Improvisation by Karis Walsh Read Free Book Online Page B

assumed she was naturally gloomy and humorless. But the burst of laughter had been spontaneous and genuine—a sure sign there was passion and fun under her stuffy exterior. What problems sat so heavily on her? Tina reached out and gently traced the crease between Jan’s brows. She meant to distract herself from wondering about Jan’s personal life, but the soft brush of Jan’s bangs against her finger made her snatch her hand back.
    “My dad is sick, and I might need to move so he can be near the right VA hospital,” Jan said without thinking. She faltered to a halt. Why was she telling Tina this? One brief, meaningless touch and she was pouring out her secrets? Chloe had stopped her little French lesson and was watching her. Jan hadn’t shared this much with her, and she had known Chloe for two years. Jan shrugged in what she hoped was a nonchalant manner. “I’ll be able to find another job, of course, and I’m lucky to have started my teaching career at a school like this one.”
    “The school is lucky to have a teacher like you,” Chloe said quietly, bumping Jan with her shoulder. She raised her voice to a normal level. “Jan’s students love her, too. And she’s the advisor for the GLBTQ group. She’s been a great advocate for them, and there’ll be several same-sex couples at the prom.”
    Jan could feel her face heat when everyone at the table turned their attention on her. She was proud of her efforts to help the students not only feel safe, but feel included at school. Her own high school wouldn’t have been so accepting, but it hadn’t been an issue for her since her dad had been transferred to a different base, in a different country, toward the end of her senior year. She hadn’t cared about missing the prom, but she had hated leaving Claire, her first girlfriend, after only one short month together. She hadn’t done much dating since then. She didn’t want to fall in love again until she could be sure she wouldn’t be wrested away.
    “It shouldn’t be such a big deal to go to a silly dance, gay or straight,” she said. She wanted to push the focus off her, and Tina seemed to be a good target. “You went to school in Seattle, didn’t you, Tina? Could you be out there?”
    Tina shrugged and stared at the empty glass in her hands. “Actually, I have no idea. I didn’t date in high school, let alone go to the prom.”
    “Don’t tell me a knockout like you couldn’t get a date,” Chloe said in a teasing voice.
    “My mom was very sick from her chemo treatments during most of my senior year. I barely managed to graduate, let alone do any extracurricular activities.”
    Jan felt a sudden, ridiculous urge to reach for Tina, understanding completely how it felt to be caretaker for an ailing parent, but she stopped herself. Instead, Peter covered Tina’s hand. Tina seemed to accept the contact for a brief moment, and then she pulled away.
    “I’m sorry,” Chloe said. “I didn’t know. But it’s never too late. Jan and I are chaperones, so we were planning to go together, but I told her it would mean a lot to the kids if she went with a date.” She paused, and then smiled brightly. “Hey, the two of you should go as a couple.”
    Jan, shocked, started to reason her way out of this mess. “There is no way—”
    “Are you fucking insane?” Tina interrupted, rising out of the casual, slouched pose she had been in all evening.
    “Wonderful,” Peter said, more loudly than either Jan or Tina. “It’s settled. And if you’ll allow me to escort you, Chloe, we can make it a double date.”
    The conversation dwindled after Peter’s pronouncement, but he and Chloe made a valiant effort to keep everyone talking. Jan was caught between stunned disbelief at their suggestion and a crazy desire to laugh at the expression on Tina’s face. She looked disgusted, as if she’d been drafted to swim across a sewage plant, not go to a dance. Jan decided she herself might have opted for the