Beaming Through It All

Chapter Seven

I thought Jill could not look worse. But I was wrong.

Her state was getting worse everyday, and more and more I heard her crying in her room when I was passing by. My mom must have noticed it too, for she became less interested in Jeremy and seemed to be more concerned about Jill.

As for me, things were actually getting better, and although I felt a bit guilty to be happier everyday when my sister was obviously struggling, I couldn't help but feel great.

That night at the Mice Bar had been the first of many I would spend with Jeremy later. When we got there, Tom the barman looked up at us and, to my great surprise, recognized me.

'Jenny!' he called. I turned to Jeremy, who just smiled, as usual, and headed to the counter where we both sat down.

'It's been so long,' Tom said. 'Where have ya been, Jenny?'

I blushed, still puzzled.

'You remember me?' I said.

'Jill's sister, right? Never forget a customer. Especially when it's a pretty girl, eh?'

He smiled. I didn't know what to say to it so I just smiled back, a bit ill at ease. I could feel Jeremy next to me, who was totally comfortable, as always.

'So what you drinking?' he asked.

I had a flash of the pink Special Day Drink I had had the last time I had been there. But Jeremy ordered two Fanta's.

'I love Fanta,' he told me. 'My favorite drink I think.'

I nodded, he smiled. After talking a little and emptying our glasses, he had an expression I had never seen on his face.

'Shall we dance?' he asked.

I coughed.

'Are you serious?' He nodded. I freaked out. 'I can't dance,' I said. 'Besides, no one is dancing, we would look stupid. Especially me. And...'

But he grabbed my hand and led me on what was about to be our dance floor. Gosh. He was so close. I looked at our hands, holding each other, and felt like my heart was struggling to get out of my body.

'Just follow the music!' he cried. 'And follow me, too!'

As if we weren't close enough, he pulled me closer and put an arm around my waist.

'Wait,' I said. But he was already moving on the music, and I had no choice but to imitate him.

At first, it was really weird, because I had never danced in my whole life. But after a while, I started to have fun. Especially when some other people gathered around us to dance too and made me feel a bit less lonely on the dance floor.

It was three in the morning when we finally left the bar and drove back home. He had forced me to stop dancing, because I didn't want to, and I had resigned, amazed that the time had ran out like that.

'We'll come back,' he said as he started the car. 'I promise.'

I just stared at him, his perfect face, his perfect hair, his perfect smile, his perfect hands that had been holding mine a bit earlier. What was I doing there, alone in a car with him? Me, the unsociable Jenny, suddenly going out with such a perfect guy, and dancing until late in the night. It was incredible, come to think of it.

'You're all right?' he asked. I nodded.

'I'm great.'

As he had promised me, we went back to the Mice Bar many times. And when it was not the Mice Bar, it was another bar in town, or we just hung out on the beach together, talking and laughing as though we were best friends. Maybe we were.