She was still pretty nice looking for a woman in her mid fifties. Some people even said she could pass easily for forty. She ate right and exercised and lived as simple a lifestyle as possible.
It was the end of June and July 1st would be her 55th birthday. She had two men who were interested in dating her, but she was not really interested in either of them except as friends. One had asked her to meet him at the local dance club to celebrate her birthday, so she had told him she would. She knew the other man would probably be there too. None of them had any reason to be jealous of the others though, so she figured it would be safe to dance with both of them that night.
The dance was a formal one. They only got to dress up like that twice a year. She felt glad to be able to wear a long formal dress though cause it always made her feel so elegant to get all dressed up. Dancing made her feel good too. All too many times, the men who asked her to dance thought they were great dancers but she had no rhythm with them at all. On rare occasions, when she'd go, some nice man would ask her to dance who really knew his dance moves and would keep her busy for most of the night, expecting nothing out of her but a dancing partner. Those were the memories she was most fond.
She bathed, washed her hair and applied makeup. Then she put on her underwear and perfume. She added her stockings and high heels. She dressed in her red strapless formal gown.
Looking into her full length mirror, she smiled, "Not bad for an old lady."
She picked up her telephone and called her girlfriend, "I am ready to go. Are you? Okay, I will pick you up in five minutes, so be ready to go when I honk my car horn. Okay, bye."
She got her evening bag and checked the house to make sure everything was ready to be left. Carefully, she walked out to her car and lifted her dress hem so it would not drag on the sidewalk and driveway. She got in her car and drove to pick up her girlfriend.
Judy Jones was waiting for her on her porch. Susan didn't have to honk her horn, for Judy walked down to the curb when she saw her car approaching.
"You look nice, Judy," Susan told her when she opened the car door.
"Thank you, Susan," Judy replied, "And so do you. That color really makes you come alive."
"Thanks, hon," Susan replied, obviously agreeing with her as she eyed herself in the car mirror.
"So you and Jim got plans for tonite?" Judy asked Susan. "If not, I want to sit with you, okay?"
"He just asked me to meet him here to help celebrate my birthday tomorrow is all. No real plans at all, so of course, you can sit with us. He's fair game. We are only friends, nothing more."
"I see the way he watches you when you get up to dance with other men," Judy said laughingly. "I think he wants more from you than just friendship, Susan."
"I don't think I will ever feel anything more than friendship for another man," Susan said sadly, thinking of how hurt she had been by her last divorce. Refusing to let those thoughts damper her evening, she perked up and they chatted about everything and nothing to the dance club.
It was nine o'clock when they parked and entered the dance hall. They each paid for their own entrance fee. Men lined the hallway and gave them both the once-over, making some kind of remarks to them if they liked them. They both just ignore the men and their remarks.
Susan and Judy entered the dance and both of them searched for Jim. He was dancing with someone, so they would just stand there until the music stopped, then go sit with him.
Someone came up to Susan and asked her to dance. He moved her into his arms and they danced off across the floor with such graceful movements.
"This is going to be a good night for me, I can tell already. Wow, can this man dance or what?" she thought to herself.
Her partner danced with her until the music stopped. He refused to let her go and started dancing with her again when the next song began playing. "Hi, my name is Mark. You are a great dancer," he told her appreciatetively.
She had to admit when she found a dance partner like him, she enjoyed dancing with him tremendously. "Well, when a man can lead and dance as well as you can, it's not hard to follow him," she said.
"And you are so pretty too," he complimented her.
She didn't mind his kind of compliment at all for it seemed to come from his heart. She could sense he saw her as a person, not a piece of meat on a rack for the evening as some of the men there seemed to deem women.
Susan and Mark danced every dance together without sitting down at all. Once she looked over at Jim who seemed to be enjoying himself too, and Judy was dancing with all the men who asked her to so she just kept dancing and enjoying the evening with Mark.
"I really should take a break and go speak to one of my friends if you don't mind," she told Mark.
"Sure, go ahead, but as soon as you are done, I want you to dance with me again for the rest of the evening. Okay?" he told her.
"Okay," she replied.
She knew this man was a lot younger than herself. She guessed probably fifteen years. He was well-dressed in an expensive suit. She was not involved with anyone so why not just enjoy the evening. He was making her feel so special with all his attention.
Susan walked over to where Judy was sitting. Jim came over to sit down too. "Happy Birthday, Susan," Jim hugged her. "Looks like you have an admirer," he was referring to Mark.
"Yes, he's such a great dancer too. I am having so much fun. Do you two mind me dancing so much with him?" she asked them both.
"No, hon, you just go have as much fun as you can handle," Jim told her. Judy nodded her approval.
"Thanks, you guys. Have fun." Susan said and went to find Mark.
Mark had bought them two glasses of iced tea with lemon slices.
"I hope you like iced tea with lemon," he said as he handed her a tall glass.
"Yes, I do indeed and this is hitting the spot for sure," she smiled as she drank it.
When they both finished the iced tea, they continued to dance the entire evening, learning as much about each other as possible.
Mark was single, never having been married. He was forty years old and worked as a stock broker. He had made his mark in the world with enough money to retire on if he wanted to, but he had no one to enjoy life with so why bother?
Susan was divorced. It had been a painful bitter divorce since she had caught her husband cheating on her with her best friend. That was five years before and it was still hard for her to trust a man.
"Trust is something that is earned over a period of time," Mark told her to which she looked at him and smiled knowingly, "That's how I feel too."
Except for the age difference, they seemed to be perfect for each other. But the age difference was something Susan was sure she could not handle.
She took Mark over to meet Jim and Judy. They made small talk, but she could see it in both their eyes, "You are robbing the cradle, aren't you?"
She looked right back at them and lifted her eyebrows at them as if to say, "So what if I am? I am free to live my life as I want."
She never saw the other man she had dated. He must have had another date or stayed at home. Since she had Mark to dance with, she was glad he was not there.
Mark and Susan liked the same foods, the same type music, and same activities. It was amazing how well they matched. She could almost forget they were fifteen years apart in age. Almost but not quite. She had always dated men who were older than she. She just did not have enough self-confidence or self-esteem to date a man that much younger than she. She was afraid when he grew tired of her, he would leave her for a younger woman, same as her husband had done. She just could not shake that fear.
"I need some air," she told Mark, so they walked outside.
It was a very warm evening, even if the winds were picking up speed.
Mark asked her if she would like to go some place and just sit and talk for awhile. She thought that was exactly what she needed so he went to get his car. He told her to wait there for him.
Mark had not been gone but about a minute when she looked up in the sky and saw things twirling in the air.
"Tornado!" she screamed.
Mark must have seen it about the same time, for he came running towards her. There were only seconds until it would be there. He felt he had to protect Susan if he could. Mark reached her and threw her down into a nearby ditch and laid on top of her. All around she could hear total destruction. Mark was smiling at her and telling her not to worry, she was safe. Those were his last words to her.
Almost as fast as the tornado hit, it was over. Someone was picking Mark up off Susan. She could not move at first. Something on her body was just not working. She could feel people lifting her onto a stretcher and being rushed to a hospital. She lost consciousness then.
When Susan awoke, she learned that everyone in the dance club had been killed by the tornado. Mark had also been killed when some chards of flying glass went through him. Susan was injured too, but nothing that would not heal.
Susan cried for her friends, Jim and Judy and Mark, as she would miss them very much, but she realized there must be a purpose for her life being spared. Mark was a real hero! He had saved her life that night, and she would never forget him!
