Luke called back home the morning after the reunification of the Saturday Morning Bike Club. Waiting any longer to talk with his family was out of the question. The call would have come as soon as the friendship rekindled but he was sucked up in the moment. By the time the moment quit dragging him by his hand the time was already 9:00. That is way too late to call back to Pittsburgh.

Being part of the Dawn Patrol meant Luke was an early riser. Instead of going to the beach at the start of his day, Luke called back home. His dad answered. Fred was only able to greet his son, before Luke took over the conversation. The son did not want to wait another second in telling spending time with Matt and Renee. Fred was pleasantly surprised at hearing about his son’s unexpected reunion with his friends at Renee’s victory speech. The father did not have to look to know that Lori had her pulled one over on you smile on her face. That daughter of his was more of a cheeky monkey than a sweet pickle with this.

Luke also wanted to talk about the next three days. Matt and Renee were staying in Cali until Wednesday and Luke was planning on being with them as much as possible. He was going to take those days off of school. He had no tests or major assessments this upcoming week and was going to email his teachers to have them send him what they were going to cover on those days. Even with being able to spend time with his two oldest friends Luke was going to make sure he worked on fulfilling his dreams. He knew that there would be more good times later with Matt and Renee. He will spend a lot of time with them when he goes back home to visit in a couple of months.

Alice was concerned at first when she found out that Luke called. 17 year old kids were not known to be up at 6 AM. If they were up, teenagers were not known to make calls to their parents at that time. The mother’s worry was amped up when she saw Lori’s face. That grin usually meant her daughter got her way. Those two facts should have added up for bad news for Luke.

Then, when her husband was able to get a word in, the worry was gone. That’s great and I am happy are not phrases people used to console someone. Now she wanted to hear whatever Luke was sharing. She wanted to get that joy only a parent knew. The joy of your child being happy about thriving in life

Alice was disappointed. Instead of getting an emotional retelling of yesterday’s event, she got a cold calculated incident report. Luke was as monotone as Joe Friday and also followed that detective’s credo of “just the facts.” His use of mother punctuated the fact that Luke was not willing to privy to his mom today.

Luke was so protective with his mom for those two still had a huge unresolved issue. Alice never apologized to Luke. The mom never freely of her own accord took steps to rectify the damage she had done to Luke. The best she did was give a halfhearted admission of guilt to him. Her saying she was wrong only came after Luke’s dad knew everything which Alice was doing. To him that was more about her saving face and her marriage than doing the right thing.

Alice was not happy that Luke’s emotional distance from her was even further than the physical distance. She knew pushing the topic would only end up pushing Luke even further away. Instead she went about trying to build inroads by bringing up him going to the prom next month. If she showed excitement about that big night before it happened then Luke should be more open to sharing details about that rite of passage to her.

Hearing her mom bring up the prom made Lori’s ear perk up. Just thinking about how great of a time Luke and Mary were going to have made Lori feel good. It also made her long for having the same kind of special night as those two. Her prom was also on that same night and that could be the night Blake left behind being a boy. Maybe some sort of social osmosis would occur by her boy having to dress up like a man.

******************

Today was prom day and Mary Steiner was on her way to the cove. She was not going to waste the morning and a couple of hours amongst the waves would do her good. There were 5 hours left before her salon appointment so there would be no rush. There would be enough time waiting around when her nails were drying so now was the time for some action.

Doing a shift on the Dawn Patrol was also to clear her mind. The senior was so nervous about tonight. Being on the edge of a wave would take the edge off of her thoughts. She had made a huge decision about tonight and there was still some doubt about if it was the right choice.

Tonight was going to be the night she gave herself to Luke. She wanted to share the most intimate act with him. He could be her first and in a perfect world, he would also be her last. He could not be her last for the time of them sharing the same tides would soon be over.

This world was perfect, so even with sharing a bed with Luke being the right thing to do, it might not be the right choice. Mary had big plans and this act could end them. Becoming pregnant would stop her from going to the Air Force Academy. She was on the pill and Luke would insist on using protection so the risk was small. She still was not sure if the low probability of getting pregnant make doing the right thing prudent.

