See You at Harry's(52)

“Hey,” Holden says. “Thanks.”

“No problem!” Sara says. “So, um, I guess I’ll just hang out till the dance is over? Pick you up here at ten?”

“Uh, I think I’ll be going out with Gray after.”

“You sure that’s a good idea? Dad’s already going to lose it when he realizes where you are.”

“If he’s already mad, how much worse could it be? I figure I’ll be grounded the rest of my life anyway, so I might as well live it up while I still can.”

“Good logic. What about you, Princess Fern?”

I bite my lip. “Ten sounds good. I hope Ran and Cassie don’t mind the truck.”

“Of course they won’t. I’ll be here. Have fun, my princesses!”

We close the door and face the school. The gym doors are propped open, and music flows from inside.

“You can go first,” I say. “So it doesn’t look like you’re taking your sister to the dance.”

Holden smirks. “Fern, I’m probably going to be the only guy dancing with another guy. I hardly think you’re going to hurt my reputation.” He holds out his elbow, and I slip my hand through his arm.

“Come on,” he says. “Let’s go raise some eyebrows.”

I laugh. That’s what my dad used to say whenever he wanted us to do something wacky for the restaurant. “OK,” I say. “Let’s.”

In the lobby, there are giant pumpkins on either side of the door and about a million parents lining the entrance to the gym, on the lookout for any mischief. I let my hand slip out from Holden’s arm before anyone can really see us. The gym is already packed with people dancing under orange streamers. As I step inside, Cassie comes running toward me.

“OK, well, this is it,” Holden says. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” He disappears into the crowd. Cassie wraps her arms around me.

“You look beautiful! Wow!”

We step back and take each other in. Cassie is all in gold. Her dark curly hair and bronze skin look like they have flecks of gold, too. She looks stunning. “You, too!” I say.

“Come on, Ran’s waiting,” she gushes.

She takes my hand and leads me inside the orange wonderland. There are pumpkins everywhere and bales of hay instead of chairs to sit on. “Don’t sit down,” Cassie says. “The hay will stick to your dress. I’ve seen at least four girls picking hay off each other. They look like monkeys grooming!”


Lit pumpkins with stars carved in them light the refreshment tables. We find Ran standing in a corner by himself, happily sipping punch. He’s wearing an old-fashioned-looking tuxedo with a silver shirt underneath. It has ruffles. But the funny thing is, on Ran it looks great. He owns that outfit. Standing next to him, I feel myself stand up straighter, prouder.

“You two match,” Cassie says. And even though she’s smiling, I hear the hurt in her voice.

Ran smiles shyly at me. “I thought we could, you know, be coordinated.”

“Well, we’re all silver and gold,” Cassie says, already recovering. “Like the song in Rudolph?”

“Yeah,” I say. And then for some reason, I just start laughing. Because I love that she can turn her sadness around so quickly. Ran puts his hand on her shoulder and laughs, too. And it feels so good. So good and new. And OK. It feels OK to be here with my two best friends, happy.

We dance to the fast songs and take turns dancing with Ran to the slow ones. A few times, we dance near Holden and Gray, who are hanging out with a group of upperclassmen I don’t recognize. I think some of them are from our school and some are from the Academy, and I try to figure out which are which based on how they’re dressed. It’s hard to tell. There are girls and guys, and they all dance in a group around Holden and Gray, like a protective barrier from any Thing-type people who might try to cause trouble. Every time I catch eyes with Holden, he winks and I can see that he has the glow back.

When I slow dance with Ran, I can feel his breath in my ear. It’s funny, all these years we’ve been friends, we’ve never really been close like this before. All his familiar smells are stronger so near. I close my eyes and breathe them in.

“Fern,” he whispers on our last dance, “I’m really glad you came.”

“Me, too,” I say. I gently rest my head on his shoulder. He holds me a little closer, as if we are in a slow-dancing hug. I feel happy and sad at the same time. As if our emotions are all mixed up together. I feel his grief, but I feel his happiness, too. Somehow, it makes me feel safe, standing here with my best friend. His arms around me feel like a promise I believe. A promise that despite everything, all will be well after all.

When the song is over, we step away from each other. Ran smiles at me and I smile back, and a million butterflies take flight in my stomach. We find Cassie and head outside. Holden rushes past and yells, “Don’t wait up!” over his shoulder as he disappears with Gray and a bunch of his new friends.

“Fag!” I hear someone yell at them from the shadows.

“You know it!” Holden yells, and he and his friends all crack up laughing.

I spot the big headlights of the ice-cream truck turning into the parking lot. “You guys sure you aren’t too embarrassed to be seen in the ice-cream truck?” I ask Cassie and Ran.