Hannah's Rainbow: Every Color Beautiful

Chapter Sixteen

Luck was on their side, for neither Pa nor Ma seemed to suspect anything about that night. When Pa asked how the party was, Hannah kept her answer short and simple. There was some truth in it - she had been having a good time, until she had discovered Harry drunk.

At work on Monday, Kat filled Hannah's head with exclamations of "Oh, what a grand time we had!" and "Will couldn't stop talking about you!"

Kat's enthusiasm was infectious, and a couple of days removed from the situation, Hannah began to wonder if she'd over-reacted.

Secretly touched to have male attention, Hannah agreed to see Will again. When she dated him alone, their conversations flowed naturally, and Will came across as a down-to-earth, sensible guy. Only when they double-dated with Kat and Harry did the evenings turn wilder.

After that initial night of drinking, Harry was more careful. While he still drank some, he never allowed himself to become intoxicated. Several months into attending parties as a group and going on dates, Will finally convinced Hannah to take a sip of his wine.

"What exactly is this?" she asked.

"It's Merlot. A little wine takes the edge off, Hannah."

Hannah took the glass from him and sipped, screwing up her face. "That tastes disgusting!"

Will chuckled. "C'mon, Hannah, let's dance."

"The Charleston" was playing. Hannah took his hands, and Will and she engaged in the music. Hannah was now nineteen, and Will told her that she was more beautiful every time he saw her. Her hair had grown a few inches past her shoulders, and tonight she twisted it up with pins. Her plum-colored dress was well-worn from attending parties every couple of weeks, and Hannah began to wonder if it was in her budget to buy a new one.

"Buy the dress," Will insisted when she broached the topic after the song ended. "You're only young once, and when you're sixty years old and too feeble to move like you do now, you'll only regret it."

Will smiled his winning grin and led Hannah outside into the cool spring air. All these months, Hannah felt she was living a dream. She wasn't high society, but hobnobbing with the elite of Cleveland was getting her invited to plenty of parties. With Will as a steady boyfriend, she felt loved by a man for the first time in her life.

They held hands as they walked through the gardens. The sun had just set, and the wet grass from the earlier rain tickled Hannah's ankles. Will stopped and turned, taking Hannah's other hand, gazing into her hazel eyes.

"I know my sister can be a bit... overbearing, but she means well. I'm glad she introduced us."

Hannah laughed nervously at that understatement about her friend. "I'm glad, too."

Will's mouth claimed hers, and they lingered in the kiss for several seconds. Hannah remembered their first kiss back in November. Will and she had just finished another date, and he had been dropping her off. They had talked in the car for several minutes. Ever the gentlemen, Will had stepped out of the car to open the door for Hannah. As they had stood together, he slightly taller than she, the snowflakes had dusted their shoulders and heads, and Will had leaned down into her, his lips gentle yet insistent.

After the present kiss ended, Will led Hannah to a nearby bench.

"You may think me forward for asking, but can you see yourself with me in the long term?"

"We've been together for a while now. I'd say that speaks for itself."

"But I mean the future, Hannah. I know how Kat feels about marriage and having a family, but we don't need her approval."