Her face, though…The nickname of ‘The Lizard’ fit better than Roma could possibly have imagined. Her old classmate had done so much tanning, her skin looked rough and dry. Not even her perfectly applied make-up could hide the damage the UV rays had done.
‘Why you mouthy…’ Ellie’s chin came up. She plucked her purse out from under her arm and strutted forwards with purpose.
Roma held her ground. She planted one hand on her hip, and they faced off like two old-time gunslingers.
Ellie slowly sized her up, looking her over from head to toe. ‘Nice dress, Aroma. A bit trashy for my taste.’
Was that the best she could do? Roma felt her already high self-esteem bump up another notch. She was in shape, and there was nothing Ellie could do to change that. ‘Thanks. I like yours, too.’
Dots of red colour showed through the heavy layer of foundation on the woman’s cheeks. She’d been expecting her to flinch, to falter. ‘Still a bitch, I see.’
Roma let her eyebrows lift. ‘I think you’ve got that backwards.’
A crowd had started to gather around them. Ellie’s minions, Cindy McLaughlin and Kelly Tanner, stood behind their friend. Roma didn’t take her eyes off Ellie. She was ready for this. She’d trained for three months for this.
Bring it on.
Only Ellie couldn’t seem to think of a thing to say. Her gaze raked over her, looking for a flaw to attack. She couldn’t find one. Flustered, she looked at her girlfriends for support. She laughed sarcastically, and the twits joined in.
Roma let out a short laugh, too – one of disappointment. Talk about a letdown. She’d let herself get all worked up for this?
Jake finally returned with their drinks. With effort, he squeezed his way through what had become a tightly packed crowd. He looked from her to Ellie, quickly evaluating the situation. ‘Is there a problem here?’
‘No,’ Roma said calmly, taking her drink. Her hand was rock steady as she lifted the glass to take a sip.
Ellie, on the other hand, did a double take and went as white as her dress. ‘Jake? What are you doing here?’
‘I’m with Roma.’
It was like watching a volcano erupt. First there were tremors. Ellie began to shake in her designer shoes. Redness rose up from her chest and into her face. Roma could almost see the steam pouring out of her ears. When she finally blew, she blew to high heaven.
‘You bitch!’ she hissed, taking a threatening step forwards. ‘I can’t believe it. You did it again.’
Roma’s eyes narrowed. ‘Did what again?’
‘Stole my man!’
‘Your man?’ Jake said, coughing when his beer went down the wrong pipe.
He might have been surprised, but Roma wasn’t. She’d expected as much. Calm and possessed, she also took a step forwards. She stood so close, her toes nearly brushed against her rival’s. ‘Don’t go down this road again, Ellie. You’ll only embarrass yourself.’
‘Shut up, you slut!’
‘Careful, Liz,’ Jake warned in a dangerous, low voice.
Ellie’s gaze darted to his. To Roma’s amazement, she pressed her lips together tightly, stopping herself from saying anything more. Her eyes narrowed in cunning, though.
‘I didn’t mean it that way, Jake. You just don’t understand what she did to me in high school,’ Ellie said, playing the part of the helpless victim. ‘She acted all sweet and innocent, but deep down she was terrible. She stole my boyfriend. All it took was a toss of that blonde hair and a shake of those big boobs.’
Roma rolled her eyes. ‘I was Brian’s math tutor. Nothing more.’
‘You tutored him in something, all right.’
Jake stepped forwards, but Roma stopped him with a hand to his chest. ‘I’m not going to play this game with you again, Ellie. It was pathetic then, and it’s even more pathetic now.’
‘You’re the one that’s pathetic.’
‘No,’ Roma said tiredly. ‘You are. Everyone else has moved on since high school, but you’re still trying to hold onto your glory days. But you know what? These are my glory days, and I’m not going to let you spoil them.’
With that, Roma did the unthinkable. Turning her back on Ellie, she summarily dismissed her. Reaching out, she took Jake’s arm. ‘Let’s go find our seats. It looks as if they’re ready to serve dinner.’
