Chapter 16: Prom Outcasts

May 22, 1981

Prom Night

Many schools held their senior prom after final exams, a few days before graduation. St. James was different; the thinking was that getting the prom out of the way would allow us to focus more on our finals.

I drove Eileen over to Dave's house in Mom's car. My kid sister was looking all grown up and lovely in a flowing light blue dress. She'd become somewhat of a celebrity among her peers. Not many tenth-graders get to attend the senior prom. After she stepped out of the car, I took a deep breath. Now, I'd be heading over to Evie's house, where I'd meet her mom for the first time. Then, Evie and I would go back to my place, where we'd meet up with Dave and Eileen. My parents wanted all four of us to be there for pictures. Then, we'd head for the prom in Mom's car, with me at the wheel. None of that limo crap for us. All four of us wanted a simple, enjoyable, no frills prom.

As I drove, I reflected on the last two weeks. They'd certainly been trying, but there had been a silver lining, too. Insults continued to fly in my direction every so often, and Evie and I were shunned by a good percentage of the student body. This astounded me, but I had learned to deal with it. I'd be getting out of this place, and soon; graduation couldn't come quickly enough for me. I had several long talks with Evie about this; she assured me that she'd fully anticipated this reaction.

"I've had to tolerate that mindset since I started at St. James in ninth grade," she told me, an uncharacteristic touch of bitterness in her voice.

Not everyone shunned us, however. I discovered that Evie and I had a few ardent supporters, and that was a pleasant side effect. One day, Rajeev Patel, an Indian student, approached me at my locker.

"I think it's great that you're taking someone of a different race to the prom," he said. "I'll be bringing my first cousin as my date. None of the girls here will even consider going with me." He shook my hand; I thanked him sincerely.

Another day, in history class, Patti, Evie and I stuck around for a few minutes after the bell, just shooting the breeze. Mr. Hawkins came over to speak with us. He'd heard that Evie and I were going together to the prom, and had gotten wind of the troubles we'd experienced.

"I think it's inspiring," Mr. Hawkins told us. "Consider yourself trendsetters. To put it in a historical perspective, you're demonstrating the kind of resilience shown by the people who founded this country."

"Yes," Evie noted, "but I'm sure they didn't envision the difficulties we – and I – have faced. It kind of goes against that whole 'created equal' thing in the Declaration of Independence."

"Very good point," said Mr. Hawkins. "Anyway, good luck to you both, and you have my respect."

I'd also had a lengthy conversation with Rick Andrews, Patti's prom date.

"I've had to put up with a lot of the same crap," Rick told me. "You wouldn't believe the crude, tasteless stuff I've heard." I'd found a kindred spirit.

"You and Patti will be at our table, no doubt," I grinned. "Welcome to the Outcast Club."

He cracked up. I knew Rick was cool. He'd asked Patti to the prom, and that spoke for itself.

I was a little nervous as I pulled up in front of Evie's home. Not only had I never met her mom, in either life; I had never been inside her house, period.

I rang the doorbell. I did a major double-take upon viewing the lady who answered the door. She didn't even have to introduce herself; I would have recognized her as Evie's mom right away. The resemblance was that strong. I had a major flashback, or flash forward, or whatever, to my final days in 2007 in the other timeline. The older version of Evie I'd spent some time with? She could have been a twin of the woman in front of me now. Evie's mom was perhaps a couple of inches taller than her daughter, and her hair just a bit shorter, but the facial resemblance was uncanny.

"You must be Pat," she smiled. "I'm Stella. Evelyn will be ready in a minute." I'd rarely heard anyone refer to Evie by her given name.

"Nice to meet you," I replied, trying to hide my skittishness. "I have to say, it's easy to see where your daughter gets her good looks."

"Ah, yes, Evelyn told me you were a charmer," Stella laughed. "Come in and make yourself at home."

She led me into the living room, where we sat down and made small talk for a few minutes. Suddenly, Stella nodded in the direction of the doorway and smiled, her gesture telling me to turn around.

I did so, and ... wow.

Evie was standing inside the doorway, as I'd never before seen her. You have to understand, her typical fashion sense could best be described as stylish but casual. She almost never wore a dress or skirt, invariably opting for the blouse and pants look, or simply a T-shirt and jeans.

But here she was, all dolled up, and she looked simply stunning. There is nothing more striking than a beautiful black woman in a white dress. The dress was the strap variety, which meant that her shoulders were bare, with just a hint of cleavage in the front. It was far more provocative than anything I'd seen her wear in this life. She had on high heels; a necessity for the pictures, since I was far taller than she was. And her hair ... it was free-flowing, with loose curls; this was exactly as she'd always worn it in college, although it had not yet reached full length.

"You must be trying to catch flies, Pat," laughed Stella, referring to my mouth, which was wide open.

"Oh, Mom," replied an embarrassed Evie. Stella snapped a few pictures, and soon, we were on our way.

"Your mom is great," I told Evie as we headed over to my house. "And you definitely pass the 'mom test'."

"The 'mom test'?" she replied curiously.

"That means," I explained, "that your mom is beautiful, so you should be beautiful as well when you reach her age."

"I sure hope I look that good when I'm her age," Evie laughed.

It was all I could do to keep from blurting out, You will, Evie! You will!

"Do you like my hair like this?" she suddenly asked.

"It's gorgeous."

"You know what? I think I'll wear it like this all the time."

I just smiled.

At our house, Dave and Eileen had already arrived. It was funny; Dave was by far the most nervous of the four of us. Mom had the camera ready, and she snapped off a whole roll of pictures, featuring every possible combination of the four of us, and a few of all of us together.

Shortly, we four were off in Mom's car, with Dad quietly reminding me to "keep an eye on your sister."

The prom was held in a hotel ballroom; quite a swanky venue. They had valet parking, so I handed over the keys to the valet, gave him a couple of dollars for a tip, and we all made our way into the hotel.

During the long walk down the hallway leading to the ballroom, Evie's hand just kind of found its way into mine.

We ran into Patti and Rick right away, and found our own table. As I expected, very few of the prom-goers said anything at all to us. But at the same time, no one bothered us, either. Everyone just pretty much minded their own business, which was fine with us.

The music was provided by a DJ. Eventually, he began spinning tunes, and the dancing commenced. Four out of our group of six decided to hit the dance floor; whereas the other two would have to stay behind.

"I hate dancing," Rick grinned. "I was born with two left feet."

"Which means I'm the perfect date for you," Patti noted with a smile.

Rick came up with a wonderful reply. "You're the perfect date, anyway."

The rest of us just sung out, "Awwwww," as Patti beamed.

Out on the dance floor, I asked Evie about Rick and Patti. She quickly put to rest any speculation of romance between the two of them.

"They're just friends," she told me. "They're going to different colleges. Patti told me she doesn't have time for a relationship right now. She just has too much on her plate right now. We all will, in the fall, but what we'll deal with is nothing compared to what she will."