Then there was a chance of getting rejected by Luke. Her concern about tonight not being the night was not based on Luke’s lack of wanting her. Her boyfriend’s eyes told the truth about the desire he had to share a bed with her. Tonight might not go how she planned because Luke would be putting her wellbeing above his wants. He might come to the conclusion a moment of pleasure was not worth the risk and his love losing her dreams.

Mary felt taking the chance was worth it. She wanted her first time to be with the perfect man. She knew that the memory would stay with her for the rest of her life. She did not want to think back about who she lost her virginity with and have any regrets. Sharing herself with another should always be special and having the first time with Luke would reinforce that thought.

Mary’s insecurities and doubts about her decision were quickly washed away when she saw Luke arriving at the cove. His presence was like the incoming tide and eroded the sandcastle of indecision. Making tonight the night was right. Seeing the man who lived in her heart made it so she wanted to get yet another memento of their time together. Luke might be moving out soon but Mary wanted to make sure it always felt like his home.

Even if her Eck said no, tonight would still be the night. Offering to share herself to him was the most important part of the evening to her. The act itself was just a moment of bliss, picking the right man to be with for the first time was a moment to be cherished for a lifetime.

*************

Lori woke up having a funny feeling about prom night. Somehow that even with tonight being special it was not going to be any different than any other time with Blake. Her boyfriend was more concerned about the after-prom than the prom. He kept on mentioning how special that part of the night was going to be. There was no way that Blake should be thinking that. The night was about the prom. Tonight they would be getting dressed up to step out of their mundane lives to celebrate in getting one step closer to adulthood and one step further away from adolescence.

The funny feeling was not going to bring down Lori. She was going to have a great time tonight. She would be surrounded by many of her friends so tonight was going to be a good night. Ever since the reunion of the Saturday Morning Bike Club she had become closer to Renee, Matt, Amanda, and Kat.

Then there was her best friend Tracy and Ming. She and Tracy have become even closer than ever. That girl stood by her side and stood up for her when others still had no faith in Lori. More importantly, Tracy stood up for Luke at the right time. Ming, that boy who was wise beyond his years, had faith in her since they met. Even when she stumbled, he offered his hand to help her get back to solid ground giving her good support. Lori’s closest friends might only be going to the prom as friends, but that was great. She just loved the idea of them getting to know each other better. Ming and Tracy were close to Lori so she wanted them to be close to each other.

All the good which was going to happen tonight for Lori and her friends was what made that funny feeling not important to her. Tonight never really had a chance of being perfect, that only happened in the movies her Aunt Bridgette worked on. Tonight had a great chance of being a night for everyone to remember. There was no way Lori was going to let Blake ruin it for her or everyone else.

******************

Taking chances was a huge part of raising a child. Pulling back and letting a child make mistakes was hard. Parents had to do that. They needed to give children the chance to fail. The chance to do the wrong thing. This weekend, Aunt Bridgette and Uncle Maurice were going to take a huge chance with Luke. They were going to give him free rein of their home.

Most weekends Luke being home alone would not be a big deal. Luke’s proxy parents had done this before and never came back finding a reason to be disappointed in him. They had faith in Luke because he was a model student and all-around good kid. This weekend was different. It was prom weekend.

Prom weekend was when many of the model students and all-around good kids let their hair down a little too much. The kids who lived it up a little too much were the good kids who still had to mature. They give into temptation and go a little too wild. Those kids were on the up and up because of being watched, not because they knew limits.

Luke was finishing tying his bowtie as his uncle Maurice came into his room. The visitor said nothing until Luke was done with the batwing knot. The elegant streamlined design of the bow tie fit the night. The ocean blue color of the tie and cummerbund matched Luke’s eyes perfectly. The tuxedo added an air of maturity to Luke. Maurice knew he was looking at a young man, not a teenage boy who was playing dress-up.

Getting the reassurance from seeing Luke changed the tone of the talk. There was no need for Luke’s uncle to reiterate the ground rules of night. There was not going to be any hard drugs, only the pre-approved guest list would come over, no one would be drinking and driving, none of the guests would be venturing into the main house, Luke and his friend would be respecting the neighbors and Maurice and his wife will be coming home to a clean house. Luke would follow the ground rules for he agreed to and he also agreed with them.

Wanting to make this a friendly talk about the night Maurice started with a light-hearted comment. “Luke, the girls are going to come runnin' just as fast as they can. 'Cause every girl's crazy 'bout a sharp-dressed man.”

