Alexandra Chamberlain considered breaking Jimmy Keller’s other leg. Perhaps she would finish what the motorcycle accident failed to do—kill him. She had warned him not to attempt the dangerous jump, yet he refused to listen. She was relieved the only damage was one broken leg. Although she was begrudgingly grateful Jimmy had survived the foolish stunt, he’d inadvertently left her without a date for the senior prom.
“Things happen for a reason, Alexandra, even bad things.” Grandma Sarah’s words did little to soothe the disappointed teenager, who stood before the floor-length mirror holding her prom dress in front of her already-clad body. The midnight blue gown, cut from soft velour, had an empire-cut bodice and plunging neckline, revealing a daring amount of cleavage for a seventeen-year-old girl in 1972. Alexandra would not be wearing it now, or so she thought.
It was too late to find another date for the prom. She felt a little guilty over her anger; after all, poor Jimmy had broken his leg. Yet, did he have to be so reckless the day before prom?
“Even our tragedies and mistakes have lessons. You just need to listen.” Grandma Sarah sat on Alex’s double bed and watched her granddaughter hang the prom dress back in the closet.
“And what’s my lesson? I should care more about Jimmy than about wearing a pretty dress?”
“Maybe. Your disappointment is natural. Disappointment is part of life. It doesn’t always go as we expect. But usually, it’s for the best.”
“I don’t want you to think I’m awful, Grandma. Jimmy is okay and everything. He actually thought breaking his leg was cool! He’s an idiot.”
“So why did you agree to go with him in the first place?”
“Because I’m an idiot.” Alex shrugged her shoulders, sat on the bed, and leaned against her grandmother. “And he happens to be one of my best friends.”
An hour later, the phone rang.
“Hi, Alex? This is Ryan. Ryan Keller. Jimmy’s brother.”
Alexandra thought a moment. The older brother, the one in college, good-looking and smart. And he is also my brother’s close friend.
“How’s Jimmy?” Alexandra asked.
“He’ll live. Unfortunately,” he answered with a chuckle. “I’m visiting home for the weekend, and, well, Jimmy tells me he was to take you to prom. There’s a tux hanging in his closet, and I think I can squeeze into it. How about I take you?”
Silence. Alexandra was speechless.
“Come on, Alex. I missed my senior prom. Tommy told me you have a gorgeous dress.”
More silence. Oh my God! Tommy put him up to this! I’ll kill my brother. Ryan thinks I’m a charity case!
“Please, Alex,” he asked very sweetly. “I’ll be able to torment Jimmy for years over how I stole his good-looking date because he was stupid enough to break his leg the day before prom.”
Grandma Sarah was right; even bad things happen for a reason. Four years later, after graduating from college, Alexandra married Ryan Keller. Jimmy was the best man, and Ryan never let his younger brother forget how he’d stolen his prom date.