5432852385743

Which meant exactly what? I went inside to call her and find out.
4
Coach Borman’s mother, who lived in an Abilene nursing home, had broken her hip, and this coming
Saturday was the DCHS Sadie Hawkins Dance.
“Coach talked me into chaperoning the dance with him! He said, and I quote, ‘How can you resist
going to a dance that’s practically named after you?’ Just last week, this was. And like a fool I agreed.
Now he’s going down to Abilene, and where does that leave me? Chaperoning two hundred sex-crazed
sixteen-year-olds doing the Twist and the Philly? I don’t think so! What if some of the boys bring
beer?”
I thought it would be amazing if they didn’t, but felt it best not to say so.
“Or what if there’s a fight in the parking lot? Ellie Dockerty said a bunch of boys from Henderson
crashed the dance last year and two of their kids and two of ours had to go to the hospital! George, can
you help me out here? Please?”
“Have I just been Sadie Hawkinsed by Sadie Dunhill?” I was grinning. The idea of going to the
dance with her did not exactly fill me with gloom.
“Don’t joke! It’s not funny!”
“Sadie, I’d be happy to go with you. Are you going to bring me a corsage?”
“I’d bring you a bottle of champagne, if that’s what it took.” She considered this. “Well, no. Not
on my salary. A bottle of Cold Duck, though.”
“Doors open at seven-thirty?” Actually I knew they did. The posters were up all over the school.
“Right.”
“And it’s just a record-hop. No band. That’s good.”
“Why?”
“Live bands can cause problems. I shapped a dance once where the drummer sold home brew beer at
intermission. That was a pleasant experience.”
“Were there fights?” She sounded horrified. Also fascinated.
“Nope, but there was a whole lot of puking. The stuff was spunky.”
“This was in Florida?”
It had been at Lisbon High, in 2009, so I told her yes, in Florida. I also told her I’d be happy to cochaperone
the hop.
“Thank you so much, George.”
“My pleasure, ma’am.”
And it absolutely was.
5
The Pep Club was in charge of the Sadie Hawkins, and they’d done a bang-up job: lots of crepe
streamers wafting down from the gymnasium rafters (silver and gold, of course), lots of ginger ale
punch, lemon-snap cookies, and red velvet cupcakes provided by the Future Homemakers of America.
The Art Department—small but dedicated—contributed a cartoon mural that showed the immortal
Miss Hawkins herself, chasing after the eligible bachelors of Dogpatch. Mattie Shaw and Mike’s
girlfriend, Bobbi Jill, did most of the work, and they were justifiably proud. I wondered if they still