Marcia Talley: Dead Man Dancing

Tears trickled down Eva’s cheeks as she stroked the doll’s hair. ‘Poor Pastor Barbie, I treated you very shabbily.’ She smiled across the table. ‘Thanks, Hannah, for saving her for me.’

Eva tucked Barbie back in her comfortable bed of bubble wrap. ‘It’s back to the office for you in the morning.’ And almost in the same breath, she said, ‘Want to stay for dinner?’

‘I can’t tonight, sorry. Ruth’s got her cast off, so Hutch has invited us to Dance Night at the Davidsonville Dance Club. Cast of thousands, but I haven’t been dancing since… well, since Jay was still alive. I find I’m looking forward to it.’

Later that evening, seated in a family group at the end of a long table at the popular dance hall in Davidsonville, Hutch stood up, raised a glass of wine and shocked us all. ‘A toast! To my wife, Mrs Gaylord Hutchinson.’

Hutch winked, and shot me a goofy grin. ‘I told you I was going to do something constructive with the time I set aside for Shall We Dance? ’

‘What? When?’ Daddy sputtered.

‘Ruth and I were married this afternoon at the County Courthouse.’

Ruth beamed at her new husband, and then turned the brights on us. ‘I said the hell with the flowers, the cake and the dress. Screw the hotel and the band! I have everything I need right here.’

Remembering the Bridesmaid’s Dress from Hell that I was obliged to wear when Connie married Dennis, I couldn’t have been happier about the dress part, either.

‘And Maya Tulum was more than happy to move up our reservations, so in two days, we’re off to the Yucatan!’ Hutch added.

Hutch took Ruth’s hand, raised her gently to her feet, and led her out on to the dance floor. I watched them waltz happily away.

I listened to the music for a bar or two. ‘I don’t recognize that tune. Do you, Paul?’

Paul slipped his arm around my shoulders. ‘It’s called ‘Lost in the Darkness’ from the musical Jekyll & Hyde . Come on.’

He grabbed my hand, tucked it under his arm, and led me out to join the others on the floor. While we waltzed, Paul hummed and dum-de-dummed along with the music as if he were unsure of the words, but toward the end of the song, he began to sing softly in my ear, ‘I’ll never desert you, I promise you this, Til the day that I die.’

I smiled up at him, and his lips found my mouth, and for one magic moment we danced completely alone.

MARCIA TALLEY is the author of four previous books featuring Hannah Ives. A winner of the Malice Domestic writing grant and an Agatha Award nominee for Best First Novel, Ms. Talley won an Agatha and an Anthony Award for her short story “Too Many Cooks.” She is the editor of two mystery collaborations, and her short stories have been published in numerous magazines and anthologies. She lives with her husband in Annapolis, Maryland. You can visit her website at www.marciatalley.com.

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