Chapter 20

I pulled into the driveway next to the Eastman's trailer at six. Mrs. Eastman opened the door, a smile bursting onto her face.

"Hello, John!" she said, giving me a quick but crushing hug. "It is so good to see you. I was half convinced that Olivia was pulling my leg."

I gave her a sincere smile. "It's nice to see you too, Mrs. Eastman. Is Liv ready?"

She nodded at me, still smiling. "Olivia, your date is here!" she called back toward the hallway. Turning back she said, "I can't remember the last time Olivia's date actually came to the door, John."

I didn't answer because at that moment my jaw hit the floor. I almost didn't recognize the young woman who stepped out of the hallway. The Liv that stood there nervously looked nothing like Ridgemont's Over Easy.

The black eye shadow, black t-shirt and jeans were gone. Even when working for Tracey, the eye shadow was lightened, but still there, as were the black jeans. Tonight, however, Liv wore a tight red sweater and a black denim skirt that came to her knees. It was the first time I had ever seen her in a color other than black or Caterer White.

I knew I was staring and I shook myself. "Hello, beautiful," I said as I recovered. "What have you done with Liv?"

Liv smiled, shook her head and walked to me. She started to pull on her jacket and looked startled when I helped.

"Don't wait up, Momma," Liv said. "We won't be late, but you have to be at work early tomorrow."

"Have a good time, you two," Mrs. Eastman said, beaming as she ushered us out of the trailer.

"I hope I didn't ruin things for you, John, but I decided after we talked last night that this was my last chance to be something other than 'Over Easy' Eastman before we graduate. I mean, um, oh, shoot."

I pulled the car to the side of the road. "Liv, let me be very clear about this; you didn't ruin anything for me. How could I possibly be upset? I'm flattered that you'd dress up to go out with me. Oh, and the only woman I'm out with tonight, or any night I'm with you, is Olivia Eastman, okay?"

She gave me a huge smile. "Okay, and thanks, John. You know, it was fun, getting dolled up for a change," she admitted. I gave her a firm nod and pulled the car back into traffic. "Momma was floored when I showed up at the salon at one," Liv continued. "I think she'd just about given up on me finding a decent guy. I know I had."

I must have visibly reacted to that somehow because she put her hand on my arm and added, "Don't worry, John. I knew it wasn't going to be serious from the get go; you asked me to help you by giving you some 'air cover for a few weeks.' I'm not sure I understand exactly why you asked me out to help you provide that cover, but I do understand that you and I are not going to be getting married or anything. We come from such different worlds that I realize we could probably never make that work, but I also recognize that this is my shot to show a few people that I'm more that just 'Over Easy',"

We pulled into the parking lot at Toni's, and Liv went to reach for the door, staring at me in surprise when I hustled around the car to help her out. I opened the door to Toni's and guided Liv in. The looks on the faces of some of my classmates, and especially my friends, were priceless. Liv smiled and turned back to me, smiling as I put her hand in my elbow and walked her to a table.

"You'd think they never saw a beautiful lady before," I whispered in her ear as I held her chair.

Liv laughed and gave me a glorious smile. "Thank you for asking me out, J.R." She shook her head. "I'm not sure if I'm doing you a favor, or you're doing me one, though!"

We chatted all through dinner and when we were finished, I asked Liv if she wanted to meet my friends. She looked uneasy about the idea, but then she shrugged, so I escorted her over to their table and introduced everyone to Olivia Eastman.

Everyone mumbled a polite hello except for Mary Jo.

"Damn, girl, you clean up nice," Mary Jo said with a smile. She stood up and whispered something in Liv's ear as she gave her a hug. The look on Jesse's face was priceless.

Mary Jo sat down and looked at Jesse. "What? She's John's girlfriend. That makes her a friend of mine. You gotta problem with that, Jesse?"

"No, ma'am," Jesse replied right away.

"Good boy," Mary Jo said, patting his arm.

Mary Jo's hug, and her offer of friendship, broke the ice and Jesse and Bobby grabbed two chairs as we sat down to chat for a while. Soon it was time to go to the movie.