“Oh, John,” Sarah said. “I’ll always be your girl.” She pointed to his cast. “But you can’t dance.”
John nodded sadly and said, “Maybe next time.”
&nbs
p; Lou ushered the couple out into the sunshine so she could take some pictures. Brody posed good naturedly with Sarah and smiled. Lou walked over and whispered to him, “You won’t let her out of your sight, will you?”
“Nope,” he whispered back. “She’ll be stuck to me like glue.”
“Why did you do all this?” Lou asked quietly.
“Because my mother asked me, too,” he responded candidly. “I make a good date.” He winked at her. “Maybe you should try me out some time.”
“I thought I already did that,” Lou tossed back at him. His cheeks grew rosy and his eyes darkened for a moment.
Brody opened the door of his mother’s old car, and seated Sarah. He buckled her in and said, “Ready to go cut a rug?”
“Well, what would we want to do that for?” Sarah replied, her eyebrows drawn together in a frown. “I thought we were going dancing.”
Brody laughed out loud. “We are. I promise. That’s just an old saying people use when they’re going dancing.”
“Oh, okay. Let’s go cut a rug.” She grinned.
Brody kissed Lou on the forehead as he walked around the front of the car. They pulled out of the driveway with Sarah waving.
****
They parked in the school parking lot and Brody walked around to open the door of the car for Sarah, trying to be the perfect gentleman. Truth be told, he had no idea what he was doing because he had never spent much time with children. He figured he could wing it as he took her hand, smiled, and escorted his little date across the parking lot.
They entered through the gym and Brody looked around at all the balloons and tables laden with snacks. Music played softly in the background. He leaned down and said to Sarah, “No matter what, you have to stay with me in here at all times.”
“Why?” she asked innocently.
“Because I don’t know anyone here and I don’t want to be left all alone,” he lied.
“Oh, I won’t leave you. Promise.” She took his hand in hers.
Several parents walked up, the dads extending their hands and introducing themselves. The moms, who had volunteered to chaperone and keep the food and punch stocked, exclaimed over Sarah’s dress and her curls and he saw her puff up with pride. Job well done, he thought. He would have to thank Elizabeth and Lou for the extra effort.
He bent down to her left so she could hear him and said, “What would you like to do first? Get a drink? A cookie? Or have a dance?”
Sarah looked mortified. “Oh, I can’t drink yet. No way.” She whispered to him, “I might spill something on my dress.”
“Ahhh…” Brody replied. “Dancing it is, then.” He whisked her out onto the dance floor and suddenly found himself at a loss as to what to do.
“You do know how to dance, don’t you?” Sarah asked shortly.
“Of course I do,” he replied. “Why don’t you tell me how you want to dance and that’s what we’ll do?”
“But you’re supposed to lead, Dr. Wester.”
“Why don’t you call me Brody?” he said to her to buy some time as he looked at what the other dads were doing. Then he took her hand and placed it on his waist. He clasped her other hand firmly in his and told her to watch his feet. She quickly caught on and they danced in circles around the floor. When the music stopped and everyone clapped, Sarah said, “That was fun. Can we do it again?”
“We can do it all night, if that’s what you want,” Brody replied honestly.
After a few more dances, Sarah claimed she was thirsty and needed to take a break. They walked to the refreshment table and two other little girls bustled up to Sarah. They whispered to one another and then Sarah turned to Brody with tears in her eyes. Puddles of tears threatened to spill over her long brown lashes. “I think I need to go to the bathroom.”
“Uh, oh. I didn’t plan for this part of the night.” He hadn’t planned for the bathroom or for the crying. Just then, Elizabeth Patton came out from behind the punch bowl like an avenging angel.