Elegy

THIRTY-NINE Summer’s End

The lush grass of Bayside Park had been covered in smooth corkboard for easier dancing. Paper lanterns on fairy lights were strung above even though it was still light out. The sun had begun to dip below the horizon, and the sky was lavender and orange, with the first twinkling of stars breaking through.

Just off the dance floor, Harper sat in a folding chair next to Daniel, sipping the punch he’d brought over. An older David Bowie song played from speakers surrounding the park, and Harper watched the people dance.

It was a beautiful night, and one of the last true nights of summer, so the park was packed. It was hard for her to see Gemma and Alex through the crowded dance floor, but she spotted them, dancing pressed together even though the song was up tempo.

Her gaze didn’t stay on them for long, since Marcy and her date, Kirby, had stolen the show. She’d worn black boardshorts and a polka-dot top, but it was clear that the shorts had been chosen because they allowed more freedom of movement.

Marcy was darting and spinning and doing all kinds of moves like she had secretly spent the past ten years as a classically trained dancer. Kirby hurried to keep up with her, but, fortunately, Marcy was such a crazy good dancer that she made him look good.

“Wow,” Daniel said as he watched her spin. “Marcy is intense. Did you have any idea she could do this?”

“No, I had no clue.” Harper shook her head. “I’m starting to realize that I literally know nothing about her.”

“It’s so strange seeing her engage in normal human activities.” Daniel tilted his head, as if trying to get a better look at Marcy. “And she’s dating that guy, too. What do you suppose they talk about?”

“My guess? El chupacabra.”

He nodded. “That would make sense.”

With David Bowie still crooning about monsters, Gemma and Alex broke through the crowd and walked toward where Harper and Daniel sat. Gemma was grinning so wide, it almost looked painful.

“What are you two doing? Are you just gonna sit here all night?” Gemma asked as she reached them.

“I danced. We danced.” She motioned between herself and Daniel. “I’m just not very good at it.”

They had danced, for about half a song, but the truth was that Harper didn’t feel much like dancing. It was taking most of her energy to smile, and she didn’t have much left to pretend to know how to move to the music.

“You can’t sit out all night,” Gemma persisted.

“We’re not,” Harper told her.

“Oh my gosh!” Gemma exclaimed when the song changed to “All Alright” by Fun. “This song. You have to dance this.”

“I don’t know.” Harper was perplexed by Gemma’s excitement. “It doesn’t even really seem like a dance song.”

Gemma had apparently given up on persuading Harper to dance and turned her attention elsewhere. “Daniel. Come on.” She extended her hand to him. “Dance with me.”

“Sure.” He took her hand and stood up, letting her lead him out to the dance floor.

Alex had his hands in his pockets when he looked down at Harper. “So that leaves me and you.”

“We don’t have to dance.”

“Are you kidding me? We totally do.” He took his hands out of his pockets and held his arm out for her.

With little choice left, Harper smiled and took his arm. Once they found a clear spot, he stretched out his arm, then put his hand on her waist, pulling her closer to him. He took her hand in his, and she put her hand on his shoulder.

“You seem to be in an awfully good mood today,” Harper commented. “You and Gemma can’t seem to stop smiling today.”

“I am in a very good mood,” Alex admitted with his easy grin.

Daniel and Gemma spun by, doing some kind of exaggerated waltz that had Gemma laughing.

“Everything going good with Gemma?” Harper asked once Gemma and Daniel had danced far enough away that they couldn’t hear them again.

“Couldn’t be better,” Alex said, then corrected himself. “Well, it’d be nicer if there wasn’t that whole siren thing … but considering, it’s actually pretty amazing.”

“I’m glad. You guys seem really good together.”

“Thank you.” Alex looked genuinely pleased with the compliment, and Harper realized that this was probably the happiest she’d ever seen him. “Now that you’re getting more used to the idea, we can start hanging out again.”

It wasn’t until now, with things feeling easy and simple and like old times again, that Harper realized she’d missed him. She loved Daniel and Gemma, and even Marcy, but it would be good to have Alex in her life again.

Then, unexpectedly, Alex took her hand and spun her, causing her to twirl as she laughed in surprise, then he pulled her back to him.

“It seems like you’ve picked up some dance moves,” Harper said, as they started to speed around the dance floor. She thought he was doing a version of the Charleston, but her feet didn’t cooperate as much as she’d liked.

“I’ve picked up a lot of things. It’s been a long time,” Alex said, and when she tripped on her foot, they both laughed. “Maybe we should try something slower.”

“It’s probably for the best since I don’t really want to break my leg,” she agreed, and grinned up at him. Once they began to move slowly again, she brushed a hair back from her forehead, and he smiled down at her.

“I’ve kinda missed you actually.”

“Me, too,” she admitted.

“I should be going to Sundham for the spring semester, so maybe we can be study buddies again,” Alex suggested.

“That would be fantastic. I’m not doing so well in school so far.” Harper frowned, knowing that was an understatement.

“Well, I’m sure once all this stuff with Gemma is solved, you’ll do much better.”

She smiled, trying to look as confident as Alex sounded. “Yeah. Me, too.”

The song ended, switching over to Agnes Obel’s “Riverside,” which felt much slower than the previous one. She glanced around, looking for Daniel, or barring that, an excuse to sit back down.

While she’d been looking left, Daniel and Gemma appeared at her right, and she turned to see Daniel asking Alex, “Mind if I cut in?”

“Nope.” Alex stepped back, offering her hand to Daniel. “She’s all yours.”

Harper slid gratefully into Daniel’s arms, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Gemma and Alex disappearing onto the dance floor again. She looped her arms around Daniel’s neck, and he held her much closer to him than Alex had.