Luke did the correct response of rolling his eyes to that bad dad joke. Knowing that the correct mood was set, Maurice got serious. “Luke, you look great. You are going to have a great time tonight and this weekend.

“Everything is set up. Sam will be coming over to drop off the food around midnight. He can’t wait to see you. The Duritzs and Gillinghams know about the party so as long as you guys don’t get too rowdy they won’t care. There are condoms in the nightstand. I and your aunt will be home Sunday evening.”

Luke noticed his uncle sneaking in the fact about the prophylactics and was not happy. Sex was not on his mind. He and Mary were in love and a couple, but they both made the decision not to engage in sex. That moment of pleasure was not worth taking the chance of ruining their future. He showed his disapproval by saying, “I don’t need them.”

Maurice knew that Luke was objecting to the innuendo about the activities during the upcoming after prom. “Luke, I am not saying that you do or don’t. I am saying that they are there. Like I said, tonight is going to be special. The moment might lead you to needing them. Them being there is just a precaution. You need to prepare for things which might happen, even if you are not planning for them.”

“I know Unk. I also know how much the Air Force Academy means to Mary, and I will never do anything which has a chance to stop her from going there.”

Maurice loved hearing that shorthand Unk for Uncle. It reaffirmed the closeness between him and Luke. More importantly, that nickname showed that Luke was mature enough to understand why. Leaving that protection was not about thinking Luke was trying to get his first notch on his bedpost, but to make sure that Luke and Mary were safe.

“Come on, let's go downstairs. You know your auntie is dying to see you.”

**************

Even with showing up 15 minutes early at Lori’s, Blake was acting like they were late for their big date. He could not wait and do what he had on tonight’s slate. Blake was looking forward to his fate. Scoring with Lori will make him a man according to his mates.

Fred welcomed Lori’s boyfriend in and offered him a seat. Blake could not stop crossing his legs and playing with the remote as he waited for Lori to come down. The young man was as fidgeting as he wanted his fingers to be with Lori’s bra later tonight. He just wanted his girlfriend to come down already so they can take the pictures and get going. That will get him two steps closer to his ultimate destination of the night, having sex with Lori.

Lori was wearing a dark burgundy A-line off-the-shoulder asymmetrical tulle dress with a beading sequins bow as she made her grand entrance down the steps. The young debutante looked stunning and regal coming down as she came to greet her date. How Lori carried herself there should have been a page announcing her arrival. This was not to feed her ego, the Brat Princess was the past. The page was needed so her parents and Blake would not miss one second of her majestic entrance.

Alice pulled out her digital camera to take some pictures. Tonight was too important to rely on her cell phone to take the snapshots of the event occurring. Tonight was a rite of passage for Lori. Today was when Lori went from being a girl to a woman.

Blake’s mind being in the future came out in the pictures Fred and Alice took. The look on his face said he wanted to be somewhere else. The distant look was taken to be nerves by Fred. Knowing how important the night was to his daughter, his daughter’s date, his wife, and himself Fred had a little man-to-man talk with Blake.

After a couple of pictures, Blake was ready to go. They were wasting too much time in the present and needed to get to the future. The sharply dressed boy tried to preemptively end the photo session by saying they needed to get going.

Lori’s dad bringing up that everything was going to be great tonight did momentarily pull Blake’s thought to the present. He needed to play it cool. There was no such thing as a sure thing until it happened. Blake knew Lori was going to have to be happy with the night to share a bed with him tonight.

Blake cleared his throat to compose himself. He needed to be as calm as possible for the upcoming lie to be believable. “Sorry, Mr Zahn. I just want to make sure we are on time. I don’t want to ruin Lori’s night by us rushing to get to the Palmer Country Club. A couple more minutes and we need to get going. I don’t trust Tom to be ready. He is not as eager as me to have this be a night to remember.”

Fred’s reassurance of “Don’t worry, you still have 2 hours to get there,” was bad news to the boy. That meant that there was still so much time between now and where he wanted to be. That extra time was going to give him more of a chance of messing up. Blake waited too long to be denied by his own actions and did not want the last obstacle of time to do him in.