Ellie didn’t know what to do. She looked around in vain but the crowd, seeing that nothing juicy was going to happen, began to disperse. Unwilling to concede defeat, she stepped forwards, following them. ‘You’re nothing, Roma Hanson.’
Roma smiled blandly over her shoulder. ‘I wish you luck at the Midwest Fitness Show, Ellie. Honestly. Maybe you’ll get the attention there that you so desperately need.’
With her head held high, she walked with Jake to their seats next to Myrtha and Artie.
‘I’m impressed,’ Jake said, low enough for only her to hear. ‘You took the high road.’
She shrugged. ‘That woman just isn’t worth it. I want to have a good time tonight. I want to remember this reunion as something that was fun.’
‘Still…’ He rolled his shoulders restlessly. ‘Where’s that loser boyfriend of hers? The one that fed you to the wolves?’
‘Brian?’ She looked around. ‘I haven’t seen him. I don’t think he came.’
‘That figures.’
‘Why?’ she asked in confusion.
He pulled her chair out from the table for her, looking uncharacteristically grumpy. ‘You weren’t the only one who came here with intentions of kicking some ass.’
She smiled. She liked this protective streak of his. ‘I guess we’ll just have to settle for going “zero for two” tonight.’
‘Lovers instead of fighters?’ he asked, his lips brushing against her temple.
A thrill went down her spine. ‘That sounds good to me.’
Feeling proud of herself for acting like an adult, Roma sat down. Her angelic side was abnormally pleased with her.
‘Are you OK?’ Myrtha asked.
‘I’m fine.’ Perfect, in fact. She had Jake, and Ellie couldn’t touch her any more.
Roma couldn’t remember the last time she’d enjoyed herself so much. Dinner was good, but the company was excellent. Seeing her old friends was such fun, she could hardly contain herself. She took so many pictures and posed for so many more, her face hurt from smiling. And the stories! They had even Jake laughing.
Time passed quickly and, all too soon, the lights dimmed. Everyone watched as Kelly Tanner moved to the stage. As class president, she’d been in charge of organising the reunion. She might be one of Ellie’s cronies, but even Roma had to admit she’d done a good job.
Turning her chair so she had a better view, Roma watched the prepared programme. She felt Jake scoot up beside her and then his arm was around her shoulders. ‘Your mathletes are nice people,’ he said quietly.
She smiled back at him. He’d been the perfect date this evening, boyfriend or not.
Kelly had prepared a slide show of pictures from their school days. Roma leant her head on Jake’s shoulder as she took a trip down memory lane. When a picture of her and Myrtha holding the school sign appeared, a cheer went up from the entire table.
‘That was during a parade,’ Myrtha said.
Roma gave her a high five, and their attention turned back to the show. It was much too short. A few of their other classmates stood up and reminisced about old times, but the end of the night was approaching.
‘And, now,’ Kelly said excitedly. ‘It’s time for what everyone has been waiting for – the awards!’
Roma had nearly forgotten. Mr Carlton had walked around collecting the votes during dinner. He seemed to be enjoying himself as much as everyone else. How he could remember students after teaching so many classes for so many years was beyond her.
‘Our first award goes to the person who travelled the farthest to get here,’ Kelly said, overplaying the enthusiasm just a bit. ‘Would Jenny Olson come forwards?
She came all the way from Vancouver.’
People clapped as Jenny walked up the steps to the stage and got her cheap little plaque. Roger Stine took the next award for having the most children. Five – including a set of triplets. Roma noted that he looked rather tired. So was she, she realised. The night had been like a roller-coaster ride. Going through so many emotions had left her exhausted. She reached for her purse as Mary Wolf took the award for having the strangest job. Nobody could quite understand how a strait-laced neat freak had ended up as a sanitation engineer.
‘And finally to the last award of the night,’ Kelly said.
Roma glanced at Jake as she slid her camera into her purse. He looked ready to go, too. ‘Want to leave early and beat the crowd?’ she asked.
He let one eyebrow rise. ‘If we leave early, nobody will see your Corvette.’
She smiled and shrugged. ‘It doesn’t matter.’
