both got happily married to other people, and we're too old for that sort of thing now.”
“Wait…he's here in Golden Grove isn't he?”
“No, no…my goodness, we're happy to be just friends now. This isn't about
me, it's about you, remember?”
Kate leaned forward. “You and Lucius Potter? Oh my gosh, that's so
adorable.” She put her hand on her mouth. “What was he like?”
Carol pointed a finger at her. “Now, Kate, if you tell a soul about this—”
“Oh, don't worry, I won't. Was he cute?”
“Was he cute? Is that all you girls think about these days?”
“Oh, come on. Some things never change, right?”
Carol said nothing but slowly turned beet red.
Kate slapped the table with both hands, smiling. “He was cute! That's so sweet. You and your high school sweetheart. Did Percy know?”
“Oh, Katie, now stop. It was a long time ago. We were just kids, way before
I ever met your Percy.”
“Did Mister Potter—Lucius, I mean—have a mustache back then?”
“No, he did not have a mustache. My point was supposed to be—”
“What was he like? I bet he held the door for you and carried your books home from school.” She almost squealed. “Did you go to the sock hop
together?”
Carol snorted. “The sock hop? How old do you think I am?”
Kate shrugged. “I don't know. Sock hop, mosh pit, love-in—what did you
guys do back then?”
“I think we're getting a little off track.”
“Are you kidding? This is the juiciest conversation I've had in the last month. Maybe the last year. So, did his mustache tickle?”
“His mustache does not tickle—I mean—he didn't have—”
Kate's eyes grew wide. “Does not? You didn't just say that.” She squeezed her friend's arm. “Carol, you mover, you.”
Carol stood up, face still red. “Oh, you're getting me all flustered. Now shush.” She turned and went into the kitchen.
Kate waved her hands. “Okay, okay, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.” She got up and followed.
“Well, I should hope so.” Carol rummaged for something in the refrigerator.
Kate realized she had taken the teasing a little too far. “Look, here, just come
back and sit down. Tell me what you were going to say.”
Carol sighed and plopped down at the kitchen table. Kate took a seat
opposite her. “What I was trying to say was if you don't take some chances you
might just miss out on something better than you thought, that's all.”
“What happened with you and Lucius?” Kate said softly.
Carol hesitated. “Well, we were good friends in school. Just like you and Peter. He lived down on the south side of town, down where the bowling alley
is? It was all farmland then.”
“Did he ever take you out on a date?”
She smiled, gazing at the table, flicking a crumb from the tablecloth. “We used to go roller skating in Compton. They had a rink on the edge of town, Rhonda's Roll-a-Rama.”
Kate almost laughed, but the pensive look on Carol's face stopped her. “So
you too were a pair, huh?”
