She laughed. “Probably. I’ll check the digital for makeup smudges,” she assured me.
Another knock sounded at the door. “If that’s not Morik, I’m going to scream,” I breathed close to her ear.
Gran opened the door for Morik. He stepped in wearing a dark suit and a red tie that perfectly matched my dress. The yellow tinted glasses again perched on his nose and the backwards baseball cap adorned his head. He held my gaze as he walked toward me.
“Well?” he asked quietly as Beatriz moved away to speak with her brother.
“Perfect,” I whispered leaning toward him. Mom cleared her throat and I pulled back, trying not to frown. She was right. Too many people for that.
He quirked a smile at me and reached for my hand. He slid a beautiful finger corsage on my third finger. A red jewel lay embedded in the center of the miniature white carnation and sparkled in the light.
“That is so pretty,” Beatriz squeaked once again beside me.
I nodded in agreement smiling at Morik. Pretty and unique. From a man who created beautiful shell combs thousands of years ago, and helped me with the jewelry I made for Christmas, I should have anticipated he would know what to bring.
“Ready?” he asked.
“No!” my mom cried. “Pictures first, please.”
I turned to her not believing she said that.
She caught my look. “Just real quick. You can keep your hat and glasses on,” she said to Morik, but meant it as an assurance to me.
“I’m sure he won’t mind taking off his hat for you, Clare,” Stephen assured my mom.
I opened my mouth to protest, but Brad came to our rescue. “When is the dance supposed to start?”
“It already did technically,” Beatriz helpfully replied. “We’re fashionably late.”
“Okay, stand together and then just one of Morik and Tessa,” Gran said issuing orders.
Stephen didn’t have a chance to protest further. I flicked a glance at him. He didn’t seem to mind. He adoringly watched my mom.
Morik moved to stand between us and put an arm around each of our shoulders. Beatriz giggled. Brad scowled. Mom snapped several photos and then Beatriz moved away. Morik looked down at me and she snapped a picture. He leaned in and kissed my temple. She caught that too. He winked at me and turned to the camera for the last picture.
Chapter 18
Finally, we piled into Aunt Grace’s car and made our way to the dance. Butterflies pirouetted in my stomach.
We’d managed the whole evening without an incident, but I wondered if Ahgred lurked nearby waiting. Had he heard our plans? Did he wait at the school?
Morik reached over and twined his fingers through mine. “Tonight will be perfect,” he promised.
Droves of attractively dressed girls promenaded from the parking lot to the main doors, when we pulled in. Many wore long dresses like ours, but few compared to the elegance of the ones we wore. I nervously fingered the fabric of my dressed as Morik guided the car into an open space.
“We are going to own in these dresses,” Beatriz giggled in the backseat easing some of my tension. “Oh, look, there’s Ted!”
True to her word, she remained in the car waiting for Morik to come around and open the door for her. He helped me out last, wrapping my hand around his forearm. I needed the balance.
“Do you have the tickets?” Beatriz asked. “And the note?”
“Note?” Morik questioned as we walked together toward the entrance.
“You’re out of school and over eighteen. In order to bring you, I needed to ask permission from the school and bring a signed note from my mom the day of the dance.”
He nodded, but didn’t comment.
Only a few lights lit the decorated hallway that led to the gym. Faculty stood outside the gym doors collecting tickets. We waited while the woman scanned my note. Morik discreetly removed his hat at a look from the principal. I reached up to fix his hair ensuring his horns remained covered.
Ted and Beatriz glided in before us. A photographer for the school paper took their photo and I rolled my eyes. Hadn’t we had enough of this?
When Morik and I entered, I stared at the decorations in appreciation. Someone had spent a lot of time and a chunk of money to turn the gym into a magical place. More than I thought a high school dance warranted.
Long lines of silver cord dangled from the rafters. Clipped to their length lights flickered softly. With the overhead lights off, the dim twinkling looked like a starry night. Lamps low to the floor and against the wall under lit the room. A DJ sorted through CDs at a small table surrounded by speakers far into the gym. Sheeted lengths of pastel-colored material discreetly hid the folded up hoops, scoreboard, and cushioned wall mats finishing the transformation of the gym into something else entirely.
“What do you think?” Morik asked giving me a moment to look at everything.
“It’s beautiful.”