Leigh (11 page)

The graduation ceremony took over an hour and then finally Leigh, along with the rest, rose and moved the tassels on their
caps from one side to the other. The symbolic act released all Leigh’s tension. She nearly leaped into the air, but contented
herself with a broad smile. Everyone applauded and the graduates marched out to the closing recessional to the reception area.

Leigh worked her way through the milling crowd of families and graduates until she reached her family. Her stepfather hugged
her first. In this moment of dawning adulthood, she recognized how much she adored this laughing man who’d always loved her
as his own. She hugged him back and whispered, “I love you.” He murmured the same phrase to her and then passed her to her
mother.

Bette leaned forward and kissed Leigh’s cheek. “We’re so proud of you, honey.”

Leigh noticed that her mother had tears in her
eyes.
She hugged her mom; in that moment forgiving all the fights they’d had over the past four years.

Then each of her grandparents hugged her tight and both grandmothers cried. And Dory wrapped her small arms around Leigh’s
waist and held on as if Leigh were leaving her that very day.

Finally, Leigh turned to Minnie, very aware of Frank, standing tall and handsome beside her. “Mrs. Dawson, I’m so glad you
were able to come.” Then, clearing her throat, Leigh looked up at Frank. “And you, too.”

Before Leigh could say another word, Mary Beth crowded close, holding her mortarboard on with one hand. “Frank,” she squealed,
“you came!” Then Cherise appeared at his elbow, smiling shyly.

Leigh introduced everyone while Frank stood back, smiling and responding to Mary Beth, who was doing her eager-puppy imitation.
Then he focused on Cherise, who looked very pretty in her new royal-blue shirtwaist. Frank must have agreed because he kept
studying her until Cherise’s cheeks turned a dusky pink. Leigh pushed away a trace of irritation that buzzed through her.

It seemed to Leigh that people flowed around her, cutting her off from reaching Frank, from being close enough to speak. But
they wouldn’t be in the crowd much longer, and with this thought, she relaxed. At the end of the public graduation, Frank
and Minnie would be coming to Leigh’s home where her mother was having an open house for friends and family. There Leigh would
snatch a private word with Frank.

At last, Leigh’s family and their friends left the high school grounds and arrived at home. The caterers had everything ready
in the backyard under a clear, true-blue, happy-days sky. Flowers decorated tables of finger foods, cake, and punch. Leigh
finally slipped off her black graduation gown and showed off her new coral dress, whose short skirt instantly brought her
mother’s disapproval. “Your skirt wasn’t that short when we bought it.”

Leigh gave her mother an innocent smile, admitting nothing. This was not the moment to thank her Grandmother Sinclair for
teaching her how to put in a professional-looking hem. Instead, Leigh turned to greet longtime neighbors and accept their
felicitations. Then Minnie was at her elbow.

“That Cherise seems very nice.”

Remembering all that Aunt Jerusha had said on the day JFK died—about Minnie raising Frank after his parent’s divorce, Leigh’s
nerves tightened another notch. “Yes, Cherise
is a good friend.” Leigh chose her words with care. “She graduates next year.”

Minnie nodded. “Frank tells me the three of you have been writing him.”

Leigh tried to analyze Minnie’s tone. She couldn’t, so she just nodded.

“I hope you have given up any thought that Frank will pursue you,” Minnie murmured under the cover of all the other voices.
“Or maybe I should say, I hope
you’ve
given up any idea of pursuing him?”

Leigh was blindsided. She’d never expected Frank’s grandmother to bring this up. Frantically, she weighed different responses
before finally saying, “Frank has made it clear that he isn’t interested in me as a girlfriend.”

Minnie searched Leigh’s face as if somehow matching her words against her intentions. “Frank is doing well in the military.
I think he will go far.”

“I’m glad for him.” Leigh’s heart sped up as if she were lying.

Then Mary Beth called out, “Come on. Someone take a picture of the three of us with our soldier before we have to leave.”
She claimed one of Frank’s arms. Smiling, Cherise took the other and Leigh stepped in front of Frank a little to one side.
Mary Beth’s father, whose hair had begun to grow longer over the past year, clicked away with the fancy Canon that hung around
his neck.

When he was done, Leigh turned and smiled at Frank. “I’m so glad you were able to make it. I hope we can have time to talk
in this crowd.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t want to monopolize the graduate,” he sidestepped her adroitly.

