Larissa wasn’t happy when she found out that she had to stay home while Shay and Grace got to go to town, but Jolene had been firm that no twelve year old in her care was going to town on a Friday night. Shay was secretly pleased that the twelve year old wouldn’t be hanging around on her first real night out. Shay liked Larissa a lot, but the two year age difference couldn’t be ignored in all situations, and going to town at night with a friend was one of those. Larissa was determined to be as much a part of this new excitement as she could, so hung around while Shay and Grace tried on clothes and make up and did each other’s hair a dozen different ways before they were satisfied with how they looked.
“You promise you’ll tell me everything the minute you get home, right?” Larissa pleaded with Shay. “I don’t want you guys to start leaving me out of things.”
“I don’t think there will be much to tell, Larissa. We’re only going to a movie and maybe half an hour at the Club.” Shay tried to downplay her own excitement at the evening that lay ahead and added, “I’ll tell you all about it, I promise.”
Shay was surprised to find herself enjoying the drive into town with Grace’s parents. She wasn’t really used to parents who didn’t swear and who included their kids in the conversations. Dave and Jolene never swore, but Shay knew that foster parents had to behave better than regular parents because taking care of kids was a job they were paid to do. It wasn’t like having real parents, like the Norton’s, who seemed to really care about their kids. Shay liked the easy way the Norton’s talked to her and Grace, and the way they managed to find so much to laugh about with each other. She was almost sorry to leave them when they dropped the two girls off at the movie theatre. Shay and Grace waved good bye and then went straight into the building, hoping to see more kids their own age at the theatre. They spotted some other teens they knew from school in the ticket line, and at Grace’s instigation they joined the teens and all went into the movie together. Shay sat in the darkened theatre, slowly eating her buttered popcorn, lost in her thoughts. Right now, at this moment, Shay just couldn’t believe how great her life was going. The fear that it would all slip away was still there, but trying to find out who hurt Mr. Fletcher had diverted her from the worry, and had helped her to focus on the positive things that were happening in her life. Things like this movie, and knowing that other teens liked her, and the luxurious feeling that she was safe.
When the movie ended the whole group headed over to the Club, trying not to slip on the icy sidewalk while they giggled and shoved each other along. Shay and Grace were only going to have an hour before Grace’s parents picked them up and the two girls wanted to make the most of it. The Club was located about three blocks from the movie theatre, closer to the lake and nearer to the old railroad station.
“This is great,” Grace said as they passed one of the youth pastors who did the security check at the door. Shay had to strain to hear Grace over the music and the loud rumble of voices and she soon lost sight of the other girls they had walked over with.
“Where will we sit? Do you know anyone? Do I look okay?” The questions tumbled out of Grace as she looked eagerly around the slightly darkened room.
Shay noticed that there were tables and chairs placed in two rings around the middle of the building. This created an inner circle which served as a dance floor, and the teens who weren’t dancing roamed from table to table, laughing and talking with each other. Above her head, an old style disco ball glittered and shone on the dancers below. From somewhere else on the ceiling, coloured strobe lights filled the room with rotating shades of red, blue, and green. Shay couldn’t tell where the music was coming from, but it was loud and it made it her feel happy and bouncy just listening to it.
“Hey,” Grace said, nudging Shay in the side with her elbow. “I asked you a bunch of questions. How do I look?”
“Sorry. You look fine and this place is really great!” Shay replied. Grace was wearing the lowest cut jeans she could get her mother to buy and she had pulled them down even further after they left the movie theatre. Shay knew she couldn’t dress as well as Grace, not with the small clothing allowance that foster kids were given. But she had to give her foster mother credit, because Jolene was a real bargain hunter and had managed to get Shay a good pair of jeans at the after Christmas sales so she wouldn’t be totally embarrassed by her small wardrobe. Shay swallowed her feelings of insecurity and tried to look confident.
“Oh look, there’s Terrah Anne and the rest of her group!” Grace waved at the girls they had watched the movie with. Several girls smiled and waved back, signalling for Grace and Shay to come over and sit with them. The two girls made their way across the large room, manoeuvring around the teens who were dancing. Shay expected to be mostly ignored by the group, but to her surprise, the others made room for her and happily talked with her as if they had known her forever. It was because she was with Grace, Shay knew, but that was okay. It felt great to be included with a group of teens. To Shay’s surprise, she soon found that guys were asking her to dance and were grabbing her hand and pulling her the dance floor.
