The Second Dance

The kids had come to spend Saturday with us, but now they were gone. I figured these Saturdays weren't going to last much longer. Jack was engaged and had brought Marion along with him. She seems like a great girl, pretty and smart. Melanie wasn't engaged, not yet, but Donna says she's been talking a lot about a guy at college who's majoring in civil engineering. She thinks Melanie is sleeping with him, but told me not to worry because Melanie knows how to take care of herself. It's probably only a matter of time before I find myself walking her down the aisle. That's going to be tough because Melanie has become as much my daughter as Jack is my son.

When I look back, I wouldn't have believed any of this was going to happen. I was thirty-nine and the single father of a teenage boy named Jack. Jack was a handful, not because he got into trouble, but because he was curious and wanted to try everything. He got that from his mother, I suppose, because he didn't get it from me. If she'd lived, Mandy would have known how to handle him, but a drunk driver took her away from us when Jack was two.

He doesn't really remember her. That made it harder for him to grow up and made it harder for me to raise him. It was hard for him to tell his friends he didn't have a mother. It was hard for me to explain to him when he asked me about his mother. How do you tell a young child about the woman you loved more than life itself only to have her taken away?

I managed to bring Jack up by myself, and he'd turned out to be a responsible and caring young man who played most sports when he was in high school. I'd never played any sports when I was in high school. I was too light for football, too short for basketball, too slow for track, and wore bifocal glasses that made catching baseballs bouncing on the ground nearly impossible. I'd be watching the ball through the upper section and when it got close, had to change to the lower section to see it in focus. Jack had inherited his size, strength, and 20-20 eyesight from his mother's dad.

When Jack was sixteen, my father passed away and left my mother all alone, so I made the decision to move back to the town where I grew up so I could be there for her. Fortunately my job enabled me to do that. After Mandy died, I gave up my job as a newspaper editor and started free-lancing articles for several newspapers and magazines. That way I could stay home with Jack and still earn a living. I wasn't rich by any means, but my work usually sold and Jack and I lived a comfortable life. I was writing a novel in hope of improving it from just comfortable.

I was a little concerned about my old high school though. Jack was showing a talent for mechanics as well as for sports, and I wasn't sure my old high school would challenge him like the large city school he'd been attending. In the end, I decided he was smart enough to figure out things by himself if they didn't teach him in school.

That high school, like many others in the area, had a dance after every home football and basketball game. They called them "sock hops", because they were held in the gym where basketball games were played, and the kids had to take off their shoes so they wouldn't damage the hardwood floor. The sock hops were chaperoned by a few teachers and any parents who wanted to volunteer. That was to keep the surging hormones of the high school kids in check, and was pretty important because most of the gym lights were turned off to make the gym seem more like a dancing place.

I'd been to many sock hops in that same gym when I was in high school, and when he was a senior, Jack said he wanted to go to the first one of the season, I said I'd go along to chaperone. He wasn't really happy about that, but he agreed.

When we walked in the gym door, Jack said "See you when it's over", and took off. I understood because I'd felt the same way when I was his age. He was a man and didn't need me looking over his shoulder to see what he was doing.

I trusted Jack, but I was also concerned about him. Jack had discovered girls the year before, but more importantly, girls had discovered the tall, good-looking guy who played sports, and he got a lot of attention from them. I thought I'd taught him right, but you never know with teenagers.

I found a seat in the bleachers and sat down preparing to be bored for the next two hours. After about a minute, I realized I was doing the same thing I'd done at the sock hops when I was in high school -- sitting in the bleachers and watching the other kids dance.

The reason I didn't dance back then wasn't because I didn't want to dance with a girl. It was because none of the girls wanted to dance with me. They wanted to dance with the jocks. Oh, there was Jeanette Majors and Rhonda Anderson, but Jeanette was about three inches taller than me, and while Rhonda was about my height, she was about double my weight. I never asked either to dance because they'd have accepted and I'd never have lived it down.

