CHAPTER TWENTY
The Dance
10:00 PM
Midway through the party the DJ made an announcement. Alina perked up. “This is a special dance with special guests coming all the way from 2012,” he said. “Let’s give it up for our neighbors from 2012.” The announcement ended with some clapping and cheering. Alina looked around, wondering if there were many others besides her and Motega from 2012.
“As the Summer Dance of 2099, this party has a meaningful theme. Turn of the Century. For most people that only comes once in a life time, but for some from 2012 this is their second turn of the century. To celebrate we will be sharing in a fun and embarrassing old-fashioned turnstile dance. So grab your partner and come on up to the dance floor for a nice slow song, but when you hear the song of the gong—” he sounded the gong for everyone to recognize it “— you have to turn to your right to dance with the person beside you.”
Alina quickly scanned the crowd for Motega. The music was starting to play. He was talking with some teachers by the far wall; science teachers, no doubt. She wound through the crowd as most of the couples made their way to the dance floor. She grabbed Motega by the hand. “Come on. We’re dancing,” she declared, and led him up to the floor.
“This place is fascinating,” Motega said as they started to dance. “The progress they made on Quantum Mechanics in the 2070’s— Ha! About 30 years ago, but it’s so advanced for us.”
“Focus, Motega,” Alina said. “We’re not at a science convention; we’re at a party, and we are dancing.”
“Right, sorry. Have you been having fun?”
“Mostly.” It’s funny, she thought, how people talked during slow dances about anything, because they felt like something had to be said. “Are you having fun? Have you been able to relax at all?” She noticed when he was tensing, even when she didn’t say anything.
“I have been trying,” he said. “It feels nice, just to be here with you.”
She smiled up at him, fantasies of love and marriage and little Motegas running around the house flashing through her mind. Her smile lightened, though, as she thought of Motega, all the time strapped to his desk, working. “I like being with you, too,” she said with less feeling.
The gong sounded and they pulled apart, each turning to their right to find their next dance partner.
***
When the DJ announced the dance, Eric and Heaven sought each other out quickly and found themselves on the edge of the dance floor. Heaven leaned in close to Eric, enjoying the closeness of his arms around her. Briefly, she wondered how long it had been before she enjoyed a hug, let alone a dance, with someone who actually cared about her. She wasn’t sure there was a time.
“Thank you,” she said, looking up. It was called a dance, but they were more or less just swaying back and forth in time with the music.
“For what?”
She smiled, wider when she noticed him return the smile. “For everything,” she said. “Introducing me to 2099. Caring for me and just... being a friend. I’ll never forget it.”
“I’ll remind you constantly,” he said. He took his hand from her back and wiped a tear from her face. She caressed his other hand in hers, just savoring the touch. He didn’t tell her how he stared at the ceiling that morning, wondering if it would be better if he ended it all, but his troubles seemed like nothing looking into her eyes. “I realize, now, that you’ve been through so much. It gives me the strength and courage to continue on. What I face seems so small in comparison.”
“It feels like you’ve been distracted all night, though,” she said. “Was there something going on? Your friend, Chevelle?”
Eric shook his head. “I don’t know. A bit of everything, I guess.”
“Is it worse than a broken leg?” Heaven asked, wondering if one examination they had found something even more devastating.
“No,” he said again, but didn’t add to it. A moment later he opened his mouth to say something when the gong sounded. They pulled apart and turned to the person on their right.
***
Heaven and Motega were paired up next. The music switched to a little faster song in a style she didn’t recognize. From 2099, she figured.
She recognized Motega from the papers. “You’re that guy that—”
“Yep,” he said quickly. “I’m the guy that made 2012 disappear.” Apparently this wasn’t the first time he had been approached like this.
“Well, I don’t know whether to thank you or hit you,” she said, softening it with a smile. “I’m from 2012, too.”
“Why would you thank me?” She didn’t answer at first, thinking back to her life just a few days and a century ago. She realized she liked dancing with Motega; he was strong and knew how to lead, and incredibly old, she thought, nearly laughing out loud.
