The End of the Rainbow (Hudson 4)

Sarah came in from a late jam session just as I cradled the phone and sat on my bed.

"Why so wan and pale, fair lover?" she asked. "What?"

"It's from a famous poem. You look like you just lost your best friend."

"No, I just heard from Harley, and it's made me a little homesick."

"Oh, your noncousin cousin," she said. I had told her some of my family history.

I looked up at her.

"That's not the look of homesick. That's the look of love," she declared. "And you know what that means?"

"What?"

"You'll have to decide if he's the one and only. When is he coming here?"

"The weekend after next." I said.

"Fine. Leave it up to me. I'll tell you after only ten minutes with him. I have a built-in soul mate detector," she quipped.

"Pewch," I cried at her and she laughed.

As crazy as it seemed and even though we were so different that we could be extraterrestrials to each other. I was growing to like her a lot.

The weekend before Harley was coming happened to be the weekend of our first school dance. Sarah was in the band playing for it. The preparations for the dance were simple. The school cafeteria personnel provided a selection of food and desserts, and there were some decorations: signs welcoming us all to our summer session, some large musical notes and bars that were cut out of big pieces of

construction paper and hung from the ceiling along with some streams of crepe paper. The ballroom always had large portraits of great composers on the walls as well.

I knew most of the boys at the school from previous years. There was no one who had drawn any particular interest from me, but still, going to a dance was something to look forward to, especially after so many days of concentrated work. Sarah had been telling me about a boy she thought was very handsome. His name was Duncan Fields and he played the trumpet in their jazz ensemble. I had noticed him in the cafeteria and on the campus. He was a new student and apparently already very popular from the way some of the girls were fawning over him.

No one could deny he was good looking. He had rich, dark brown wavy hair with strikingly blue eyes and a firm, strong mouth. Even from across the cafeteria. I could see how confidently he smiled and spoke. There was something regal about his posture. although I didn't think he was arrogant.

He had glanced at me a few times in the hallways and while crossing the campus, always flashing that movie star smile with teeth that glittered like tiny mirrors catching the sunlight. However. I didn't think anything special of it because he seemed to look at almost every girl in the school the same way. In my heart of hearts. I thought he was a dream, but not especially for me. It was almost as if he was already reserved for some glamorous destiny to live among the gods and goddesses of film and television and was just passing through the lower world of us mere mortals.

The night of the dance was particularly warm. It began somewhat overcast and the clouds seemed to put a lid on the day's heat, preventing it from escaping and keeping us in an oven, The dorms had air conditioners and so did the ballroom, but the humidity made everything sticky. I chose to wear a camisole peasant dress in a cool Hawaiian print. Mommy had told me it was perfect for casual events. Sarah wanted to look bohemian and did look cute in her black beret, gypsy skirt and off-shoulder blouse with some long silver earrings depicting astrological signs. This time she wore two earrings.

We entered the ballroom earlier than most of the other students because Sarah had to set up with the band. Duncan was already setting up and had started playing his trumpet. He glanced at me over his instrument and wiggling fingers, and I saw his eyes warm and smile. Then, he turned and blew a little of Carnival of Venice, which I knew to be a fairly difficult piece. Everyone stopped what he or she was doing to listen. After a few moments, he paused and shrugged as if that was nothing. Why make a big deal of it? He looked embarrassed by the attention he had drawn to himself.

"You're Burnsy's roommate, right?" he asked me, stepping down from the

small stage that had been set up for the musicians.

"Burnsy?"

"That's what we call her.'

"Oh. Sarah. Yes, we room together," I said.

"Clarinet?" he continued, pointing at me. I nodded. "You're pretty good. I heard you one afternoon."

"I'm adequate," I replied.

"Adequate?' He laughed, "Hardly that. You're a lot more than adequate," he said, his eves drinking me in from foot to head and then back down quickly as he widened his smile. "The only disadvantage to my playing tonight is I won't have all that much time to get to meet people and dance. When I step off for a break. I'd like to dance with you." he said. "Would you save me a spot on your dance card?"

"I don't have a dance card," I said.

"You will," he predicted.