In the Spotlight (3 page)

Grandma gave Duke’s butt a nice pat, and I had to look away, embarrassed. Then she headed into the kitchen to help Mom.

Dad took Duke’s coat and went to hang it up, leaving me and Hayley alone to entertain Duke.

“Your Grandma’s hot,” Duke commented as he sat down across the table from us. Hayley made a weird noise, and I wasn’t sure how to respond, so an awkward silence descended on the table.

Finally, Hayley said, “So, um, Duke’s an interesting name.

How’d you get that one?”

“My parents had a dog named Duke when they first got married. They named me after him,” Duke smiled proudly.

Hayley and I exchanged glances, trying hard not to laugh.

“Wow, that’s special,” Hayley said, covering her giggle with a faux cough. Duke burst out laughing. “I can’t believe you fell for that!”

“So your parents didn’t name you after a dog?” I asked, just for clarification’s sake, of course.

“Of course not,” Duke said, still chuckling. “Both of my parents went to Duke University, so they thought it would be a fitting tribute to the place where they met.”

“That’s a better story,” Hayley said. She tipped her chair back on two legs and gazed at Duke thoughtfully.

“Hey, where’s the john?” Duke asked. “I want to freshen up for Wanda.”

“Down the hall, second door on the right,” I said.

When Duke was well out of ear shot, Hayley grabbed an appetizer, and said, “He’s hot, but dumb as a post.”

“No kidding.” I stood up and began rearranging the silverware.

“I’m not sure I can take a whole meal of him telling us that Grandma is hot or Grandma being all touchy feely.” Hayley shuddered.

“Me either,” I agreed. “But remember what Dad said, this is important to Mom.”

“Girls, could you help me?” Mom called from the kitchen.

“Sure, be there in a second,” I grinned at Hayley. “Are we going to do the Interrogation?”

“Absolutely.” She grinned back.

The Interrogation was something we’d come up with when we were younger to get through some of the interminable dinners with Grandma’s boyfriends. Grandpa had remarried shortly after the divorce and we called our step-‐-grandmother, Moomaw because she really liked collecting cows. We saw Grandpa and Moomaw twice a year, on Groundhog’s Day and for the Summer solstice.

Grandma had never remarried. She dated. As a serial dater, Grandma had a new boyfriend every few months. Most of them were professional, older gentlemen who liked to pull quarters from behind our ears. So the Interrogation became our way to liven things up.

“Here,” Mom said, thrusting a bowl of salad into my arms.

“Put this on the table.”

I rummaged around in the utensil drawer until I found the salad tongs, and then headed back into the dining room where Hayley had been sent to fill the water glasses. We didn’t eat like this often. Usually Dad, Mom, and Hayley or I ate a quick meal at the kitchen table because we were all so busy. Sometimes when Mom was teaching a class or Dad was working late at the library, Hayley and I just nuked a frozen dinner and ate in front of the TV, much to the chagrin of both of our parents.

Mom’s position as dean of the History Department and Dad’s position as head of the university library did mean there were fancy dinners at our house several times a year, but Hayley and I weren’t expected to attend those. Grandma dinners were different for obvious reasons. And as much as I loved Grandma, I rarely loved her boyfriends. The one exception had been Martin.

She dated him when I was nine or ten. He was a set designer for a theater company in Chicago. When he found out that Harlow and I were interested in theater, he arranged to take us backstage during a show. It was the coolest experience of my young life and had cemented my love of theater. My heart had broken when Grandma dumped him for a line cook named Al.

Duke and Grandma scooted their chairs together so that there was literally no space between them. Her hand was under the table in parts unknown. Hayley leaned over and whispered, “This reminds me of that scene from
Wedding Crashers
.”

“Ew,” I whispered back.

“So, girls, do you have boyfriends?” Grandma asked before dinner even started.

“I do,” Hayley replied brightly. “His name is Mike. He’s dreamy.”

“Dreamy, eh? You should find yourself a nice young stud, Hayley,” Grandma advised. “Dreamy doesn’t get you anywhere.”

Hayley frowned. “But I really like him, Grandma. He’s funny and hot.”

“But you’re a cheerleader, Hayley,” Grandma said. Geez, she was persistent. “You should be with someone of your caliber.”

“What teen movie are you living in, Grandma?” Hayley laughed. “Mike is awesome. Mind your own business.”

“Hayley! Don’t talk to your grandmother that way.” Mom brought in the lasagna and set it on the table.

