Girl Gets Her Man Ch. 13

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He tries to make a good impression.
6.7k words
4.59
16.7k
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Part 13 of the 21 part series

Updated 10/29/2022
Created 02/23/2006
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Truth74
Truth74
151 Followers

David Langier stood up to greet them. Joanne Croix thought as she crouched behind her father, 'Why would he be here? Does he want to set me up again? I can't deal with that. Is Jerry here?'

*

David scowled at his son. "Sit up straight. You want to try to make a good impression on them."

Daniel grumbled, "The only time you care about my posture is when...This better not be some sorta..."

"Jimmy!" David stood and urged Daniel to do the same. Out of defiance, Dan crossed his arms and stayed planted in his seat. 'No way am I meeting whatever misfortunate cow he has planned for me to meet.' "This is my son, Daniel. Boy, this is James, his wife, Karen, and their daughter..."

His father hadn't completed the sentence. Dan glanced up briefly at the parents and nodded with his full aggravation. That is, until he caught a glimpse of her down turned face before she disappeared behind her father. All he could do was stand up and breathe, "Uh, Joanne?" He'd sprang up so fast, his chair tipped back, but he didn't notice David catch it and set it upright.

"I thought he didn't have an accent anymore," James smiled.

"He doesn't. His English is probably better than yours," David laughed.

"Oh," Karen smiled at Jo. "So, you've met before. Good." Her mother was trying to keep up with the charade, which was obviously to make them think the parents didn't know anything..

Daniel made an effort to speak, but his father told him in crisp French, "Close your mouth. Tonight, you have no say in this matter. You will sit down and act as though you have sense. I told you I'd make up for what happened. Here's your chance."

"What was that, Dave? My French is kind of rusty, now," James chuckled. Karen gave him a nudge with her elbow and pointed Joanne to her seat. "But, I'm sure he was telling him to behave."

Daniel watched Jo glide across to the seat opposite him. She didn't look up. Not even for the instant that she settled in her chair, did she look toward him. As he quickly sat down, he could see her miraculous blush, though her skin color never changed. He couldn't believe this was happening. She sat there so close to him. When she finally did look up, he tried to turn away, but there was something about the way that she pursed her lips. Those full red lips parted slightly as she waited for him to turn away.

"You are correct. He has had trouble talking before he thinks. We should tell them the story. Perhaps, it would give him time to say something worth hearing," David's words were sharply directed at his stunned child.

Joanne tried not to panic. 'This is not happening. What is that man talking about? Why is Dan looking at me like this is my fault? He didn't yell at me, this time. I didn't know about this. Did he? Is that why he didn't talk to me all week?'

"I guess," James started, "You see, we and David knew each other about twenty years ago. At one point, I thought he'd steal my Karen from me, but it turned out he just wanted to find out about her friend, Frankie. That's Danny's mom. We were friends; the Langiers, Croixes, and Carters. So were you kids. All four of you."

David leaned in and smiled, "I would say the boys were inseparable." Joanne's mouth dropped open. 'Four? The old man smiled and it looked like he meant it.' She looked to Daniel, to see if he saw it too, but he busied himself with slicing at a dinner roll. He'd tuned out completely. Mrs. Croix had seen him watching Joanne. The woman had frowned at him. He couldn't come up with a legitimate excuse for why he would stare at the woman's daughter like that.

"Yes, they were like three peas in a pod," her mother continued. "We spent happy days at those beach houses. You would follow them everywhere. And when you weren't following them, they followed you."

"Right, we knew each other when we were babies," Jo laughed and put her napkin in her lap.

No one else laughed. James looked from David back to his wife. Karen pulled a small picture out of her pocketbook, and put it on Joanne's place setting. It was a grainy Polaroid of three children sitting on a bench looking up at the camera. She recognized herself immediately, and Jerry too, but she didn't know where the picture was taken or who the little light skinned girl next to her was.

"That is obviously you," Karen pointed to Jo, "that is Jeremy, and that is Donatello." Joanne looked over at Daniel. There seemed to be a subtle smile on his lips as he busied himself by pulling apart a slice of his roll. 'Yeah, Mom didn't cut my hair much when I was small.'

"Donatello," Joanne remembered Candy saying that name. "I don't..."

"That is his given name, dear. We were tired of his teachers misspeaking, and so we changed it to a more American one," David smiled directly at her this time.

