Last Train Home

by Megan Nugen Isbell

  As I started getting ready, I was kind of disappointed Alex and I weren’t going with Jesse and Mandy’s group to the dance. Mandy, Laura, and Holly were all getting ready at Mandy’s house together. They’d asked me to join them, but I thought it would be strange getting ready with them and then driving back home so Alex could be pick me up. Mandy suggested Alex could pick me up at her house and then we’d go our separate ways, but I thought that would be even weirder. Instead, I told her I’d get ready at my place and we’d meet up at the dance.

  After showering, I put on my make-up and began styling my hair. I’d thought about going to a salon, like I’d done back in Boston, but I didn’t quite trust the stylists here in Podunkville. I had fears of looking like a cotton ball if I let someone in this town touch my hair. Instead, I relied on my own talents, which were definitely minimal. I curled my hair so it was a mass of dark ringlets. I pulled half of it back and clipped it with a silver barrette. When I was done, I looked in the mirror and thought it had turned out pretty nice. It looked dressy, yet natural. It wasn’t overdone and when I pulled on the scarlet dress, I was certain Alex would like it.

  It was quarter to five when I finished. I went downstairs to where my mom and grandma were waiting for me. David and the blonde from the party were in the living room as well. He’d told me he’d be stopping by so my grandma could get pictures.

  Since the party, I’d learned the girl’s name was Stephanie. She was a junior like him and she looked nice in a long black dress with cap sleeves. David had given her a corsage made of a single white lily that matched well with his suit and her dress.

  “Oh my! Look at you, Riley!” my grandma exclaimed as I walked into the living room. “You look gorgeous!” I felt my face redden at the compliment and I smiled over to her and then I looked at my mom.

  “You look beautiful,” she said and then walked over to me. She held out her arms hesitantly and then hugged me. I didn’t blame her for her reservation towards me after the way I’d treated her, but I wasn’t in the mood tonight to be a brat. I hugged her back and it felt good.

  “Thanks,” I said and then turned to my cousin and his date and said hello. “You guys look great.”

  “You too,” David said and Stephanie smiled in agreement.

  I excused myself for a moment while I walked into the kitchen to get the boutonniere I’d gotten for Alex. It was a single red rose with a tiny bit of baby’s breath.

  “Where’s Alex taking you for dinner?” David asked when I walked back into the living room.

  “I’m not sure. He says it’s a surprise.”

  “He’s such a sweet boy,” my grandma said. “I like him.”

  I looked over to David. I thought I saw him shake his head, but I wasn’t sure and when I looked over at my mom, she didn’t seem to share my grandmother’s admiration either.

  The doorbell rang just then and my heart started to beat with excitement knowing it was Alex. My grandma walked over and opened the door.

  “Hi, Alex. Come on in,” she said cheerfully, stepping aside and letting him in.

  “Hi, Mrs. Smollett.” I heard his voice before I saw him and a smile spread across my face at the sound of it. When I finally saw him he looked amazing in his black suit and he reminded of a model you might see in GQ. His rugged sexiness seemed somewhat out of place in Carver.

  My grandma closed the door and he looked over to me. His eyes seemed to trace my body and that devilish half-smile spread across his face.

  “Hey,” he said.

  “Hey,” I replied, suddenly shy.

  He stepped across the room, closing the gap between us and then he looked over to my mom.

  “Hi, Mrs. Regas,” he said politely.

  “Hi, Alex,” she responded and then he looked over towards my cousin and his date.

  “Hey, David. Hi, Stephanie. You look nice,” he said smiling at her and I noticed Stephanie blushed at the attention given to her by Alex.

  “Hey,” David replied and then Alex turned to me.

  “You look amazing,” he said quietly looking me over again.

  “Thanks. So do you,” I said and I felt my cheeks redden, just like Stephanie’s had, at his compliment.

  “I got you a corsage,” he said, holding up a plastic container. He opened it and set the box on the coffee table. He lifted my hand and gently slid it on. It was beautiful with three red roses that matched my dress perfectly.

