He had a sudden picture of her in leg warmers and poofy eighties hair. He wondered if he would have tripped over his own feet. He wondered why they weren't out there dancing to “Don't Do Your Love.” He wondered if he'd made a
huge mistake.
He'd let Kate go her way once, in high school. He thought it was for the best.
Even though he'd never meant to, he'd hurt her. They were young. They'd heal,
they'd move on.
But here he was, twelve years later, still alone, still acting as if he were waiting for time to reverse itself, to bring back that young love for another chance. And she had come back, and he had fallen in love with her again, and what was he doing about it?
“Tell me another story, Lucius.”
His friend looked at him, then away. Then he said, “There once was a boy
named Peter, who was very nice and very smart. All of the girls in Chem 2 loved
him because he was such a hottie.”
Peter snorted, took a drink of his punch.
“Peter lived in a huge old castle all by himself because he was too afraid to
go outside where the monsters were. The meanest of the monsters was named Kate.”
Peter shot a glance at his friend, then faced forward again.
“Kate was so mean that she tormented Peter day and night. During the day,
she would try to hold his hand and talk about feelings. And at night she would
threaten to kiss him.”
“Is this going anywhere?”
“Give me break. I'm making this stuff up as I go. One day, Peter realized he
was an idiot, and that if he didn't get off his butt and stop being a spineless weasel he was going to lose Kate forever. So, he drove to Chicago, stuck her in
his roaring red Mustang, brought her home, and they lived happily ever after.
The end. How's that?”
“You left out a few details, but…” Peter said nothing for about ten seconds,
then looked at Lucius straight in the eye. “That's the best story I've ever heard.
Can you watch this table of stale pretzels for me, please?”
“Sure thing.”
Peter spotted Dale Schwartz, the Community Center director, milling by the
double side doors, smiling, and rocking back and forth on his heels.
He had a big favor to ask him.
Chapter Twenty-Five
It was the next Friday afternoon, a little after three o'clock. The full contingent of Nitrovex board members was arrayed before Kate around the packed conference
table. Garman already had the account. She'd decided to run the slogan by John
Wells earlier in the week, and he'd liked the idea so much that he'd cancelled the meeting with the other company under consideration. She'd succeeded with her
first big project. It should have been the highlight of her life, but she was still nervous. This wasn't just her concept. These were her actual designs. She'd spent
all week creating them with the art department. It had been the most fun she'd had at Garman for a while, but she didn't have time to think about that now.
She folded her hands in front of her, making eye contact with the faces surrounding her. “Nitrovex is not only about tradition but innovation. Not just about the past but the future. Not just smelly brown chemicals swirling in a big
vat but about materials and colors for the art industry.” That got a few chuckles.
Kate tapped a key on her laptop. The last slide of the presentation featuring
her new Nitrovex logo faded onto the screen dramatically. “So, what better way
to show the industry all these components. 'Nitrovex—The Art of Solutions.' ”