Making sure to sell his excuse. “I know, thank you Mr Zahn. Lori, hon, where do you want the next picture.” The excitement in his girl’s voice when she announced under the fully blooming cherry tree made Blake relieved. He was still on track to get what he wanted all he had to do was run out the clock.

*********************

Luke exclaimed, “Mary is here,” as soon as the car pulled up. As she was heading towards the door, Bridgette quickly video called her sister, Alice. There was no way Alice was going to miss this important moment in Luke’s life. Tonight was the rite of passage of Luke leaving adolescence and entering adulthood.

Luke, his aunt, and uncle went out to the front yard when Mary along with her mom and dad, Jill and Bernie Steiner arrived. Seeing Mary as she was getting out of the car made Luke stop in his tracks. To him, Mary was always the most beautiful girl in the world, but today her beauty hit him like a wave. Luke’s girlfriend never looked as majestic as she did.

The wave which crashed over Luke was physically manifested in Mary’s dress. It was an ocean blue mermaid silhouette. The white trim going right to left diagonally up the dress then across the sweetheart neckline looked like the crest of a wave. Her golden hair was as radiant as the sun.

At that moment, Luke admitting his carnal desire made him feel like a liar. Earlier today he was offended that his uncle even suggested that he would need protection. That he was not even thinking of having sex with Mary. At that moment, all he wanted was to be one with her. To be in her and her to welcome him being there. Luke still was not going to initiate getting what he desired by making sexual advances tonight. He would leave that to Mary. Luke also knew that he would not and could not deny her if she also wanted them to be one.

Luke was able to regain his composure before he and Mary made eye contact. She was too concerned with paying attention to making sure the trail of her dress did not get caught in the car door. Had Mary been able to look at Luke right away, she would have noticed how dazed her man was from her stunning beauty. Getting a tear in her dress would not have been a good start of the evening.

How handsome Luke was just reaffirmed her making tonight the night’s decision was right. The white tuxedo jacket with ocean blue lapels and pockets trim with matching bow tie made Luke look so debonair. The confidence in her boyfriend’s stride added to that look. The casual smile he gave Mary made her feel safe with him. That Luke would never do her harm. Then the little wink when they got close reassured her Luke was also going to be casual at the right time tonight. He will be his real self when the time was right. Putting on airs was an act that could make them too self-conscious to show who they really were at the right time. They would focus more on keeping up the facade.

Sam was able to make out to the front yard to capture Luke and Mary greeting each other with a hug. Luke’s cousin had taken many pictures, his hobby is photography, but he knew right away that was one of the best pictures he took. When your subjects are caught in the moment, it is easy to capture the moment. The best way to capture the magic was for Sam to not interrupt the spell over Luke and Mary so he motioned to his mom to have them continue just being.

The longer the two teenagers in love were in the presence of each other, the magic of their bond and love for each other took stronger hold. Each picture was better than the next. They all felt real and not a manufactured scene. The pinning a corsage on the other did come off as someone from a distance sneaking a peak of two lovers. The couple posing with each other and then with the adults looked like them welcoming your presence in sharing in the day.

Then the limo came to pick them up. Shy and her date, Greg K., stepped out of it. Mary’s second-best friend, Luke was her best friend, looked stunning in her sheath one-shoulder sweep train dress with ruffle beading. Greg K. looked dashing. Luke’s second-best friend, Mary was his best friend, also went with a white tuxedo jacket with pocket trimming which matched his date’s dress.

After Sam took pictures of Luke and Mary with Shy and Greg K. Fred reminded the prom-goers that they needed to leave. The four teenagers reluctantly agreed. They did not want this moment to end. Tonight was going to be special, and they wanted to savor and prolong each part of the night. Before being the gentleman and holding the door for Mary, Luke thanked his aunt and uncle and told them he loved them. Then he looked at the phone and saw how proud his mom was, holding back her tears. He felt the pride his mom had for him and for once a close connection to her. With a boyish smile on his face, Luke told his mom he loved her also. Doing her best to be as put together as her son’s outfit Alice in a forced strong voice said, “I love you also, Luke.”

*******************

With a devilish grin on his face and a playful tone in his voice, Matt said, “Hubba, hubba” as Renee came into his eyesight. His girlfriend's prom was a tulle dress. The top of the dress was black with a sweetheart cut. The first couple of tulle layers were black, and then they alternated between black and pink. Having those pink streaks from the layout made sense, after all, that was Renee’s nickname.

