Fifty years had passed since that Saturday night school dance. He was seventeen, and she was sixteen, and little did they know that someday they would marry. She looked so beautiful in a blue chiffon dress her mother made for her, and he in a shirt and tie he borrowed from his older brother.
The school gymnasium was decorated with streamers and balloons. When no one looked, a refreshment stand served fruit punch sweetened with booze. A band was hired and played all the favorites the kids loved dancing to, giving the chaperones a lot to look out for.
He asked her for a dance, holding out his hand, which she took as he led them to the crowded dancefloor. I'm Mary, she told him. I know, he answered back. Who wouldn't know the name of the most beautiful girl here? They danced the night away, telling each other about their dreams and plans until the lights went on and the dance ended.
Her best friend's dad was picking them up, and they both hoped he was running late. They exchanged phone numbers on pieces of napkin, which she put in her purse and his in his pocket. He watched her pull away, seeing her look back and smiling at him as he began his long walk home.
Her father didn't allow her to date yet, so all they could do to be close was talk all night until they fell asleep. A year passed, and he was called to serve his country. They wrote to each other sometimes, wondering if the mail would find him in a faraway jungle. But she kept writing, and he did his best to respond.
He came home at the age of twenty-two, and she was twenty-one. She met him at the train station, seeing him immediately as he ran towards her and scooped her into his arms, which he had longed to do for so long.
They married that day and began a lifetime together as if no time had passed at all.
As the years passed, they found themselves chaperoning the high school dance, remembering theirs as he gave his hand to her and led her to the dance floor. They danced until the lights went on, then took a taxi home with her in his arms, both smiling.
Mike 2025
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