A Turn in the Road (Blossom Street #8)(85)

If it was possible to turn back the clock for Ruth, could she do it for herself and Grant, too? Bethanne didn’t know.

Glancing at her watch, she clapped her hands. “We have places to go and people to see,” she said, dismissing her thoughts. She couldn’t let herself get sidetracked. Not right now. She had too much to do.

By seven on Saturday, just six days before the actual reunion, all the preparations for the prom had been made. Royce and Grant were at his house, where the car was due to arrive any minute, while Bethanne kept Ruth company at the hotel.

Bethanne had purchased a party dress of her own at the secondhand shop. A frilly dress that was the kind of outfit Brenda Lee or Connie Francis might have worn, with a short skirt flaring out from the waist. A wide silk ribbon belted around her middle set off the strapless top.

“I feel seventeen all over again,” Ruth said, running a hand along the front of her gown.

“Good,” Bethanne said. “We want you to feel young and in love for your senior prom.”

“Oh, Bethanne, I do. I really do. Royce is just the way I remember him…and so much more. I think I’m falling in love again.”

“All we want is for you to be happy, Ruth.”

“I know, and I appreciate that more than I can say.”

Bethanne couldn’t recall a time she’d seen Ruth this excited.

A knock sounded at the door, and Bethanne answered it to find Royce standing on the other side, dressed in a tuxedo and holding a wrist corsage in his hand.

“Is Ruth here?” he asked.

Ruth stepped forward and Royce’s jaw sagged. “Ruth, my goodness, that’s the same dress you wore the night of our prom.”

“It isn’t the same dress. It’s a re-creation…. Annie and Bethanne arranged this.”

He couldn’t seem to take his eyes off her. “There’s a car waiting for us outside,” he mumbled.

“A car?” Ruth asked. She gave Bethanne a puzzled look. “I thought you said the prom was taking place right here at the hotel.”

“It is,” Bethanne responded in a whisper. “Just go with him.”

“Okay,” Ruth whispered back.

Royce helped her with her corsage, and Ruth pinned on the boutonniere Bethanne had ordered earlier. She walked them through the lobby and out the door, where the young chauffeur stood by the limousine. As soon as they appeared, he made a sweeping motion with his arm and held the back door open.

Royce handed Ruth inside and then hurried around the car. When they’d driven off, Grant showed up. “Where are they going?” Bethanne asked.

“For a ride down Ocean Drive,” he said. “Things weren’t quite ready yet, so we needed them to kill about fifteen minutes. Besides, the limo ride is part of the experience.”

Bethanne followed Grant through the restaurant, where they attracted quite a few curious glances. With Grant attired in a suit and jacket, and she in her short, frilly dress, they must have looked like actors who’d stepped off the stage of a Broadway play about the 1960s.

Annie dashed toward her when Bethanne entered the room. “What do you think, Mom?” she asked eagerly.

Bethanne drew in her breath as she proceeded through an archway of colorful balloons. Annie, Grant and Craig had done a marvelous job. The band—five musicians and a lead singer—were off to one side behind a waist-high barrier of red velvet with “Class of 1961” emblazoned in gold lettering across the front. Several small tables, with lamps on each one, were artfully arranged around the room.

Other couples started to arrive, and the photographer came forward to snap their pictures.

Annie greeted each couple, giving them a printed program and offering the women a dance card.

“Everything looks so real,” Bethanne told Grant. “I feel like a time traveler.” The life-size photograph of Royce and Ruth was propped against one wall, framed by tiny twinkling lights.

“Just wait until the king and queen are crowned.”

“Oh-h.” Bethanne brought one hand to her mouth. She hadn’t thought of that, but Grant had. They’d worked together to make this happen for Ruth and Royce, put aside their differences and become a team again. Even a few months ago, she wouldn’t have believed it possible, wouldn’t have believed they were capable of accomplishing this evening.

When the starring couple arrived, the band began to play, and almost before she was aware of it, Bethanne found herself in Grant’s arms as he led her onto the small, makeshift dance floor.

“That’s ‘Moon River.’ It’s the theme song from Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Andy Williams sang it the night I went to the concert with Grandma in Branson,” Annie said as she and Royce’s grandson glided past Bethanne and Grant.

“Apparently, Andy made an impression on our daughter,” Grant said, smiling down at her.

“So it seems.”

“Does it feel like high school all over again?” he asked, his head close to hers.

Bethanne nodded. “It’s an amazing night.”

“And it’s only just begun,” Grant murmured.

She couldn’t imagine what else he had planned. But she was about to find out….

About an hour into the night, the band paused and Grant walked to the stage and reached for the microphone.