  “It’s wonderful,” I said, looking down and then up at his dark brown eyes. “I’ve got something for you too.” I walked over to the table where I’d set his boutonniere.

  “You’re not gonna stab me, are you?” he laughed as I tried pinning it on his lapel.

  “Not too hard,” I joked back as I finished, without injuring him. “Alright. Looks like we’re ready to go.”

  “Not before pictures,” my grandma sang, grabbing her camera.

  He took my hand and we walked over to the fireplace next to David and his date. He put his arm around me and we smiled as my grandma took what felt like a million pictures. She took a few group shots and then couples shots. She had my mom step into some of the pictures and then Alex took one of my mom, grandma, David and me. I was relieved when she finally put the camera down and we were free to go.

  “Have a good time,” my mom called as we were walking out the door. “Be home by two.”

  “I will,” I said, grateful that she’d extended my curfew by two hours.

  “You look incredible,” Alex said, sliding his arm around my waist as we walked out and again, I blushed to the point I’m sure the color of my cheeks matched my dress.

  “We’ll see you guys at the dance,” David called to us as we went our separate ways. David and Stephanie climbed into David’s old pick-up truck and when I looked up, expecting to see Alex’s black Altima, I was surprised to see the black Escalade I’d ever only seen parked in his driveway.

  “What’s this?” I asked, gesturing towards the fancy SUV.

  “I thought I’d class it up a bit,” he said as he opened the passenger door and helped me inside.

  “Very nice,” I said with approval. He smiled and closed the door and walked around to the driver’s side.

  The car was indeed fancy and impeccably clean. When Alex turned on the ignition, the dashboard seemed to light up like mission control at NASA.

  “I feel like we’re in a space ship or something,” I laughed.

  “Yeah, this thing’s crazy. My dad had to have it though.”

  “What’d you have to do to let him loan it to you tonight?”

  “Oh, just sell my soul, but it’s worth it,” he said, leaning over the console and kissing me.

  “So, you’ve been so secretive about everything. Where are we going for dinner?” I asked as we drove.

  “I’ve kept it a secret this long, you think I’m gonna tell you now?” he laughed.

  “I was hoping you’d tell me.”

  “Well, I’m not,” he said, reaching over and taking my hand. “You won’t have to wait long to find out though.”

  When Alex turned onto the road that led to his house, I looked over to him curiously. He didn’t say anything and a moment later, he was pulling the Escalade into the driveway.

  “What are we doing at your house?” I asked as he eased to a stop.

  “You’ll see,” he said and hopped out.

  I opened the door and joined him. He took my hand and led me up the stairs and onto the sprawling porch.

  “Can you wait here for just a sec?”

  “Okay,” I said slowly, trying to figure out what he was up to.

  “I’ll be right back.” He unlocked the front door and then disappeared.

  I waited on the porch, looking around. The sun was just beginning to set, causing the sky to transform into a canvas of yellow and pink and orange. For all the things I despised about Kansas, this was one thing I didn’t hate. It still amazed me that I could see for miles. I’d never paid much attention to sunse
ts in Boston. That was probably due to the fact that I could never see them because of the combination of trees, hills, and buildings. Since moving to Kansas though, I had paid attention and had probably seen more sunsets in my time here than during my seventeen years in Boston.

  “Alright. You can come in now,” he said a few minutes later as he held the screen door open for me and I stepped inside.

  The house was dark, but I could see a faint light coming from the dining room and I could hear music playing softly.

  “What’s going on?” I asked as a smile spread across my face.

  “Come with me.” He took my hand and led me toward the light.

  We turned into the dining room and I was greeted by a full spread on the table. Two long stem candles were burning on it, creating an intimate glow in the room.

  “Dinner is served,” he said, placing his hand on the small of back. He pulled out my chair for me and I sat down looking over the table. He’d obviously used his mother’s fine China to make a perfect setting, including cloth napkins.