Anyway, that night I sat there watching the kids dance. Some looked pretty good, no doubt because they'd learned the moves from television. Some looked like they sort of made up their own moves. Some, including Jack just stood on the sidelines and talked, although when a slow song played, some of the talkers would get pulled out onto the floor by a girl.

About twenty minutes into the dance, I saw a woman and a young girl walk into the gym. Just like Jack had done, the girl waved to the woman and then disappeared into the throng of other girls. The woman started walking toward the bleachers.

I knew most of the people in town since I'd gone to school with most of them, but I didn't recognize the woman. I figured she'd just moved to town, though I hadn't heard of any new arrivals. My mother would have learned about any from her sewing club and she'd have told me. The sewing club gossip usually beat the town newspaper by about a week.

The woman kept walking like she was looking for a place to sit. There were several parents and teachers sitting in those bleachers, but apparently she didn't want to sit with them. She kept walking toward me. When she got closer, I could see her face, and although her face was more mature, her smile was the same.

It had been a lot of years, but it was the same smile Donna had given me when we were seniors at the last sock hop of the year. Mr. Baker, the high school principal had announced over the PA system that since this was the last sock hop of the year, the next slow song would be a "Sadie Hawkins" dance.

For those too young to understand, a Sadie Hawkins dance is where the girl asks the guy to dance instead of vice versa. There was usually at least one, always to a slow song, at every sock hop. It gave the backward boys and wallflower girls a chance to meet and dance.

I'd have told Donna no if I could have, but it was an unwritten rule that a guy didn't turn down a girl who asked him to dance. I didn't know how to dance, but that wasn't the reason. You didn't really have to know how to dance a slow dance. You just held the girl and rocked from side to side. What was embarrassing was that Donna didn't have much of a figure, she wasn't all that pretty, and she was taller than most of the other girls. To most of the jocks, Donna was "The Scarecrow", because she was tall and thin, and they said if you got her clothes off, she'd scare you so bad you wouldn't be able to get it up.

She'd changed a lot from the tall, gangly girl I remembered. Even in the light coat she wore, I could see she had a sensuous woman's figure, and instead of short, bobbed hair, she had waves that reached below her shoulders. It was hard to see much else because of the dim lighting.

The woman climbed the three bleacher steps to my row, and sat down beside me and smiled that smile again.

"Craig Lawrence? You're Craig Lawrence. You didn't recognize me, did you?"

I smiled back.

"Not at first. You've changed a lot since high school, Donna."

"Yeah, we all have, I suppose. Did you see Beverly? She's put on at least fifty pounds since high school."

I shook my head.

"No, but maybe I just didn't recognize her. I've just moved back to town."

Donna smiled.

"I moved back about six years ago. I thought I had to live in Knoxville in order to have a good job. The bank job I had was a good job but living there wasn't so good. When my mother told me the bank had an opening for a loan officer, I decided it might not pay as well, but I wouldn't have all the traffic and other things I didn't like. I moved back and bought a house down by the Methodist church."

I chuckled.

"Well, if I need a loan, I know who to see now. Have you been doing that since we graduated?"

Donna frowned.

"No. I went to UT first and got a degree in accounting. Then I got married and had Melanie. I've been working since my divorce."

I said I was sorry to hear she gotten a divorce, and Donna said not to be.

"We only got married because I was pregnant with Melanie. She was the only thing we had in common, and Harry really didn't like being tied down with a baby. When she was one and a half, we agreed to split everything down the middle and go our separate ways. I don't know where he is or what he's doing. He hasn't tried to see me or Melanie since we signed the paperwork."

I said I didn't think I could do that, not see my own child, and Donna shook her head.

"I couldn't believe it either, at first, but then I realized Harry just wasn't a family type guy. Instead of settling down with me and Melanie, he wanted to do what he'd done before we were married. He was into car racing, and spent most of his spare time working on his racecar. Every Saturday he was at a racetrack. That was OK with me when I was pregnant because I could go with him. Once Melanie was born, I had to stay home with Melanie while he went to the races."

I really wanted to know how she'd hooked up with a guy like that. In high school, Donna had seemed like a very sensible, if not really attractive, girl. I'd been in several classes with her and she always seemed to be smart as well. I couldn't figure why she'd ever gone out with a guy whose love was racing cars.

