The Dating Deal by Melanie Marks Page B

that was only because he didn’t know any better.  He didn’t use to know about the church.  But now he did, a little.  And he’d come to church two Sundays in a row.  That had to count for something.  And he didn’t drink at the dance.  Or any other time that I knew of in the last two weeks.
     
    And maybe he would come to church again tomorrow.  Well, not, tomorrow.  Tomorrow was conference, but maybe he would come to church again, sometime.  And who knows, maybe he would become a Mormon!
     
    The thought made me smile.  But then, reality had to come pushing its nosy way in.  Face it, I thought, it would be a miracle if Trent Ryan, Mr. Party Guy, became a Mormon.
     
    But it wasn’t really that impossible, not to me.  Not anymore.  I could definitely picture it.  After all, he had come to church twice in a row, and he had gone a whole Saturday night without drinking.  Maybe Mr. Party Animal was changing. 
     
    I rolled over in bed again.  No!  Stop it !  I told myself.  Don’t torture yourself like this .  But I couldn’t help it.  To me, it was possible.  To me, Trent really did seem interested in the church … and me.  Okay, I didn’t have any concrete evidence.  No evidence at all, really.  It was just a feeling I got.  But it was a strong feeling, sort of.
     
    I got out of bed, and went over to my computer.  Sometimes, Trent and I chatted on line.  Not very often.  Well, actually, just once.  But we could do it again.  Now.  You never know, he could be on line.  Not that I held out much hope.  After all, it was very, very late, and hours past the dance.  Most likely he was in bed, sound asleep.  Still, I thought I’d give it a try.  As I said, you never know.  And I really, really wanted to talk to him.  Really.
     
    And guess what?!
     
    He was on line!
     
    I instant messaged him on iChat:  “Hi.”
     
    He iChat’ed me back:  “Did you have fun at the dance?”
     
    “Yes!” I wrote.  “That’s what I wanted to tell you.  I had a blast.  Thank you so much for taking me!”
     
    “Are you in love with me?”
     
    I rubbed my eyes, staring at the question.  Why’d he ask that ?
     
    “Do you think I love you?” was next.  Then, “That I’ll turn Mormon?”
     
    Huh?
     
    I stared at the screen, my stomach suddenly a ball of knots.  What was going on?  Why was he writing this?  I was afraid to press a key.  Afraid to answer.  What was I supposed to say?
     
    Nothing showed up for a long time.  Then:
     
    “Forget it.  Look, Megan, Trent’s not here at the moment.  So don’t freak out.  It’s me, Caitlin.”
     
    Caitlin? 
     
    A knife was plunged into my heart.  I was bleeding all over the floor.  Caitlin?!  Caitlin ?!  Why was she there?  At his house?  I felt sick realizing they must have gotten back together. 
     
    A knife was in my heart.  My eyes stung.  My stomach ached.  I was practically doubled over with pain.  Yet Caitlin went on, writing as though we were best friends having a nice ichat.  “Trent went down to his basement to get us a drink,” she wrote.  “Should I tell him you messaged or called, or whatever?”
     
    “No.”
     
    I clicked off my computer and crawled back into bed, wrenching out huge, painful sobs into my pillow.  My life was a tragic, cruel joke.
     

chapter 20
     
     
     
     
    Sunday, I woke late.  Since it was general conference, I laid around all morning in my pajamas, moping.  Thinking about last night.  The good stuff, and the bad stuff.  There had been a lot of both.  I thought a lot about what Conner had said.  About me being a “guidance” in his life.  But, you know, I wasn’t sure I wanted to “guide” someone through life.  I mean, what about me?  I could use some guidance too.  I saw the women in our ward with non-active or non-member husbands.  They had to carry the whole load—bringing their kids to church, sitting alone.  It seemed hard and lonely.  It