Girls of Summer(92)

“I already put your name on the deed,” Theo said. “Of course.”

“Oh, Theo.” Beth leaned forward and hugged him. “You are so romantic. And I’m glad. I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings somehow, but can you understand why I’m saying this?”

“I can,” Theo admitted. “Now that I think about it, I can understand what you’re saying. So of course we’ll go to the bank and you can withdraw your money and put it toward the mortgage. Then we can give your dad and my mom some of the money back.”

“Thank you. I’m glad you can see my point of view.”

“Actually,” Theo teased, “I can’t see anything but you in that cover-up.”

“I’ll take it off when we get home,” Beth told him. “But first, let’s go back to the party and dance.”

They held hands as they walked back into the ballroom. The band was playing again, a nice slow sixties’ medley, and Beth slid into Theo’s arms as if she belonged there.

   They saw Theo’s mom dancing with Beth’s dad, and Juliet dancing with Ryder. In the room full of mermaids and Neptunes, pirates and naval officers, they danced together through rippling green ribbons of silky seaweed, holding each other tight, knowing that tonight was only the beginning.