Dancing With Velvet

by Judy Nickles

  “It’s cold out there.”

  “Just for a few minutes. I’ve got a couple of things to tell you.”

  Unease began to nibble at her stomach. “All right.” She stepped through the French doors onto the tile of the outdoor pavilion.

  When she shivered, not altogether with the cold, Kent put his arm around her shoulders and moved her close to him.

  “First of all, I’ve thought about college and law school and decided it isn’t what I want.”

  “Oh, Kent, why? Are you sure? You have the money, and everything’s all set up.”

  “I’m sure. It’s like you said—it was something that was going to change my life, only now my life doesn’t need changing. I have what I want, Velvet.” He reached for her hand. “I talked to Mr. Bozeman, and he said he’d rather have me manage the warehouse than anybody else. I’d actually sent him a couple of guys to talk to last week, but he didn’t hire either one of them.”

  He brought her fingers to his lips and kissed them.

  “Look, I can always take some business classes at the junior college here, if I decide I need them, but I know the plumbing business inside out. I like it, too. Mr. Bozeman said since I was staying on, he wanted to open a wholesale store in the front and sell to contractors. There’s lots of building going on since the war.”

  “But what if you look back and wish you hadn’t given up this chance at school?”

  “Did you look back, Velvet? When you took Jonny, you said you knew it was what you wanted. So did you look back?”

  “No, and I never will.”

  “I won’t either. It feels right, doing what I know, what I enjoy. Not going off to tilt with windmills. I’ve done my share of fighting, in Europe and at home, too. I’m tired of it. I made it through the war alive, which is more than a lot of guys did. It’s time to live. Really live.”

  He slipped a jeweler’s box from his pocket. “Will you marry me, Velvet? I’ll be the best husband I know how to be. The best father, too. All I can do is try, but I think now… I think I just might succeed.”

  He opened the box and took out a ring. The small, perfect diamond gleamed in the reflected light from the ballroom. “It’s not big, but it’s a good one.” He slipped it on her finger. “And, by the way, Jonny helped me pick it out.”

  Epilogue

  “This one?” Kent Goddard held up the tie his wife had laid out with his shirt, socks, and suit.

  “That’s the one.”

  “I don’t like it.”

  “You bought it when you bought the suit. Wear it.”

  He shook his head and draped the tie around his neck and began to knot it. “I don’t remember picking this out.”

  “You picked it out, Kent.”

  He caught sight of her in the mirror as she slipped on the black silk dress bought for the occasion. “Zip me, please,” she said, joining him in front of the mirror.

  “I like this dress.”

  “It cost enough.”

  “I told you I didn’t care what it cost.” He put his lips against the back of her neck as he brought the zipper to the top. “We don’t celebrate our golden anniversary every day.”

  “No, it’s one of those once-in-a-lifetime occasions,” she said, rummaging in her jewelry box.

  “Smart-aleck.”

  “There it is.”

  “What?”

  “My other earring.” She held it up.

  “Those were Coralee’s, weren’t they?”

  “Actually, they belonged to our mother.” She sighed. “I wish Coralee were here today. I really miss her.”

  He slipped his arms around her. “I do, too, honey.”

  “But Barbara and her bunch will be there.”

  “And our bunch and half the town,” Kent said, reaching for his jacket. “I guess this tie’s all right.”

  Celeste straightened it slightly. “It’s fine.”

  ****

  “You look beautiful, Mother,” Gina said as Celeste and Kent walked into the fellowship hall of the new church, built in the fifties.

  “How about me?” her father asked.

  She kissed his cheek. “You’re still the handsomest man in San Angelo, Daddy.”

  “Where’s Emily?” Celeste asked, glancing around for her oldest granddaughter.

  “She’ll be along.”

  Colonel Jon Goddard (USAF Ret.) came out of the kitchen. “Just doing some reconnaissance on the refreshments,” he said, embracing both his parents.

  “You’ll be doing KP if you messed anything up,” his sister retorted.

  “Listen, pipsqueak, I’ve put up with you since you were a howling infant, so don’t get smart with me at this late date.” He leaned over and kissed the top of his sister’s head.

  “Don’t call me pipsqueak.” Gina drew herself up to her full five feet and craned her neck to look at her brother.

