“Who ordered a shipment of rocks?” I asked.
At the time, I wasn’t sure how much of a joke I was actually making. The boxes were almost as heavy as my max lift at the gym. A small grunt was all that was needed for me to heft the box onto one of my shoulders and kneel. I placed it neatly on the ground next to the others.
“Bricks!” shouted Anna, finally on her feet and dusting herself off.
“You, girls, okay?” My eyes shifted between the two girls, and I clapped my hands on my jeans to remove some of the dust from the rough cut box and swiped some more off my shoulder.
“We are great now. Thanks for saving us!” Anna exclaimed, patting Lillian on the back, turning toward her. “Right, are you okay? Thanks for not letting that crush my head.”
Lillian was staring blankly at me, Anna's voice giving her a jolt. “Oh, oh yes, I’m fine.”
She blinked wildly, overcompensating, and shook away whatever thought she was lost in.
“Hey, Andre, thank you. I couldn’t have put it back myself. I could barely stop it from falling.”
“Don’t sweat it. That’s what happens when you fill boxes with rocks and pile them up.”
“Bricks.” Both of the girls said in unison.
Lillian reached back, still staring at me, grabbing her friend's arm. “By the way, this is my friend, Anna. I met her on my first day at the farm, and we have been best friends ever since.”
Anna waved happily. Her hair was tied back in a braid that crowned her head, and some daisies were tucked into the organized knots. We had, of course, met during orientation, but I wanted to be friendly.
“Oh, I didn’t know you knew each other personally,” Anna said. “How fun to have a friend as a guest. I’ll be sure to put in a good word with the DJ.” Anna could sense the atmosphere and started to back away. She even offered Lillian a finger gun or two. “Speaking of DJ, I better check to see if we even have one. My dad isn’t the best with a calculator, let alone any technology more complicated than a radio. See you!”
And with that, Anna turned on her heel and scooted off to help Mr. Frey with some cassette tapes he had stored away from the past decades.
“Cute friend,” I said softly, smiling down at Lillian.
She gave me a breathy chuckle and scratched her head. “Oh yeah, she has a heart of gold and a brain of bubbles—that’s what Mrs. Frey says when Anna forgets to eat. She just likes to keep busy. What are you doing out here? You are…” Lillian paused to look down at her watch. “Well, you are exactly on time. Four minutes late, in fact.”
She hadn’t noticed, but as the brick shenanigan was taking place, many more guests had shown up. Most of the tables were taken, and some people were standing around the cocktail tables, drinks in hand already.
“Well, I did consider being fashionably late, so I guess I got what I wanted. Do you have much more work to do?” I tucked my fingertips into my pockets, my thumbs just dipping into the waistline of my pants.
“Nope. I was just finishing up with Anna. I am all yours for the remainder of the evening.”
Despite the undertone her statement had, she gave me a sheepish smile, and I laughed. Taking her hand, I led us over to the last of the open tables where we sat together and waited for everyone to settle in and the music to start.
7
Lillian
It didn’t take long for Mr. Frey to get the hang of things. It did take a few sticky notes on the buttons he was supposed to press kindly written out by Anna, though. Once that was settled, Anna stepped up on the makeshift stage and tapped a microphone to gain everyone’s attention.
“Good evening. I’m so glad you’re all here. First, I would like to thank everyone for choosing to spend some time on the farm with all of us this summer. We know this season is busy regardless of where you are, but here is no different.”
There was soft hooting from a man in the back who figured farm work would be a better alternative than mowing the lawn back at home.
“So, I don’t want to stall things too much, short and sweet, right? Along either side of the barn, you will find some food for snacking that we will keep full as late as we can tonight. Throughout the night, we will be playing a variety of music. Some of the songs will be square dances, and Mr. and Mrs. Frey will lead the dance to show you all what to do. Don’t stress! It’s easy, even me with two left feet could figure it out!”
A few people chuckled.
“All right, all right, enjoy your night! Daddy, press the green button!” Anna called back to the old man.
Mr. Frey gave her a thumbs up and happily stamped the big green button with the pad of his thumb. Over the speakers and all through the air, country instrumental floated with such cheer and vibrancy, it filled my face with a smile. Banjos never sounded how they were described. They were actually a pleasant instrument, especially when accompanied by a violin.
The lights overhead twinkled and sparkled in the ever-darkening night from outside, and Andre and I nervously watched a few groups of older people get up to enjoy the dance floor. It seemed as if most people were nervous about being on stage for others to watch. Never being a person afraid of the center of attention, Andre took my hand, which was laid loosely on the table, and pulled me effortlessly from my seat.
“Come on, let's go dance. We aren’t some bums, right?” he asked, already headed toward the open floor.
I blushed. I had never been one for making a fuss and certainly never one to draw attention to myself. “Oh, I don’t know, Andre, dancing just isn’t my thing!”
“Nonsense, you don’t know if it's your thing if you’ve never tried it before—in fact, I can probably name the last moment you danced right down to the minute.” He gave me a devilish grin, which I couldn’t help but smile at and roll my eyes.
He was, of course, talking about his senior prom. We had obviously gone together, and while he was the first quarterback in six years who hadn't been the prom king, I was relieved I not to be the queen. I didn’t need that attention in my awkward teen years.
Obliging the request, I followed him, and he took us to the center of the dance floor. I shivered with nerves. I was so uncomfortable, but I knew this was his thing. The lights made the entire room feel so much larger than it actually was. Simultaneously, it made the space feel cozy, comfortable, warm, quaint. People in the big city used those lights to try to do the same thing in their small spaces. Some restaurants used them to light up their outdoor seating, but it never had that effect. It was only magnified tenfold when the fireflies started sparkling outside, too. I really couldn't believe the view from the dance floor, and I loved every inch of it.
Brought back to reality by a hand on my hair, the music was fast-paced and lively. It was bright and cheery, and I couldn't help but move my hips. Andre softly laughed at me and nodded in encouragement. Without words, we copied each other's movements. I would step, he would follow. He would bend, I would curve. As the song went on, the dance floor became quite crowded, and we were forced closer together to enjoy the dance. I did not mind it one bit.
I was able to get a better look at Andre. His face was perfect. He had a jawline so straight I thought he carved it with a knife and ruler. It was lined with a dark beard stubble that was barely showing from the surface of his sepia skin. I reached up as the music churned and wailed with a saxophone, and my fingers traced the line that arched around his cheekbone and gave his face more depth and shadow. I ran a finger across the rough hair, and his hand came up to clasp mine, pressing my palm to his cheek more firmly. It filled my hand perfectly, and his beard tickled my skin, making me wrinkle my nose.