While I was thinking about what I was going to say next, Donna chuckled.

"I've probably told you more than you wanted to know about me."

I shook my head.

"No, not at all. I'm impressed. I know how hard it is to juggle a job and raising a child."

"You're divorced too?"

"No. I lost my wife fifteen years ago... a car accident."

Donna put her hand on my arm.

"Craig, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have said what I did."

"No, it's all right. I came to grips with it a long time ago. I still miss her sometimes, but you can't just sit at home and feel sorry for yourself when something bad happens. You have to go on living."

"You never tried to find another woman?"

I nodded and frowned.

"Yes, after two years, but the women I dated suddenly found reasons they couldn't go out with me once they learned I had a son. After a while, I stopped trying."

"Tell me about it", she chuckled. "I tried too. Things would be going great until I introduced the guy to Melanie. Then, they always had to work on a Saturday, or their dad needed their help, or there was some other reason we couldn't go out. At first I thought it was me, but then I realized it was because of Melanie. I stopped looking too."

We talked some more about what we'd been doing and a lot about our kids. Before I knew it, somebody on the PA system said the next dance would be the last one of the evening. When that was over, Donna and I walked out to the lobby to find our kids.

On our way home that night, Jack asked me who the woman was.

"That was Donna Richards. She and I went to school together right there in the same high school."

"She's kinda pretty. Do you like her?"

"Well, I suppose so. I haven't seen her in years. She has a daughter about your age named Melanie. Do you know her?"

"Yeah. She's in my advanced algebra class and my senior English class. She's a cool girl."

I chuckled.

"What does that mean -- that she's a cool girl?"

"Well, she likes math like I do, and she's pretty smart."

"That's your definition of cool?"

"Well, she's kinda pretty too."

"It sounds like you like her. Why didn't you ask her to dance?"

"Dad, you know I don't know how to dance."

I laughed then.

"Jack, I didn't know how to dance in high school either, but you don't have to know how to dance a slow dance."

Jack didn't say anything after that except to ask if he could go to the next dance in two weeks. I said that was fine with me as long as I could come along as a chaperone. Jack said he guessed that would be OK. He had a driver's license by then and drove himself to the games since he had to be there early to get dressed and get the usual pep talk from the coach. He knew how I felt about him taking a girl out in his car after the dance because we'd talked about that several times. He knew if I was at the dance, I wouldn't be concerned because I could see him there.

That was how it went all through football and basketball season. Every home game, there'd be a dance, and I'd go to every game and then stay for the dance. It surprised me that Donna came to every dance too. It surprised me even more that she'd always find me in the bleachers and sit beside me.

One night I asked her why. She just smiled.

"I come to these dances to make sure Melanie behaves herself. She's pretty infatuated with a boy and while we've talked about what she should and shouldn't do, I think it's best if I'm here. I don't interfere during the dance, but we've had a couple talks when we get home. She's a good girl, but I remember when I was her age. Sometimes girls that age don't use their heads. I didn't and I don't want her to end up like I did.

"The reason I sit with you is I was kind of an outcast in high school so I don't have anything in common with most of the parents here. I think you were in about the same shape, so we do have something in common. I wouldn't feel comfortable talking with many other people."

I had to admit that I was comfortable with Donna too. She was the same smart girl I'd known in high school and now, she had the common sense gained by living life. We did have a lot in common too, because we'd both raised kids by ourselves. We spent a lot of time talking about how we did that.

We also spent some time talking about the songs that were played. I liked the disco sound, and I found out that Donna did too. It looked like dancing to it was more of an exercise routine than dancing, but the kids liked it. I'd often see Donna moving to the music, and wished I'd taken a dance lesson or two.

The last dance of the year was after the last home basketball game, and both Donna and I were there, sitting in the third row of bleachers so we could see better. We spent most of the time talking about the novel I was trying to write. Donna was really interested, and that surprised me. Usually when I told someone I was writing a novel, they smile and ask what I did to earn a living. Donna wanted to read what I'd written so far.

