
We got back in time to eat. I then took my dates around to each table and introduced them to my classmates.
We made it back in time for dessert to be served. It was strawberry cheesecake. We’d planted a large plot, but the berries wouldn’t be ready until next year. I loved fresh strawberries.
“You’re on my brother’s list of people he has a ‘get out of jail free’ card for,” I told Hannah.
“He is cute, but I would never do anything to damage a marriage. I’ve heard that line before. While I’ve never done it myself, I know of a few models who have. It never seems to work out like everyone thinks.”
“You should talk to them,” Adrienne advised.
“Yeah, my brother would love that,” I said with a smile.
After dessert, it was time for the band.
“I need David Dawson and his dates to come up here,” I heard.
I recognized that voice. It was Jett with her band Birthrite.
“I had no idea you’d be here,” I said as I got up to the stage.
“We’ll talk at the break,” Jett assured me.
I smiled when they started to play their cover of the Violent Femmes’
I saw that Hannah took a break and had my brother and sister-in-law sitting at our table, deep in conversation. I had to bite my tongue when my brother blushed, and both Angie and Hannah laughed. Greg gave me a dirty look. By the time they were done talking, he wore a big smile. Hannah made sure that he got a picture with her, and then they took one with Angie in it.
I knew how he felt. Spending time with Hannah was a rush and something you would remember the rest of your life. When Greg and Angie had to get back to work, my dad snuck over and got a picture as well. I would bet Uncle John was about to be tormented. It was good to see I wasn’t the only one who had a brother he could give a hard time.
Jett joined us on the break and told us that Caryn had called Angel, their manager, to see if they would play at our prom. Jett had said she wouldn’t miss it.
After the first break, Tracy came over to inform me I was to dance with my friends for the next set. I smiled when Adrienne and Hannah decided to dance with each other, though I waggled my finger at Adrienne for trying to steal my date. I was aware she wished Hannah might swing both ways. It got worse when Jett slowed the second set down so everyone could slow-dance.
One lesson I’d learned was you paid attention to who you were with. While I would have liked to watch my dates dance, I owed my attention to the girls I spent time with.
