Page 59 of Until Now
“Hey, thanks for taking my place as chaperone, by the way.”
“It’s going to be fun. Dominique and I will get to dance together.”
She gives me “the look.”
“What?”
“You’re not going to be dancing! First of all, you need to be watching the kids. They will be trying all kinds of funny stuff. And secondly, you don’t want to embarrass your nephew and Bing. Remember, our brand of dancing looks old-fashioned to thirteen-year-olds.”
“Old-fashioned? Are you kidding? We are smooth. We look good.”
She starts laughing.
“What you don’t know about kids could fill a book.”
* * *
Around three o’clock, we got more worried. After talking with Dominique, I found out Bing had a haircut appointment at two. When the stylist called to ask where he was, it shocked her. A call to Kim sealed the concern. Where the fuck are they?
Dominique sees the car and steps into the street for me to pick her up, no unnecessary moments wasted. She gets inside and takes out her cell.
“I’m going to try his friends. See if they mentioned where they were going.”
“I’m going to drive over to the school. Maybe they decided to set up in advance. You know kids, maybe they wanted to meet the girls there,” I say.
Dominique takes in the scenario and smiles. “That’s probably it! Bing said Beth and the girl he likes, Frankie, are on the decoration committee. That’s it! They are messing around with the girls. I feel a little better.”
I don’t want to contradict her or point out she’s jumping to a conclusion. I could be wrong. Let her have a few minutes of calmness. The ten minutes it takes to reach the school are filled with one-sided conversations with three of Bing’s friends. Nobody knows anything. Neither Bing nor Hunter confided in anyone. They gave us a few ideas of places they’ve hiked or explored, but that was the extent of the suggestions.
Pulling into the school lot, I park and turn off the engine. Dominique’s out before the last shudder. I follow. We go toward the gymnasium where kids are busying themselves with dance-related jobs.
“This was a good idea. I saw Trevor. He just went inside,” she says.
We make it to the door and wind ourselves past the tables set up and the beverage and snack posts.
“There he is!” Dominique says, walking faster.
We reach Trevor’s side, and he’s surprised to see us.
“Hi, Trevor,” she says. “We want to talk with you.”
“Hi.”
“Bing hasn’t returned from his walk yet. He and Hunter took off early this morning, and I expected him back by now. Do you have any idea where he could be?”
Trevor looks like he doesn’t know whether he should reveal what he knows or not. He’s weighing his choices. That’s when I chime in.
“It’s important because he might be too late to set up. Maybe you guys won’t be able to perform. I mean, you need the base guitarist and lead singer, don’t you?”
A look of panic passes over Trevor’s face. He’s about to say something when Beth and Frankie interrupt.
“Hi, Doctor Grant!” Beth says. “This is my cousin, Frankie.”
The young girl looks shy. “Hello.”
“Call me Dominique. You too, Beth. We were just asking Trevor if he knew where Bing and Hunter are. Do you know, by any chance?”
They look genuinely innocent. “No. I don’t, do you, Frankie?”
