Free It Had To Be You by Janice Thompson Page B

dismissed the idea. “Oh, I’ve been seeing Terrell Buell again. You remember him, Bella? You met him at the Fourth of July picnic, I think.”
    “Oh, that’s right.” I vaguely remembered the older man with the soft skin and vivacious twinkle in his eyes. If memory served me correctly, he was sweet on Twila back then too, but she had passed off the idea as unrealistic. I had to wonder what had changed, if anything.
    “Poor Terrell’s been after me for years,” she explained with a shrug. “Never really spent much time thinking about the possibilities … till lately. There’s something about almost getting swept out to sea that puts a whole new spin on things.”
    The Splendora trio had been on a cruise ship a couple months back when a storm hit. The event had rocked them— literally and emotionally. Looked like it had also caused Twila to rethink her love life. Only, today she seemed to have eyes for our band members. Probably not a good thing, with Lilly looking on.
    “Tell the truth, hon,” Bonnie Sue said with a nod. “You’re just skittish because of Terrell’s last name. You don’t want to be Twila Buell.”
    “That’s a bunch of Buell, Bonnie Sue!” Twila said, then slapped her knee. “Get it? A bunch of ‘bull’?”
    Everyone in our circle erupted in laughter. Well, all but Jolene. She sighed and closed her eyes, listening to the band play. “There’s just something about the saxophone that makes me swoon,” she said in a dreamy voice. “It casts a spell on me. I can’t explain it.”
    “She’s always been a sucker for the sax,” Twila said. “I had to hold her back on our last cruise. Every time the band would start to play—”
    Jolene’s eyes popped open. “Don’t you dare tell that story, Twila. It’s no one’s business. Besides”—her eyes narrowed— “I thought we had an understanding: ‘What happens on the cruise ship stays on the cruise ship.’”
    “True, true,” Bonnie Sue said. “We did agree to that, didn’t we.” She began to sway with the rhythm of the music. “Oh dear. Oh dear.”
    “What is it?” I asked, looking her way.
    “Sorry, Bella, but I just can’t help myself.” Her toes took to tapping, and her face lit into a smile. “Whenever I hear swing music, I just lose all of my inhibitions. I have to dance. Do you mind?”
    “W-what?” I watched, mesmerized, as she headed to the dance floor and began some rather complicated dance steps. “Bonnie Sue is the swing dance champion of Montgomery County,” Twila said with a nod. “There’s no stopping her when the band starts to play, trust me. She just can’t seem to help herself. But, then again, that’s what dancers do. They dance.”
    Who knew?
    “I need a partner!” Bonnie Sue turned to my uncle. “Hmm.”
    Laz raised his cane as if to ward her off, so she shifted her attention to Emilio. Francesca took a firm hold of her husband’s arm, driving her message home. At this point, a determined Bonnie Sue reached to grab Sal by the hand.
    I wish I’d had a video camera in hand as she pulled him to the center of the dance floor. The expression on his face was worth a million bucks. She took him by the hands and began to move back and forth, side to side, in some snazzy swing moves.
    “Come on, Sallie!” Gordy called out over the microphone. “You used to be the best dancer in Atlantic City back in the day. Remember all those nights at the Blue Velvet? Show her what you’ve got!”
    I could hardly believe my eyes when Sal shifted into swing dance mode. Bonnie Sue let out a whoop as she turned back to her friends. “Can you believe this?” she hollered, and then went back to dancing.
    Actually, I couldn’t believe it, and I wondered if the paramedics would either, once they arrived. Ushering up a silent prayer for Sal’s safety seemed the most appropriate thing to do. Sal was hardly fit to be dancing like this. The man was recovering from a stroke, for Pete’s sake. I reached for my