OCR Text |
Show in my father's house/ 198 smile that mirrored the fear in my heart. The tables were long, spread with clean linen and the place-mats made lacey from butcher paper. The lengths of whiteness suddenly seemed dreary and bald to me, despite red paper roses blooming from coffee cans at the center and the dance floor sprinkled with wood shavings. Saul and I stood awkwardly, watching the other girls with their fathers. They exchanged bashful smiles and fleeting glances. The fathers talked to each other in loud, laughing voices. The girls whispered to their friends and hid giggles behind their hands. A circle seemed drawn around them, a circle which set Saul and me apart. I reached for his hand and looked up to see a deep flush spread over his features. I dropped his hand. "We can leave if you want to Saul. I don't have to stay." But he shook his ,head and took me by the elbow. "Shall we sit here?" We waited for the dancing to begin, huddled together as though we were a set in a three-legged race waiting for the contest, each trying to give support and balance to the other, despite our precarious stances. The father of Saul's closest friend came over, holding out his hand. I felt Saul straighten his shoulders, heard him say "out of town again" and "glad I could take her." When the man was gone, Saul leaned down and whispered, "I Son't mind socializing, but I don't know most of these people. And those that I do... well, it's an uncomfortable situation." I tried to smile, but my voice came out very small and shakey. "I didn't know Jack Turner's dad would be here. Otherwise I |