Daddy Dearest

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Ben

I was speaking to Tracy Huerta about last-minute security arrangements when Lottie and her date, Steve Mason walked in. I smiled. She's starting to look a lot like Waverly did in uni. My smile vanished. She was just a little girl moments ago, but next year, she'll be going off to uni. The thought was terrifying. How did time go so quickly?

Tracy said she had special cameras installed just for the evening and security guys watching the CCTV all night. We both had a feeling that if anything was going to happen, it would happen tonight. Just in case, we hired additional security for the evening.

There were also quite a few of us adults chaperoning for the evening: Tracy Huerta, Nancy Plum, Betsy Rogers, Father Sidney, Father Gabriel, five nuns, Ted Hodges, Waverly, and I. It was common for Catholic school dances to have many chaperones anyway as someone had to make sure that the kids were leaving enough room between each other for the Holy Ghost while dancing.

I was not looking forward to seeing Melody with that wanker Chambers. When she crossed my line of sight, the air in my body left me in a whoosh like I was punched in the stomach. By Chambers.

I didn't realize her gown would be so... grown-up. It was a red strapless number that cinched in at the waist and flared into a gauzy, multi-layered asymmetrical skirt of gradient shades of red. It was shorter in the front than the back. Her black hair was styled in an updo that left curly strands framing her heart-shaped face. She looked like... Meredith.

Her resemblance to her mother was so uncanny that it was almost disconcerting.

"I know, right?" Waverly murmured next to me, slipping her arm through my elbow. "When she walked out of her room all dressed up and her makeup and hair done, I was taken aback. I thought I was looking at a ghost."

I nodded. "I think Merry had a similar dress that she wore to her engagement party." I could have bitten off my tongue. How could I possibly remember what Merry was wearing that night if I hadn't been obsessively thinking about her over the years?

"Ohhh, yeah... that Versace dress," Waverly confirmed to my relief. "I remember it because it caused quite a stir. She almost gave Harry a heart attack that night. He wanted to bundle her up before anyone else could see her and run away with her, the silly man."

I cleared my throat. I wanted to run away with her. She descended those steps in that gown and I thought to myself, I could take her and we'd run away to Canada. In time, she'd forget Harry and love only me. I was a little drunk and a lot more melodramatic in my thinking back then.

She came in hand and hand with Chambers and they looked like a perfect Disney interracial couple. I wanted to punch something.

"You all right, Davenport?" Waverly looked up at me with a frown.

"I was just talking to Trace about security," I told her, forcing myself to look away from the couple. "We think something might happen here tonight. The stalker is getting bolder, so there's no doubt that his actions are escalating because he's not getting the response he wants. Melody and Chambers are still together, if the intent had been to break them up. If anything, I'd say it brought them closer together because Chambers got to play the hero."

"What an odd thing to say, Davenport." She gave me a sidelong glance. "Are you trying to imply that Mr. Chambers has anything at all to do with what's happening with Melody right now?"

I had my theories. But then I remembered Melody's silly plan to make Charlie believe she was just another dumb, shallow girl at school in love with Chambers, to dissuade his romantic feelings for her.

"No." I shook my head and stuck my hands in the pockets of my trousers. I was leaving this school in two weeks and we were no closer to finding Melody's stalker. "Don't mind me. You know I've always been protective where Melody is concerned."