He was kissing her on the forehead when applause broke out around them.
‘Hey,’ Myrtha said, reaching over to tap her on the shoulder. ‘You won! Go up there and get your award.’
‘I won?’ Roma looked around in confusion. Everybody seemed to be staring at her. ‘What did I win?’
‘The comeback award!’
Roma gasped. It was the biggest award of the night.
‘You!’ Myrtha said, nudging her towards the stage. ‘You made the biggest impression on everybody tonight. Get up there.’
‘Yeah, Goldie,’ Jake said. ‘Get up there.’
Hesitantly, Roma stood. The applause intensified, and her heart began to thud. Impulsively, she leant down and gave Jake a kiss. Wolf whistles broke the air, and she blushed. She could hardly believe this was happening. From what she’d heard from previous classes, the comeback award was usually a popularity contest. She hadn’t been popular in high school. She’d hardly been a blip on anyone’s radar screen.
Apparently, she’d bleeped tonight.
Her legs were a bit shaky as she moved to the stage. She saw a dejected Ellie as she passed the table up front.
Don’t trip on the stairs! her inner voices screamed in unison as she caught the handrail. Whatever you do, don’t trip.
Her purple high heels performed flawlessly. Mr Carlton met her at the head of the short staircase and handed her the plaque. She accepted it and impulsively gave him a hug. When she turned to Kelly, she found the woman’s smile a bit forced. Still, her old classmate graciously stepped back from the podium. Roma took her place in front of the microphone but, for the first time in her life, found herself speechless.
‘I don’t know what to say,’ she admitted. She held the plaque in front of her and read the engraved words. She’d worked long and hard for tonight, wanting to be at her best. Winning an award, though, hadn’t been her goal. ‘I’m so honoured.’
She swallowed hard and looked out across the crowd. She didn’t know why she’d been so afraid of coming here tonight. Most of these people were her friends. They didn’t care if she was skinny, fat, ugly or poor. Image was such an illusive thing. In high school, it had meant everything. Now, as she stood here in front of everyone in her glamorous outfit and perfect body, it didn’t mean quite so much.
Other things did.
‘Thank you for thinking of me,’ she said, smiling, ‘But I haven’t done anything impressive enough to deserve an award like this. Yes, I dressed up for tonight, and I’m proud of the person I am. I have a good job, wonderful friends and an amazing boyfriend.’
She threw a little wave at Jake. ‘Really girls,’ she said, her voice dropping to a confidential whisper. ‘An amazing, funny, be-careful-not-to-drool boyfriend.’
Laughs rose up throughout the room.
‘But seriously,’ she said. ‘I’d like to pass this award on to someone else – someone who in just one week will be doing something more notable than putting on a pair of killer high heels.’
At the front table, Ellie’s head snapped up. She looked stunned.
‘I can’t imagine the work this person has put in over the years since we were last together as a group. She’s made sacrifices that not many of us would be willing to make, so I’d like to ask her to come up here to the stage.’
Setting down her napkin, Ellie rose from the table and started towards the stairs. With the lights pointed towards the stage, Roma didn’t see her until the last minute. When she did, she was so surprised all she could do was watch in mute stupefaction.
Ellie’s gaze locked with hers. To Roma’s amazement, the dimwit nodded her head. In thanks. Then the cockiness was back. Lifting her chin until her nose was planted firmly in the air, she skipped up the steps.
Until she got to the top one.
The whole thing seemed to happen in slow motion. One moment, Ellie was strutting her stuff. The next, her toe caught on the lip of the stage. Shock, dismay and alarm crossed her face in rapid-fire succession. Her hand lifted to the railing, but it was too late to catch herself. Mr Carlton stepped forwards to help, and she instinctively lunged at him as she went down hard on her knees.
‘Mmmph.’
Ellie came to a skidding stop with her arms wrapped around Mr Carlton’s waist and her face pressed firmly against the zipper of his khaki pants.
A roar went up from the crowd.
Roma felt laughter bubble up in her throat. She’d taken the high road, but this was just too much.
