Our Heart (45 page)

We both looked over towards the entrance to the living room at Stacy Dittmer. She was standing there, blocking our vision of the entryway beyond. Mrs. Dittmer was all smiles and her eyes were sparkling brightly. Just by looking at Mrs. Dittmer I understood another thing about the prom; it was a big deal to the mothers as well!

“Jason, you look so handsome,” said Mrs. Dittmer, as she stepped towards me. She moved out of the way and Allison stepped into the living room.

My dad used to tell me all the time, when things were going good before Mom died, that to truly impress a woman, you needed to be aware of the fact that she will judge you more by the things you do and less by what you say. This was really good advice, considering I couldn’t even begin to find words to describe Allison standing there in front of me. “Movie Star,” was running around in my head. I know my mouth had dropped open and I closed it only to realize a second later it was open again. My brain could not find the words with which to communicate. Allison stood there and basked in my agony, which only made me more flustered. She was beautiful, wearing a pale yellow gown and her hair professionally styled and curled about her face, complete with tiny white flowers perfectly interlaced within her hair. She was wearing a diamond necklace and earrings, which could only have come from Mrs. Dittmer. She had a matching shawl to her dress draped around her bared shoulders. She was stunning and I felt vastly inferior in her presence.

I still hadn’t said a word, and I think everyone was becoming a little impatient with me. Before anyone said anything, though, I walked over to Allison holding out her corsage in front of me as I went. I could see her looking at it and a smile played at her lips. Holding it out to her I said, “I wished I had gotten you something much more deserving, because your undeniable beauty has made these flowers plain by comparison.” Then I added, “Wow,” for good measure.

In unison, both Allison and her mom sighed, “Ooohh!” I won the mom battle and I couldn’t help smiling at Allison, who responded with a blush of her own. I didn’t even try to pin the corsage on her. I let someone much more adapt do it, her mom. The pictures weren’t as bad as I thought they might be. Mrs. Dittmer kept Mr. Dittmer in check and we were already done when I heard Matt’s car idling out front. Mrs. Dittmer was closest to the window and she waved at Matt to let him know we were ready and would be out shortly.

When Allison slipped her hand through my arm, to walk down the front steps, I felt my whole body tingle at her touch. “Wow,” was no longer the word running through my head. “Amazing and lucky,” had taken its place. Matt didn’t get out of the car, and I couldn’t help but smile as I saw Dani give him a playful slap. I opened Allison’s door for her, and she kissed me on the cheek as she ducked inside. With the two of us comfortable in the back, Matt backed us up and we headed out of town to catch the main road into Cedar Rapids.

Dinner at Lancaster’s was better than good. The food was excellent and the waitress who served us made us feel like royalty without overdoing it. There were several other tables also filled with friends and their dates from school. It was great to watch all the other patrons, as they looked us over. You could read some of the looks in their eyes. The room was thick with the nostalgia that some couples shared, as they remembered their own proms together or some other special occasions. It made for an evening to remember for more than just the prom attendees.

Matt was even more nervous than I was, if that was possible. Dani moved his water glass away from his continually twitting hand. Allison and I laughed because we knew Dani was more concerned about him knocking it over onto her, rather than him spilling it on the table. Even Matt seemed to settle down after that. The two of them really looked good together, Dani in a short and noticeably tight pink satin dress and Matt in a black tux similar in style to mine. Matt had bought Dani a wrist corsage with beautiful pink roses and carnations. Dani would bring it up to her nose to enjoy its fragrance every so often and then give Matt a smile as she reached under the table to squeeze his upper leg. Every time she did, he would turn a nice shade of red to
complement
her dress.

The girls spent the entire ride to the restaurant talking about their dresses, their friends’ dresses and, for all we knew, all the dresses ever made. Matt and I zoned out on the girl’s conversation and listened to the radio. I’m pretty sure we had similar thoughts running through our minds. A couple of times during dinner, the two of them would lean across the table and whisper something about one of the other prom couples in the restaurant. We were just done ordering dessert when Dani and Allison excused themselves to go to the restroom and, by the look of things around us, so did many of the other guys’ prom dates.