Matt’s response and him just being there took any concern Renee had about how she looked. The girl had self-doubt that she could pull off looking girly. Renee did not know yet looking girly had more to do with a person’s state of mind than what they were wearing. Even in her BMX pants and jersey she looked girly to Matt. Her essence always came through, and she was strongly feminine.

Seeing the stress leaving Renee’s face reassured Matt that tonight was going to be special. His belief was right. Tonight was going to be special for Renee was going to realize that her being her was how she truly embraced being feminine. She was doing so by seeing herself through his eyes. Tonight was also going to be special for Matt because he was going to learn one cannot truly forgive themselves until they forgive others.

***************

Bridgette started to talk with Alice as Luke and Mary were pulling away for the time of their life. She wanted to catch up with her youngest sister. The older sister also wanted to hear Alice’s delight in Luke. That boy had come so far from when he first moved to California. He went from being an insecure and pessimistic timid boy to a confident and optimistic strong young man.

Alice was proud of her son, but was also hurt seeing who he has become. The hurt came from her knowing that he did this without her help. That if anything, she hindered him from reaching his potential. She felt like she was not Luke’s mom and that devastated her.

True strength is being able to accept the consequences of one’s actions. Alice was ready to do so and did so by saying, “Sis, you did a great job at raising your youngest, and he is a fine young man.”

The infamous Tribalinni’s temper came out in the upcoming scolding “Alice, you can’t even give Luke credit when Lori is not around. You still have to play favorites. Right now is about Luke and you bring up Sam. You drive me crazy sometimes. I swear we babied you too much when you were young. You need to grow up. If you don’t, you will lose your son.”

Alice waited a second because she wanted to make sure she did not come off as defensive. She knew that her sister took what she said wrong. Alice was not talking about Sam, she was talking about Luke. Alice felt like she was Luke’s prodigal mom and Bridget was his real mom. Alice explained “Wait, Bridget. I was talking about Luke. You are his mom, not me. I am so proud of him and know you made him the man he is today.”

Bridget felt bad for snapping at her youngest sibling. She caused tension and it could have gone the wrong way if Alice had gotten defensive. She was extremely proud of her poor misguided little sister for what Alice said, but could not disagree with her any more than she did at that moment. Bridget’s ice queen’s exterior changed to one of a May queen.

With love, caring, and concern in her voice, Bridget said, “Lili, you were, are, and always will be Luke’s mom. You might not have always done the right thing for him, but you did when it counted the most. You put his needs in front of yours. You did not have to, and it was hard to convince you, but you still did.

“Like mom and dad used to say. ‘Raising a child is doing your best and hoping that you do not mess them up that much.’ You did your best, most parents would not have let their son move across the country, you did.

“Let’s drop it, you know how fiery I am, and go off the handle. I am sorry.

“Now you are right Luke is a fine young man.”

*****************

Ming looked stylish yet laid back in his tux without a tie. How natural the outfit fitted his personality made it so he could pull it off without looking pretentious. Most teenage boys would come off as trying to be more cultured than they really were. Not Ming, the choice of no tie made his outfit a natural extension of who he was.

His look perfectly matched the elegant yet reserved dress his date,Tracy Armstrong, was wearing. Her A-line off the shoulder dress was right for the night. The delicate floral applique was embellished with enough tiny rhinestones to give the dress the right amount of shine on the bodice. People would notice it if they were looking at her, but at the same time, it did not draw attention.

Those two were in the middle of taking pictures when Blake and Lori showed up. Instead of getting out of the car, the impatient boy honked the horn at Ming and Tracy. Them leaving Tracy’s would get the night closer to where Blake wanted to be, in bed with Lori. This restless call to come made Tracy panic. She did not want to have her ride wait, but she wanted a couple of more pictures.

Tracy’s escort sensed she was becoming as jittery as an espresso drinking dachshund. That was no way a lady should be on her big night out. Ming’s next step was to get her back to enjoying the night. He looked at her and made her as calm as if she drank chamomile tea by saying, “You stay here, Tracy. We will take as many photos as you want. I will go get Blake and Lori so we can take a couple of pictures with them also.”