She knew she was a shallow, petty, pathetic person. But she was also a shallow, petty, pathetic person with a digital camera! Whipping it out of her purse, she took aim.
And got the shot she’d been waiting a lifetime for.
She nearly doubled over with laughter as she looked at the picture that had been stored forever in her camera’s memory. It was even worse than the one Ellie had posted of her.
‘Oh, man,’ she said, stepping up to the podium again. She wiped tears of laughter from her cheeks. ‘Thanks, Ellie. I didn’t actually mean you, but this photograph is the only award I’ll ever need.’
The crowd was going crazy. There wasn’t one of them who hadn’t seen the nasty pictures Ellie had posted of her on every wall in the school building.
‘What do you think, people?’ she asked the crowd. ‘We have classmates who weren’t able to make it tonight. Should I post this on our class reunion web site?’
The suggestion met with great approval.
Roma laughed. Her stomach hurt so badly, she had to hold it. ‘Don’t worry, Ellie,’ she said as the woman tried to slink off the stage. ‘I won’t lower myself to your level.’
But she would keep the picture in case she ever did need it.
Wiping the last tears from her eyes, she slipped her camera back into her purse. She picked up the plaque and polished a smudge off from its corner.
‘Myrtha Snodgrass Kramer,’ she said clearly into the microphone, ‘would you please come to the stage?’
She shielded her eyes from the glare of the lights and saw her friend’s head snap up in surprise. The response couldn’t have made Roma happier. This was absolutely the right thing to do.
‘For those of you who haven’t had a chance to read your booklet tonight, you should know that Myrtha’s become a microbiologist. She’s a top researcher in her field, but in one week she and her husband, Artie, are taking a sabbatical. They’re heading over to Africa where they’ll be donating their time training people on how to keep their food and water systems clean and safe. In essence, she’s saving lives.’
Heads in the audience turned as Myrtha shyly made her way to the stage. Roma walked over to offer a helping hand to her friend when she came to the steps. Keeping hold of that hand, she pulled her to the podium. ‘I give the comeback award to you, Myrtha, for doing more in the past ten years than most of us will do in a lifetime.’
Amid the applause, Roma quietly left the stage. Jake was waiting for her when she got back to their table. Not even trying to hide it, he pulled her into his arms. He kissed her soundly, and she felt her heart turn
over.
‘That was classic,’ he whispered into her ear. ‘And classy, all at once.’
She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly.
He kissed the top of her head. ‘Has your reunion turned out to be all you wanted it to be?’
‘And more.’ She tilted her head back to look at him.
‘Want to get out of here?’
With him? She smiled. What more could a gal ask for? She had the job, the body and the guy. Only one thing remained.
‘I’ll race you to the car.’
A red Corvette and Jake Logan. Mmmm. She couldn’t wait for a private reunion of their very own.
Epilogue
Roma was nervous. The crowd at the Midwest Fitness Show was packed, and anticipation was running high. Energy flowed through the air, catching up everyone in its wake. Only three women remained on stage. The rest had been sorted through and rejected, leaving only the best of the best. Anxiously, she reached over and caught Missy’s hand.
‘Ladies and gentlemen, this has been a tough competition,’ the announcer said. ‘Let’s give these ladies the round of applause that they deserve.’
The crowd cheered. Hands clapped and feet stomped, but the noise quickly fell back to a low roar.
‘Would he just get on with it?’ Roma hissed.
Missy looked down at her hand. Her fingers were turning white under Roma’s grip. ‘I thought we hated her. Why are we cheering for her again?’
‘We don’t hate her. We just dislike her immensely. Besides, we’re cheering for Jake.’ Roma scooted around on the hard auditorium seat. The wait was driving her crazy.
‘Come on!’ she yelled. The handsome announcer looked down at his score sheet. That little slip of paper held the secret everyone wanted to know. She was ready to hop up on stage and rip it out of the guy’s hands. ‘Just tell us already.’
‘Our second runner-up is –’ the announcer flashed a smile, drawing out the suspense ‘– Mary Henderson.’
High School Reunion Page 25