We were making arrangements for her to do that when the music teacher who served as the DJ announced the next two dances would be the last of the evening.

"I'd like to thank all the parents and teachers who've been with us this year. It means a lot to the students to have these dances, and without you, we wouldn't be able to.

"This next song is a special request. Most of you won't remember it, but I'm told there are at least two of you who will."

When the song started to play, Donna and I looked at each other. She was smiling. I was bewildered. The song was "Can't Stop Falling in Love", by Elvis Presley, and it was the same song I'd danced with Donna all those years ago.

Donna smiled.

"Remember this?"

I nodded.

"Yes. It's the song they played when you asked me to dance with you when we were in high school."

Donna stood up.

"Wanna try it again for old time's sake?"

Just like all those years before, I couldn't tell Donna no. We took off our shoes and walked out on the gym floor. I held out my arms like I remembered I was supposed to, and Donna took my left hand in her right and put her right hand on my shoulder.

We started rocking back and forth, just like before, and Donna chuckled.

"You haven't gotten any better, have you?"

"Well, I never had a reason to take any lessons."

Donna moved close enough her right hand was on the back of my neck and her breasts were just touching my chest.

"I don't care if you can't dance very well. It's just nice to be held again."

We didn't say anything more, but I understood what Donna was feeling. She kept moving a little closer as time went by, and part of the reason was I was holding her closer. I hadn't been that close to a woman in too many years, and it was a feeling I'd forgotten and wanted to remember again.

When the song ended, we separated just as the applause started. When we looked around, we were the only couple on the gym floor. Standing on the sidelines, side by side, were Jack and Melanie and they were both grinning and clapping too.

I was walking Donna off the floor when another song started. I recognized this one too because I'd heard it on the radio in my car. It was "Take a Look At Me Now", by Phil Collins.

Jack and Melanie stopped us before we got off the gym floor. Jack grinned.

"Go dance to this one too, Dad."

I looked at Donna and she smiled.

"I'd like that if you would."

This time, several other couples joined us on the floor. Donna looked at them, then moved out of my arms.

"I think we're doing it wrong. See what they're doing?"

She didn't give me a chance to say anything. She just put her arms around my neck, put her face against my cheek, and pulled her breasts into my chest.

"I think you're supposed to put your arms around my waist now", she whispered.

When I did, Donna pressed into me a little tighter, tight enough I felt her thigh against mine.

We were still like that when the music teacher turned on the gym lights. We separated quickly then, and I saw that Donna's face was a little pink. She giggled a little.

"Sorry if you didn't like what I did. I just wanted to fit in with everybody else."

I grinned.

"If that's fitting in, I'm all for it."

About that time, Jack and Melanie walked up grinning from ear to ear. Melanie hugged Donna and whispered something to her. Jack slapped me on the arm.

"Dad, you don't dance worth a darn, but it looked like you were having fun. Melanie and I talked it over. I'm going to drive her home so you can drive her mother home. Don't worry. I won't wait for you. I'll leave the back door unlocked so you can get in the house."

With that, he and Melanie left us standing there. I turned to Donna.

"Jack says he's going to drive Melanie home and I'm supposed to take you home. Did you agree to that?"

Donna shook her head.

"That's the first I've heard of it, but since they're already gone, I guess we don't have much of a choice."

When I pulled into Donna's drive, she put her hand on my arm.

"Craig, thank you for dancing with me tonight. It brought back a memory I'd almost forgotten, but it was more than that. Sometimes a woman needs...well... what I'm trying to say is I spent all my time in high school with no boys wanting to be with me and then I got married to a man who didn't want to be with me. After the divorce...well, I already told you about that. It was nice to feel wanted again, even if it was just for a dance."

"Two dances, if I remember right", I said.

"Yes, it was two. I wish it could have been more, but this year both Jack and Melanie will graduate, so we won't be going to any more dances."

It was tough telling Donna what I was feeling. I'd only said anything like that to one other woman, and didn't think I'd ever want to say it to another. I had to though.