"I really can't." I scanned the floor. "So where is everybody?"
She shrugged. "I did see a few people. I guess most decided they didn't want to show off their balding heads and big beer guts. And that's probably just the women."
I laughed at that. "Maybe you're right."
"So what have you been up to? How's the acting thing going? I know you had a big plan to do movies. Have you been in anything lately?"
"Plans change." I glanced over at Thierry, who was giving me and Claire a little room to speak relatively privately. "You know, after I left Abottsville I realized that acting wasn't really my thing. Way too superficial."
Not to mention, ridiculously hard to break into without sleeping with directors and/or producers. Even for the maxipad commercial I'd had to agree to go out with the casting agent. I strongly disagreed when he suggested a three-way with his "understanding" girlfriend and I never worked in showbiz again. Strange how things work out.
Claire nodded. "So what are you doing now?"
As glamorous as a short-lived career of being a personal assistant and now a part-time bartender sounded, I decided to vague it up. "You know, I do a little bit of this. A little bit of that. How about you? I know you wanted to go into… what was it? Corporate law?"
"Actually, I work at McDonald's," she said. "In Niagara Falls. Come by some time and I'll sneak you a free Big Mac." She turned to the side and waved her hand. "Reggie, come over here and meet my friend, Sarah." She waited a moment. "Reggie! Now!"
A nice looking, dark-haired man came to her side. He had a receding hairline and a suit that looked as though it didn't fit him too well, since he kept tugging at the collar. "I'm here, I'm here."
I extended my hand. "I'm Sarah."
"Nice to meet you." His gaze immediately went directly to my super-short red skirt, before snapping guiltily back to Claire.
But she wasn't looking at him. Instead she squinted at Thierry's nametag. "Thheeerie?" she sounded it out. "That's an unusual name."
I slid an arm around his waist. "Actually the 'h' is silent. It's French."
"Oh." She nodded. "Teeeerie."
"It's pronounced Tyair-ee." Thierry took her hand in his. "A pleasure."
She grinned. "So are you two married?"
I moved my arm from his waist to hook around his and found that he was more tense than he appeared. "Nope."
She presented her left hand for me to inspect a tiny diamond ring. "I'm engaged. Reggie popped the question at Christmas."
Reggie nodded. "I did. I've never been happier."
If you asked me, he sounded more scared than enthusiastic. Then again, I'd known Claire in high school. I knew she kept a tight leash on her boyfriends.
"Congrats," I told them. "Hey, want to hear something strange? My cousin's on the decorating committee and a psychic gave her an eerie prediction about tonight."
The smile faded from Claire's face. "What kind of a prediction?"
"Something about darkness lurking around. It sounded a bit scary and with the week I've been having it would have fit right in. So far, so good, though. Nothing seems to be lurking so far, dark or otherwise."
Claire closed her eyes and held her hands up to her sides for a moment.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Just give her a moment," Reggie suggested, sipping from a small glass of punch. "She's sensing the aura of potential evil in the room."
Claire's eyes snapped back open and her smile returned. "Nope, everything feels fine to me."
O-kay.
We chatted for a while longer before the crowd slowly began to swell, although still not as many as I would have expected. Maybe it had something to do with its being held in
February. Due to construction on the school scheduled for the summer, the reunion had been moved up this year as opposed to canceling it altogether. That was probably why the attendance was spotty. Abottsville was well known for getting dumped on with snow at any given winter moment, and the threat of that might keep some people away.
Claire and Reggie finally moved away to schmooze with others with a promise to return later. Standing at Thierry's side, I waited for the huge wave of nostalgia to wash over me and make this into a fantastic night that would help me to feel better about my life. An hour later I was still waiting.
George took a break from the dance floor to come over toward us. He wore a nametag that said "Jim-Bob" on it.
"Everyone remembers me" he said. "Apparently I was popular."
"You were."
I remembered Jim-Bob. And he had been a popular guy. Strangely enough, George was nothing like him, since Jim-Bob was short and fat and a major womanizer—also, definitely not a vampire. I could have sworn I'd read in the paper last week that the real Jim-Bob had been indicted on four counts of Internet fraud. I guess that's why his nametag was available tonight.
"I'm going to make a trip to the ladies' room," I told Thierry. "Too much fruit punch."
He nodded and leaned over to brush his lips against mine. "I'll be waiting."
I could tell by how quiet he was that he wasn't having a very good time. I decided not to torment him for much longer.
Five people recognized me on my way out of the gym, but I didn't recognize them until I looked at their nametags. It was amazing how much people could change in ten years.
In the ladies' room, I picked the stall closest to the door so I wouldn't have to walk past the mirrors on the wall. Not having a reflection sometimes brought up questions I didn't want to answer if I could help it. Questions like, "Why don't you have a reflection?" That was the most common one. It came just before whomever asked it freaked the hell out.
When I exited the stall I noticed a blond woman leaning against the wall opposite it. I figured she'd been waiting to use it, despite the multiple other options in the room, but she didn't make a move to go in.
"Sarah," she said. "Great to see you again."
Didn't recognize her. Damn. I glanced at her nametag and realized she wasn't wearing one.
"Hey there… you. How's it going?"
She wore a tight-fitting blue dress that encased her Playboy Bunny-esque body. Definitely fake boobs. Her hair was so light blond it looked like Barbie doll hair. She was beautiful, but in an unnatural sort of way.
"I'm fantastic," she said, and then paused. "You don't remember me, do you?"
"Of course I do," I lied, feeling bad about not remembering somebody who obviously knew me. "Silly. How could I forget you?"
She smiled. "What's my name, then?"