“My life wasn’t one I wanted to visit again,” she said. “This way, I don’t know. It’s like a clean break, you know?”
“That’s an interesting way to put it,” he said. He gave her a slight nod. “Glad to be of service.”
“Your friend, the woman you work with. You like her, don’t you?”
“Excuse me?”
“Sorry. I don’t mean to impose,” she added quickly.
“No, it’s not that. Just, is it that obvious?”
Heaven shook her head. “Not to everyone, and probably not to her, but I noticed you two throughout the night. I’ve seen how you look at her.”
“And how do I look at her?”
Heaven wrinkled her nose, trying to think of how to put it. “Like you wish you could spend more time with her, but can’t for some reason.”
Motega laughed and shook his head. “If you only knew.”
The gong sounded again and the music changed. They turned and sought out their next dance partner.
***
The next woman in line for Eric was Chevelle. She could do little more than hobble with her cast on, but like he suggested back at the hospital, she could sway with the best of them. Eric took her hand in his and placed his other hand on her hip, but didn’t pull her close.
“I won’t bite, you know,” she said. “You can at least hold me a little closer. A whole person could fit between us.” He stepped closer, but still didn’t speak; he didn’t know what to say, even when she started crying. “Are we ever going to be friends again?”
The dreaded question that he hadn’t asked himself, did not dare ask. The entire reason why he didn’t tell her he was in love with her for at least three years, and she risks it all by telling him that she had feelings for him. No, he thought to himself. I don’t see how we can get past this. His throat choked as he imagined saying the words. I don’t know if we can ever be friends again.
“I don’t know,” he said when he finally would speak again. Friends first. “Maybe we just need some time apart, to figure out what this all means.” He couldn’t tell, from the twisted expression on her face, whether that made it better or worse, but she nodded.
They danced for a little longer, each of them silent and trying not to look the other in the eye. If they avoided eye contact, maybe they wouldn’t have to face their feelings just yet. Soon, but not soon enough it seemed, the gong sounded and the music changed and they searched out another partner.
***
When they switched partners again Eric found himself dancing with Alina. She recognized him immediately. “You’re the kid that brought us back, aren’t you?”
Eric admitted that he was and they quickly made their introductions. Maybe it was because she was older, or maybe because she was from a different time, but she danced differently than the others; it made him want to lead and watch his steps, not just sway back and forth.
“How are you enjoying the party?” she asked. Eric shrugged. It was kind of a shock, he realized, to be dancing with Heaven one moment and then Chevy the next. And the way she looked up at him with those pleading eyes. “Come on,” Alina encouraged him. “Who better to talk to about it than a complete stranger?”
He shook his head and glanced over to Chevelle, dancing with another of her old boyfriends. “It’s just... I don’t know. I’ve had a crush on my best friend for years and never told her as she goes off with her boyfriends. Now I find another girl and my best friend tells me that she, you know, likes me.”
“A regular love triangle,” Alina said. “Never fun, especially at your age.”
Eric sighed. “It’s like we’re in this dance, but if I dance too far from her she pulls something like this to keep the leash short. I mean, she can’t really have feelings for me.”
“Why not?” The music shifted. Another song in the medley started playing, this time from early in the century, Wonderful Tonight.
“The way she looks at other guys, touches them. She’s never like that with me.” As angry as he was with Chevy yesterday, he was realizing that he still longed to hear those words from her, what she said at the hospital. Just tell him that she liked him, maybe that she loved him. It was too much to handle, especially now with everything else he’s had to deal with, like his dad and the town’s reappearance. He still wanted her to look at him that way, say those words and really mean it.
“Maybe that’s because she loves you,” Alina suggested.
“What?”
“The way she can be with other guys, it’s just a game to her. But with you it’s real, so she treats you differently. With others, if it doesn’t work out, who cares? There’s no risk. With you she needs to be careful. Don’t get too close or she could lose everything.”
Eric frowned. “Yeah, maybe,” he said, looking at Chevy, then Heaven, as the song started to come to a close. “Well, thank you for this dance, Alina, and thanks for the advice.”