Breathless, Carol arrived at the abandoned dance hall in her old neighborhood. She hadn’t been here since the summer of 1979 when she graduated high school. On that hot August night, she was supposed to meet Billy, her on and off boyfriend. He’d promised her a private dance party before he went off to college. But he’d broken his promise. He had left without a word and Carol later learned Billy had ventured to Vermont to join some wacky commune in the mountains with some hippie chick he’d met. That was far from the Billy she knew. Carol never believed those stories. Yet, she never heard from him again.

Until now.

She entered through the thick wooden doors into the grand hall that once served the community for many decades until it fell to ruin and sat deserted for the last twenty years. It would soon be razed to add extra parking for the train station that ran alongside the building.

Dim light bathed the hardwood floor in a golden glow from above. Carol was surprised the electricity even worked as her eyes adjusted to the near darkness. She coughed from a cloud of dust that came from nowhere. Until she saw the source. A tall man stood in the shadows on the opposite side of the room.

“Billy? I presume,” she muttered.

“Carol, nice of you to come.”

Carol slowly walked to the center of the room, her heels clicking the dusty hardwood as her pink gown swished at the ankles. Still an elegant figure for her age, her lithe form crossed the dancefloor as he emerged from the shadows. Billy stopped. His head and shoulders still unseen, obscured by a strange dark mist.

“Did you get my invitation?” Came a familiar voice. It sounded youthful, yet aged.

“I did. Why send for me after all these years?” She asked, tears welling in her eyes. She sniffed, not wanting to spoil her make-up. She’d worked hard at getting all dolled up, for what she didn’t know. After all, it had been over forty years since they’d seen each other. “I have questions,” she said.

“I know. But you owe me a dance,” he said, proffering his hand. “We never did say our goodbyes.”

Carol refused to take his hand until she got some answers. “Whose fault is that?” She grumbled, taking a step closer. She still couldn’t see his face.

“I know. Sorry. I’ll explain, but first let’s dance. He stepped back and clapped his hands.
Suddenly, the chandelier was gone, replaced by a spinning spherical light from above that cast a myriad of dancing blue spots around the room. The dizzying effect amped up even more by loud music spilling from huge speakers as the sound of the Bee Gees reverberated the hall with Stayin’ Alive. Carol’s feet quickly picked up the pace as she began to dance, led by Billy, who spun her around the room as he did in their youth. She danced without a thought, without a care, like time had stopped. It was 1979 again and the rhythm that once raced through her veins like magic still pulsed. They danced to tunes of their youth for well over an hour until a familiar rumbling shook the building. The train. It was then Carol realized she still had not seen Billy’s face.   

“I must go. My chariot awaits,” he said, stepping back into the shadows.

“Wait! You can’t go. You own me an explanation.”

“Right.” He sighed, inching closer. “I intended to meet you that night, but I got an unexpected call from an old friend, whose family owned a farm in Vermont. I wanted to check it out and see if working and living there would fit my needs. I thought it would save my parents money.”

“I heard you were going to live on a commune with a hippie chick.”

Billy laughed. “No. The girl was a friend whose family owned the farm. I never made it there either. You see, a deer suddenly ran out into the road causing me to swerve. I avoided hitting it, but rolled down a ravine.  And I .  . . ” he paused.

“A deer!” Carol gasped. She’d heard he had died, but didn’t believe it. A month later she was living in California and had cut most of her old ties. She stepped closer and saw a familiar, handsome young face. She remembered his long dark hair and funny mustache, a definite 70’s look. She nodded and leaned in, her hand brushing his youthful skin as she gazed into his puppy dog eyes. “You haven’t changed a bit.”

“Neither have you,” he smiled.”

“Oh, that’s not true. I’m sixty now and my hair is mostly gray.”

“You’re still beautiful and youthful. And you dance like a young woman. You must have kept fit all these years.”

“I was a dance instructor.”

“I’m not surprised. Did you marry?”

“Yes, but my husband left me years ago. We had no children and I never remarried.”

“How sad. I always wondered about you.”

“Did you?" Carol smiled. Even in death he thought of her. "But how did you find me? The invitation was under my door.”

“I can’t explain how things work on this side of the veil, only that you are privileged to know some things. I had an image of you living in your childhood home, so I left the note hoping you’d take me up on my offer. I wanted to say goodbye.”

“I see.” Carol took the note from her purse, then dropped it to the floor.  

The train rumbled and the conductor yelled, “All aboard.”

“Gotta go. On to my next stop.”

“Where is that?”

“Wherever I want.”

“Oh. I’ll never see you again.” Carol sighed, suddenly sad.

“I wouldn’t say that,” Billy smiled. “Read the invitation.”

“Huh?” Carol read the new note that suddenly appeared in her hand. It was an invitation to a train ride in a private car. Destination, unknown. All she had to do was take his hand.

She hesitated, her head filling with images of her life, then hearing the whistle from the waiting engine, she rushed to his side, taking his hand and the two stepped onto the platform as the rumbling train faded into the mist.