“Did you have a nice time with Alex?”

She nodded as she swayed with him. “Yeah. How about you?”

“Pretty good. Your sister’s a rather enthusiastic dancer, though.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. And she stepped on my foot.”

“Is it okay?” She tried to step back, so she could see his foot, but he held her close to him, refusing to let her go. “Do you want to sit down?”

“No.” He smiled and shook his head. “I never wanna sit. I just wanna dance with you for the rest of the night. Just like this.”

Staring up into his eyes, it was hard for her not to cry. So she rested her chin on his shoulder and held on tighter to him. His arm felt strong around her waist, but his other hand was up higher, pressing warmly against her skin in the open back of her dress. The stubble on his cheek rubbed against hers, but she didn’t mind.

In fact, she relished it. She wanted to savor every moment of this. The way his arms felt safe around her, the way he smelled of sandalwood, the scrape of his cheek, even the feel of his shirt underneath her hands as she hung on to him.

“I don’t want this song to end,” she whispered.

“I can go talk to the DJ,” Daniel suggested, trying to make a joke. “Bribe him to keep playing it all night long.”

Harper didn’t say anything, but she didn’t let go of him, either. He exhaled deeply, and she felt his breath warm on her neck. He moved his head, so that he could kiss her cheek, then she looked up at him.

He brushed her hair back, burying his fingers in the thickness of it, and his thumb lingered on her cheek. She tried to meet his gaze, but she couldn’t do it. She didn’t want him to see the tears in her eyes, so she closed them.

And then she felt his mouth on hers. His fingers knotted in her hair, and his hand on the small of her back pressed her harder to him. She kissed him back, hungrily, greedily, and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, pulling herself to him.

She didn’t care who was watching. She didn’t care how this looked. At that moment, all that mattered to her was Daniel, and hanging on to him for as long as she could. She wanted to consume him, to swallow every bit of him, so that she’d never be without him again, so no one could ever hurt him or take him away from her.

The song finished, switching to something that sounded far too peppy, and they stopped kissing. Breathing heavily, she buried her face in the crook of his neck. His hand moved to the back of her head, stroking her hair.

“Well, this looks like fun,” Penn said, her words carrying through the music and the sound of the crowd.

“No. Not tonight. Please,” Harper begged into his shoulder. “Not tonight.”

“I’m sorry,” Daniel murmured, his words nearly lost in her hair.

“Can I have this dance?” Penn asked, sounding more like a demand than a question, and then she was right next to them.

Harper looked up and pulled away from Daniel a little bit, so it would be easier to see Penn. But he kept his arms around her, unwilling to let Harper get too far away.

“I’m dancing with my girlfriend right now, so no,” he told Penn firmly. “You can’t have this dance. And before you ask, you can’t have the next one, either. Harper has reserved me for the entire night. She’s actually reserved me all the way until Monday, so…”

“All right, all right.” Marcy came out of nowhere to save the day and moved in between Daniel and Penn. “If you’re really desperate for a dance, Penn, I’ll dance with you. As long as you promise not to try any hanky-panky.”

Penn crossed her arms over her chest and looked past Marcy, her dark gaze locked directly on Daniel. “I’ve changed my mind, Daniel. I want you tonight.”

“Didn’t you hear the man?” Marcy asked. “He’s booked up. Take a number.”

Liv’s familiar laugh came from behind her, and Harper glanced back to see her former roommate hanging on to Kirby. Thea stood a few feet away, looking bored as usual, while she poured herself a glass of punch at the refreshment table.

“Marcy, thank you, but why don’t you go with Kirby before Liv eats him?” Harper pointed over to where Liv was flirting. She appreciated Marcy’s help, but if things were going to go down with Penn, she’d rather have her out of harm’s way anyhow.

“Dammit. He’s like catnip to these witches,” Marcy muttered as she walked off to deal with the situation.

“That’s not what we agreed to, Penn.” Daniel had moved away from Harper so he could reason with Penn, but he kept one arm around her waist.

Penn shrugged. “Well, I’m changing the agreement.”

“You can’t just change things whenever you want,” Daniel argued. “We have a deal.”

“Daniel.” Penn took a deep breath, and her eyes blazed. “If you’re gonna do this, we’re doing it now. Or the whole deal’s off. And you know what that means for Gemma and your little girlfriend?”

He looked away from Penn, staring off at the horizon. His jaw tensed as he clenched his teeth.

“You don’t have to do this,” Harper said when she saw how conflicted he appeared. “We can figure something else out.”

“What’s it gonna be? Do you want to end the night with her dead, or alive?” Penn asked, and based on the way her lips were curving up into a wicked smile, she already knew what his answer would be.

“Harper.” He shook his head, then looked down at her. “I’m sorry. I have to go.”

“No, Daniel, you don’t,” she insisted. “You don’t have to do this.”

He put his hands on her cheeks, cradling her face. “We talked about this, okay? I love you.”

“Daniel.” Harper was pleading with him as tears welled in her eyes.

“I have to do this, so just kiss me and let me go,” he said.

She kissed him, and she could taste the salt from her tears on his lips. “I love you. Please come back to me.”

Daniel didn’t say anything to that. He didn’t even look at her again. He just turned and walked away, moving through the crowd and disappearing off the dance floor, but Penn didn’t follow right away.

“Liv, Thea!” Penn shouted, and they turned to look at her. “Make sure nobody follows or interferes. You hear me?” Then she smiled and did a small wave. “Bye-bye, Harper.”

As Penn left, the crowd parted for her like the Red Sea, and she could see Daniel again. Penn’s convertible was at the edge of the park, and he was standing beside it, waiting for Penn to come and take him away, and the only thing Harper could do was watch.