Fools Rush in(80)

“Hey, how are you?” Joe said. He looked at my full glass. “Millie, need another drink?” With that, he fled. I guessed the reason.

“Nice to meet you,” I said to Lorraine and followed Joe into the kitchen. He was gulping down some wine. “I guess you know her, huh?”

“Oh, yeah.”

“Old girlfriend?” I asked mildly.

“Something like that,” he answered. He finished the wine and then smiled at me. “Don’t leave me alone with her, okay?”

“Anything you should tell me?”

“Shit, no.”

I tried not to mind. There were too many of them to take offense. I’d always known that, I reminded myself. Besides, it was my very first big dance, and I wanted to enjoy it. I ate carefully, knowing the effect of my dress would be rather less with a big splotch of cocktail sauce on the bodice. I took only a few sips of wine; I was a chaperone, after all.

We settled into our dinner, chatting, laughing, having a lovely time, aside from the granite-faced Lorraine. Joe seemed subdued, speaking in a low voice, carefully not glancing at her end of the table.

“Well, my dears, I believe it’s that time,” Jill trilled after coffee and cake. We thanked her profusely and headed to our cars.

“So, Joe, you okay?” I asked as we drove up Route 6 toward the high school.

“Sure. Why do you ask?”

“Well, you seemed a little shaken up by seeing that woman…Lorraine?”

He sighed and glanced at me. “She was one of those women I kind of told you about, Millie. I was doing some work at her house, and she put the moves on me, and the next thing you know, she’s talking about leaving her husband and—”

“She’s married?” I barked.

“Yeah. Well, she was back then. I think she got a divorce.”

“Joe! You slept with a married woman?” I couldn’t keep the shrillness from my voice.

“Well, yeah, I guess. But she was the one cheating on her husband, not me.”

Sam would never do anything like that. The thought popped into my head, taking me by surprise. But it was true. While I wanted desperately to believe there was a secret, heroic side to Joe Carpenter, there was nothing secret about Sam’s goodness.

“That’s not how adultery works, Joe,” I began, my voice tight. But at his look of confusion, gave up. We were at the school, and I couldn’t deal with this conversation right now. As we pulled into the parking lot and got out of the car, the kids were starting to arrive, the girls as bright as exotic birds in their dresses, the boys adorably awkward in their suits.

Joe took my arm and led me toward the school, whistling under his breath. Once again, he was oblivious to how I was feeling. I gritted my teeth and tried to shove my negative thoughts away. He can’t help how women act around him, Millie. But it wasn’t just how the women acted. It was Joe, too.

“Ready, gorgeous?” Joe beamed at me, holding the door.

Forcing a smile, I took Joe’s hand. He’s not perfect, I told myself. No one is.

The gym was festooned with streamers and balloons, and strands of multicolored Christmas lights winked. In the middle of the room was a model of Nauset Light, about fifteen feet high, with a real light going round and round inside it.

“Oh, look, Joe! A lighthouse!” It was so charming that I forgot my turmoil.

“Yeah, well, I hate to tell you this, Millie, but they’ve had that since we were here.”

“Oh.” My smile slipped.

We wandered around, waving to the other chaperones and kids we knew. Our duties were pretty vague; keep an eye out for drinking and drugs, overly intense making out, stuff like that. Be the grown-ups, in other words.

My nephew and Sarah approached us. “Hi, you guys!” I said. “Oh, Sarah, you look beautiful! Wow!”

“So do you, Millie,” she said shyly. “Hi, Mr. Carpenter.”

“Hi, Danny,” I said, reaching up for a hug. “You’re so handsome, my little angel boy,” I whispered into his ear.

“Thanks for whispering that,” he said, grinning happily. “Hey, Joe.”

“Hey, Dan,” Joe answered amiably. “You having fun yet?”

“Sure,” they answered in unison.

“Well, go have a good time. You don’t have to hang around and talk to us.” I shooed them away, swallowing around the lump in my throat at the sight of my nephew. I hoped Sam had been able to see Danny and Sarah looking so beautiful. I hoped he’d taken a picture for me.

“She called me Mr. Carpenter,” Joe said, jerking his chin toward Sarah. “That girl.”

“Well, Joe, you are almost twice her age. We both are.”

“Yeah, I guess so. Makes you feel old, though.”

“Thirty is not old, Joe.”

“I guess not.” He sighed. “Hey, are you gonna dance with me or what?”

I hesitated. “How about in a little while, when more people are dancing. I don’t see any other chaperones out there yet.”

“Okay, okay,” Joe muttered, looking a bit irked. “I’ll be back in a few minutes, all right?”

“Sure.” I watched Joe walk around the dance floor to the exit. He might be twice the age of some of the girls here, but that didn’t keep them from stealing looks at him. Yes, I was definitely with the prom king. A rather old prom king, but a prom king nonetheless.