After the Reunion by Rona Jaffe Page B

excited she was. It was going to be an adventure. There was just enough time to wash her hair. She wondered where they were going. Some dump, probably, where no one would find them. She was glad that she looked well in jeans, and changed her sweater twice before finally deciding on a silk shirt. She hummed along to the music on the radio while she put on her makeup. Then she called Alexander in the country to be sure everything was all right. He said it was, and that he was having drinks on the terrace with his weekend guests.
    Chris heard the crunch of tires on the gravel outside her front door. “Oh, then I don’t want to keep you,” she said lightly. “Goodnight … I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” Her heart turned over at the deception. What deception? That she hadn’t said she was rushing off to have dinner with someone? Alexander knew she was having breakfasts, lunches, drinks, and dinners with people all this time. What in the world was she feeling guilty about?
    As she ran to Cameron’s car she heard the sound of music drifting over from the pool area where the party was in progress. He was alone, and he smiled at her as she slid in beside him. “You look very pretty,” he said.
    “Thank you.”
    The car sped off down the road into the desert evening. There was soft music on his car radio, too; but something old, from her past, from one of the many college dances she’d never gone to. She glanced at him and realized she was unaccountably nervous. He looked freshly shaved and smelled faintly of lime cologne. His shirt was crisp and white, and he was even wearing a silk scarf knotted around his neck like a cravat. For some reason she found it touching that he’d gone to these preparations for her.
    “Where are we going?” she asked.
    “An oasis.”
    It was. Off the highway, in the middle of the desert, with not a shopping mall to be seen; the sky filled with big stars like glittering flowers, the scent of sagebrush rising around them, the mountains dark purple shapes in the distance; a very clean little restaurant surrounded by palm trees. Inside it was cool and dimly lit, with nice leather booths. Cameron ordered a bottle of wine.
    “How did you find this place?”
    “It’s famous,” he said.
    “Oh.” She who had always had a million things to say to this man, or to anyone, couldn’t think of a thing to say. She who had been on only one date in her entire life, except for Alexander, felt like a girl on a date. She busied herself with reading the menu, so he wouldn’t sense how totally at a loss she was.
    “What do you think you’re going to have?” he asked comfortably.
    “The barbecued chicken,” Chris said, because it was the first thing she saw. She thought if she ate anything at all she would probably choke.
    “Cheers,” he said, raising his glass, and drank.
    “Cheers.” She sipped the wine. Did Annabel feel this way when she was starting an adventure ? Of course not; Annabel was never nervous. And besides, Cameron wasn’t one bit interested; she was just somebody who was fun to have dinner with. Well, hardly fun tonight, just sitting here trying not to look at him.
    And then she noticed his hands were shaking, just a little.
    The young Chris, the one who had been known for her sharp-tongued honesty, would have said: I don’t do this. Do you fool around, and if so, why are you so nervous? Or are the people who don’t fool around the ones whose hands shake when they start to think of it? But this adult Chris, who moved smoothly through her world and Alexander’s, never said things like that.
    He must think she was boring tonight. He was probably sorry he had thought of this escapade and wished they were back at the party. She couldn’t move; she felt as if she were melting.
    “Enjoy your dinners,” the waitress said, putting huge platters of steaming food in front of them.
    “Thank you,” they both said in unison.
    And then he started to talk. Chris was so relieved and grateful