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Why Do Fools Fall in Love?
Prologue During the girls’ senior year of high
school… “All right, Trixie. I’ll call Honey
later on and work out the details. It isn’t a problem for me…I don’t know,
Trix. Why don’t you ask him yourself?” Brian Belden handed the phone to his
red-haired roommate. “Hey, Shamus!” Jim cheerfully greeted. “What’s up?” “Jim!” Trixie squealed in delight. “Please say you can!
You’ve just got to! You will, won’t
you, Jim? Please say you will!” Jim chuckled. “I can’t give you an answer until you ask me
the question.” “Oh, sorry,” she said sheepishly. “I’m
so excited that I forgot you didn’t know. I have the most important news!
Because of some scheduling problems, Mr. Stratton had to change the date for
prom. Oh, say that you can still go, Jim!” Jim’s heart sank. “I don’t know, Trix,” he murmured. “I
really had to do some juggling to be able to make it on the original date.
When’s it going to be now?” “Instead of May fourteenth, it’ll be April twenty-third. Can
you make it?” “The twenty-third?’ Jim took a look at his calendar, and then
shook his head in disappointment. “Trix, I’m booked up for every Saturday in
April. I’m doing some counseling work for one of my classes. I have several
sessions scheduled for that day.” “Can’t you change it?” Trixie begged. “I’ll just die if you
can’t take me to my senior prom!” Jim sighed unhappily. “I’m so sorry, Shamus. You know I’d
change it if I could. But it’s so hectic around finals, and I need these
sessions to get this credit.” Trixie sniffled, and he could tell she was fighting tears. “But Brian is coming in to take Honey,
and Mart is coming in to take Di,” she pointed out. “But they don’t have school projects that can only be done on
the weekends,” Jim reminded her gently. “Couldn’t you skip it just this once?” “As much as I’d like to, I can’t. Could Dan possibly fill in
for me?” “I don’t want to go with Dan!” Trixie moaned. “I want to go
with you! Besides, Dan’s already going with Patty Morris. Oh, please, Jim!
This is the most important dance of my whole life!” Jim wearily rubbed his temples. He hated to deny Trixie
anything. “I wish I could, Trix. But there’s just no way. Maybe Nick Rob—” “I don’t want to go
with Nick Roberts or anyone besides you, for that matter! I’ve gone to every
dance with you, Jim Frayne, and I
want to keep it that way!” “I know, Trix. If there was anything I could do to change it,
I would. But I really need this
credit. If I’m ever going to start my school—” “All you ever think about is your stupid school!” Trixie
cried. “You never have time for me or the other Bob-Whites! I-I-I’m beginning
to think you don’t care about me at all.” After a long silence, Jim said, “I hope you don’t mean that,
Trixie. That school is my dream, but it’s not more important than my
girl…than my friends.” “I’m sorry, Jim.” Trixie sniffed back another round of tears.
“I’m so horribly selfish. I know how you need to get your degree so that you
can build your school. I’m just upset about the prom, and I stuck my foot in
my mouth like I always do. Please say you’ll forgive me?” “You’re forgiven. And am I forgiven for
not being able to come to your prom?” “Y-yes. I might just stay home that night.” “You can’t do that. I’m sure there would be lots of guys
willing to take you to the prom. Just be sure that they know you’re my special girl.” Trixie’s mood brightened, and she giggled. “Well, I might go since I already got my dress,
but if I do, I’ll just go by myself. It wouldn’t be any fun without you, Jim.
Now, I’d better let you get off the phone so you can work on getting that
degree.” “You’re the best, Trix. I love y—, er… I love seeing you when I’m visiting.” “I love…seeing you too, Jim. Talk to you later.” On the night of April 23rd… Jim Frayne rarely broke the speed limit. However, on this
particular evening, he came close to breaking the sound barrier. He had an important date with a sandy-haired detective; she
just didn’t know it yet! His last two counseling sessions had been cancelled,
so he pulled his tuxedo out of the closet, made a quick stop at the florist
for an orchid corsage, and raced home to Sleepyside. Jim looked at his watch as he neared the driveway to Crabapple
Farm. Ten minutes to spare! he thought with a sigh of relief. I hope she hasn’t left yet. He stopped the car before pulling in the driveway, and took a
moment to study his reflection in the mirror on the visor. He straightened
his tuxedo tie and combed his dark red hair. Well,
since I can’t change the red hair or the freckles, I guess this is as good as
it’s going to get. However, before he shifted his car into drive, he noticed a
strange vehicle in the driveway. Jim squinted his eyes and stared as four
figures emerged from the house. Mr. Belden was snapping pictures, and Mrs.