"But, you hate me..." Joanne said.

The parents laughed nervously as Jo looked from one to the other. 'He does. Or he did, if he tried to get me to meet up with Jerry.' David's smile grew dim. "Those are harsh words. In the beginning, I wasn't sure it was you. Naturally, a father wishes to protect his son from the dangers of the world. I don't know how I could have mistaken you for that other girl, but..." 'Other girl? He thought I was Jesse? How could he ever... Jesse's nothing like me.' Joanne lost part of what he said. "... things that you said reminded me of your mother. Then, you didn't come back for over a month. It took me about that long to find your parents again. I was so happy to see you in the shop again. Unfortunately, Daniel was rightfully angry with me, and so we haven't said anything about you, since."

"And, you didn't help, either," her mother scolded Jo softly. "How was I supposed to know you were talking about Danny? Dogs? A fiancé? Dave hadn't told us about that in his e-mails. And what about Junior? You didn't speak of him at all?"

"It was hard on the boys. After Francoise died, David went to spend time with his mother. I try to stay in touch, but..." David's gaze dropped to the tablecloth. It was obviously an issue that David didn't want to say anything about. "Honestly, it hurt just to watch the way that the boy was with you the night that Candace invited herself over." David ventured a brief glance directly into Jo's eyes, to change the subject, before he directed his attention to her parents again. "You should have seen how fast your girl left. The boy was so far gone. He couldn't even be angry with Candace, as he should have been. That Candace did horrible things to my son. She still does. The girl has this penchant for sensing happiness and appears to put a stop to it."

Joanne stole another glance at Daniel, and he openly stared right back. He leaned toward her and dropped the mangled bread to his saucer. He dared her to say something. She kept silent as she placed her hands flat on the table on either side of her plate and concentrated on the continuous pattern that circled the rim. Daniel watched her feel the texture of the tablecloth.

"That Candace, you never know what she says is the truth. We learned it the hard way. Daniel was embarrassed to talk about how she had fooled him. He was convinced of her loyalty. I didn't speak of the engagement, because he told me not to. Didn't you, boy?"

"Pop," his voice was low and unconcerned as he studied her face again, "No one needs to hear about that, right now."

"It's part of the story. You wouldn't begrudge me a good story," David smiled as he noticed Daniel's hand inch toward Joanne's on the table. The girl hadn't noticed. He reached his fingertips and glanced them across the top of her hand. She looked up at him and moved her hand to her lap reluctantly.

"Of course, but I don't think I need to hear it." Dan stood up and placed his napkin over his plate. "You can tell them while we're gone. Dance?" He offered his hand to Joanne as he did, once, months before.

She shook her head at him and was about to decline, when he said, "It's just a dance."

She hesitated for a moment. She looked around the table at their parents' faces. David actually wanted her to go. Her parents, on the other hand, were of mixed mind. Her mother seemed encouraging, so she figured she wouldn't get that much grief if she left the weirdness at the table. 'Just this one time, Jo. It's just a dance. You can go back to avoiding him tomorrow.'

She looked up at Dan's gentle smile and felt his fingers close around hers. She followed him out to the ballroom. The musicians were the perfect match for the dining room next door. There were older couples all over the floor. Daniel circled around her and moved his body to make solid contact with her back. She looked up and back at him.

"Shall we?"

Without getting her response, Daniel spun her out and pulled her back to face him. She instinctively held fast and moved with him as they did a modified fox trot. She was happy to remember it from school.

"Nothing I can surprise you with, is there?" He was just barely louder than the band.

'So, this is how it is? You don't talk to me, and now you want to talk?' She wasn't sure whether he was just being civil or not, so she went the casual route and asked, "Who's Junior?"

"My older brother. Half-brother really. Not much to say. We don't talk. Something about my dad leaving his mom for mine." She felt him close the distance between them and heard, "So, how's Gary?"

She didn't want him to know that she wasn't doing so great, so she looked right into his eyes and lied, "He's great. He couldn't make it."

Dan frowned playfully and said, "They didn't invite him, did they?"

"Well, no..."

"Of course not. They wanted to set us up. Well, Pops did, anyway. I think I was a surprise to your folks, though. Did I surprise you?"

"No," she said before she thought about it.

"See, you just lied to me again. It's just like old times," he smiled.