“Sorry, Grandma,” Hayley said, stuffing a dinner roll in her mouth.

“What about you, Hannah?” Grandma asked.

“Not currently. I’m trying out for the lead in the musical, though.”

Hmmm…apparently, I had made up my mind. Grandma barely registered that news, she was stuck on the fact that I didn’t have a boyfriend. I could just tell.

“I think you should focus on more important things,”

Grandma said. “Theater isn’t really your strength anyway, love muffin. That’s Harlow’s thing. You need to find a boyfriend and get you some lovin’. You’re far too serious.”

What could I say to that? I grabbed a dinner roll to stuff into my mouth. Mom dished out the lasagna and everyone dug in. Dad began talking about a book he was reading. About halfway through the meal, I nudged Hayley with my foot.

“So, Duke,” she began. “Where do you work?”

Duke grinned, happy to talk about himself. He was going to be such an easy target for the Interrogation. “I’m the assistant manager over at the Sugar Bomb.”

I nearly choked on the pop I’d just taken a sip of. “The strip club?” “Well, we prefer to call it a gentleman’s club,” Duke explained, “but yup, that’s the one.”

“Oh dear,” Mom murmured and looked at Dad.

“Well, where did you and Grandma meet?” Hayley persisted with the Interrogation.

Duke shoveled a healthy portion of lasagna in his mouth and swallowed audibly. “Oh, we met at the Sugar Bomb. Wanda was in for Amateur Night, and it was love at first sight.”

“Mother!” Mom gasped.

“Oh, Becky,” Grandma sighed, “you always were such a prude.”

Duke’s revelation stunned Hayley and I into silence and temporarily derailed the Interrogation. Finally, I recovered enough to continue. “What’s your family like?” That seemed like a safe subject. Duke picked something out of his teeth with his pinky finger. Charming. “Well, my mom designs lingerie for plus sized women. She sells it on Etsy. You’d be amazed at what a big market that is,” Duke grinned at his pun. “My dad sells used vacuum cleaners.”

“Is there a market for that?” Dad asked politely.

“Not really.” Duke shrugged.

“Do you have any brothers or sisters?” Mom asked, still trying to recover from the Sugar Bomb bomb.

“One of each,” Duke said. “Birmingham works for the Union Pacific railroad, and Millie is still in college.”

“Birmingham is certainly an interesting name,” Dad commented.

Duke took a long swig of his root beer and nodded. “Mom and Dad believed in giving us really meaningful names,” he said.

“I’m named after the university they met at. Mom grew up in Birmingham and Dad grew up in Milwaukee.”

Hayley and I exchanged glances. We had never ended an Interrogation so quickly, but I wasn’t sure we could take anymore of this getting to know you stuff with Duke. I cleared my throat.

“So, um, Mom, do you need any help with dessert?”

Mom looked immensely relieved to have a reason to get up.

“No, thank you, sweetheart. Does everyone want some ice cream with their apple strudel?”

Everyone agreed and the rest of dinner passed without incident or further embarrassing revelations. One thing was for certain, we hadn’t seen the last of Duke. He was a current fixture in Grandma’s life for the time being.

Chapter Four

A few days later Maggie convinced me to go to another basketball game, this one after school. Kaylee promised to join us after she had a meeting about costumes for the show. The seamstress, Mrs. Colter, loved to do preliminary sketches of the costumes as soon as she got the new script. I knew Kaylee wouldn’t make an appearance at the game, so my choices of seating partners were limited once again.

Claudia found me within seconds of the opening buzzer.

“Can you believe that Josh can’t play today?”

I found myself scanning the bench for him. “Why can’t he play?” I asked.

“Duh!” Claudia said. “He got injured when he saved you.”

“Oh,” I said as my eyes landed on Josh. My stomach twisted as I saw the walking boot on his left leg.

Claudia sighed again. “I heard that Josh is dating that skank Belle Jacobs.”

Hearing Claudia refer to anyone as a skank made me want to laugh, but instead I said, “She’s a cheerleader, right?”

“Yes,” Claudia said. “I’ve heard that the only reason he’s dating her is that she’s easy.”

I didn’t know what to say to that. I mean, Josh’s dating life was his business, of course, but I loved hearing gossip about someone so seemingly perfect. And hearing it all from Claudia made me giddy for some reason.

“Hey, who are we talking about?” Maggie bounced over from her section in the band, surprising me and Claudia.

“Josh Larson,” Claudia said in a confidential tone of voice.

