used to call bad boys. I tried to talk to her about it once, when she was going out with a married guy. I told her she was worth more than that and he was just using her.”
“What did she say?”
“She said it didn’t matter, that he loved her and he’d promised her that he was going to divorce his wife so that they could get married.”
“But that didn’t happen, did it?”
“No, he ended up breaking it off with Darcy and going back to his wife.”
Lonnie thought back to their high school days. “I don’t remember him.”
“You wouldn’t. Darcy kept it a secret because she knew her dad would have killed her if he’d found out.”
“But you like Darcy, even though you don’t approve of her?”
Kay nodded. “I do. There’s something about her that’s childlike. Darcy trusts everybody and believes anything a guy tells her. I would have offered to take her home to keep her out of trouble, but I’m on clean-up tonight and I won’t get off until after two.”
“Well, you can stop worrying. I’ve got it covered.” Lonnie glanced over at the service bar, noticed that Brian was no longer standing there, and began to frown. “Do you know where Brian went?”
“He said he was going to wait for Cassie and Darcy in the hallway outside the ladies’ room. They must be sitting on the sofa in there, gabbing up a storm.” Kay glanced at the service window and saw that Lenny was motioning to her. “I gotta run,” she said, giving Lonnie a pat on the shoulder. “Thanks for taking care of Darcy for us, Lonnie.”
“That’s okay. I don’t mind giving her a ride home. And besides, we have to stick together. Darcy’s a classmate of ours.”
Kay nodded. “You’re right. And I wish everyone else felt the way you do, Lonnie.”
After Kay left, Lonnie sat there for a while, watching the couples on the dance floor. None of them could have won a dance contest and, judging by the twists and twirls one couple was doing, it was amazing that they hadn’t pulled a muscle yet. If there was any doubt in Lonnie’s mind about the ability of ingesting alcohol to loosen inhibitions, the proof was right there in front of his eyes. It was clear that they thought they were descendants of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers and had inherited their talents tenfold.
The band finished up on a sour note that no one except Lonnie noticed or cared about, and left the stage to grab a quick drink before playing another set.
“Hey, Lonnie,” a voice spoke close to his ear, and Lonnie whirled around. It was Lenny Penske and he slid into an empty chair. “Mind if I sit here for a couple of minutes? I’m on break.”
“Make yourself comfortable, Lenny.”
“Did you drink Denny’s Coke?”
“Guilty. It was plain Coke, wasn’t it?”
“Sure was. Didn’t Kay tell you?”
“She told me. I was just checking, that’s all. I’m not on call, but if anything happens tonight, I need to have a clear head.”
“Like . . . you mean . . .” Lenny looked slightly embarrassed. “You mean if something happens with Darcy?”
“No! I mean if there’s some kind of pileup on the road. They’ll call me in and I want to have a clear head if I have to go.”
“I got it. Sorry about that. I should have known better. You’re still going out with Michelle Swensen, aren’t you?”
Lonnie nodded. “Yes, and I’m going over there later tonight. I just want to give Darcy a ride home because Kay didn’t think that Denny was coming back.”
“Kay’s right. Denny won’t be back. I was watching the fight they had and it’ll take him at least a couple of days to cool off. He might even be gone for good. It’s hard to predict those things, you know? You gotta feel sorry for Darcy, though, don’t you? I think she really liked Denny. And except for his temper, he was an okay guy. Makes me wonder what they were fighting about.”
“Whatever it was, it didn’t look good.”
“I know. That poor girl’s got really bad luck with men.” Lenny glanced toward the back of the room, pushed back his chair, and stood up. “And speaking of that, here she comes now. She doesn’t look good, Lonnie. Better take her home soon and make sure she doesn’t try to go out again.”
Lonnie turned to see what Lenny had noticed. Brian, Cassie, and Darcy had emerged from the hallway and were making their