buttons on his shirt. He’d once mismatched them and nobody mentioned anything until
the last hour of school. He didn’t want to repeat that. The cuffs gave him trouble,
especially the right one.
“Where are you taking her?” his father asked.
“Um. I was, um, thinking about taking her to Applebee's,” William responded.
“Well, that's a fine choice. The food there isn't too terrible,” Daniel told him.
“I hope not,” William said, finally satisfied with the shirt. But the right cuff
wouldn’t cooperate. His left hand never obeyed as well as the right.
His father stood from the recliner and helped with the cuff. “Don't be nervous,
son. You've been around Casey every day since January. I don't think you have to
worry about anything.”
“I know. I just want her to have a good time,” William said.
“I'm sure she will. Just enjoy these moments. You've got nothing to be nervous
about,” he said, putting a hand on William’s shoulder. “It's pretty obvious that
Casey cares about you.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“What time will you be home?” he asked. “I don't want to get woken up too late with
you barging into the house.”
“Casey has to be home by ten so I'll be home shortly after that,” William said,
then added, “Unless I can find my friends afterwards. They may be hanging out at
Dave's house tonight.”
“Well, don't be too late or I may need to start giving you a curfew like your
girlfriend,” his dad said, returning to the recliner.
Satisfied with his appearance, William left to pick up Casey. In the back seat sat
her present. The box was much too big for the gift he picked out, but it was the