Page 32 of Bright Lights and Summer Nights

“Darling, you don’t have to ask me to dance,” Gram responds to Emma, staring at her outstretched hand.

“I know I don’t have to. But I never say no to dancing, and the table is kind of like a pier. Right?” Emma smiles cautiously. She chews on her bottom lip as if she’s worried that Gram might not take her up on her offer.

I watch Gram anxiously, not sure what she’ll do. Emma’s idea is certainly out of the box, but it makes me admire her even more. Her determination to recreate a memory for a woman she just met yesterday makes an unfamiliar feeling run through me. I try to shake it off, but the feeling only intensifies when Gram takes her hand and allows Emma to pull her off the pillow.

“Peyton, dance with us?” Emma asks, looking over to my sister with a more confident smile this time.

Peyton eagerly jumps out of Jackson’s arms and steps onto the table.

“Everyone, grab your drinks!” Emma demands, picking her drink up and taking a sip.

Surprising me, both Mom and Dad follow Emma’s direction. They each pick up their drink, allowing more room for Gram, Peyton, and Emma to have room to dance.

Gram laughs nervously, holding on to Emma for support. “We don’t have any music.”

“You’re in luck—kind of.” She giggles, taking off one of her heels and then the other. She throws them both at me, reminding me of last night when I first met her. “I’m a terrible singer,” Emma continues. “But my mind is like a vault of song lyrics. Hope you like One Direction.”

Peyton lets out an excited scream. “Oh my god, were you a Directioner, too?”

“Huge,” Emma responds immediately.

“Two Direction who?” Gram asks, standing between Emma and Peyton, looking completely lost.

This makes both Emma and Peyton bust out in a fit of laughter.

Sliding my phone from my pocket, I hold it up. “I know this isn’t technically the same thing, but we have new and improved technology now. What if I just play a song?” I offer.

“I think that’s Preston’s way of nicely telling us he doesn’t want to hear us sing,” Emma chirps, wrapping her arm around Gram.

“Or his way of ensuring I don’t have to listen to Two Direction,” Gram quips.

I chuckle, thumbing through the music on my phone to try and find something Gram would like. “Any requests, Gram?”

Gram shakes her head.

As a joke, I land on “Cotton Eye Joe,” expecting all of them to whine. Instead, Emma’s mouth drops open with excitement. “Oh, don’t threaten me with a good time.” She holds her drink in one hand and takes Gram in the other. “Peyton, grab Gram’s other hand. We’re getting down right now.”

In a fit of laughter, the three of them begin to dance in a circle around the table, knocking down flowers and candles in the process. The mess they’re creating doesn’t stop them at all. The laughs get deeper, their movements get quicker, and soon, the three of them are doing twirls on the table while belting out the lyrics to “Cotton Eye Joe.”

I stare at Emma, completely in awe of her. I can’t do anything but focus on every single one of her movements. She’s breathtaking, and I’m starting to wonder if Davis did have a point earlier. He was right about one thing: she’s absolutely magnetic, pulling every single one of my family members in—myself included.

My mom—who has never been known as the life of the party and has always preferred standing on the outskirts—pulls up her dress and climbs onto the table to join them. Soon, the four of them are spinning one another on the table, completely oblivious to the fact the song has changed to a slow one I don’t even recognize.

I lean in closer, halfway wishing I was up there holding Emma’s hand and spinning her around the makeshift pier instead of my sister.

Emma throws her head back, laughing at something Gram says. I can’t hear whatever comment Gram made, but I still watch Emma closely, wondering if I could ever get her to laugh like that for me.

She opens her eyes, straightening her neck, and her eyes immediately land on mine.

I’m mesmerized.

She lights up the room with everything she does. Her bright smile. Her carefree laugh. The small gesture of asking Gram to dance to try and give her a piece of her past back. The effortless way she brings my mom out of her shell.

All I know is that I can’t look away from her.

I don’t know how many songs go by with the four of them just dancing on top of the table. It’s as if not a single one of them has a care in the world. My dad and I smile and laugh right along with them. Even Jackson joins in.

I can’t tell you the last time I remember laughing with my family the way we have tonight. It may have been years since we all let go like this and just enjoyed ourselves.

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