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- Bonds of Trust
-- Part XV
Matthew tries all morning to call Stevie but only gets voicemail
and no return call from his messages. Same with Danielle. Matt
ignores his mother’s questioning looks and keeps himself
busy most of the day. He doesn’t want to spoil his plans
for the dance, so he decides to keep quiet about Stevie and his
family until he and Kallie have their date...
-
- Nora has been fussing over
Matthew for an hour, making sure he is dressed appropriately.
Matt rolls his eyes. “For someone who didn’t even want
me to go to the dance, you sure are making a big deal out of
it.”
-
- She smiles at him, tweaking
his tie. “You look adorable.”
-
- He pushes her hand away.
“Would you stop? You should finish getting ready. We can’t
be late. We have to pick up Kallie and get to The Palace by 6.”
-
- Bo walks into the room. “Dinner
at The Palace, huh?”
-
- Matt frowns. “Kallie
and I have our own table. You can sit with Mom.”
-
- He smiles. “Fine by
me. Are you going to pay for your own table too?”
-
- “Actually, Grandpa said
we get a comp.”
-
- Nora chuckles. “You
better run that past Renee. She’s in charge at the hotel.”
-
- “No problem. I think
it’s all taken care of.”
-
- Nora walks over and fixes
Bo’s tie. “You look terrific, Mr. Buchanan.”
-
- He grins, wrapping his arms
around her. “I have to. I have a hot date tonight.”
-
- Matt rolls his eyes. “Will
you two quit. This is MY dance, remember?” They nod. “And
you promised, NO dancing.” They nod again. “Okay, as
long as we all know the rules.”
-
- Nora winks at Bo. “We’re
clear, sweetie. I’ll go finish getting ready.”
-
- “Hurry up, Mom!”
-
- Nora gives Bo a kiss and
saunters out of the room. Bo takes a seat on Matt’s bed.
“So, you ready for the big night?”
-
- “Yup. Kallie’s
corsage is downstairs. Mom helped me pick it out last night.”
-
- “I heard you were pretty
upset last night. Want to tell me what happened with Stevie?”
-
- Matt shrugs. “It was
nothing.”
-
- Bo nods. “I see. So,
you were upset over nothing?” Matt nods. “Does this
have anything to do with what I asked you about the other night?”
-
- “About something strange
going on at Stevie’s house?”
-
- “Yes. Is there something
you want to tell me?”
-
- Matt looks at the floor,
choosing his words carefully. “No, Dad. I don’t have
anything to tell you about that right now.”
-
- Bo nods, noting that Matt
isn’t looking him in the eye when he answers. “Okay,
but I trust that you will tell me if there’s something I
should know.”
-
- “Sure.” Matt looks
at his watch. “We need to get going.” He walks past
Bo into the hallway. “Come on, Mom! You’re going to
make us late.”
-
- Bo pulls up to Kallie’s
house and they wait in the car as Matthew goes to the door, knocks
politely and waits for Kallie to answer. She opens the door with
a smile. "Wow, Kallie. Your dress looks awesome."
-
- "You don't look so bad
yourself, Matt. Want to come in?"
-
- He shakes his head, handing
her the corsage. "My parents are waiting in the car. We
have dinner reservations."
-
- Kallie steps out onto the
porch, followed closely by her mom, brandishing a camera. When
Nora sees her posing them, she digs into her purse, climbing
out of the car. “If she gets to take pictures, I’m
certainly going to get some too.”
-
- Bo grins as she rushes up
the walk, motioning with her hands for them to stay in place
so she can get a shot. Matt rolls his eyes as she stands beside
Kallie’s mother, bringing the camera up and trying to frame
her shot. “Stop rolling your eyes, Matthew Buchanan or it’s
going to take all night to get my picture!”
-
- Nora clicks away several
times before she’s convinced she has sufficiently captured
the moment. She compliments Kallie on her dress, hugs Kallie’s
mom, thanking her for making the couple stand still and promising
to share pictures next week. Nora hurries back down the walk
so Matt can escort Kallie to the car. Bo grins at her as she
jumps back into the seat beside him. “You can’t help
yourself, can you?”