“Ohhh, what’s the dish?” Maggie asked, perking up at the promise of gossip.

Claudia glanced around, making sure that no one could overhear her in the deafening roar of cheering in the gym. “Well,”

she started. “I heard that Josh is dating Belle Jacobs.” She paused for dramatic effect. “Because she’s easy.”

Maggie gasped. “How can you besmirch his good name that way?” Then she laughed. “Everyone dates Belle Jacobs because she’s easy.”

“Guys, seriously, we shouldn’t be talking about this. It’s just so…so crass.” I squirmed, my eyes finding Josh again. He looked like he was enjoying himself, even confined to the bench. It made me feel odd to think that I’d caused him to be sidelined. And yet, he still seemed to be contributing to the team.

“Crass? Geez you sound like my mother,” Claudia rolled her eyes. I cringed. She was right. I sounded exactly like my mother.

But honestly, these kinds of conversations made me so uncomfortable. Blessedly, the buzzer sounded, sending Maggie back to her section and focusing Claudia on the game. My eyes drifted to Josh, and to my surprise, his eyes seemed to find mine across the gym. I tried to ignore the jolt that rocketed through my stomach and unsettled me a ridiculous amount.

At the next time-‐-out, I escaped the gym to the cafeteria where I figured I could at least clear my head. Instead, I saw a small group of girls giggling near the concession stand. Curiosity got the better of me, and I edged closer to get a better look. There, on a banner stretched in front of the counter, was an invitation to the prom for Megan spelled out entirely in candy. Inwardly I groaned, and felt a flash of mint green jealousy. I didn’t even want to go to prom, did I? And who asks someone in January? Seriously.

Feeling suddenly defeated and deflated, I flopped down at the nearest table and plopped my head into my hands. I watched the girls flutter around Megan. This happened every year, so why did I feel so unprepared for it?

“Why so glum, chum?”

I glanced over my shoulder, perking up at the sight of Kyle standing behind me. He grabbed a chair and pulled it up right next to me. I mean, right next to me. My stomach did a funny little jump, and I wondered if this was what it felt like to be in love. I couldn’t hear what he was saying as my heart thundered in my ears. Kyle’s leg knocked against mine, and he let his hand rest on my knee. “So what do you say we get out of here?”

My mouth opened and shut, and I had a bad feeling that I looked like a fish gasping for air. Kyle’s hand started drifting further up my leg, and for a brief second, I squirmed with discomfort. My skirt felt infinitely too short suddenly.

“Hey, Kyle, come on!” Adam shouted from the gym door.

“We’re on. We need you, dude!”

Kyle gave my leg a final squeeze, pushing my skirt up a bit as he did. “Another time,” he promised.

I watched him saunter off to the gym, and my mind ticked in confusion. Why hadn’t I paid better attention to what he was saying? Was this my chance with Kyle? Was I missing it? Still…as his hand rose ever higher on my leg, I’d started to feel a little icky.

Was that normal in a situation like this? I didn’t have a ton of experience with guys, so maybe this was all to be expected.

Before I had any more time to ponder out my predicament, Claudia found me and dragged me back into the roar of the gym.

And my thoughts melted into a puddle. Besides, with auditions to focus on, why worry about anything else?

****

When auditions finally arrived, everyone around me was smirking as Josh Larson got up on stage to take his turn. He had the audacity to be auditioning for Chad, the lead male role. The entire drama club had basically already decided that the role of Chad should go to Kyle, since, you know, he was a senior and he had written the musical, for goodness sake.

Josh gave an average reading. He could clearly act, but he was meant for a supporting role, not some big, out in front, lead role. Just because he was the sports star of the school, that didn’t mean that he was meant to be the star of everything, especially when you considered the fact that he’d only transferred to our school at the beginning of the year.

Then Josh opened his mouth to sing. Everyone shut up and silence blanketed the auditorium. No one even blinked until Josh was done.

Kaylee leaned over and whispered, “He sounds just like a Disney character.”

I wanted to laugh at that. You know, make some crack about how he sounded like Le Fou from Beauty and the Beast or Pumba from
The Lion King
, but I couldn’t because Josh Larson didn’t sound like either of those characters. And if anyone but Kaylee had said that to me, I would have thought they were crazy. But that’s the thing. I totally understood what Kaylee meant. Josh sounded like a prince in a Disney movie, the lead guy who’s swoon-‐-worthy even if he is a cartoon.