Roger and Buck stood
outside in the crisp evening air, surrounding the groom who stood
beaming as the other men clapped him on the back and congratulated
him. The heavy smell of smoke intermingled with that of alcohol and
cheap cologne. After ten minutes or so the crowd of men began to
dissipate as they filtered back into the building, escaping from the
cold air which permeated through their tuxedos. The two brothers
took up leaning on the railing as they finished off the stubs of
their cigars. The pair stood in silence, listening to the muted
music and gazing at the starscape as they enjoyed the evening. Buck
took a drag on the cigar and held it for a moment. As he exhaled, he
dropped his cigar and was overtaken by a coughing fit.
Clapping his brother
on the back, Roger asked, “Are you okay?”
“I think so,”
Buck said as he recovered from the attack. He reached down and
picked up the remnant of his cigar. “I though… I thought I saw
something,”
“What did you
see?”
“Eh, it was just a
wild animal, the light reflecting off its eyes,” Buck said,
regaining his composure.
“Whatever you say
bro,” Roger said with a chuckle.
Roger watched Buck’s
hands grip the railing as he looked into the distance, his eyes
darting over the landscape. Roger opened his mouth to say something
when Shirley Sue and Sarah stepped out onto the porch.
“There you two
are!” Shirley Sue said with a grin. “We were starting to wonder
if you got lost out here!”
“We were looking
for a couple of fine gentlemen to dance with,” Sarah said with a
giggle. “Have you seen any?”
The four friends
shuffled onto the dance floor and started to boogieing to ‘Love
Shack.’ “This one is called the grave digger,” Roger said as
he pretended to dig a grave. Sarah giggled and shook her head as she
imitated his grave digging. The sound of Bill Medley’s voice
singing ‘Time Of My Life’ faded in over the song as Roger was mid
stride of a digging motion. Roger, who felt like a deer which had
been caught in the headlights of an oncoming vehicle, stood frozen.
His heart raced as Sarah moved closer to him. He broke free of his
spell in time to take Sarah’s hand and drape his arm around her
back. Roger gazed into Sarah’s eyes as they moved in rhythm with
the music. The pair drew closer together as the song progressed.
Roger could feel the warmth of Sarah’s body seep through his shirt.
Her head rested lightly on his shoulder as Jennifer Warnes’s voice
harmonized with her partner’s. Sarah looked up at Roger. A
brunette wisp fell from the tidy up-do her hair was contained in.
Roger reached his hand up and brushed the lock behind her ear. He
felt her hot breath buff against his cheek as their faces drew nearer
to each other.
The music cut out,
leaving the room bathed in the soft murmurs of the confused
partygoers who looked around dumbfounded. The whole room’s eyes
followed the officer who jogged across the dance floor. The sea of
dancers parted for him as though he were Moses crossing the Red Sea.
“Brady!” the man
said through gasps. “We’ve got a problem. She’s gone!”
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