  “How’d you do all this?” I asked as I stared down at the lasagna, salad and bread sticks in the middle of the table.

  “I have my ways,” he said slyly.

  “No, seriously. How’d you pull it off? This is amazing.”

  “I’d like to say I did it all myself, but my mom helped. She made the dinner, but I set the table.”

  “But how’d you get it all ready? We’ve been at my house and the lasagna’s still hot,” I said, watching the steam dance around it.

  “It was all very strategic,” he smiled. “I texted my mom when I got to your house, she put the food out and then left. I had to come in and light the candles though. She was afraid the house might burn down if she lit them.”

  “So, your parents aren’t here?” I asked, looking around the room as if I expected one of them to walk in any minute.

  “Nope. They won’t be home till tomorrow,” he said softly and looking at me deeply with those dark brown eyes of his.

  “Oh yeah?”

  “Yeah. They went to the casino down in Oklahoma for the night.”

  I just nodded and smiled, knowing we had the entire place to ourselves. I felt myself relax knowing we wouldn’t be getting fawned all over by Clarice.

  “This is really nice, Alex,” I said softly.

  “I told you I wanted tonight to be special.”

  “This all just seems like so much work. You didn’t need to go to all this trouble. We could’ve gone out.”

  “Yeah, like everyone else. How cliché is that? It was no trouble, Riley. I wanted to do it.”

  “Well, it was really nice of you. I’ve never had anyone do something so special for me.”

  “That’s because you’ve never met anyone like me, and I happen to think you’re pretty special. I told you I wanted tonight to be unforgettable and I plan on making that happen.”

  ****

  When we pulled into the parking lot of the school, it was already packed. Dinner had been delicious and I was still surprised at all the effort he’d put into getting the night off to such a romantic start.

  “Wait right here,” he said when he turned off the ignition. He jumped out of the car and was opening my door a second later. He offered his hand to me and I stepped out, feeling very much like a princess. He was definitely laying the charm on thick tonight.

  “What’s going on with you?” I asked suspiciously.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’re…I mean…you’re being such a…gentleman.”

  “Have you doubted my chivalry?”

  “Not really…” I replied before he interrupted.

  “Like I said, I just want tonight to be unforgettable.” He smiled and then pulled me to him. He stroked my cheek and then gently pressed his lips to mine for a moment before releasing me. “We should go in,” he whispered.

  “Yeah, we should,” I said and I could’ve sworn my head was spinning from the kiss.

  He took my hand and we walked toward the old maroon double doors, that didn’t look nearly as bad in the darkness. He held the doors open for me and we stepped into the hallway. There were a few couples walking around and I could hear music pulsating from the gym. Alex reached into his pocket and took out our tickets and handed them to Mrs. Davenport, who was sitting at a table by the door. She was wearing a long green dress and her hair was pulled up. I thought she looked pretty, for a teacher at least.

  “Alex. Riley,” she said with a smile as she took the tickets. “You guys look great.”

  “Thanks,” we both seemed to say in unison.

  “I love your dress, Riley. You look beautiful,” she said and I felt myself blush as Alex gently squeezed my hand.

  “Thanks, Mrs. Davenport. You look really nice too,” I told her and her lips curled up in a shy smile.

  “Yeah, you do. You’re definitely the hottest teacher here,” Alex agreed and I turned to look at him, shocked at what he’d just said.

  “Alex,” Mrs. Davenport said with a warning to her voice. “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”

  I could tell she was trying not to react to his compliment, but I knew it made her feel good. She may be an adult, but there was no denying that Alex was gorgeous, and only a couple of months shy of being legal.

  “Sorry,” he said, but I knew he didn’t mean it and she just rolled her eyes.

  “Have fun,” she said as we walked past her into the dark gym.

  Strobe lights were flashing and the music was almost deafening. The gym was nearly unrecognizable and I had to give the Homecoming Committee credit for transforming the dismal dungeon into something somewhat presentable.

