She was gorgeous. And she was his statue come to life. Exactly the same, except she didn’t wear the skimpy bikini top. She had on a t-shirt with some business name on it.
What name had she said during her introduction? Beverly? No, that wasn’t right.
Two old women each pinched his butt. Since they were so familiar, he stopped to ask them about her.
“What’s the hula dancer’s name?”
One cackled a rough laugh. “There’s lots of hula dancers tonight, sweetie.”
He shook his head and worked to control his impatience. “You know. The one on the platform.”
The other woman smiled slyly. “Quite a beauty, isn’t she? That’s our Bonnie.”
The women moved off to an empty spot at the side of the crowd, bumping hips and giggling like teenagers. What they’d said hit the nail on the head. Bonnie was gorgeous. If he remembered it right, her name meant pretty.
She couldn’t be better named. Her ocean of blonde waves moved along with her as she taught the crowd to hula. He watched, entranced, as she giggled at the results as the people around him tried to rotate their hips.
Finally, he stood in front of her at the platform made from rough boards and plywood. Next to it on each side, a tiki torch burned next to a plastic palm tree. The setting looked very small-town like and perfect for her. This woman oozed the innocence of country-living, right down to her barely tanned skin. No visits to a tanning salon for this lady.
A man wearing a red and yellow Hawaiian shirt made eye-contact with him. The guy stopped strumming the ukulele and grinned. Leaning down, he winked in JT’s direction.
“Mrs. Claus said to expect you. Didn’t waste any time getting here, did you? We just started playing.”
JT knew his mouth gaped. He forced it shut before clearing his throat. What to say to that? How could anyone be expecting him?
Looking at the band leader, JT shrugged his shoulders. “Nah. Can’t be me since I decided at the last minute to come.”
“Sure you did, man. And I’m Santa Claus.” He roared a loud laugh before turning to the other band members. “It’s time guys.”
The band members stopped playing suddenly, as if someone unplugged them from a wall socket. Then, the leader pulled on the mic stand to drag it close.
“Change of pace, everyone. Time for a little Elvis music and a couples’ dance. And speaking of Elvis…”
The crowd roared as The King himself stepped up onto the platform. JT shook his head, trying to clear it. That man hadn’t come through the crowd. No one could miss an Elvis impersonator dressed in that famous white jumpsuit.
Elvis held up one hand as he gripped the mic with the other. “Thank ya. Thank ya very much.”
Then The King turned to the band and signaled. JT expected to hear music twang from the steel guitar. So, the words from the impersonator surprised him.
“Before we play a little Blue Hawaii for you, let’s give Miss Bonnie here a round of applause.”
Whistles and clapping erupted from the crowd. Elvis let it continue for about a minute then worked to grab the crowd’s attention again.
“Miss Bonnie, I’ve picked a special man out of the crowd for you to dance with. I hope you’ll show a little Oak Grove hospitality to our newest resident, Gus Granger’s boy.”
The man was a dead ringer for Elvis. His speech sounded exactly like recordings JT had heard of the famous singer. How could a town like Oak Grove afford such a high-quality entertainer?
At Elvis’ words, the blonde hula dancer blushed and moved to the edge of the platform. As she crossed the few feet to him, shyness gripped JT. Kind of like a boy on his first date. His hands even shook as he held them up to help her down.
Elvis’ voice prodded Bonnie. “Go on there, little lady. Show that boy a little sugar.”
Bonnie’s blush flamed as she leaned forward, placing small, warm hands on JT’s shoulders. He encircled her waist with his own shaking hands. A zing of awareness had him meeting her eyes. He witnessed dazed shock mirrored in her face as he lowered her slowly.
“Shall we dance?” What a dumb first line! He willed his stunned mind to find a better one even as he said the words.
The blonde vision giggled nervously. “There’s no music!”
Even as she said it, guitars twanged out the opening cords as Elvis’ mellow voice crooned the words to Blue Hawaii. “Night and you, and blue Hawaii…”
With Bonnie’s hands still on his shoulders, JT kept his own at her waist as they began to sway to the music. Without thinking, JT began singing along. This had been one of Ma’s favorite movies, after all, so he knew the words by heart.
“Things come true in blue Hawaii—”
At her soft laugh, he broke off. “I’m sorry. I don’t usually sing to women.”
Looking up as she moved her hands to his waist, Bonnie’s unpainted pink lips curved into a smile. “I like it. Don’t stop just because you’re embarrassed.”
Good thing it was night. By the heat, JT knew his face was bright red. Forcing his breath out slowly, he released it to answer her. “No, I’d rather talk to you than sing.”
“Okay. So tell me your name.”
If his hands weren’t around her waist, JT would slap his forehead. He’d decided this was the girl he’d marry and she didn’t even know his name!
Proud that he managed to form words without stuttering his embarrassment, he softly apologized. “Sorry. I definitely don’t sing to women who don’t know my name.” Unable to help it, he smiled at her stupidly.
When he didn’t say anymore, Bonnie prodded him. “Well?”
“What?” Her question pulled him from the daze. Touching this woman seemed to put him into one.
