Page 144

“A very good dream then,” he decided.

Her fingers played with the curls falling over his brow and he nestled into her arms. “I wish I would dream about Jenni. Juan and Jason did, but…I look for her in my dreams but never find her. ”

“You will,” Travis promised. “Maybe she has nothing to say yet to you. You know Jenni. She’s probably distracted watching over Jason and Juan and expects me to take care of you. ”

“True, but I miss her. ”

Travis kissed her brow softly. “I miss her, too. She was amazingly brave. ”

“Or stupid. ”

“She did the right thing. We both know it. ” Travis hesitated, then said in a gentler tone. “You did the right thing. ”

“I know. I know! But I just hate that she isn’t here anymore. I miss her. I really thought she’d be here for the birth of our baby. I thought she’d be able to give me Mommy advice. ”

“Well, the one thing about Jenni is that she always made choices with her heart. She always did what she felt she had to do,” Travis reminded Katie.

“And that was one of the things that made her lovable even when you wanted to kick her ass for some of the stuff she pulled. ”

“Yeah. I know. She could be exasperating. ” She felt the tears welling up and she choked back a sob. “But I loved her. ”

With gentleness that was soothing, Travis stroked Katie’s hair as he gazed into her eyes. “She loved you, Katie. You guys had a strong bond. It’s still there. Don’t forget that. ”

Katie wiped her tears away and tucked her head under his chin. “I know. I know. But it still hurts and I still miss her. ”

* * * * * Nerit was on watch on the wall when Kevin finally reappeared from his long slumber. Blinking in the bright sunlight, he stood rather shakily, a peanut butter sandwich in one hand, looking out over the town.

“It’s real,” he said with relief.

Nerit smiled at him. “Yes and you’re home. ”

Kevin smiled slightly as he looked down over the town and saw people from the mall moving about, living their lives once more. “It feels great. ”

* * * * * Disco Night was a huge success. The Southern Baptists sat it out, but most of the people showed up in the ballroom. There was plenty of laughter, plenty of beer, and lots of dancing.

Kevin got on the dance floor with Nerit while Bill and Katarina attempted to remember the moves from the old days. Curtis followed Linda around and managed to get her to dance once or twice. Guadalupe and Old Man Watkins sat together, laughing as they watched the kids dance.

Katie sat most of the night in a comfortable chair, enjoying conversations with new friends and old. She didn’t feel like dancing. She had always danced with Jenni at these socials and it felt odd to not have her best friend around.

After awhile, Travis stole Nerit away from Kevin and twirled her around.

The music pounded and thumped and kept people on the dance floor.

It was a good night.

After coming off the dance floor, Kevin sat next to Katie. He had danced with quite a few of the ladies. He was popular with the mall women and the fort women thought he quite handsome. It was good to just sit down for a few and enjoy the music. He joined Katie in watching Travis dance with Charlotte. They didn’t really speak, but smiled at each other often.

Now that their battle weariness had worn off after their long slumber, they were left with just a dull numbness that was slowly ebbing away.

They were both slowly coming back to life.

“Strange,” Kevin finally said.

“What?”

“I didn’t think Bette was gay,” he said, then shrugged.

Katie looked out on the dance floor to see Bette and Linda dancing together. Many women were dancing together. It wasn’t that unusual, but the amazing sparks flying between Bette and Linda were undeniable.