Evelyn had barely taken a seat at the table with Cheryl when classmate and school principal Cathy Klein gestured for Evelyn to join her across the room. She excused herself with the promise of a quick return. Cheryl waved her off, reassuring her friend that she was, as always, comfortable in Matt's presence.
"Cathy," Evelyn greeted her classmate, "you look lovely."
"Liar." The accusation was tinged with affection. "I have never looked 'lovely' my whole life. But tonight," the principal glanced down at herself, "I think I've cleaned up pretty well." She smiled. "Now you, on the other hand, are going to give Darla a stroke. You know that, right?"
Evelyn gave an exasperated sigh. "You are the third person to say that already. I am not in some kind of competition with Darla Granville Thorp."
"You were. You won." Cathy met Evelyn's blank stare. "You might want to know that the committee voted you Reunion Queen in a secret ballot before the last meeting." She lost the fight not to grin and gave Evelyn a look of pure amusement. "They voted Darla's husband King."
"What?? Cathy, tell me you're joking!"
"Nope. You and Michael Thorp are our king and queen for tonight. And I can't wait for Darla to find out!" The sound of Cathy Klein's unbridled laughter echoed faintly in the auditorium. It was cut short by the sudden twang of an electric guitar tuning and a thunderous drum riff that startled them both. "Oh, I hope we didn't make a mistake hiring them. Dirty Old Sock, indeed." Cathy shook her head.
"Matt's going to keep them in line," Evelyn said. Over time the band that had originally consisted of Matt and his classmates had shuffled new members in and out as the original members became occupied with the concerns of adult life. These new band mates were younger and younger, and their tastes in music louder and louder. For tonight, though, Matt had promised that he would corral them into a playlist that the reunion attendees could enjoy and even dance to, a mix of songs from their high school years and similar songs from the present. He had handpicked this group of musicians. Despite their youth and piercings, that's exactly what they were - musicians.
As if summoned, Matt stepped to the front of the stage. He was dressed simply, in a blue button-down shirt with subtle white stripes. His black linen trousers were expertly creased and fell perfectly across his black cowboy boots. He'd spent the first eight years of his life in Oklahoma; for the rest of his adult life, the specter of the cowboy life draped him like a buckskin vest.
Matt directed a check of the lighting system and watched as spotlights of different colors illuminated the stage. "Solo spotlight," he barked. Instantly the stage was plunged into darkness, except for the spot near the front where he stood. Matt cupped his hands lovingly about the padded microphone and nodded in time to the lazy chords being played by the guitarist. His gaze was directed downward, his thoughts lost in the music. Matt's eyes drifted closed and he leaned into the microphone until his lips were a hairsbreadth from touching.
I often wonder in my mind
If I made a mistake
Cause your soft-spoken spirit
Seems it's had all it can take
Then you look at me and smile
And that's all you have to do
Your eyes tell me everything
And I no longer worry 'bout you
I love to dream about you
And how quiet you love to be
Girl, your perfect silence
Is perfect to me...
Evelyn tore her gaze away from Matt and the spotlight to look at her friend. Cheryl's eyes were wide with wonder and just a bit of disbelief. The significance of the song was not lost on Cheryl and Evelyn nearly wept with joy to finally see the dawning awareness on the shy woman's face. She had all but given up that the pair might come together before they all died. Despite all her urging, Matt would not challenge Cheryl's comfort in hiding among the shadows. Nor could she convince the timid Cheryl that it was not friendship that made Matt's lips curve into a gentle smile each time he saw her. All Evelyn could do was invite the soft-spoken Matt to nearly every event she hosted and pray that one of them would some day say the words that made their attraction real.
... may never know why
Why you happened to me
I may never understand
Just how you set me free
I love to dream about you
And how quiet you love to be
Girl, your perfect silence
Is perfect to me...
Matt's husky voice trailed off. "Okay," he gruffly gestured the band to silence. "I think that's good." He turned his back to where Cheryl sat stunned and covered the emotion of the moment with a series of brusque conversations with various members of the band.
Evelyn did not care that despite Matt's bold overture he and Cheryl stood on opposite sides of the room. The curtain had been pulled back. Neither of them could ever go back to being unaware.
Cathy Klein interrupted Evelyn's thoughts. "Did you know?"
"That Matt was going to finally make his move? No. But I am so glad he did. I had begun to give up on the two of them."
"I meant," Cathy corrected her, "did you know that Matt had feelings for her? Obviously you did. Don't tell me this has been since high school!"
Evelyn shrugged her shoulders. "They could never see what was so obviously right there in front of them."
"There's a lot of that going around apparently." The cryptic remark made Evelyn glance quizzically at her departing classmate. She did not spend a lot of time trying to decipher Cathy Klein's words, she was busy watching Cheryl and Matt try to figure out what came next for them.
After a few moments she became aware of a presence directly behind her. "Michael." The lone word was neither greeting nor warning.
"You knew that it was me."
Evelyn gave a delicate sniff that nonetheless held a wealth of exasperation. "No one else would invade my personal space uninvited like you do."
Michael Thorp laughed. it was a warm, raspy, masculine sound. "I'm glad to hear it."
End Note:
Cheryl Gibbs- Diahann Carroll
Matt Averill - Jeff Bridges
