“I’m so sorry.” Though Annie rubbed Nora’s shoulder and said as many encouraging things as she could think of, she couldn’t quell a sense of exhilaration: Raj was no longer engaged. Hope returned to life: a ridiculous and selfish hope, she knew, but she couldn’t help feeling it. All at once she adored Nora, adored everyone.

“I’m going to be an old maid,” Nora declared miserably.

“No, you won’t.” Shifting her chair closer, Annie put her arms around her friend’s neck. “If I were a boy I’d marry you right now. You’re wonderful and beautiful and scrumptious and delicious and gorgeous.”

Nora squirmed and finally laughed as Annie gently bit her ear. Annie released her and they both looked out at the crowd. Miss Kelly was dancing with Jimmy Messinger, the boy mirroring as best he could her strange, jerky movements. Raj was teaching a bunch of the little children a bizarre dance. Squealing with delight, they all flapped their arms, rolled their heads, wiggled their behinds, and shook their legs out. Nora’s mom danced with her husband in as dignified a manner as she could, though she had to bend almost double to accommodate his considerable belly.

Annie leaned over to Nora. “Is your dad still being weird to you?”

“That’s all over now.”

“Did you talk to him?”

Nora nodded.

“What did he say?”

She shrugged. “It’s over now. He won’t do it again.”