Cherry introduced herself to Doug’s wife. Who was wearing averyslinky dress.
Cherry ate savory cream puffs and sugared fruits. She ate miniature quiches and cakes. Every time the cater-waiters walked past the back room, the agency people mobbed them.
Doug brought Wallace back to laugh at Cherry, but Wallace sincerely felt bad when he saw her. “I should have told you to wear a dress, Cherry. I just assumed you’d wear a dress—you have a lot of dresses.”
You could tell that Wallace didn’t like the ad agency people. He drifted back to the main room. Doug stayed and drank with some of the older guys, the younger Baby Boomers.
The agency people decided to leave the party all at once, like a flock of birds changing direction. Cherry found herself swept up in their exit, standing at the back of the crowd as they thanked the hostess and waved good-bye.
When they all spilled out onto the front walk, Tom and Cherry hung back. He looked down at her. (He still hadn’tstoppedlooking down at her.) “Can I walk you to your car?”
“Yeah,” she said. “Thank you.”
Half the black SUVs were gone. Cherry’s heels clicked with every step down the driveway. She’d been standing all night. Her feet were killing her.
“This is me,” she said, when they got to her Hyundai.
Tom stopped. He looked up, past Cherry, and ran a hand through his hair. It stayed ruffled.
“Thanks again for extricating me,” she said.
He glanced behind him. “Anytime. Just call me when you’re in an uncomfortable situation, and I’ll come in with a helicopter.”
“Maybe I’ll see you at work?”
He frowned, squinting out into the street. “Probably not. Our CEO doesn’t trust us in your building.”
“That’s too bad. We have a really nice cafeteria.”
“So I’ve heard.”
“I could probably get you in.”
Tom nodded. He’d turned his whole head away from her. His shoulders were turning, too.
Cherry wasn’t sure what was happening. Had some spell broken when they walked away from the house? She’d thought that Tom wasas dazzled as she was. (Even if he was onlyhalfas dazzled as Cherry was, he wouldn’t want to turn away.)
“Well... have a good night,” he said.
“You, too,” Cherry said, leaning in the direction he was turning. “It was nice to meet you.”
“It was nice to meet you. Cherry.” He backed up a step, then pivoted fully away from her and started walking.
Cherry stared after him. “Tom?”
He looked back. “Yeah?”
He was already a car length away.
“Can I give you my phone number?”
Tom winced. His forehead wrinkled. “Do you want to?”
“Do I...” Cherry repeated in a confused voice. “Yeah.I mean—not if you don’t want to take it.”
“No, I do. I want your phone number.”
“Okay.”