-
- Nora frowns at him. “I’m
a mother, what can I say?”
-
- When they arrive at the Palace,
Matt speaks to the maitre d’ and follows Kallie to their
table, holding her chair for her as Bo and Nora look on proudly.
Matt sets down his menu, smiling at Kallie. “You can order
anything you want. I got it covered.”
-
- She smiles, looking around.
“This is a great restaurant. I’ve only been here for
lunch a couple times but never for a formal dinner.”
-
- “Grandpa said I should
go all out since this is our first dance and our first real date.”
-
- “Be sure to thank your
grandpa for me.”
-
- The waiter arrives and they
place their order. Matt smiles at her. “Having fun?”
-
- “Definitely. I can’t
wait to tell Danielle about all this.”
-
- “It’s too bad she
can’t go to the dance.”
-
- Kallie looks at him oddly.
“What are you talking about?”
-
- He shrugs. “I just meant
after yesterday…”
-
- “What happened yesterday?”
-
- Matt stares at her. “You
don’t know?”
-
- “Know what?”
-
- “Did you talk to Danielle
last night?”
-
- Kallie nods. “Sure,
we talked about our dresses and the dance and you boys…
We got our hair done together this afternoon. She didn’t
mention anything unusual happening yesterday.”
-
- Matt is clearly upset. “She
didn’t mention what happened with Stevie after school?”
-
- Kallie has no idea what he’s
getting at. “We talked about what time Stevie was picking
her up and where they were having dinner. That’s it. What’s
going on?”
-
- He shakes his head talking
almost to himself. “I can’t believe they’re going
to the dance like nothing happened.”
-
- Kallie leans toward him.
“What are you babbling about, Matt? What happened yesterday
with Stevie and Danielle?”
-
- He shakes his head slowly.
“I can’t tell you,” he says softly.
-
- “Can’t or won’t?”
-
- “It’s not up to
me to tell. I want to but I can’t. Danielle is your best
friend. She needs to be the one to spill this.”
-
- “That makes no sense.
We’re supposed to be dating. You don’t trust me?”
-
- Matt takes a deep breath.
“It’s not like that, Kallie. It's just not my place
to tell you.”
-
- She is riled up now. “That’s
a copout, Matthew Buchanan!”
-
- Matt looks around, lowering
his voice. “Don’t get mad, Kal. Please. Let me talk
to Danielle first, okay? Then we can both tell you together.”
-
- Kallie crosses her arms,
staring him down. At that moment, the waiter appears with their
food. Matt gives her a small smile. “Dig in!”
-
- Bo and Nora are shown to
a table across the room, where they can keep an eye on the teens.
Nora notices that they seem to be arguing but Bo prevents her
from going to their table to ask about it. Luckily the food arrives
so they concentrate on eating and enjoying their own night out.
-
- Matt and Kallie eat in silence.
His attempts to draw her out are met with a glare. “Come
on, Kallie. You have to talk to me sometime.”
-
- “No, I don’t.”
-
- “Do you want to go home?”
-
- “No.”
-
- Matt grins. “Then can
we please just let this go for tonight and deal with it later?”
Kallie frowns at him. “I know you can do better than that.
How about if I promise one shirtless dance?” She gives him
a small smile. “Aha! Okay, how about 2?”
-
- “Matthew Buchanan, you’ll
get us kicked out of the dance. And your parents are chaperoning,
remember?”
-
- He nods. “Oh, I remember.
That should tell you how serious I am about having fun tonight.
Can we just do that?”
-
- Kallie takes a deep breath,
slowly nodding. “Okay. I don’t want to spoil this night.”
-
- Matt smiles big. “Right,
because you look HOT in that dress, remember?”
-
- She laughs. “Don’t
you forget it!”
