Evidence of Things Not Seen Read Free Page B

name is Marshall Johnson. I’m here to take Leann to the prom.”
    “I’m Leann’s aunt. Jackie.” She reaches out and Marshall shakes her hand. It feels callused like a man’s. It’s strange to hold this hand and stare into a face that looks like an older version of Leann. Then Leann appears. Standing next to her aunt, it looks as if time had split their cells. Neither smiles. Both have that same wariness in their eyes. Except Leann is beautiful. Her blue dress is dusted with silver so that it looks as translucent as her eyes.
    When Leann steps toward him, Marshall sucks in his breath and holds it. He almost exhales an audible “Ahhh,” but he doesn’t slip up. He holds it together as they walk to his car and he opens the door for her.
     
     
    Leann sits straight up. Her back barely touches the passenger seat of Marshall’s car. She reaches for the door handle. She could run back inside. She could tell him she has food poisoning. She could fake stomach heaves. She could …
    She holds on to the cold metal handle. Breathing. Holding on to the door handle calms her. If anything bad happens, she can open the door and fling herself out. Even if it’s moving. When Marshall sits down, she glances over at him. He doesn’t look any different, right? He hasn’t done anything wrong, right? It’s a fake date, right?
     
     
    Marshall doesn’t know what to do. Leann looks a little ill. Should he notice? Should he say something? If he were a boyfriend, he’d say something. What would a fake date do?
    “Oh, I got a corsage for you.” Marshall tries to sound as offhand as possible, pointing at the plastic box on the dashboard. “They’re gardenias. I wasn’t sure what color dress you would wear so I got a white flower. To go with anything.” Only they aren’t meant to go with anything. They are meant for her. He wants her to have those beautiful white flowers wrapped around her wrist all night. He wants her to remember him whenever she smells a gardenia.
    Marshall watches Leann open the box and stare at the corsage. He can hear her take a short sip of air as if smelling the flowers might hurt her. Then it sounds like she stops breathing altogether. Marshall isn’t sure if he should start the car or not. She looks like she might puke. Marshall scrambles. “I hope you like it. It was weird bringing it. I got a little nervous. I worried if you would like it. This pretend stuff started to feel a little real, ya know?”
     
     
    Leann laughs. A short, sharp “Hah” pops out of her mouth. It surprises her. Like the breath she was holding exploded out of her. Her laugh must have surprised Marshall. He jumps as if she had scared him. That makes her laugh more. She loosens her grip on the door handle. She’s glad he’s nervous too. Having him say it makes her relax.
    “Yeah, a little too real.”
    “Maybe it’s the corsage. You don’t have to wear it.”
    Leann takes the corsage out of the box and puts it around her wrist. She stretches her arm in front of her and looks at the bracelet of white petals. “No, I want to wear it. It’s beautiful.”
    “Good. I mean, let’s—I mean, it doesn’t mean anything. They’re just flowers. It’s tradition, right?”
    “Right.” Leann raises the white flowers to her nose, breathes in their fragrance, and leans back onto the seat.
     
     
    Marshall circles the Fred High parking lot, looking for Robert’s truck. He sees it parked in the far corner of the lot. Robert is sitting on the tailgate. The cab windows are open and the twang of Robert’s favorite country and western station accompanies Mary Louise as she twirls around in an empty parking space next to the truck. She looks like a ballerina. Even her skirt is a white net material.
    “We saved you a spot.” Mary Louise stops twirling and jumps out of the way. “Actually, I saved you a spot. Robert wouldn’t dance with me. He thought it was too goofy to dance in a parking lot.”
    “Hell, yes,” says