Belden was waving and wiping away tears. One of the figures was Trixie. Even
from the distance, Jim could tell she looked absolutely gorgeous. She had on
an ice blue satin gown. It was form fitting, showing off her curvaceous
figure to a tee. But who was the
fourth person beside her? The figure had brown hair and an athletic build. Could it be Brian or Dan? No, Brian’s with
Honey, and that person’s too tall to be Dan, Jim thought. When Trixie and
her date walked towards the car, Jim got a better view. Tad Webster?! Jim gritted his teeth angrily. He wouldn’t have cared if
Trixie had gone with Dan or Nick. In fact, there were many single guys of
whom he would’ve given the stamp of approval. Tab Webster just wasn’t one of
them. Not only was the former Hawks member good-looking, it was no secret
that he’d always had a thing for Trixie. And who knew what sort of
expectations Tad would have going into the evening. Several couples ditched
prom for a hotel, and Tad seemed like the kind of guy who’d do that sort of
thing. And
goodness knows that Mart won’t keep an eye on her, Jim groused. He’ll be too busy ogling Di all night. And
Brian’s just as bad with Honey, and Dan’s reputation speaks for itself. Jim watched as Tad put his arm around Trixie’s shoulders. She
laughed and teased and didn’t appear to be missing him at all. Tad was
obviously charming her with his wit and sparkling personality. What’s
she doing with that jock, anyway?!
More insecure than anyone knew, Jim
couldn’t help but be jealous of Trixie’s date. Tad had been known as the best
athlete at Sleepyside Junior-Senior High, and he was headed to some fancy
university on a baseball scholarship. Worst of all, Jim had suspected for
years that Tad had a crush on his
special girl and had been waiting for a moment like this. You told her to go with
someone else, Honorable Jim pointed out. But not him!
Jealous Jim hissed. I wanted her to go
with someone I trusted, like Dan, or someone like Nick that I could beat up! Why shouldn’t she go
with Tad? He’s been a good friend to the Bob-Whites ever since he and his
brother Spider returned from Yeah, but he’s got big
muscles, pretty-boy hair, and a cool car! Jealous Jim commented. Jim seethed as he watched Trixie and Tad. Okay, what do I do now? Should I go up to
the house or drive away before anyone sees me? He sighed loudly as he tapped his fingers on the steering
wheel. Well, no matter how happy Trixie
looks right now, I know that she really wanted to go to prom with me. Maybe I
should let her know that I’m here. Convinced that making his presence known
was the best option, he put his hand on the stick to shift the car into
drive. However, at that moment, he watched as Tad pinned a rose corsage on
Trixie’s dress. Afterward, he leaned in, whispered something which made
Trixie giggle. If that wasn’t bad enough, she tossed her curls and sniffed at
him. But the last straw was when she let Tad tug on his curl. “Smack him, Shamus!” Jim yelled out
loud. For once Honorable Jim and
Jealous Jim were in agreement. But to his surprise, Trixie giggled and kissed
Tad on the cheek. All the demons from Jim’s past re-emerged. Suddenly, it
became clear to him that Trixie had never really cared for him. All these
years she had toyed with heart, enjoying his adoration of her. She’d wanted
Tad all along. He was silly to ever think that she could’ve cared for him;
after all, he was just the redheaded stepson. His pride damaged and his heart broken,
Jim opened the window and flung the orchid out of the car. He turned around
and headed back to college, never telling anyone that he’d been there.
I’m ducking from all the tomatoes being hurled by the Nick
Roberts fans. Yes, I think Jim-baby could beat him up. J But IMHO, Jim could take Tad Webster, too!
Jim is just too modest to say that. And I couldn’t help but always be suspicious
of Tad in the books. Maybe that’s because he reminded me of too many
ex-boyfriends. J
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