got under way.
Setting her purse on the seat between them, Lola pulled down her seat belt and fastened it. Duke sent her a teasing glance. “Worried about my running into something?”
She didn’t think seat belts were anything to laugh about. “If my parents had been wearing seat belts, they might not have been killed in that car accident,” she said evenly, staring straight ahead while she spoke.
There was a moment of silence from Duke, then he said a subdued “Sorry” and hooked his own seat belt. She made no comment.
Duke cleared his throat. “Um…nice evening.” For some reason they weren’t off to a great start.
“Yes, it is,” Lola agreed. “It’s supposed to rain this weekend, though.”
“Yes, I heard the weather report on the news. Had the radio on in my bedroom while I was getting ready. It’s to be expected, though. In fact, we’ve had a three-week dry spell, a little out of the ordinary for spring in these parts.”
“We’ve had a lovely spring. I don’t mind rain, as long as it doesn’t drag on for weeks.”
The theater came into view. Lola stared. “Good Lord, what’s going on there tonight?” There were dozens of teenagers milling around in front of the theater.
Duke frowned. “I have no idea. Wait a minute.” He’d noticed the marquee. “That’s not the movie that was on the marquee yesterday.”
“No, it’s not.” In bold letters on the marquee, the title of a prehistoric monster movie was spelled out. “I don’t want to see that.”
“Neither do I. In fact, I saw it years ago. It’s a kids’ movie. I’m going to park and talk to someone.” After pulling to the curb, he asked, “Want to wait here or come with me?”
“I’ll wait here.”
The young people on the sidewalk were talking, laughing and cutting up as teenagers do, and Lola found herself smiling with old memories of herself at that age. Everything had seemed funny during those years, and she and her friends had giggled their way through high school. Until the middle of her junior year, she remembered, when suddenly—so it seemed—she grew up and began thinking seriously of the future.
She was still deep in her own past when she spotted Bud Hawkins in the crowd. Bud was one of the teenagers who worked part-time in the store. Rolling down the window, she called, “Bud?”
He glanced over, saw her and ambled to the car. Bending down, he peered through the window. “Hi, Miss Fanon.”
“Hi, Bud. What’s going on here tonight?”
“They started showing special movies a couple of Friday nights a month to get the kids off the streets,” Bud said matter of factly. “You haven’t heard about it?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“Well, there’s not much for kids to do in Rocky Ford, so I guess a bunch of people got together and came up with this idea. Mr. Jules, the theater owner, went along with it, so here we are. Guess it’s working. It’s someplace to go, anyway. The Eagles Lodge holds dances when there isn’t something going on at school, too. Between the high school, Mr. Jules and the Eagles, there’s always somewhere to go on Friday nights now.”
“Sounds terrific, Bud.” Lola bit her lip for a moment. She had been remiss about getting involved in town politics and problems. As a business owner, she really should join the Chamber of Commerce and the other organizations that worked for the betterment of the community.
“Anyone can go see the movie, though,” Bud continued. “It’s not strictly confined to kids, but the tickets are half price to anyone under eighteen, and Mr. Jules sells the popcorn and sodas at a lower price than he usually does.”
“Sounds to me like Mr. Jules is doing his part to help the young people of Rocky Ford.”
“Guess so.” Bud grinned. “But so are you, Miss Fanon. My job in your store is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“That’s good to hear, Bud. I hadn’t realized…” Duke was suddenly at the window, too. “Oh, Bud, do you know Mr. Sheridan?”
Bud stood up. “Hi, Duke.”
“Hello, Bud. How’s it going?”
“Pretty well.”
“How’s your dad?”
“Doing all right. The doc says he can go back to work in about two more weeks.”
“That’s great.”
“Yeah, it is. Well, everyone’s going in. Guess I’d better join the troops. See ya.” He dipped his head to speak to Lola. “See ya next week, Miss Fanon.”
Lola nodded. “On Monday afternoon. Bye, Bud.”
Duke walked around the car and got in. “You got the scoop from Bud, I’ll bet.”
“Yes, he explained. Sounds like the whole town is cooperating to give the young people sensible entertainment. When I was in high school, Friday night was date night and most of the time there wasn’t anything to do.”
“Same here.” Duke was looking at her. “So, the kids have something to do and we don’t. Any suggestions?”
There were the taverns, of course. Some of them provided live music on weekends for their patrons, but Lola wasn’t particularly fond of saloons.
She heaved a sigh. “Not really.”
“Then I have one. Do you remember the Lockland Grange? It’s been there for a hundred years, so you might remember it. If you ever went there, that is.”
“I do remember it. Why?”
“There’s a dance there tonight.”
A dance at the Lockland Grange. Pleasant memories bombarded Lola. “Do they still play the old-time music?”
“Piano, guitar and fiddle,” Duke confirmed. “Other than an occasional coat of paint, the Grange never changes.”
Lockland Grange was thirty miles away, in a rural community whose inhabitants farmed rather than ranched. Lola smiled nostalgically. “When we were teenagers, Charlie took us kids to two or three of those dances. Gosh, that seems like a long time ago.” Thinking of her chat with Bud, she looked at Duke. “Don’t the kids go out there anymore?”
“Not much. Probably because of the music. They’ve got their own style of music, Lola, much more so than our generation did.”
Lola nodded. “You’re probably right, but I remember liking all kinds of music.”
A moment of silence ensued. Duke gave her a look. “Well, how about it? Want to go?”
She thought for a second. Did she want to dance with Duke? On the other hand, the Grange was not a place of low lights and romantic music. The band played polkas and waltzes and two-steps.