Leigh tried not to be put off by the rebuff. She wanted to touch his arm, but she sensed his grandmother’s hostile stare
scaring her back. Regardless, Leigh went on in a low tone, “Frank, I don’t want to put any pressure on you. 1 just want you
to know that 1 still treasure our friendship—”

“As do I.” His set expression, his terse words warned her away.

It was a stern warning she found she couldn’t ignore. Frustrated, she retreated to safer ground. “So you decided to re-up?”

“Yes.” He gave her an easy smile. “Alter my promotion to first lieutenant, I decided to for another hitch. I’ll he heading
to Nam soon.”

His news made her tingle with uneasiness. “Viet Nam? Oh, Frank—”

“Now, don’t worry about me,” he said dismissively. “I’ve already been through the wringer with my mother, the peacenik. I’ll
just be there as an advisor.”

Leigh pursed her lips. Viet Nam seemed a very long way away. But before she could say any more, Frank had turned slightly
to be introduced to Cherise’s mother. Me smiled down at Cherise, answering a question Leigh didn’t hear.

Leigh noted his special expression as he gazed down at Cherise and she froze. The expression was one of attraction and pleasure,
and Cherise studied Frank with something like wonder.

Frank had come to see Leigh, but he’d come as a soldier protected by impenetrable armor. A shield to keep her from reaching
him. But he’d lowered his mask for Cherise, who teased him with a nothing bunch of words, flirting effortlessly. He grinned
and looked entranced.

Watching this, Leigh’s heart squeezed together, nearly making her gasp. Frank had made his decision to shut her out, and there
didn’t seem to be any appeal left open to her.

W
ith the door open to the hall, Leigh paced the floor of the small dorm room she shared with Mary Beth. Uneasy, she glanced
at her wristwatch again. Mary Beth had been fixed up with a hippie or surfer from California who was visiting a guy in her
psych class. Earlier, downstairs in the dormitory parlor, Leigh had glimpsed the stranger when he’d picked up her roommate.
He was Mary Beth’s dream date, having shoulder-length blond hair, ragged jeans, and a tie-dyed shirt with beads around his
neck. Upon seeing him, Leigh had nearly hummed, “When You Come to San Francisco, Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair.” In
contrast, Mary Beth—with her long, flyaway hair, blue jeans, and love beads—had looked like it was Christmas morning again.
But at least Mary Beth and her hippie had gone with a group.

A half hour ago, Leigh had gotten in early from a Saturday night party. Her date had been another in a string of guys who
liked blondes. On their walk home from his frat house, when he’d tried to put the moves on her in a secluded area, she’d claimed
a headache. She didn’t like being groped on the first date—or any other date.
Jerk.

Now she heard giggling swelling outside her door and a rush of footsteps over the linoleum hall, the signals that curfew had
come. Outside, the necking couples who’d gathered around the entrance had separated to let the girls come in before lockup,
and everyone was rushing past her door to their rooms. Opening it, Leigh stood at the door, hoping to see Mary Beth.
Why am I so worried?.

But she hadn’t liked something about the Californian. Now the girls on the floor all waved to her or wished her good night,
and after a spate of late-night showers, the floor
grew quiet and the lights in the hallways were dimmed. Still no Mary Beth.

Leigh realized she needed to shut the door to the hall before the resident assistant on the floor noticed that Mary Beth hadn’t
returned. Mary Beth had been fine as a freshman, working hard not to flunk out. But now, a month into her sophomore year,
she’d already gotten two demerits for staying out after curfew and a third could mean social probation. And their RA didn’t
like Mary Beth.

With the lights switched off, Leigh paced the tiny patch of linoleum in their room, trying not to make a sound. The glow-in-the-dark
clock on the desk stated the time as well after midnight. Just as Leigh was about to give up and dress for bed, she heard
muffled giggling outside their first-story window. She looked out and there was Mary Beth and the blond Californian. Leigh
opened the window and leaned out. “Mary Beth,” she hissed, “what are you doing? It’s after curfew.”

The Californian gave Leigh the peace sign and then in a sort of wobble, motioned to Mary Beth. He cupped his hands together
and Mary Beth, still giggling softly, put her foot in them and let him hoist her up to the window. Shocked, and terrified
of their being seen from a window of the neighboring dorm, Leigh hauled the giggle princess into the room. Mary Beth’s weight
almost took Leigh to the floor, but she stayed on her feet long enough to shove Mary Beth onto her nearby twin bed. Then she
shut the window and turned, ready to read Mary Beth the riot act.