  Celeste rolled her eyes. “Don’t start, either of you.”

  “So Emily will be along, and I assume the rest of the progeny will be also,” Kent said.

  “They’re all around here somewhere.” Jon glanced around the room. “My boys are in the corner with whatever that thing is they play games on morning, noon, and night. Karen’ll kill them if she finds out they brought it.”

  “Tell her to wait until after the party,” Kent advised.

  “The twins are fussing with the table that has the guestbook,” Gina said. “I’d better go tell them to leave things alone.”

  Celeste nodded toward the small stage at one end of the room. “They even hired a piano player.”

  “Does that mean we get to dance?”

  “Maybe until people start coming in.” Celeste put her hand through his arm. “Let’s get out of the way.”

  Kent waved to the young man at the piano. “Are you one of Gina’s students?”

  The musician nodded. “Yes, sir.”

  “I guess you’re too young to know ‘Stardust.’ ”

  “No, sir, I know it.” He started to play. “That’s why Mrs. Bonner hired me for this afternoon. I know all the old songs.”

  “Are you saying I’m old?”

  Celeste tugged on Kent’s arm when she saw the young man’s face redden. “I thought we were going to dance.”

  Kent winked at the pianist and held out his arms to Celeste.

  ****

  Celeste spotted Emily first. “What…” She turned to Gina. “What is she doing in that dress?”

  “Daddy knows about it. It was his idea.”

  “Why?”

  “He just said it was the reason the two of you met.”

  “Not entirely. He’s never let me forget I dropped that apple on his head.”

  “I know, but Daddy said he was sure glad you bought that dress.”

  “I am, too.”

  “He said you were going to give it away, but he convinced you to keep it for Emily.”

  “She looks better in it than I ever did.”

  “I doubt that.”

  Emily approached her grandmother with a question in her eyes. “Grandpa left the back door open so I could go in and get this dress,” she said. “That’s why I’m late.”

  “You’re beautiful, Emily.” Celeste hugged her.

  “Were you wearing it when you met Grandpa?”

  “No, I was looking at it.”

  Emily frowned. “But he said…”

  “It’s a long story,” Celeste said. “One of these days I’ll tell it to you.”

  “There’s my beautiful girl,” Kent said, approaching them with arms outstretched.

  “Maybe you should’ve told Mimi,” Emily whispered.

  “She’s beautiful, isn’t she, honey?”

  Celeste nodded. “Yes, she is, but she better be careful if she doesn’t want it to fall off her. I’m betting the seams aren’t too sturdy after all these years.”

  A look of horror passed over Emily’s face. “I’d be mortified!”

  “Just be careful.” Celeste ran h
er hand over one shoulder and down one sleeve. “And don’t bring it back, okay?” She glanced behind her granddaughter. “Isn’t that your steady over there?”

  “Don’t encourage her,” Gina said as the girl ran off. “Ron doesn’t want her going steady.”

  “I wouldn’t worry about it yet,” Kent said. “How many boyfriends did you go through before you met Ron?”

  Gina rolled her eyes. “Oh, Daddy, go mingle.”

  ****

  “It was a nice party,” Kent observed as he unlocked the front door. “A really nice party.”

  “I just want to get these pantyhose off.”

  He chuckled. “Need any help?”

  “Not a chance.”

  “You’re no fun.”

  “I’ve been known to be.”

  He reached for her, but she swatted him away. “You can help warm up some leftovers if you’re still hungry.”

  “We could’ve stopped for a hamburger.”

  “We need to finish the meatloaf.” Celeste headed down the hall to their bedroom. “Put it on a bun if you want a hamburger.”

  ****

  They carried their plates to the porch and sat in the swing. It wasn’t full dark, but the locusts were already whirring, and a few fireflies darted in and out among the irises.

  “When we got married, did you think about our golden anniversary?”

  Celeste tucked her feet under her. “No. Did you?”

  “No, but I knew it would be forever, however long forever lasted.”

  “Just about everything’s gone now—the old church, the St. Angelus and the Roof Garden, Woolworth. Cox-Rushing-Greer’s been closed for years. There’s no bargain basement at Hemphill-Wells anymore. I don’t know how people live without a bargain basement.”

