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were going?
A party at your house, Grace mumbled, leading her to her
door, which her mother was holding open.
Mrs. Molino? Linda said as she took the front steps two at
a time. Pleased to meet you at long last.
Mrs. Molino took Linda in with one sweeping glance and
Grace saw that her mother wasn t completely pleased. But she
did force a pleasant social smile. Grace is embarrassed at my
wanting to meet you, Linda, but I don t let her get into a car with
anybody I don t know. There s just too much that goes on today,
with drinking and drugs, boys and reckless driving. And you girls
are older than Grace, so I want you to know I m serious about
her twelve-thirty curfew.
Grace thought it would be just fine if she died right then.
Twelve-thirty! Well, then we better be on our way, Linda
said, studying her watch with exaggerated surprise. Don t worry,
Mrs. M. I ll keep Grace out of the punch bowl. Then she flashed
her most Immaculate Blessing-worthy smile. Grace waved to
her mother from the car, slightly stunned that it looked like she
would get away with this.
How d you do? Adele asked once they were down the block.
Had her eating out of the palm of my hand, Linda said.
Right, Grace?
I m really sorry about that, Grace said, her forehead damp.
No problem. How d you say we knew each other?
Oh, I said you were friends with the last editor-in-chief of
Voices, that you used to come to some meetings and stuff. As
soon as the words were out, Grace regretted them.
Ah, the pervasive influence of Joan Sweeny, Adele said,
blessing herself. Or should I say the perverted influence?
Grace settled into the back seat and gripped the armrest.
Suddenly she wished she were at home in the safety of her own
room. What if the bar were raided? She d heard of things like
that. Would they run her picture in the paper? That would mean
she d have to leave school, her father might have to quit his job,
they might all have to move to another state under an assumed
Benediction 193
name.
Adele swiveled around. Hey, she said, don t be nervous.
You re going to have a good time. How can I describe it? It s
sort of like a Sacred Soldiers dance except that everybody dances
well. Adele and Linda burst out laughing.
As they got closer to the city line, the houses got bigger
and more sprawling. Grace registered that the front yards were
landscaped, the shrubbery professionally trimmed, not clipped
with hedge cutters by someone s father. Discreet little lanterns
glowed at the end of long driveways. And the darkness was more
complete, blanketing everything in cozy secrecy. Before Grace
knew it, Linda was pulling the car into a pebbled parking lot
alongside a low white building. When she opened the car door,
Grace could hear the beat of loud music, almost feel it throbbing
in her rib cage. The awning bore the name Oasis written across
it in script.
Come on, we re not going to abandon you, Linda said,
taking Grace by the arm. When she pushed open the front door,
the air was heavy with the scent of cigarette smoke and beer.
For three, Linda shouted over the music, handing the
bearded man at the door some bills. She leaned over to whisper
something else in his ear. When he looked right at her and
grinned, Grace felt her face go scaldingly hot.
As they turned the corner, Grace waited for her eyes to adjust
to the darkness. There was sawdust beneath her feet and a long
mahogany bar stretched into the back. Men and women were
pressed close to it on stools and on foot, laughing and talking. It
looked like any other bar in New York, Grace imagined, except
that on closer inspection, it was the men who were arm-in-arm,
the women who were holding hands or swaying together at the
edge of the crowded dance floor.
What are you drinking, Grace? Linda leaned close to
shout. My treat.
I don t know, I don t usually
Just get her a spritzer, Adele said. Her mother might give
her a breathalyzer or something.
Linda laughed loudly, wrapped her arm around Adele s waist
194 Diane Salvatore
and kissed her full on the lips. A few single women glanced shyly
away, turning their attention instead to the dance floor. Grace
felt her face steaming with embarrassment. Never in her wildest
imaginings did she ever think she d see so many couples like
herself and Meg. Maybe if Meg could see this and know that
they weren t random freaks of nature, she d have the courage to
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