“I jumped out of Mort’s car, which he called his ‘love machine’ by the way, and ran into the woods. He drove off after a little while and I walked in the same direction he drove. I found I was on Henderson Road so I called Charlotte to come pick me up. For some reason, she called Steve and asked him to do it instead. I’ll chew her out tomorrow for that!” promised Gwen. “What was she thinking?”
“If she knew that you were going out with Mort Governs, she may have been thinking you needed the aid of a strong young man that would do anything to keep you safe,” offered Paula. “Is that a possibility? Two young women could still be accosted in the darkness by a deranged suitor. A woman with Steve Hammer next to her would have no such worries.”
“That’s the other problem. Mort took me to Dominick’s for dinner. While we were waiting to order dinner an incredibly beautiful red headed woman around twenty five walked in. She was shown to a table back in the corner, and guess who her date was?” sniffled Gwen. “None other than Kate’s big brother!”
“Oh, no!” gasped Paula. “Are you sure that Steve had a date with her? Did he see you with Mort? What happened then?”
“I gave Mort some lame story about being allergic to garlic and we left and had dinner at the Road House. She hugged him and kissed his cheek, Mom! Unless he has a whole bunch of girls that want to be his sister, I’d have to say it was a real date. He’s a liar. I guess all men are liars, except for Dad. They just want to play with “the girls”, get their rocks off, and move on to the next conquest. Steve’s no different.”
“That’s not true and you know it, Gwen! Steve is a good guy. He’s way better than that asshole you were with tonight! Sorry, Mom,” apologized Kate when she saw her mother’s face when she swore. “Has Steve ever groped you or forced himself on you in any way? Let me rephrase that. Has he ever groped you in a way that you didn’t want to be groped? He’s a gentleman.”
“He’s never laid a finger on me that way, if you must know, Kate. The fact remains that he’s dating a beautiful, older woman without giving me as much as a hint about it. We aren’t going steady or anything, but that’s still a pretty low thing to do!”
“That’s what I was trying to tell you earlier this evening when you were getting ready to go out with butt-head,” pointed out Kate. “You weren’t going to tell Steve about Mort if you could help it. I guess all women are liars and cheats and really want men to play with their “girls”. That’s probably exactly what Mort believes.”
“Besides,” added Gwen, ignoring Kate’s observation, “Dad punched Steve tonight when he saw my torn blouse and Steve standing there all angry. That’s enough to keep Steve away forever.”
“Ha! I’ll give you odds that Steve will be back as soon as you invite him. He’ll even apologize to Dad for making him so upset that he felt he had to hit Steve. Did you see how Steve just rubbed his chin and looked at Dad? I don’t think Dad will be popping him in the chops again anytime soon,” chuckled Kate. “But it was great that Dad was willing to mix it up with Steve for his daughter’s honor.”
Steve had no idea what to expect when he entered the homeroom the next morning. He had left Gwen on a pretty bad note. She was very upset with him, and her father had been so angry he actually punched Steve. That was a pretty brave thing for a man that worked as a CPA to do. Steve had to acknowledge an increased respect for Ted Anderson.
Charlotte was sitting at her desk when Steve entered. Gwen had not yet arrived, so Charlotte asked him about the previous evening.
“I found her right where you said she’d be, Charlotte. She was very nicely dressed, but her blouse was torn and her hair was a mess. She refused to tell me what happened. By the time we got to her house, I was all pissed off and was demanding that she tell me who did that to her,” recounted Steve. “My behavior was unacceptable in another man’s home and Ted Anderson heard me. He took one look at Gwen’s condition and smacked me right on the chin. He’s a really good father. I deserved it and he administered it. That calmed me down, but I never did find out what happened. Do you know what’s going on?”
“Steve, I won’t betray Gwen’s confidence. You wouldn’t like me if I did. She needs to be the one to explain everything to you. I know that she really likes you a lot. She’s new to this dating thing and you need to be understanding and patient with her. It’ll all work out,” assured Charlotte as Gwen entered the room and took her seat.
“Ah, Gwen! I have some news for you,” revealed Ms. Walker. “I’ve been contacted by two different organizations. One would like you and Steve to demonstrate your wonderful ‘Lady in Red’ dance for them. That one is the Rotary Club. Their president, Ralph Smith, called me this morning and asked me to approve it. He said that you had approached him the other day at the bank about your fund raising efforts, and he drew a blank. When he mentioned it to his wife, she immediately suggested that you two go to a Rotary meeting and dazzle the members with your skill and beauty, and then give a pitch for the class project.”
“Mr. Smith set us up with the Rotary?” repeated Gwen. “That would be a great place to network! When is the next meeting, Ms. Walker?”
“Wednesday afternoon. I’d have to get permission for you both to leave school so you can attend the luncheon at the Holiday Inn, but that’ll be no problem. So, are you two willing to put your best foot forward, pun intended, to move this project further along?” quizzed Ms. Walker.
Gwen suddenly knew doubt. She had fought with Steve the previous evening. He might decide she wasn’t worth the trouble, or want to get even for her treatment of him after he made the effort to rescue her. Not one to shirk her duties, Gwen slowly turned to face Steve.
For his part, Steve was not going to make it easy for Gwen. He sat without expression as he waited for Gwen to speak.
“Uh, Steve, do you think you want to go to the Rotary luncheon and perform that dance with me, if you aren’t too busy?” asked Gwen timidly. “It could be a great boost to our fund raising efforts. All the business people in the area are in the Rotary Club.”
“Gwen, I’d be delighted to escort you to the luncheon. Will we be in costume for this performance? What do you want me to wear?”