"I meant, I figured they'd be setting me up with someone. I didn't know it would be you." She back-peddled and nearly trod on his shoe. "What about you lying to me?"

"I never lied to you."

"When you told me all of those things, they became lies."

He parried, "I meant every word I ever said to you..."

"You did? Even this past week? After what I said, I thought ... Never mind what I thought. You never did a damn thing to back me up. You play a good game, but there's no follow through."

"No follow through!" Those words came out as the band finished the song. Dan nodded firmly at the few people right next to them.

He lowered his voice and frowned, "I gave you some space, so you could get rid of Gary. Then, It got all weird when you came near me. I don't know what's been happening to me. But, you should have said something if you thought I was mean to you. Anyway, Gary's not gone yet, so I'll give you some more time."

She frowned right back at him, "I think I need a little more."

"You think?"

"Yeah. I think I need a lot of time away from you. Because seeing you every day is wearing a bit thin. You and your damn crazy... Ugh. You can leave me the hell alone and go back to Candy. I hate..."

Joanne was just gearing up for a good yell. He could see her little nose wrinkle in that adorable way that she had when he got her going. She was finally fighting back. Her face was so angry, she would never see it coming. His mouth pressed to hers. Her brain was screaming, 'How dare he kiss me out in public,' but her mouth opened to accept his tongue. She felt his hand cup the back of her head as he moved his other arm behind her back. They lingered there as the sound of the next song rose around them. He gave her a few light pecks that barely brushed her lips before he pressed his forehead to hers.

"Christ," he growled. "Don't say something you can't take back. Why do you have to be so stubborn? I want you! Nobody else!" 'There, finally. I said it out loud. I said it out loud?'

She felt him tremble as he continued to hold her head against his. Her entire body tingled as his breath brushed her lips. She felt his fingers dig into the bodice of her dress and it made her stomach go warm. She wanted to speak, but when he finally let go, his emotion filled eyes kept her silent.

He said, "Okay, I'm sorry for scaring you, but I could feel the fight coming. I'd rather you be mad at me for a legitimate reason. I've waited too long as it is. It's you and me, understand?"

"Yes," she whispered as he held her face in his hands.

"Good. Can we please dance?"

"Uh, okay."

"Okay!" Daniel backed away and positioned his hand at her back.

The spell he'd cast with his eyes subsided, and she laughed at the red marks they'd made around his mouth. She pulled the kerchief from his suit pocket and dabbed at his face. 'Now, I wish I'd used the smear-free stuff. How was I supposed to know that I'd get kissed? It serves him right. He shouldn't just do that to people.'

He smiled, too. "You should see your face."

Jo covered her mouth with her fingers. 'I probably look like a clown!'

"How about I meet you back here in five minutes," he whispered close to her ear.

She nodded and they both moved toward opposite ends of the room to find a bathroom. She felt lucky to find the room empty after she saw herself in the mirror. He'd managed to smear the lipstick off of her lips. She worked a damp tissue into her face to try to get the pigment off of the wrong places. 'What was that? What were you thinking? You just frenched him right out in the open. You need to get a hold of yourself.' When she was satisfied with the clean up, she carefully reapplied a fresh coat of burgundy to her lips. 'No more nonsense. He looks so good in that suit. You just have to be stronger than that. He was a jerk. You can't let that slide.'

Daniel stood in the center of the room. He frowned at the dark red splotches on his father's handkerchief. His father would kill him for ruining one of his good hankies. 'It would be for a great reason,' he smiled wistfully. He still couldn't believe that she'd finally risen to his challenge. Dan was beginning to think that she'd keep up the carefully thought out conversation filled with apologies and timidity. He noticed her coast along the floor toward him. She smiled nervously at him, which made his heart do strange things in his chest. She'd put the lipstick back on.

Dan grimaced inside, 'Damn! Okay. Okay. Better for me. We'll go with the surreptitious approach.'

When she got close enough, he pressed his lips to her temple as he sighed, "I thought you weren't coming back."

"The parents drove," she joked in an attempt to break the intimate growl in his voice.

"And, for that I am grateful."