The dessert made it to the table before the girls did, and it was hard trying to be a gentleman and not eat it before they got back. We could hear the girls coming before we saw them. The volume of their conversation floated over the air and surpassed the background music playing. They were a cluster of pinks, yellows, teals, and greens. All heads turned to watch the runway-like atmosphere created by the “Girls of Prom.” Dani was in the lead and Allison right on her hip. Becka, Tif, Theresa, Jennifer, and Ashley followed close behind. They were oblivious to the stares, and all of them seemed to be talking at once. As soon as they hit the main room of the restaurant, they broke formation and headed to their tables and respective dates.

“Did you see all the looks you were getting,” Matt and I both threw out simultaneously, “when you came out of the bathroom?” The girls looked at each other, shrugged, then laughed, which I’m sure was directed at us. They hammed it up with each other, drawing a few more stares. They both looked great, and Matt and I decided it was time to eat dessert before we found a way to be even more conspicuous. The girls both raved over dessert, and afterwards, Matt and I dug in our wallets to pay the check. We all got up and headed out to the car. We made sure to leave our waitress a very generous tip. She had written on our checks…dessert on the house, have a great night!!

On the way back to the high school, Allison snuggled into me, and I could smell her perfume, which amplified the sensations I felt as her hand tightly grasped mine. Dani had moved as close as she could to Matt, and they held hands as well. The car ride was quiet except for the music coming from the radio. I almost wished Matt would just keep driving, forgetting about the prom and keeping the magic of the moment going forever.

Matt let us out at the main entrance to the high school and then went to park the car. Dani waited with us just inside, until he caught up. The school was all abuzz, couples enjoying the moment and everyone happy, complimenting each other on their stunning looks. It’s amazing how someone you’ve known all your life growing up can suddenly look like a totally different person. Sometimes you could swear you’ve never met them before. Kristen Martin had always been the shy girl of the class, sitting in back, never drawing attention to herself. She wore glasses and dressed plainly. She
hadn’t
made many friends
,
and I couldn’t have told you five things about her. I always saw her sitting by herself at lunch and never took time to get to know her; somehow, seeing her tonight made me feel sorry that I hadn’t.

Matt nudged me, “Who’s the girl over there with Alex? She’s gorgeous!”

I smirked and smacked him on the arm, “It’s Kristen you dimwit.”

His jaw dropped and I smacked him again. We walked over to her and Alex with Dani and Allison leading the way. The girls hugged each other and Allison made a fuss over Kristen and how beautiful she was. Kristen was not used to the attention she was receiving and was
blushing profusely
. The girls backed off and started talking about who did whose hair. Matt said something to Alex I couldn’t quite catch, and Alex smiled from ear to ear. I could tell he was enjoying all the attention he and Kristen were getting.

Over the loud speaker Mrs. Jameson announced the couples and singles should start lining up and getting ready for the procession through the cafeteria and into the dance. Everyone should have their invitation ready with their names clearly printed, to hand to the director at the door, who would announce them at the entrance to the cafeteria. They should walk across the room and stop by the two Roman columns and face the onlookers. They should smile, count to twenty, and then move on towards the gym doors and the ushers, who would open and close them. Delaying at the columns would not be tolerated, as we needed to keep things moving at a good pace.

Matt and Dani were a couple of groups ahead of us, and we were somewhere in the middle of the pack. Every time someone’s name was announced, the crowd would respond with thunderous applause and whistles. It was exciting and, if Allison could have looked anymore beautiful than she did at the moment our names were announced, I don’t know how. It felt like we were gliding on a soft breeze. Flashes from cameras erupted from all around us, and people clapped and cheered as we walked across the room. When we turned to face the audience, both my grandpa and Mr. Dittmer had managed to place themselves front and center. Both had their cameras ready, and they clicked off as many exposures as they could in the time we stood in front of them. I dutifully counted to twenty and then led Allison toward the entrance to the gym. It was a moment unlike any other I had ever lived; to be standing there with Allison was definitely well worth all the effort it had taken to get there!