Before Ming could make his words true, their ride and his date were already coming out of his car. The look Lori gave Blake was more piercing than the horn he honked to rudely get their friends attention. Blake quickly changed his tune and told Lori he was joking and they were going to get out and greet their friends. The boy who was trying so hard to prove he was a man was wise enough to know it was no use to get to the end of the night if it did not end with Lori in bed with him.

Lori was like the Queen of England. She was not amused by Blake’s lame excuse of it being a joke. The lie did not ring true. Plus, even if that was somehow true, that joke was putting undue pressure on Tracy. Lori knew her friend was a pleaser and was working hard with Tracy to learn she had to please herself before others. Blake being in a hurry was making tonight less special for others.

Ming made sure that Tracy was satisfied with the pictures before they left. As they were leaving, Blake asked the snide question if Tracy was happy. With Ming’s support and Lori’s encouragement, Tracy answered the question with a confident yes. She was not going to let Blake’s displeasure about doing an important part of the night get her down.

***************

Silence was usually golden for Fred. Tonight it was iron pyrite. The lack of chatter from his wife was yelling this fact to him. Alice should have been like a playlist on replay about tonight. She loved her kids and tonight was a huge night for them. He should have heard a heartfelt rhapsody about how beautiful their young lady looked tonight, followed by an anthem of their daughter’s journey from being the Brat Princess to who she was today. Then, after covering her youngest, Alice would bail out a nice little ditty about how Luke has become a strapping young man, which would merge into a ballad about his journey. Then the ending an opus on how they were lucky to have two great children.

Not wanting to believe the night was anticlimactic to his wife, Fred put a quarter in the jukebox by asking Alice her thoughts about the night their kids were going to have. That question ended up pressing the wrong button. Instead of getting one of the pop earworms he wanted to hear, Alice sang a dirge about her relationship with Luke.

Fred took steps to comfort his wife. He thought that she might have been mistaking emotional distance with physical distance but he was not going to downplay her distress. He knew sorrow grew when it was denied. Fred sang a lullaby which quickly calmed Alice. His comforting words contained a psalm of wisdom which gave Alice hope to resurrect her relationship with Luke. She had to apologize. Being and acting sorry was not enough. Those words needed to be said. Seeing the path to redemption brought joy to Alice. She celebrated by starting a sing along about Luke being a fine young man.

*************

Giving an event a theme was a well-proven method of helping to make it memorable. Lori’s Prom’s theme was “Above the Clouds.” There was a small amount of dry ice fog pumped in to make the floor look like the top of a cloud. The walls were a nighttime skyscape. The bottom of the northern walls were decorated as the Aurora Borealis. A little higher up on all the walls was the solar system. The moon was the closest, then going around clockwise were the planets. After that came the stars. Then higher up were nebulae and supernovas.

The prom decorating committee did not need to put in any effort other than naming it to make the night memorable for Lori. After all, the phrase they picked was the name of her favorite song. To her above the clouds was a perfect three word definition of how she envisioned the perfect prom night. The night was about being above all the little concerns in life and sharing the time with that special someone.

There was only one way tonight would have been memorable to Blake. That was if the lust-driven boy ended it above Lori. He could not understand why the artsy student wasted so much time on making the ballroom have any type of ambiance. The decorations added nothing to what they were there to do, eat, drink and dance before the after prom. That was when the main event of drinking stronger drinks and doing the deed was going to happen.

The etymology of the word prom is a nice simple one. The event name came from the shortening of French word promenade. These dances were called so because of the entrance of the couples. Each one would get their own entrance to the coming of age dance. This grand entrance was a way to welcome the young adults to proper society.

Blake treated their arrival just like going to any other room. Instead of taking his time to soak up the moment, he was trying to rush Lori to their table. Instead of feeling transported to the higher atmosphere by the ascent up the stairs to the cloudy floor, Lori was feeling like she was being held to the Earth. She could not get the escape velocity in her mind to be transported to the special place the prom was supposed to be. Walking through the manmade night sky felt more like being on an airplane to another destination instead of a port of call for the night.

As the night went on, the distance between Blake and Lori grew. The boy was treating the journey’s end as a layover. He was not thinking about the now so he made many more mistakes which would lead to a detour from where he wanted to be. Blake acting like tonight was nothing special made Lori stag at the prom.