  “But we’re still here, right in the same house we started in.”

  “Buying Coralee’s half made good sense. We’ve owned it for…how long have we owned it?”

  “Forty years, maybe. It didn’t take long to pay off.”

  “It was the right thing to do, even if we had to add on when Gina came along.”

  “It’s a nice house. Homey. You made it home, Velvet.”

  “You earned the money for it. You ended up owning the whole plumbing business and gave all of us everything.”

  “I had some good luck. Mainly, I made the right decision about not going to law school.”

  “Do you ever think about how things might’ve been different if you’d gone to school instead of staying here?”

  “Never. Jonny didn’t need to be uprooted, and living here was a lot better than some cramped student apartment. Besides, he went to law school and had a nice career in the Air Force, too.”

  “Do you think he regrets turning down that chance for the DNA testing a few years ago?”

  Kent shook his head. “You heard what he said when we mentioned it—that it was a little late, we were stuck with each other, and we were so much alike it was downright spooky.”

  Celeste laughed. “He’s right. Besides, I don’t think he really wanted to know. Your name is on his birth certificate, and I legally adopted him. He’s always known where he belonged.”

  Kent drained his glass and set it aside. “Whether he’s got my genes or not, he’s my son. Sometimes I look at him and wonder how I got so lucky.”

  “Gina said the other day if she could’ve hand-picked an older brother, she’d have chosen him. Even with an almost twelve-year age difference, they’ve been close.”

  “She sure didn’t come as easy as Jonny, did she?”

  “Well, she got here. A little later than we planned, but worth the wait.”

  “Worth the wait but not everything you went through.” Kent pulled her against him as if shielding her from the memories of four miscarriages and a fifth pregnancy that risked her life.

  “I still wish your mother had accepted Jonny.”

  “She never even accepted us, Velvet. I was supposed to be the good son. Stay home and take care of her and all that.”

  “Well, both kids have had Neil and Kay and their children. And my family, and even Big Ben and Pearl until Gina finished high school. They didn’t lack for family to love them.”

  “Even marrying late, the way he did, Jonny ended up with a real fine family of his own.”

  “Those two tours in Viet Nam nearly did us both in. I could’ve done without those.”

  “He came home in one piece. We can’t ask for more.”

  “It’s been a good life, hasn’t it?”

  “The best.”

  “You’re the best, Kent. The best husband and father and grandfather.”

  “I’ve tried.”

  “And succeeded beyond your wildest dreams.”

  “We had to work through a lot of things, but I think that just made us appreciate each other more.” Kent lifted her hand to his lips. “I appreciate you more everyday, Velvet. Every morning I wake up next to you and think about how things could’ve turned out so much different and how glad I am they didn’t.”

  “I’m glad, too.” She traced the outline of his jaw with the tip of one finger. “Emily says we’re still honeymooning, and that it’s downright embarrassing.”

  “What does she know at fifteen?”

  “She’s sixteen. And she’s right, you know. We’re still honeymooning.”

  ****

  The mantel clock chimed ten-thirty before they went in. A single lamp burned in the living room. Kent went over to the entertainment center and pushed a CD into the player. The strains of “I’ll Be Seeing You” filled the room.

  “Dance with me, Velvet.”

  “Didn’t we do enough dancing at the party?”

  He took her hands and moved her toward him. “You were the prettiest girl at the Roof Garden that night.”

  “You were the man of my dreams. My handsome prince.”

  “Well, I turned into a toad for a while, I guess, but it all ended up okay.” He rested his cheek against her hair. “I went back to the hotel that night and dreamed about dancing with the girl in the blue velvet dress. And fifty years later, I’m still dancing with her.” He held her closer. “Dancing with Velvet. All my life. Forever.”

  A word about the author...

  Judy Nickles has been spinning tales since she could hold a #2 pencil. A retired teacher who lives in Arkansas, a state rich in scenic byways and historical lore, she loves to travel and always manages to find a novel idea along the way.

  Many of her characters are drawn from family stories culled from years of genealogical research in seven states. She hopes to pass on to her grandchildren her fascination with the past and the drive to bring it to life in the written word.

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