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“Yep!” I brush my hair back from my face. “Just… weirdly clumsy this summer for some reason.”

“At least you didn’t get a concussion that time.”

“Thankfully. Not sure my head could handle another big lump.”

He chuckles and lets go of my elbow. “So… tonight?”

“Tonight! Um. Tonight? Oh, I have plans, actually. Ari and I are meeting up at Encanto. And maybe Jude, if he doesn’t have to work. But Ari really enjoyed that karaoke night and thought she’d give it another shot. I guess she has a couple of songs she’s been practicing.”

“Oh. That’s cool.”

I nod, already feeling like I just made a huge mistake, even if I was telling the truth.

Ari would understand if I canceled on her and… was he asking…

“Mind if I come?”

I stare at him. “You want to come to karaoke night?”

“Not to sing,” he says quickly. “But we could start making plans for this gala of yours. You could fill me in on some of your ideas. I can start making up some posters or invitations or something.” He shrugs, in a way that is perfectly nondescript. Not suspicious. Not nervous. Not awkward.

Ah. Not a date, then.

Of course not a date.

Obviously.

“Sure,” I say. “I’ll bring my binder.”

“Binder?”

“For the gala.”

“You already have a…” He pauses, then shakes his head, smiling lopsidedly. “Of course you do. All right, then. I’ll see you there.”

THIRTY-FOUR

“So,” says Jude, his head tilted to one side as he scans the notebook between him and Ari, the top page scrawled with my list of “Gala To-Dos.” “Venue and rentals, catering, advertising, decorations, AV equipment, auction items, and… an orchestra?” He looks at me, his eyes full of speculation. “And you have how much to pay for all this?”

“Three hundred sixty-four dollars,” I say, tapping the pen against my bottom lip. As an afterthought, I add, “And eighteen cents.”

“Oh, good,” says Jude with an exaggerated puff of his cheeks. “I was doubtful, but that eighteen cents makes all the difference.”

“I think it’s a lovely idea,” says Ari. “So romantic. It will be like Cinderella’s ball!”

“Yeah, sort of,” I say. “Except you have to buy a ticket, and in the end, we save a bunch of seals.”

“Even better.” Her eyes have a glazed, dreamy look. “I want to go to a gala.”

She mindlessly passes out the bundles of silverware wrapped in paper napkins. Me, Jude, herself. The fourth bundle she sets at the edge of the table, next to me.

“I’m sure I can snag you a ticket. I mean, Iamthe coordinator, so…” I toss my hair over my shoulder.

“It’s a trap,” says Jude. “She says she’ll get you a ticket, but what she meansis that she’ll hand you an apron and put you to work passing out hors d’oeuvres.”

Ari shrugs. “I would gladly help out if you need more people.”

I point my pen at her. “I might take you up on that. Right now, I’m still figuring out how much help we need, and hoping that a lot of the center’s regular volunteers can pitch in.”