The world changed, once we entered the gymnasium. It had been decorated by the prom committee, and they had done a miraculous job. Streamers and strobe lights were everywhere. Tables and chairs had been placed all around the floor, and a large banquet style table was by the far wall with a few manned spots. We had all been told that once we entered the gym, the only way out was to use the restrooms in the locker rooms or to exit into the parking lot by way of the large table at the end of the gym. If we chose to leave the prom, our names would be written down as to when we left, and we wouldn’t be allowed to come back in. It was one and done. They were trying their best to preserve the atmosphere and to eliminate any potential disruptions.

The lights had been kept to a minimum, and the DJ was up on the stage, already playing background music at low volume, while the rest of the couples and singles made their way into the gym. Allison and I made our way over to the table Dani and Matt had saved for us. There were spots for six people at each table, and Alex and Kristen were sitting there with Matt and Dani. I was glad it was they and not Nick. I wasn’t even sure if he’d be coming. It didn’t take long to find out if he was here, as he came over to us before I could even sit down, with some girl I didn’t recognize. He introduced her as Steph, who went to CMG High. We all introduced ourselves and made an effort to be nice with our chitchat. He took a moment and commented on how terrific Allison looked and asked her if he might have a dance later. She didn’t respond, instead, looking at me for possible help. I didn’t want any problem, so I told Nick her dance card was already full for the night.

To his credit, he smiled and said, “I got it,” and backed away unceremoniously with Steph.

All of us at the table were quiet and looked at each other waiting for the first one to say something. Allison reached under the table for my hand and held it tightly. Matt and I made eye contact and I could tell he was as stoked as I was.

I had way too many plans for the night to let Nick bring me down or even put a damper on things. For Allison, myself, and my friends I bit back the anger and said, “Nick’s got a thing for Allison…always has! I mean, who can blame him? She drives me absolutely crazy too!” Allison smiled and hit me on the shoulder. The ice had been broken and we enjoyed our prom together, just the six of us.

We danced to all of the current popular songs and many great ones from the past. Everyone was out on the dance floor doing the “Hand Jive” and “YMCA.” It was a great time and Nick stayed away from us. The crowd was thrilled when the DJ played some of the old time dance music. Those who could actually dance made their way out on the floor. The rest of us “two left-footers” clapped and cheered in support. Kristen and Alex ended up being the hit of the prom. Who knew they could dance the jitterbug and do a mean swing?

The DJ took a break around nine-thirty and everyone headed to the punch table for refills and snacks. It was also my cue to head backstage. Only Matt had figured out who the DJ was and during the break, he pulled me aside and asked if I had something planned. I only grinned at him, but it was all the conformation he needed. I made an excuse to Allison that I needed to go to the bathroom. Matt being the good friend he was, drew her attention while I went the opposite way, away from the bathroom to the hallway leading up to the stage. Justin was waiting there for me drinking a bottle of water. After Melissa had asked me to sing, she also had told me Justin was going to be the DJ. I had then asked Justin if he’d do a song with me. He agreed, and we decided to do Extreme’s “More Than Words.” It had great harmonies for both guitar and voice. It was made popular a year or so back and would be a great couple’s dance song.

Justin had taped his part on a CD and mailed it to me to play while I practiced. It would be his first time playing it with me, but I had my part pretty well down pat. Melissa headed up the prom committee and she was now on stage. Justin and I had our guitars strapped around our necks and each of us had a chair to carry out on stage to sit in. Melissa made some announcements about the after-prom event being held at the church and the breakfast that would follow in the morning at six a.m. She thanked everyone on the committee for his or her help and got a resounding applause from the group. I looked out behind a gap in the stage curtain and could make out Allison looking around for me. Matt whispered something in her ear, and she immediately brought her eyes up to the stage and I was sure she was looking for me.