All during the night Ming was trying to correct the course for Blake. This helping hand was not so Blake could get where he wanted to be. Ming was trying to get his best friend, Lori, where she wanted to be. All of his suggestions like, going to get Lori’s before dinner drink, or hitting the dance floor right after dinner was over were met with a nah. Each time Ming made a suggestion on where Blake should be, the lost boy got more perturbed. Lori’s boyfriend did not need any navigation. To him, the night was going as planned. Blake could not and would not admit that he was lost. Ming was just trying to make the night drag on by having Blake do what he did not want to do.

Mixed in on Blake knowing better than Ming were more faux pas. Their friend Kat was on the decorating committee and when she came over to say hi, he downplayed all of her work. Now instead of spending time with Blake, Lori had to talk with Kat. Lori loved talking with Kat but right now her friend should be soaking in praise from the excellent job she did. Kat should be with her date also instead of hearing Lori apologizing for another action. The chat was short because Kat saw how mad Lori was about Blake’s words and also how much her friend loved the hard work she did.

The next wrong course of action came when Matt and Renee came over. This quick greeting was to see Tracy. They still wanted the least amount of social interaction with Lori as possible. Even with Lori making amends with Luke and her actually playing a huge part in the Saturday Morning Bike Club riding again, those two only tolerated her being around. They held her directly responsible for the time missed with Luke.

Instead of acting formally, Blake went with that there was nothing special about the night. How could he think anything was special if he was still waiting for his night to start. His joke of telling Renee she cleaned up well crashed as bad as he did during his races with Luke.

The joke hurt Renee. She was under the false assumption that just because she was a BMX racer that she was not feminine. Her hands might have had a few calluses on them, but that did not take away from them being soft. Not keeping her fingernails long did not change her fingers from being long and slender. Not wearing makeup did not make her facial features any less round than any other girl.

Renee was dow,n but she had Matt right next to her. He was her support and jumped in to raise her up above the clouds. Matt said, “Blake, shut up. Renee is always a beautiful woman.”

She knew his response was true from how quick and easy it came from the normally cautious man's lips. Her boyfriend was an aspiring engineer, so she knew he dotted his i’s and crossed his t’s before he spoke. At that moment, Renee realized that she was always feminine for that was who she was. If the person who knew her the best always saw her as a beautiful woman, then she had to exude femininity.

Having faith in who she was made Renee soar above the clouds. The hate arrows which Blake fired missed her. She was above them. She only felt the pain from not having the self-confidence in being who she was. Now she had it, for she saw herself from Matt’s eyes. She motioned to Matt for them to leave, and she said, “Tracy and Ming, we will catch up at the after prom.”

Lori was so mad at Blake. How could he be so stupid and say something so flippant and inconsiderate to any girl tonight? His joking being aimed at Renee made it worse. Lori was still trying to get back in Renee and Matt’s good graces. Any inroads she made were destroyed.

Making it harder to be friends with those two again was not bad if Matt had not saved the day that could have ruined Renee’s evening. Tonight was a night for a girl to shine and that joke was only funny by putting a dull on how Renee looked.

Lori made sure that Blake knew her displeasure with how he treated Renee. “How could you say that Blake? Renee always looks great. I guess it hurts your manhood that she can beat you in a race. You better make it up to her.”

They might have been walking away from Lori’s table but Matt could hear what was being said. Those words which were not meant for his ears opened up his heart to Lori. Her telling off Blake was not a show to make Lori look good. She did the right thing for the right reason. Matt starting to see Lori has grown has made it so he let go of him letting down Luke all those years ago.

Blake let Lori rim him out. He held in saying what was really on his mind. His manhood was hurt for his girlfriend would not treat him like a man in the bedroom. Not defending himself was not because he deserved to be berated for his actions. What he said was a joke and meant no harm. Lori’s boyfriend listened to the lecture so he would get what he wanted tonight.

As Blake just sat there Lori started to question why even bother with him. They have been together for years yet he was still the same person as he was in middle school. Maybe she was wrong. That she was going out with who she made Blake out to be instead of who he was. That she loved a fictional character, not a real person.

Having doubts about her choice in who she saw as special, made Lori quit explaining why Blake was wrong to him. The boy took it as his girlfriend was only a little mad. That was a good sign for him. Lori needed to be happy for him to have a happy ending to the night.

