Chapter 66

They laugh and begin to slow dance. Nadine suddenly realizes how hard this must be for Eddie; who has been avoiding her in order to keep from hurting so much. "By the way, Eddie; thanks for going along with this. I know it must be hard for you to…well…because…" she pauses briefly to collect her thoughts. "Anyway…I know Adele set this whole thing up and probably made you…" "Actually; when I found out that you were picked to be Prom Queen…well…I kinda asked Adele if I could be Prom King." Eddie nervously smiles as Nadine blushes while delivering a coy little smile. "Wait. So…you wanted to be Prom King…and dance with me?" "Yeah…um…I kinda like you, Nadine…I mean I do like you…Nadine. I've always liked you." He somberly glances to the ground as he admits, "I just wish that I would've had the nerve to tell you sooner…so we could've danced before." "You know what, Eddie…Mr. Trudeaux once told me that we shouldn't waste time with past regrets. That we should…well…Carpe diem." Eddie gets a baffled look on his face as he struggles to repeat, "Car-pay…?" Nadine smiles. "Just dance with me, Eddie." Nadine leans closer into Eddie; who, out of concern to make sure he doesn't hurt her, makes a conscientious effort to use extreme care while holding her frail, diminutive body. And as his biggest fear comes to be, he doesn't care; all he wants to do is keep on dancing with Nadine. So, Eddie goes on dancing with her as he begins to quietly cry while holding her in his arms; wishing that he'd never have to let go of her. And although she told him not to think about his regrets, Nadine's beginning to lament a little herself. She had spent all these years voluntarily remaining single…despite having plenty of willing suitors asking her out…waiting for ‘Mr. Right'; when ‘Mr. Right' was standing in front of her all along. Eddie. Eddie Cooper was ‘Mr. Right'…and she never realized it before. Yes, she always liked Eddie; he was a good friend. But if she would have just taken the time to look a little closer…to allow the possibility…maybe they could have spent that time together as a couple. To go out on dates. To dance before. She leans in even further, pressing herself against Eddie as far as she possibly could; wishing that this dance wouldn't end. As the dance continues, Cheryl and David have their arms around each other sentimentally watching their daughter's first…and last…romantic dance. Adele watches this all go on; smiling proudly. There was one other person who would also have been in attendance at the Wilson-Martin Junior Prom that evening had it not been for a devastating turn of events which began a couple of days prior. While napping in her bassinet outside, Leah VanCleef's baby sister had been bitten by a deer tick; which had transmitted Rocky Mountain spotted fever to the infant. The night of their prom, Leah VanCleef was home praying to God to allow her sister…who was burning up with a fever of close to 110 degrees Fahrenheit; and quickly succumbing to the disease…to survive and become well again soon. Tragically, two days following what was probably one of the best nights of Nadine Martin's life…little Elizabeth VanCleef died. The day of the funeral, a heartbroken Leah is grieving all by herself in the front pew of the church, morosely looking upon the tiny casket, when her mother comes up from behind and gently taps her shoulder. She doesn't say anything, but gestures for Leah to look towards the back of the room. When Leah turns around, tears begin flowing from her already wet, misty eyes. She can't believe what she's seeing. Adele and Corrine are assisting a very weak Nadine, as she uses a walker to support herself upright while slowly shuffling her feet to gradually move down the aisle. Sarah, Trish and Janice are walking close behind them. When Nadine heard that her baby sister died, she insisted that they should go. And just like when Leah had apologized to her that day in front of Christy and her followers… though done mostly for Leah's sake with much sincerity…Nadine also has an underlying ulterior agenda for their presence today. Her own death is imminent, and one day soon she'll be the one lying in the casket. Adele had never been to a funeral before…not even her Grandpa Joe's; because Estelle thought it would be too much for her to handle…and Adele had admitted to Nadine that she was nervous about going to hers. Nadine feels this would be a good test for Adele.