“I don’t feel very good,” Mary Beth moaned. “I’m gonna be sick.”

Leigh shoved the wastebasket under her roommate’s chin just in time. She held Mary Beth’s head there until the fit of retching
passed. A sour, sick odor competed with Mary
Beth’s alcohol breath. “How much did you drink?” Leigh snapped.

“Not much,” Mary Beth mumbled, then she giggled. “Chance had weed.”

Leigh nearly shook Mary Beth, but didn’t want her to start throwing up again. “Are you insane?” she hissed next to Mary Beth’s
ear. “Drugs on campus? Do you want to get expelled?”

“Aw, lighten up. What’s a little weed between friends?”

Nothing, just a felony and expulsion. “
You don’t have any on you, do you?”

Mary Beth looked at her as if this were an unknown collection of words.

“If you have any on you, give it to me. We’ve got to throw it out the window. What if they do a bed check?”

Mary Beth shook her head. “Didn’t bring any—”

Light streamed in around the door to the hall. “Bed check!” the resident assistant announced in a loud voice. Their door flew
open first. Leigh glared at the RA. “We’re here. What’s your problem?”

“She better not have brought any alcohol—” the RA began.

“I’m clean,” Mary Beth crowed. “Just a little happy.” And then she began humming the Beatles, “Love, Love Me Do.”

The RA looked Mary Beth over and then shook her head. “You’re going to end up flunking out if this doesn’t stop.”

“Peace.” Mary Beth held up her hand in the two-fingered peace sign. And then passed out on the bed.

Leigh wanted to shake Mary Beth until her teeth rattled out onto the floor. Mary Beth had begun by going to drinking bashes
at the different frat houses. And now a hippie and
marijuana… She had to find a way to turn Mary

Beth around. Otherwise, where would it all end?

O
utside Leigh’s hotel, the Conrad Hilton, police sirens sounded in the distance, releasing another spurt of adrenaline in Leigh.
Where was Mary Beth? Was she safe? Her friend had promised to steer clear of trouble this week, but so many opportunities
presented themselves. And she’d already been picked up by the Chicago police once. Leigh stared down from the high window
of the room she shared with other girls attending the convention. Mary Beth had chosen instead to camp out in Grant Park with
Chance, her hippie boyfriend from California. Fretting, Leigh stared down at the yellow police barricades below near the hotel
entrance, and at the line of helmeted, blue-uniformed cops along it. From the transistor radio, Martha and the Vandellas sang
“Nowhere to Run, Baby…”

The sense of a world spinning out of control, of a beast waiting to be unleashed, ate at Leigh’s peace. And why not? The International
Amphitheatre where the Democratic Convention was being held was surrounded by steel-wire fences and ugly yellow barricades
and armed riot police. How crazy did the world have to become? When had it grown dangerous to be a politician, dangerous to
be near politicians?

But of course, it had all started with the assassination of President Kennedy five years ago. That thought took her mind back
to that dark day. Another unhappy thought. Frank was in Viet Nam for his second tour of duty, and thousands of U.S. soldiers
were dying there. At home, the Viet Nam War
had ignited a blaze of nationwide protest and forced LBJ not to run again.

She rubbed her tight neck muscles and turned to get ready for this evening.
Mary Beth, please come now. Please.

Leigh had come to Chicago in the entourage of the Maryland delegation. It had been set up through her college and with her
grandmother’s influence. Leigh hadn’t taken much interest in her great-grandfather before, but evidently he had been a politician.
And Grandma Chloe still knew people in the Democratic Party, people who could arrange for her granddaughter to have a plum
job at a convention.

Both Leigh and Mary Beth had come to write articles about the convention experience for college papers. But where was her
friend? Mary Beth was supposed to be here to go to this evening’s session with Leigh, who’d finally gotten her a visitor’s
pass.

Leigh glanced at her watch. She couldn’t wait any longer for Mary Beth or she’d miss this evening’s limo to the Amphitheatre.
In front of the closet door mirror, she glanced at herself. She wore a shades-of-pink paisley miniskirt and matching vest
over a pink blouse with a large ruffled collar. She adjusted her pantyhose. Then she refreshed her pale-pink lipstick and
combed her waist-length blonde hair, swinging around to catch the ends and comb them, too.