By the end of the night, Lori wanted nothing more than to go home. She came close to just telling Blake to drive her there. Instead, she went to the after prom. Ending the night now meant defeat and that her prom night would be nothing other than any other Friday night. She also wanted to not bring any of her friends down. Lori did not see herself as the life of the after party. She did not want Ming or Tracy to worry about her. Lastly, she did not want her mom to know how bad the night was going. Lori might not be the Brat Princess anymore but she did look up to Alice like a queen. Her mom talked about how special tonight was going to be and Lori knew it would break her heart if her daughter’s night did not live up to expectations.

*****************

One of the ways a prom’s theme helped make the night one to remember was when it gave the attendants the right state of mind. If the night’s mood was one of romance, being somewhere extraordinary, and a once in a lifetime event then the kids there would think, oh what a night late May back in upperclassmen year when they were reminiscing about their youth. The name of “A Night in Heaven” for Luke and Mary’s prom fit the bill on making this night burn in their memories.

The promenade into the banquet hall was the official start of Luke and Mary’s unforgettable visit to paradise. Before making their grand entrance the loving couple stood at a replica of the Pearly Gates. They both knew once those doors swung open and they crossed the barrier to the other side there was no turning back. Their hearts were beating faster in anticipation of the great unknown they were going to visit together.

After walking past the point of no return Luke and Mary looked at each other. The glance into each other’s eyes slowed their hearts. What the great unknown had in store for them tonight was of little importance. They would be together and that is all which matters.

The banquet hall was bright yet there was a certain glow around everyone. The lighting techs did a great job with the diffuser to get that effect. The walls which were white on the bottom with light blue blended more and more until it smoothly transitioned to sky blue a third of the way up. The glass wall made the dance floor right outside of the banquet hall visible.

After floating down the stairs Luke and Mary joined Shy, and Greg K., along with Dirt and Rosalita. The greetings were hugs all around and everyone telling each other how great they look and how tonight they were going to have a good time, the time of their young lives.

Luke and Dirt’s hug lingered a little longer. They had a close connection and were taking this chance to express it physically. Dirt was the new student that Luke befriended on their first day of high school.

The night was as memorable as everyone was promising it would be. Even the dinner of either dijon chicken bistro or sirloin au jus would never be forgotten. With everything else about the night being out of this world, it was easy for the bland and pedestrian food to stand out.

The opening of the banquet hall’s door after dinner was the invite to go hit the dance floor. Luke and Mary did not wait to accept the offer of stepping out into the night. There was no time to waste. The couple might have been young but they both knew they were getting older before their time. Tonight they were one night closer to being separated and having to end a relationship before it was finished. Instead of mourning for what was soon to be lost, Luke and Mary were going to celebrate everything they had and will keep. Being able to keep permanently being in each other’s hearts made it so they had to look towards the good. Dwelling on the negative would be disrespectful to the gift they gave each other. More importantly, having another great time was going to make that place in each other’s hearts even more special.

The rest of the table joined Mary and Luke on the floor. The six friends wanted to make a couple of more joint memories to give to each other. Even with being young, they were wise enough to know that one cannot have too many souvenirs of smiling friends in their minds. The time spent dancing together was filled with enough keepsakes to fill the exhibit hall in their museum of memories.

Appropriately, the last song played was Bryan Adams’ Heaven. The DJ could not resist ending the night with what he saw as the ideal song. The title was tied in with the theme of the song. Being a ballad would make the night end how it should, the couples slow dancing. The lyrics would pull at the heart’s strings and the last special moment of prom night would have greater sentimental value.

Luke found each word of the song to be gospel. To him, it did not matter that his time with Mary would soon come to an end. The young man knew that they would always have each other. That just thinking of her would bring him up when he felt down. That they would always be at each other’s side.

Mary was having the same feeling as Luke. She knew that they were making the right decision to share a bed tonight. That being as intimate as two people could be tonight would make their connection strong. She might not have Luke in her life, but he would always be with her. Making that connection stronger would make the presence in each other’s life stronger.

When the song ended, the dance between the two lovers did not. Mary and Luke left the dancefloor with their hearts spinning, whirling, and twirling in synchronicity. The music which was driving this dance would not come to a crescendo until those two shared a moment of being one.