He took her hand and slid his other hand around her waist. There were no more words. The music eventually waned as they slowly moved across the floor. She was his music. The feel of her skin across his fingers stimulated them both just enough to keep their attention from straying. He stroked lightly at her arm as they made a slow circuit around the room. He felt the urge to reconnect their lips, but the lipstick made him shy away to the spot right next to the corner of her mouth. She didn't protest when he pulled her in to rest her head on his chest. She closed her eyes and listened to his strong heartbeat. She felt so secure in his arms. She'd always felt that way. 'Too bad things worked out the way that they did.' Jo was pretty sure that this would be a momentary thing. It felt too good. She was nearly ready to sigh when he let go of her abruptly.

***

David took a furtive glance around the pillar he'd set himself behind. The boy swayed slowly with her in his arms. He watched the two wrap around each other. He'd seen it on his son's face when Daniel came back to the shop a few weeks ago. David knew he had to do something to fix things. After all, he'd had a hand in upsetting the girl. It was only right to contact Jimmy and Karen to sort it out. He wasn't sure why they'd responded negatively when he explained the situation, but he knew they couldn't turn down a good meal. The older Langier wasn't sure it would work, but he slipped the band a bill for two more songs, anyway. He felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Karen standing next to him.

"So, how much did you slip the conductor?"

"Uh," he considered lying, but she smiled knowingly at him. "A hundred."

Karen nonchalantly leaned in to get a better view of the couple. "Yeah, I gave him another fifty. Your son has it bad, doesn't he?"

"You're not mad?"

"No, Dave, I'm skeptical. You should have told us more. Honestly. You contacted us out of the blue to ask us about Jo, but you never said why. You made it sound like she was chasing him. She's never chased a boy in her life. Not even one that she obviously wants. Then, she acted like she'd been crushed when she came home for Christmas. And just now, she seemed...scared when she saw him..."

"Oh, no," he soothed. "He'd never do anything to harm her. He's been putting his foot in his mouth since January. Look at the boy. Look at his face. You have to remember how Jimmy looked when you first met."

"Yeah, stupid in love with me. Jimmy still gets that look on his face, sometimes," she smirked as she turned to look David in the eye. "So what. I was never afraid of Jimmy. Tell me what happened to the plan we agreed to years ago? What makes Daniel get the seat that belongs to Jeremy?"

David looked down at his shoes. "Something's happened."

"What?"

"I'm not sure. But, I don't think she is as interested in Jerry as you think she is."

***

"Hey, man," a short man stood next to Daniel and Joanne. Apparently the room had emptied, because it was just the three of them on the vast stretch of hardwood floor. "We just got 150 bucks to keep you on the floor for the next hour."

Dan looked over toward the dining room doorway to see his father peering around a pillar next to Mrs. Croix.

"It didn't happen to come from that guy over there, did it?"

"Yeah. Honestly, you haven't heard the last three songs, have you?"

"There was music," Daniel smiled down at Joanne.

"Why don't you guys sit down? We'll be taking a dinner break, soon. You can come back when the music starts up, again."

"Thanks," Dan wrapped a cautious arm back around her. 'Dancing is one thing, but standing in public with my arm around her is something else.' She looked up at him and smiled slowly. She was okay with it. Dan couldn't stop the grin on his face. His cheeks just wouldn't relax. When they returned to their places at the table, he reluctantly moved his hand from her waist and held her chair. "We took the liberty of ordering for you," David effervesced to Daniel. "I know that you prefer chicken in mixed company. Is it the same for you, Joanne?"

Joanne blushed from the way that they were all looking at her. She concentrated on the array of food. The parents had sampled a few of the courses while they were away. There was an obvious hole in the wild rice and a large slice out of the roast pork. Her father had his customary steak and the largest baked potato she'd ever seen.

"So," James said as he cut into his steak, "I hear you play piano, Daniel." The man acted as though his daughter hadn't been away from the table dancing at all.

"Yeah, I used to play a little."

"A little," David scoffed. "He could be making money on the chamber circuit if he wanted to. He sells his songs to Jerry now. That science hobby broke his concentration."

"Science isn't a hobby," Jo said in a demure attempt to stop the interrogation before it started. This was only the beginning of the questioning. By the end of the meal, her parents would know everything Daniel didn't want them to know. "It's a way of life."

"No," Karen corrected. "It's a way to avoid your life."

Jo felt her cheeks burn even more. Her mother though trying to deflect the concentration, only managed to focus her husbands attention.

Truth74
Truth74
151 Followers
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