-
- Nora is relieved to see her
son laughing with his girlfriend. Bo signals the waiter and asks
about the check for the kids. He is assured that Mrs. Buchanan
instructed them to give her grandson and his date anything they
desired, on the house. He let them know that their meal had also
been taken care of, so they should just enjoy themselves. So
they did. Nora orders a second glass of wine and they are deep
in conversation when Matt and Kallie appear at their table. “Ready?”
- Matt says impatiently. “We
don’t want to be late.”
-
- Nora smiles, taking Bo’s
outstretched hand as she stands. “Then let’s get going.”
-
- Matt and Kallie hang back
as Bo escorts Nora into the gym, which has been decorated with
streamers and balloons. The DJ is setting up and the festivities
are about to get underway. Nora smiles. “Some things never
change. Our gym looked just like this for our Spring formal,
only back then, it was called ‘Snowball’ dance.”
-
- Bo grins, circling his arm
around her waist, leaning into her ear. “If things never
change, there should be a vacant closet around here somewhere
with our name on it.”
-
- Nora laughs, pushing him
away playfully. “Behave yourself, Bo Buchanan. Let’s
find the principal and get our assignment for the night.”
-
- Nora walks toward the back
of the gym, Bo following as he searches for the food table. When
he sees a table laden with snacks, he grins and nudges Nora.
“Check it out. They have bottled water instead of punch.
Guess they’ve figured out how to outsmart the kids. We should
have an easy night.”
-
- Nora glances around, trying
to locate the principal. She sees Stevie and Danielle off to
the side, chatting with a group of kids. Stevie has his arm around
Danielle and it is clear they are together. Nora turns to Bo.
“That’s odd.”
-
- He looks around. “What?”
-
- She nods toward the corner.
“Matthew said Stevie broke up with Danielle yesterday. That’s
the reason he gave me for being so upset after school. I wonder
what happened? Maybe I should go see…”
-
- Bo grabs her around the waist,
pulling her to him. “Honey, let it go. You know how teenagers
are. Just because they broke up yesterday, doesn’t mean
they aren’t together today.”
-
- Nora turns to him. “I
guess you’re right. I don’t see the principal either.
Maybe we should just find an out-of-the-way spot and watch.”
-
- Bo leans into her ear. “I
can think of a better idea.”
- She laughs. “I’m
sure you can. First, let’s raid the junk food table and
then stake out a spot in the bleachers.”
-
- Bo follows her toward the
table as Matt and Kallie enter the gym, holding hands. Kallie
scans the crowd. “Oh, Danielle and Stevie are over there.
Let’s go join them.”
- Matt hangs back. Kallie takes
a few steps before turning to look at him. “What’s
wrong?”
-
- He shrugs. “Nothing.
I don’t want to talk to Stevie right now, that’s all.”
-
- “Are you going to tell
me about yesterday?” He shakes his head. Kallie frowns at
him. “Well, I’ve been waiting all week to show Danielle
my dress, so I’m going over there.”
-
- Matt reluctantly follows
her as Kallie walks over to the group. Stevie ignores them but
Danielle turns and hugs her friend, sizing up Kallie’s dress.
“You look FAB! I hope you appreciate her tonight, Buchanan.”
Danielle ignores the frown he sends her way. Kallie looks between
them, not understanding the weird vibe.
-
- She smiles at Danielle. “You
have to see the pictures my mom took before we left the house.
I’ll email you copies tomorrow.”
-
- “Of course! My mom took
pictures too.” She reaches over and grabs Stevie’s
arm, turning him around. “We make quite the pair, don’t
we?”
-
- Stevie smirks. “Hey,
Buchanan. Nice matching tie.”
-
- Matt rolls his eyes. “Thanks.”
-
- Kallie hooks her arm through
Matt’s. “Don’t tease him, Stevie Taylor. I love
his tie. And where is yours?”
-
- He shrugs. “My girl
doesn’t need a matching tie, right Danielle?”
-
- Kallie doesn’t notice
her half-hearted nod as she checks out Danielle’s dress
and matching wrap. “I love that wrap. Where did you get
it?”
