Page 61 of Clara Knows Best

“I know,” she said, sitting down at the table. He had asked her out! Or, did this really count? She wasn’t sure. No, it counted. “A little eleventh-hour for my taste.”

“Well, he toldmehe doesn’tdoValentine’s Day.”

Jesse brought his pie to the table. “You guys need to talk about this stuff after l leave the room.”

“Where are you going to take her?” Yoli asked him. “I hope you don’t expect Clara Wilder to grab a beer at the Gila Monster on Valentine’s Day. Now, obviously, there’s the Love Fest.”

“The what?”

“The Love Fest. The annual Valentine’s Day Festival.”

“You remember,” Clara urged him. “Think way back. The Moose Lodge puts it on. They’ve done it forever. There’s a tunnel of love with real swans.”

“Oh,” he said slowly. “That does sound familiar.”

“You could win her a teddy bear,” Yoli suggested. “How are you at ring toss?”

“I don’t know. It’s been awhile.”

“And there’s a dance.”

“Jesse won’t dance with me,” Clara put in quickly, watching him for a reaction. “Will you? Will you dance with me? You don’t want to dance.” Then she made herself shut up.

He looked up from his plate and studied her with interest as he chewed and swallowed a mouthful of Oreo pie. Then he took a sip of coffee. Finally he said, “Why not?”

Nine-year-old Clara was fainting again.

“I just couldn’t picture it,” she said with a shrug.

Smooth, Clara. Nice save.

“I get the feeling you want to dance,” he said dryly.

“Of course she wants to dance!” Yoli exclaimed impatiently. “She’s a young girl in her prime! Clara, you better run home now and get a change of clothes, because I know you want to wearsomething pink and swishy tonight and you told your dad you wouldn’t go home later.”

“I can’t go all the way homenow,” Clara protested half-heartedly. “That’d be crazy.” She looked at Jesse for confirmation, because she wasn’t at all sure it wasn’t a great idea. “Right?”

He did that thing again where he stared at her for a while before answering. “Right.”

“Right,” she echoed, a bit disappointed. But, of course, he was right. “I couldn’t be back by one o’clock.”

“I can cover the desk!” Yoli said, beginning to sound irritable. “Go home and get a sparkly party dress!”

Clara looked at Jesse again.

“I’m not your boss,” he reminded her. “Do what you want.”

“You’re supposed to be the voice of reason!”

“Well, I’m not going to tell you not to wear a sparkly dress,” he surprised her by saying, and he sounded nearly as irritable as Yoli.

Her heart swelled, and she jumped out of her chair, put her arms around his shoulders and kissed his cheek. Then she hugged Yoli even harder. “Y’all are the best! I’ll bring you a fresh shirt,” she added as she let herself out the back door.

Only when she reached her car did she realize two things: she’d left without her coat, and Jesse had looked stunned when she’d grabbed him. She laughed out loud, and her voice echoed across the empty parking lot.

“I’m home,” she called, entering her parents’ house. The place was a mausoleum with all the boys gone again. “Please don’t be naked!”

“Why would I be naked? What are you doing back so early?”

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