Page 26 of Dear Henry, Love Edith
Edith’s stomach rumbled with an equal share of nerves and hunger. “What about dinner?” She swiped two odd-looking concoctions from a server’s tray and popped theminto her mouth. Her tongue nearly shriveled at the amount of salt. She grabbed a glass of water from another tray and emptied half of it.
In the time it took to swallow, Edith lost track of Sharon. The room became crowded with more people. From somewhere the heavy live beat of a drum started up, and she recognized the tune of Benny Goodman’s “Sing, Sing, Sing.”
Boy, this town sure didn’t mess around when it came time for a party.
Before the song finished, people young and old flooded the dance floor. Edith’s feet itched to do a little “Jump, Jive, an’ Wail” of her own. How long had it been? Since high school, at least. Brian had always hated dancing. It had nearly taken an act of Congress to convince him to dance with her while they were dating. Once married, not even an executive order could force him onto the dance floor.
Edith stepped out of the way of a server. They both did a double take. Dressed in a starched white button-down shirt with a black bow tie, carrying a tray almost as big as herself, Gabby, Henry’s redheaded neighbor, eyed Edith from head to toe. “Yowza,” the girl murmured before moving on.
Edith smiled.Two yowzas in one day. Can’t beat that.
“Ah, miss, please say that smile’s for me.”
A short older gentlemen who put her in mind of Mickey Rooney held his hand over his heart. Edith’s smile grew wider. The words popped out in a flash. “It is if you ask me to dance.”
He beamed and held out his hand. After setting her empty glass aside, she grabbed on and didn’t let go. It was all she could do to keep up during “In the Mood.” By the time“Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” ended, she must have burned more calories than she had in a year and been dipped, twirled, and spun by every man within a sixty-mile radius.
Well, not every man. None of her dance partners looked like the quick glimpse she’d caught of Henry the other day in the storm. And she hadn’t seen Mr. Hubba-Hubba either.
Maybe Sharon would know if either of them were here tonight. Maybe Sharon would also know how much longer before dinner.
Edith declined the next offer to dance. Fanning herself, she let her gaze wander across the room, searching for Sharon’s silver-sequined gown in a sea of dark colors. What she found was a familiar pair of blue eyes staring back at her from across the room.
The intensity of his gaze paired with the dashing figure he cut in his dark tuxedo made her stomach give a flip that had nothing to do with hunger.
“Yowza,” Edith whispered.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Henry caught Peg shooting him another dark look. “Stop jiggling the water glasses,” she whispered, smacking his leg beneath the table.
He leaned back and tried to relax. Ever since he sawher, Henry hadn’t been able to keep still. If that red dress hadn’t knocked the air out of him, watching her twirl, laugh, and dance like a girl of sixteen certainly did.
Who was this woman? And why did she keep disappearing? Like an oasis in the desert, there one minute and gone the next.
And now for the past two hours, he’d been forced to sit still like a choirboy in church when he felt more fidgety than a toddler on a sugar high. As far as he was concerned, his company could donate whatever equipment, labor, or moneythe people here wanted, just so long as somebody told him who that woman was.
The table started shaking again.
“I swear you’re going to find yourself with two busted kneecaps if you don’t knock it off.” Peg sent him a sidelong glare. “I know people.”
Henry forced his leg still and his attention back to the speaker.
“In conclusion, I just want to say a heartfelt thank-you to all of you who have given so generously to our crisis nursery center. It’s because of your donations we exist. So thank you. And now... let’s get back to dancing!”
Applause filled the room and Henry leaned forward. Crisis nursery center? Wasn’t that where Edith volunteered? Maybe she was here. When the applause died down, Henry stood, anxious to continue his search for the woman in the red dress before he worried about finding Edith.
“Henry—I was hoping to catch you.”
Henry suppressed a groan and clamped his lips together in what he hoped came across as a smile. “Hi, Sharon. Nice speech.” His eyes drifted above her head to a flash of red. Just a tablecloth.
“Thanks. I was hoping to introduce you to one of our volunteers before dinner but didn’t get the chance. How’s your leg doing?” Sharon asked.
“Good as new.” He shifted his weight onto it and winced. “Practically.”
Sharon laughed. “Yeah, really looks like it. You sure you’re going to be up for that dance you promised?”
“I can manage. Hey,” Henry said, snapping his fingers,“do you by chance know if Edith Sherman is here tonight? She’s been staying with me, and this is going to sound crazy, but we’ve never met.”
