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She followed him closely as he stepped into the room, trying hard to be his shadow. She braced herself for cat calls, applause, or any other form of so-called congratulatory recognition. But it was unusually quiet in the room. Even the normal animated chatter between Alex and Blake was absent.
“Well, so far so good,” Kenn whispered in her ear.
“I’m not comfortable with it. It’s eerily quiet in here. Something’s going to happen. I can feel it.”
But as they engaged the class in the possible conspiracy angle in the Lincoln assassination, they let their guard down. Apparently, the news had not spread to their students.
The end-of-class bell rang, and she blew out a breath.
“We did it.” Kenn, too, seemed visibly more relaxed.
“So it seems. Considering that other aspects of our relationship have been celebrated here, I’m counting today as a miracle.”
She paused and tilted her head. “Should I light a candle and say prayers for nine days?”
“That’s probably not necessary. But I am giving thanks to some unseen universal force that must be watching over us.”
As the class trickled out, several students approached them. She flinched, absolutely certain they intended to extend anniversary congratulations. Momentarily, she panicked, wondering if she could make a dash out the door without being too conspicuous.No, probably not.She was quite relieved when they were asked questions about John Wilkes Booth.
Both she and Kenn were so engaged in the conversation, in fact, she hadn’t noticed Alex and Blake hanging back waiting to talk to them as well. As soon the other students left, Alex approached her.
“Blake and I want to treat the two of you to lunch at the Physics Café today,” she said. “I think today would be a perfect day to thank you two—and especially you JJ—for everything you’ve done for us.”
JJ’s radar went on high alert. Kenn’s, though, seemed to have been turn off and ripped out.
“How nice. Why of course we’d love to come, wouldn’t we, JJ?”
She nodded slowly, her eyes casting leftward to Kenn then returning to Alex’s smiling face. She pasted on a smile of her own. She barely spoke above a whisper.
“Yes, how can we possibly say no?”
Then she raised her eyebrows and grimaced at Alex, who beamed back at her.
“Great.” She bounced on her toes vigorously.
“Thanks, guys. Blake and I are looking forward to it. Aren’t we, Blake?”
The usual loquacious Brit nodded without saying a word. But JJ thought his face warned of trouble ahead.
“Meet you at the café at noon.”
Chapter 46
Kenn opened the door to the café for JJ, who took a few steps inside. Her feet refused to move any farther. With her eyes riveted to the front of the coffee shop, she felt the anxiety she tried to suppress all morning rise in her. She knew she was trapped.
“I do believe cahooting has soared to a whole new level,” she said.
To her left, she saw the Jewish Mariachi Polka Band diligently setting up their equipment. Ira saw her and waved. “Hola,” he said, his curly Jewish orthodox sideburns bouncing about.
José looked up and called, “Shalom!”
“Now, don’t jump to conclusions, they could be here for an entirely different reason. Maybe Alvin and the guys thought they would bring music in to attract more customers.”
“And this looks like the group to draw the college crowd?”
“JJ, Professor Cooper, over here.” Alex bounded out of her chair and rushed toward them, her softly curled hair dancing. Her eyes sparkled with delight. Joy seemed to radiate from her. She decided Alex was firmly ensconced in her element. JJ shot a quick glance over at Kenn, who wore the I-think-we’re-trapped look.
Alex took JJ’s hand and led her to their table. Kenn quickly followed as they approached two tables pushed together to accommodate them all. Tables right in front of the band.
