He gave her a slow grin. “Most definitely. You look stunning.”
“Thank you.” She smiled. “You’re not too bad yourself.”
He was glad to have found some fancy vintage clothing of his own. Kathleen had helped him select the whole outfit from the store. The clothing she’d set aside for him—high-collared shirt and pleated trousers with leather suspenders—fit perfectly.
When they reached the barn, a volunteer wearing an orange vest waved them off the road and into a parking lot. Another volunteer directed them to a space under an oak tree.
At the entrance, Joe paid, and they each got their hand stamped with the image of a purple star. Judging from the size of the crowd, most of the town was in attendance.
The dance floor was in the center of the barn’s open space below a large disco ball. On one side was a table with snacks and coolers filled with cans of soda, and next to that table, a bar was set up with wine and beer. Behind each table stood an attendant with a cash box, ready to make change.
On the opposite side of the hall, chairs were lined up, most of them empty. According to the signs, soda was a quarter, beer was seventy-five cents, and a glass of wine was a buck. A DJ stood over a record player while Duran Duran’s “Hungry Like the Wolf” blared from the speakers. The dance floor was crowded.
“Do you suppose this is what the barn looked like when Alice and John were here?” Kathleen asked, talking over the music.
He shook his head. “It’s hard to say, but it must have been at least somewhat different. The disco ball is a fairly recent invention, and I’m guessing that pay phone wasn’t here then.”
“I know it’s different, and yet they were here. They walked through the same door we did and came to socialize and dance. They were so looking forward to this evening. But Alice never made it home.” She looked about to cry. “It’s so sad.”
“It is sad.”
“I’m sorry. I can’t seem to help myself.”
“You don’t need to apologize.” Joe leaned close. “Do you want to dance?”
She shook her head. “Not just yet. Let’s get something to drink and watch for a bit.”
After they got their clear plastic cups of wine, they found a table. Kathleen set down her purse and they sipped their wine, surveying the crowd. Even with air-conditioning, it was warm inside, not nearly as conducive for romance as Joe had hoped, but the organizers had really tried. He’d give them that much. The hall was adorned with white twinkly Christmas lights, and banners hung above the refreshments urging the crowd to “Party On” and “Get Down Tonight.”
He and Kathleen were dressed conspicuously different from the rest of the crowd, most of whom wore more casual clothing. Some of the young women wore halters or crop tops. The guys all wore T-shirts, and nearly all of them wore shorts or jeans.
Kathleen pointed out some small children spinning in circles and then gestured toward a teenage girl in leg warmers with her shirt open over one shoulder. “She’s got the Flashdance look down pat.”
Joe puzzled it out for a second before answering. “I have no idea what that means.”
“Like Jennifer Beals in the movie Flashdance? She’s got that look. The leg warmers and the ripped neckline?” Seeing his bemused expression, she said, “I take it you didn’t see the movie?”
“Never heard of it.”
“You never heard of Flashdance? Really? It was a big deal. Came out this spring.”
“Well, that explains it. I was an inpatient at Trendale at the time.”
As they were finishing their wine, the opening notes of Lionel Richie’s “Truly” came over the speakers. Joe took Kathleen’s hand and led her out to the dance floor with a confidence he didn’t even know he had. “Pretty smooth, Arneson,” she said as they began to sway back and forth. “I can tell you’ve done this before.”
He said, “I’ve imagined dancing with you a million times.”
CHAPTER FIFTY
1983
Ricky parked down the street from Kathleen’s house and hunched down in the front seat, watching and waiting and eventually being rewarded when Joe and Kathleen came out the front door. He noticed the weird clothing that pansy-ass Joe wore and snickered. Kathleen had on some odd old-timey dress too, but at least she looked good in it.
While he waited for them to get into Joe’s truck, he double-checked the glove compartment to make sure his black ski mask and handgun were right where he’d left them.