Family Bonds

Chapter 1

Jane Collins pushed her shoulder-length hair to one side, and retied the dark blue ribbon matching the piping on her dress. "You'd think by age twenty-two, I'd be able to control my own hair," she murmured. Even if the rest of my life is a mess.

"Let me tie it." Bert, a second father to her for more years than she could count, secured the hair ribbon around her brown tresses. The mirror caught his proud smile as he stood behind her. "You're looking real pretty, and you're going to a party. Don't be mopin' around here. Your ma wouldn't want you to. Will, neither."

Her mother had died almost a year ago. Jane sighed quietly. She knew her mother's drinking had more to do with her death than the pneumonia. Her late stepfather's life insurance had paid for her first three years of college, but she'd had to quit. She'd used the rest of the money to cover bills after her mother stopped working.

"Is your date picking up you and Marty?"

Jane nodded and brushed her hands down her dress to still her nervousness. She'd dated only a few times in college and not at all in high school. She'd opted to study, intent on getting good grades, something that pleased Will. Her mother, too, on days when she wasn't drinking herself into a stupor.

Maybe I'll meet someone nice. She wasn't sure if Sean, her blind date, qualified. It might be nice to meet someone who lived in Evergreen, Washington, her—working, who wasn't going to school.

A car horn sounded. Jane pulled back the curtains on the living room window.

"He's here. See you later, Bert."

"He didn't come to the door?" Bert's frown told Jane what he thought of Sean.

"It's okay. I told him I'd be ready, and he's later than he said." She reached for her coat.

Bert pressed a tightly-folded bill into her palm. "In case you need a cab or something."

"I won't need it."

"Take it. Don't argue, have a good time. Tell Martha Joy hello. I've missed seeing her."

"I will."

"When did you say you'll be home?" He looked out the window. "That his car with the scrape on the side?"

She shrugged. "Probably around midnight. We might go out for something to eat afterward. You don't have to wait up, Bert."

"Have a good time," he repeated. The furrows on his forehead told her he would probably be up, reading, pretending that's why he hadn't gone to bed.

~ ~ ~

At the dance, Jane scanned the crowd, surprised she remembered so few of the people walking in the door.

"Just think, Jane: Our five-year high school reunion. Hard to believe it's been so long since we graduated. Look at her!" Marty, her best friend, pointed to a woman in late pregnancy. "Jim told me Carole already has a kid at home. She looks ready to drop this one any minute. You'd think she'd have got married first. There're the guys with our drinks. Let's grab a table." Marty led the way to a table decorated in the school colors. Sean took a seat near Jane and handed her a drink before dropping a hand to her thigh.

"You said you just wanted soda, but I had them give you a little drop of something extra. For the holidays," he leered.

Jane sipped her drink gingerly. It tasted like it had more alcohol than soda and she set it back on the table. "I guess I'm not as thirsty as I thought."

He grabbed her hand and pulled her onto the dance floor. "Then let's dance."

Sean was looking for a good time. He boogied enthusiastically, coaxing her to do the same. When she decided to return to their table after one dance, she said, "Go on and have fun. I'll make sure no one takes our seats." She gave him a quick smile that broadened when Marty returned to the table, holding a plate of hors d'oeuvres.