Taking a Chance on Love by Mary Razzell

It was exciting but a little frightening.
    Glenn Miller’s “Chattanooga Choo Choo” followed “Little Brown Jug.” Bruce started to jitterbug. For the first time, he spoke to me.
    â€œYou know how to do this,” he said.
    I did. All I had to do was follow his lead. He knew exactly what he was doing.
    Soon other couples stopped dancing and stood to watch us. Duke Ellington’s “Missed the Saturday Dance” began to play, and Johnny Hodges’ alto sax led into the melody. Bruce’s grip tightened. I wondered where Glen was.
    I saw him dancing with Anna Hanson. When the Duke Ellington record finished, Glen came over and cut in on Bruce. I didn’t know if I was relieved or not.
    â€œIt’s good to have you back,” he said, as he danced me away from Bruce.
    Around eleven, Glen wanted to leave.
    â€œI want to have some time alone with you,” he whispered into my ear.
    We stopped at the bridge on the way home, leaned over the railing and listened to the water running below. Glen put his arm around my waist and turned me so that we were face to face. His eyes were brilliant in the moonlight.
    â€œI like having you as a friend,” he said. “But I want more. To see that Hanson guy dancing with you … I didn’t like that.”
    â€œGlen, I’m —”
    â€œI need you, Meg. You make up for everything.”
    â€œI
am
here for you. You know that.”
    â€œNo, more than that. I want you to belong to me.”
    He tightened his arms and began to kiss me. It was not the kind of kiss I had always imagined, romantic, loving. It felt too hard, too rough.
    I leaned back.
    He pulled me in even tighter. The moonlight caught his face at an angle, and at that moment, he looked exactly like his brother, Robert Pryce. I stiffened. He began to kiss me again, more fiercely, and I felt his hand start at the bottom of my skirt and move quickly up my inner leg.
    â€œNo!” I said, pushing away.
    He grabbed me back. “Wait, wait! We don’t have to go all the way. Let me touch you. Here, feel this.” He put my hand on the front of him. “I have needs. You do, too.”
    I struggled and managed to get free. I hurried away. As soon as I got around the bend in the road, I started running towards home.
    There were no lights on at my house. I opened the back door and saw my mother standing in the middle of the kitchen floor in a square of moonlight.
    â€œI got up to get a drink of water,” she said, “and I saw this patch of moonlight. It was so beautiful, I had to dance in it.”
    For a second, I saw Mom differently. I thought she would probably understand how upset I felt if I told her what had happened. But she seemed so happy, I didn’t want to break the spell for her.

Chapter Seven

    My bottom-right molar had been acting up for the past month, and now it started to ache with a vengeance. Dad said that I should see a dentist.
    â€œIt’s too bad there’s not one here on the peninsula,” he said. “You could come into Vancouver with me on the Sunday-night boat and see the dentist early Monday. I’ll get you a room at the Castle Hotel. You can have the tooth attended to on Monday and catch the nine o’clock boat back home Tuesday morning.”
    â€œWhat about work?” I said. “I’m supposed to be helping Mrs. Hanson at the guest house.”
    Dad shrugged. “Tell Mrs. Hanson about the tooth. She can do without you for that short a time.”
    â€œThis won’t hurt a bit,” the dentist said, adjusting the mirror strapped on his head. “We’ll have this taken care of in no time.”
    After it was over, Dad gave me five dollars to go shopping. I added it to the money I had already earned working. I spent 57 cents on a feather cut at the beauty salon at the Bay. The Bay was having their July sales, and I found a tailored sharkskin blouse for $2.95, a straight-cut