  “I can’t believe you said that to Mrs. Davenport!” I exclaimed when we were far enough away that I knew she wouldn’t hear me.

  “Oh, come on. You know she loved it,” he said, laughing.

  “She’s our teacher! Totally inappropriate!”

  “I brought some joy to her otherwise dismal life.”

  “Mrs. Davenport’s life is not dismal.”

  “Of course it is. She lives in Carver and teaches us jackasses every day. That is the definition of dismal.”

  “Whatever, Alex,” I said, continuing to laugh as we walked further into the gym.

  I looked around for any sign of my friends. I figured they’d be here by now, but I had yet to see any sign of them. I did, however, notice Adrienne almost immediately. She had ended up going with Charlie and I watched as she gyrated disgustingly against him in her skimpy, skin tight pink dress, with her crown perched perfectly atop her frizzy blonde hair. The dress was strapless and for the life of me I couldn’t figure out how she was keeping it on. Her boobs looked like they were about ready to spill over like a pot of boiling water. I had to laugh to myself though when I noticed Charlie’s eyes never left her chest, which was bouncing up and down like two trampolines.

  “I see you’ve noticed too,” he chuckled, gesturing toward Adrienne and Charlie.

  “How could I not?”

  “Yeah, those things are kinda hard to miss.”

  “Charlie looks pretty happy though.”

  “He’s been trying to hit that for years. Maybe tonight will be his lucky night.”

  “Do you have to be so crude? I don’t need that picture in my head, thank you,” I said, but he just laughed. “I hate to admit it, but she is pretty.”

  He gently touched my forearm and turned me to face him. He looked even more gorgeous in the darkness. The lights caused shadows to dance around his face in all the right places.

  “She’s nothing compared to you,” he said, looking at me seriously, but I lowered my eyes. “She looks like she belongs on a pole, because that’s the type of girl she is.”

  “That’s not what you used to think,” I said. Even though I’d never really been the jealous type, I still had a hard time accepting he’d dated Adrienne and did God knows what with her.

  “I was stupid.”

  �
��Yeah, you were,” I said, grinning playfully to him.

  “She could never compete with you,” he said softly as he reached up and gently touched my hair, causing goosebumps to explode on my neck as his fingers brushed over it.

  The music faded just then and was replaced by a slow country song that I, of course, didn’t recognize.

  “Wanna dance?” he asked and I nodded.

  He took my hand and led me out to the dance floor. I wrapped my arms around Alex’s neck, while he slid his around my waist. I’d never considered myself a good dancer, but I easily followed Alex’s lead. As we swayed to the music, I’d forgotten how romantic dancing could be. I hadn’t danced with anyone since Brody at our prom last year. I’d dated Brody for a nearly a year, and I thought I was into him, but as I danced with Alex, I confirmed my feelings for Brody were nothing compared to how I felt about Alex.

  When the song ended and was replaced by a fast-paced rock number, he leaned down and kissed me softly before leading me off the dance floor. We walked over to the refreshment table where we each got a glass of punch.

  “I feel like I’m in fifth grade,” he laughed, taking a swig. “If we can’t have booze, couldn’t we at least have pop?”

  I started laughing and he looked over at me curiously.

  “What’s so funny?” he asked me.

  “Did you just say pop?”

  “Yeah, I said pop. What’s so funny about pop?”

  “It’s soda, not pop,” I said, continuing to laugh.

  “No, Riley, it’s pop.”

  “It’s definitely soda.”

  “Maybe where you come from, but here, in Kansas, it’s pop. And I hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but you’re in Kansas now,” he said, staring over at me with big goofy eyes, which caused me to laugh even harder.

  “Don’t remind me,” I sighed, taking the last drink of my punch and throwing the plastic cup in the garbage.

  “You know you love it here,” he said, reaching over and pulling me to him. He wrapped his arms tightly around my waist, basically pinning me against his body. “If you were still in Boston, you wouldn’t have me and what kind of life would that be?”