The Letter - Chapter 38

The doorbell rang.  I called up the stairs.  “Jennifer!”

“Dad, I’m not ready.  Please get the door.”

I walked over to the door and opened it.  A tall, blond young man in a dark suit stood on our front doorstep looking very cold.  “Come in!  Come in!”  I opened the storm door and welcomed him inside. He was carrying a smallish white box which I assumed contained a corsage.  “It’s cold out there,” I said.  Don’t you have an overcoat?”

“No.  My dad offered to lend me his, but the sleeves were a bit short.  Also, I didn’t want to have to deal with it at the dance.”

“Well, I’m assuming that you’re Jeff.  Jennifer is still upstairs.”

“Hello Jeff!” Jennifer called from upstairs.  “I’ll be down in a few minutes.”

“Well, it’s nice to finally meet you, Jeff.  You look very debonair.  Very sharp bowtie,” I nodded at his tie.

“Yeah, I really like them.  My mom said, if you’re going to sport a bowtie, you better learn to tie one.  She thinks those clip-ons look cheap.”

“I’ve been wearing bowties for years – since long before they became popular again.  And I couldn’t agree more with your mother’s low opinion of clip-ons.”

“I got three bowties for my birthday, which is in January.  I figured the red one would be good for this dance, since it’s sort of a Valentine’s Day dance.”

“Well, Jen’s wearing black, so red will definitely go with that.  If football season was still on, black and gold would have been the correct choice.”

“Yeah, Steeler’s colors.  But the Penguins are black and gold too.”

“Well, if it were the Stanley Cup finals, you probably would go with gold.  But the Penguins have got a way to go before they get there.  So you have your father’s car tonight?”

“Yes sir.”

“And Jen’s friend Liz and her date are coming with you?”

“That’s right.  You don’t have to say it.  I will be so, so careful.  My dad read me the riot act before handing me the keys.  ‘Don’t take chances.  Be on your best behavior.  If I smell even a molecule of alcohol on your breath,’ he told me, ‘you won’t drive my car again – ever.’”

“Sounds like you have parents who really care about you.”

The doorbell rang again.  It was Liz and her date.  I let them in.  Liz’s parents followed them in.

“I’ll be down in a minute!” Jennifer called.

“Hi Mr. Leskovic,” said Liz. “This is Michael Lanza.  And you know my parents.” 

Liz’s date extended his hand.  “Nice to meet you, Mr. Leskovic.  Everyone calls me Mikey.”

I shook his hand.  “Nice to meet you, Mikey.  Liz, Mikey, Darla, Jack, this is Jeff Radakovic.”  The two young men shook hands.  Liz was wearing a white jacket over her navy blue dress.  Her curly locks had been somewhat brought under control by an afternoon visit to the hair salon.  She had a wrist corsage with two white rosebuds, accented with navy blue and silver ribbon.  “You look very lovely, Liz,” I said.  Your corsage is very pretty.”

“I hope the rosebuds survive at least until we get to the dance.  It’s so cold out there!”

Jack Henderson said, “Where’s Jennifer?  We’re here to take some pictures!”

I heard movement from the second floor and turned around to see my daughter descend the stairs.  She looked stunning.  Her blonde hair and the string of pearls were a perfect contrast to her simple black dress.

“Wow. Uh, Jen.”  The boy looked shellshocked.  “You look amazing,” Jeff managed to get out.  “Uh, here, this is for you.”  He handed Jennifer the white box. 

She opened the box and pulled out a wrist corsage with two roses.  One was black and the other red. 

“Jeff, it’s lovely.”  She took it out of the plastic bag and put it on her wrist.  “There’s a boutonniere here also.  May I pin it on your lapel for you?”  It was a red rose but the edges had been colored black.  Jennifer pinned it on Jeff’s lapel.

“George, I assume you gave a stern warning to this young man who will be driving our precious daughters,” said Jack.

“And me too,” Mikey grinned broadly.  “He’ll be driving me too.”

“Who cares about you?” Jack gave Mikey a playful shove.

“Jeff, tells me his father took care of that, and I gave him a refresher.  With your comment, Jack, he’s been thrice warned.”

“Hey, everyone.  My dad, the writer, has an article on the front page of the Forum section in tomorrow’s paper.  Buy lots of copies!” Jennifer said.

“What’s it about, George?” asked Darla Henderson.

“It’s another pitch for a little sanity about guns in this country,” I said.

“Good luck with that, George,” said Jack.  “Thoughts and prayers, thoughts and prayers.  That’s about all you’ll get from the politicians who are on the dole from the NRA.”

“We’ve got to keep trying, Jack.  Anyway, read it and let me know what you think.  I don’t want to talk about it now.  I want to take some pictures of these beautiful and handsome kids.  Let me get my camera.”

“Just use my phone, Dad,” Jennifer said.  That digital camera of yours is at least ten years old.  My phone takes much better pictures.”

“You’re right, Jen.  Just show me how to work it.”

We snapped several poses until Liz announced, “We’ve got to go, parents!  Don’t make us late.”  The girls put their coats on over their shoulders and the boys looked miserably cold as they walked out the door to Jeff’s car.

"Bye, Dad.”  Jennifer waved to me. 

“Don’t wait up,” Liz joked as they got into the car.

Jack and Darla Henderson got into their car.

“And you better not follow us, Dad,” Liz yelled out the window toward her parents car.

“Lizzie!  Wind up that window.  It’s freezing!” I heard Jennifer say as Jeff pulled the car away from the curb.  I wiped a tear from my eye and smiled as I shut the door.