-
- She shrugs. “Actually,
it’s my mom’s. She insisted I wear it tonight and I
didn’t feel like arguing with her. It is a bit chilly in
here, so I’ll probably keep it on.”
-
- Kallie sees another friend
walk in. She grabs Danielle by the arm, missing her wince at
the tug on her arm. “Let’s go see what Stacy is wearing.
I’m sure it’s a knockoff of someone famous.”
-
- Stevie watches the girls
move out of earshot before turning to Matt. “How’s
it going, Buchanan?” He shrugs. “Are you still mad
about yesterday? You need to lighten up, man. It’s a party.”
-
- Matt glares at him, about
to say something. He changes his mind and walks away, joining
a group of boys from the baseball team. Nora is sitting in the
bleachers at the far end of the gym, watching her son intently.
Bo is digging into the plate of junk food balanced on his lap.
She sees Matt walk away from Stevie. She motions toward the far
end of the gym. “Did you see that, Bo?”
-
- He looks up. “What?”
-
- “Matt just walked away
from Stevie without saying a word to him.”
-
- Bo searches the gym, finally
locating his son. “He’s talking to the guys on the
team. So what?”
-
- Nora shakes her head. “You
missed him talking to Stevie – or not talking. Something
is definitely going on with those two.”
-
- She makes a move to get up,
but Bo catches her arm. She sits back beside him. “Let him
be, honey. We promised him we wouldn’t be watching his every
move. This is his night. If he’s having a fight with Stevie,
we can discuss it with him tomorrow.”
-
- Nora is about to argue when
the music begins blaring through the gym. Bo cringes. “Was
our music that loud?”
-
- Nora turns to him, mouthing
‘What?’ and he shakes his head. Not much hope for a
conversation with that racket.
-
- Nora and Bo watch from their
perch as the kids begin to dance. Matt needn’t have worried
about them sneaking a dance – not to this noise disguising
itself as music – Bo thinks as he scans the floor, watching
the kids gyrate under the flashing lights he is sure will give
him a headache before the end of the night. He puts his arm around
Nora, who is slowly trying to sway to the beat, pulling her close.
She smiles at him and steals a quick kiss before turning to watch
her son. She hasn’t taken her eyes off of him since he walked
away from Stevie. Something was bothering him that had Nora’s
‘mother hen’ instincts on full alert. She watches as
Kallie finds him in the crowd and pulls him onto the floor to
dance.
-
- After about 30 minutes of
enduring the noise, Bo taps Nora on the shoulder. “Why don’t
we check out the halls, make sure no one’s misbehaving?”
-
- She grins. “You just
want to get out of the gym because of the music.”
-
- “Damn straight.”
He helps her down the steps and they disappear out a side door.
When it closes behind them, the noise is muffled to merely the
sounds of the pulsing bass. Bo holds his hands to his ears. “This
was not a good idea.”
-
- Nora turns to him, laughing.
“What’s the matter, Buchanan? Are you getting old?”
-
- “By the minute! I think
I’m going deaf.”
-
- She leans in and kisses him.
“Poor baby.”
-
- He wraps her in his arms,
whispering in her ear. “Let’s find a quiet corner for
a private dance.”
-
- “We promised Matthew.”
-
- “He doesn’t need
to know…” Bo takes her hand and heads around the corner.
“If I remember the layout of this school, there should be
a side stage entrance around here somewhere.”
-
- He leads her down a short
hallway and through a side door, which leads to an alcove beside
the stage. "Success!"
-
- He pulls her into his arms,
kissing her. At first she responds, then pushes him away, catching
her breath. “Bo! We can’t be caught necking in the
school! We’re supposed to be setting a good example.”
-
- He nibbles on her neck. “They
can’t see us, honey.”
- “But we’re in a
public place.”
-
- He looks around. “Maybe
you’re right. And they could have cameras in here.”
-
- Nora looks above her in a
panic. “You think?”
-
- He grins, moving in close.
“Nah, I’m just pulling your leg.”
-
- She smiles as she kisses
him. “You’re a bad boy, Bo Buchanan.”
-
- “And that’s why
you love me.”
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