Shay loved every second of it. She had expected to feel awkward dancing in front of people instead of her mirror at home, but she found that the dance floor was so crowded she could barely move, except to shake up and down and jump around, and so she felt safe and free to enjoy herself. Shay even had fleeting moments where she almost glowed with the sense of belonging, however temporarily, to a group of normal kids.
All too soon, an hour was up and Grace was pulling at Shay’s arm to get her attention. “We have to leave now, my parents will be here soon and I don’t want them to come in to get us. Wouldn’t that be just about the most horrible thing you can possibly imagine? I would absolutely have to die on the spot if they did that!”
Shay laughed at the dramatic statement, but a part of her agreed, so she grabbed her coat and shouted good bye to everyone. Someone shouted back that they would see her Monday, and one of the guys, Braden Wilcox, said something about hanging out with her at lunch next week. Before she could answer, Grace tugged her toward the door. Shay was thankful; she had a great time flirting, but she wasn’t ready for a boyfriend.
Grace pushed the door open and the winter chill hit them both full in the face. Their sweat covered bodies shivered as their inner temperatures slowly adjusted to the weather outside. Shay pulled her scarf around her neck and reached into her pocket for her thick gloves. As she pulled them on, she looked around to see who else was outside the building. When they arrived at the Club, Shay noticed that some of the teens braved the winter night to stand outside and smoke, while others stood around waiting to get picked up by parents or someone else.
As she glanced around the large parking lot, Shay thought she noticed a familiar face. “Hey,” Shay nudged Grace. “Look over there.” She pointed toward the far end of the parking lot where two figures stood talking near a street light. “Isn’t that Ginger?”
Grace, about three inches shorter than Shay, stood on her tip toes so that she could see over the frost covered hoods of the cars. “Yup, it is. Who’s she talking to?”
“I don’t know. Some man--kind of hard to tell with his snow gear--but he must be an adult,” Shay replied.
“How can you tell from here that he’s an adult and a guy?”
“You’re supposed to be the budding medical student, you should at least be able to tell the difference between men and women,” Shay giggled, and then got more serious. “It’s just the way he’s standing somehow, and he’s not dressed like any teens that I’ve ever seen. That coat is way out of style, and so is his hat. Nobody would dress like that except an adult, and I don’t think most adults would want to be seen in clothes like that.”
“Yeah, he’s got his hat flaps pulled down over his ears and no teen would do that, either. You’re right, he must be an adult. Do you think it’s the picture guy?” Grace asked excitedly. Just then, Grace’s parents drove up in their SUV and stopped right in front
of the girls, blocking their view of Ginger and the mystery man. Grace pulled open the back door and the two girls scrambled into the second row of seats.
“How was your evening, girls?” Grace’s father asked as he drove slowly out of the parking lot, careful not to let the car slide onto the icy parts of the paved parking lot.
”It was great, dad,” Grace replied.
”We had a lot of fun. Thanks for driving me,” Shay added.
”Oh, not a problem, dear,” Grace’s mother said. “By the way, what were you two girls looking at so intently when we pulled up?”
“Nothing in particular,” Grace answered, “we were just watching a couple of the kids we know. I guess we were just being nosey.”
“Well, you shouldn’t be too nosey,” Mrs. Norton said, ”it isn’t polite. I’m glad you had a good time. You were both very responsible with the time limits this evening, so maybe the next time we come to town for dinner on a weekend, you can go to the teen Club again. I guess you’re at an age where you’re going to want to go out more. After all, you are growing up.”
A broad smile filled Grace’s face. “You witnessed that, right Shay? My mother acknowledged that I, Grace Norton, am growing up! Did you hear that too, dad? You have to stand by what you just said, mom, no going back. I have witnesses!”
Mr. Norton laughed and Shay broke out in a fit of giggles.
“My goodness Shay,” Mrs. Norton said smiling, “I don’t often hear you laugh like that. You should do it more often. You have a very pretty laugh, my dear.”
And suddenly, Shay knew that was true. She knew that she had a pretty laugh, and a pretty face, and even some friends, and right now, she was having a pretty good life.
Chapter Nine
Following Suspicions