“Perhaps one of you gals together,” Frank suggested.
“No,” Holly said. “With our dates and individually.”
I didn’t argue. It was her prom, we should do what she wanted. I backed up and sat down on a hassock. With the height of my shoes and the low seat, my knees shot up. So did the tight skirt, its slit climbing three quarters of the way up my leg.
“I don’t know about these shoes, Aunt Jule,” I said. “You could use them for hole punchers.”
A deep laugh sounded behind me. I jumped.
“Nick! I didn’t know you were here.”
“I came in from the porch,” he said.
He looked terrific and surprisingly at ease in his tux.
“Why didn’t you say something?”
His green eyes held mine for a moment, shining softly. “I couldn’t think of anything.”
“That’s rather unusual for you, Nick,” Aunt Jule remarked.
Frank agreed with a grunt.
Nick smiled and sat in the chair behind me. “Enjoy it while it lasts.” His eyes dropped down to my legs.
I pulled on my dress, then self-consciously rested my hand on my calf. Nick watched Holly pose but kept stealing glances at my legs. I couldn’t stand it, the funny, fluttety feelings I was getting whenever he looked at me. I turned to face him. “This is nothing new,” I said quietly. “You’ve seen both my legs before.”
He leaned closer. “Then why are you covering them up?”
“Okay, next beauty,” Frank announced.
I looked up and discovered Holly glaring at us. I couldn’t blame her.
“It’s not my prom, Frank,” I said. “I don’t want any pictures of me.” What I really didn’t want was to draw attention away from Holly.
“Well, your godmother might. Jule?”
“Yes, definitely,” she said.
I stood up reluctantly.
While Frank was taking my picture, Nora walked in and sat on the floor next to Nick.
“Hey, Nora girl,” Frank greeted her.
She didn’t respond.
“Frank, I want one of Lauren and me together,” Aunt Jule said. “She looks so grown-up, so very beautiful.”
Nora turned her head. Her eyes studied every detail of me, making me uneasy.
“And then how about some pictures of Aunt Jule with Nora, and Aunt Jule with Holly,” I suggested.
“No, we have plenty of us already,” my godmother replied, standing next to me, putting her arm around me. “You look absolutely stunning, love. You’ll be the belle of the ball.”
I stole a look at Holly, who, luckily, didn’t seem to be listening. She and Nick were going down a checklist for the yearbook’s coverage of the prom.
Aunt Jule and I smiled at Frank’s command, then she suddenly bent her head close to mine, studying the chain around my neck. “You’re wearing it!” she exclaimed. “The heart I gave you when you were a baby. I didn’t know you still had it.”
Holly glanced up.
“Look, girls,” Aunt Jule said, lifting the pendant with one finger. “It’s the little heart I gave Lauren. Do you remember it?”
Nora shook her head no.
“I think so,” Holly said. “Is it gold?”
“Silver,” Aunt Jule replied.
“I don’t remember,” Nora said.
“Of course you do,” Aunt Jule insisted. “Lauren wore it all the time. She’d get a white mark on her little suntanned neck. Sondra took it from you, Lauren,” Aunt Jule recalled. “I was so afraid she had gotten rid of it. Where did you find it?”
“Don’t tell,” Nora said.
“In the boathouse.”
“Don’t tell! It’s a secret!” Nora cried out.
Aunt Jule and Holly turned to her, both of them frowning.
“Sondra wants the little heart,” Nora went on. “Sondra will get it back.”
Frank shook his head and sent Nick a knowing look.
“Nora, Sondra is dead,” Nick said quietly.
The doorbell rang.
“Who’s next?” Nora asked.
“That’s Lauren’s date,” Holly replied sharply. “Now, keep quiet! Try to act normal and not embarass us all.”
Nora bit her lip and turned to Nick. He laid his hand on her shoulder. “Everything’s all right.” The expression on his face, the sound of his voice, was heartbreakingly gentle.
But it was my heart that had been broken the night my mother died, not Nora’s, and everything wasn’t all right.