Cover art by Erin Halfelven
©2026, SammyC

While the band played “Nights in White Satin” for the third straight time, I sat at our table in The St. Regis Hotel Ballroom, taking a long, sweeping look at the “Starry Night” theme decorations the Dalton School Prom Committee had installed, especially the giant inflatable five-point stars hanging from the ceiling above us. We had decided to take a short break from the dance floor and Jeremy had gone to retrieve two cups of Orange Sherbet Punch for us, leaving me alone at our table since all our tablemates were still out there slow dancing to their heart’s delight.

I used both hands to smooth out the lace applique skirt of my blue tulle prom dress while anxiously waiting for Jeremy to return. I felt so out of place here, at Jeremy’s senior prom, being held at a ritzy New York City luxury hotel ballroom. Surrounded by the children of doctors, lawyers, investment bankers, and politicians. Me, the daughter of a Borscht Belt magician who had just finished her junior year in a public high school in Summit, New Jersey.

Was it almost a year ago that I had to become my father’s assistant in his magic act at The Lodge in The Catskills? It was where I first met Jeremy and his grandmother Elena, who gifted me this beautiful prom dress from The Ross Collection of her Fifth Avenue store. It was where and when I became the girl I am today. Literally.

Dad and grandmother were surprised when I told them that, instead of returning to Yeshiva, I wanted to transfer to the public high school in Summit. Apparently Elena had cast such a strong spell to turn me into a girl that everyone I encountered remembered me only as female. When I registered for school that September, all my records showed the box checked to denote me as female. Even the cashiers at Kings Food Market greeted me with the obligatory “hey girl, how ya doin’.”

Dad had a slow recovery from the heart attack he’d suffered but was well enough to go back on the magic circuit in time for the holiday season in the Chicago and Milwaukee clubs he regularly booked. He’d hired a new girl to be his assistant. I offered to act as his assistant again (grandma declared I was the better magician, anyway, as she brandished the New York Times review from last August) but Dad insisted I stay in school. When school ends in a few weeks, I’m going on the road with Dad, come hell or high water. It’s true what they say about applause being food for the soul.

Aaron Felder had given me a hefty bonus for my weeks as a solo act. It turns out the normally stingy bugger had sold The Lodge after all, taking David Kellerman’s offer after the whole mishegas with that gangster Maranzano. Grandma and I attended Aaron’s wedding to Amanda Kellerman on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The reception was held at Tavern On The Green in Central Park. The turkey was a bit dry though.

The school year had passed by quickly and I’d made a lot of new friends. I was very popular it seems. Especially with boys. But I was a good girl, kept my grades up and turned down a lot of dates from a lot of cute guys. Grandma was glad I wasn’t boy-crazy like so many girls my age. “A girl as pretty as you can get into a lot of trouble with bad boys. Even Jewish ones.”

Elena visited us several times in the Fall and Winter but Jeremy never accompanied her. I wondered if he’d found a new girlfriend at The Dalton School, like I was just a summer fling. But Elena assured me that Jeremy was deep into his studies. He was hoping to be admitted to Princeton after graduation. “He’ll need the best grades, Lindsey. Ivy League schools are super-competitive, you know. Don’t worry, sweetheart, he still talks about you endlessly. At least whenever I’m around.”

Somehow I didn’t believe Elena. Not a single phone call from him. Not even a box of gelt (chocolate coins wrapped in gold foil) for Hannukah like they used to give us as little children. Not a peep from him. Until, out of the blue, he asked me to be his date for The Dalton School’s senior prom. So, here I am, wrapped in a fluffy blue prom dress, waiting for my cup of sherbet punch.

“Penny for your thoughts,” Jeremy said as he handed me my punch. I smiled reflexively, seeing him in his tuxedo and bow-tie, wavy shoulder length dark brown hair framing his handsome face.

“I was just thinking about the year I’ve had. So much has happened to me. So many things have changed.” Absentmindedly, I dipped a spoon into my cup to capture a segment of sherbet.

“I’m sorry I’ve been so…out of touch…since school started. I thought about you practically every minute of every day—”

“Oh, really. I haven’t given you a thought. I didn’t even recognize your voice at first when you called—”

“I guess I deserved that.” Jeremy put his arm around my shoulders and gazed into my eyes. “You’re even more beautiful than the day you left The Lodge to go home. How is it possible?”

“Not beautiful enough to return a phone call or reply to a letter though.”

“Letter? You sent me a letter? When?”

“I sent three letters to be absolutely correct. Don’t they distribute your mail at school?”

“You sent me letters to Dalton? Lindsey, Dalton’s not a boarding school. I’m living at home.” He laughed almost raucously.

“You think I’m an idiot, don’t you?”

“No, you’re the most delightful girl I’ve ever met. But it is funny, don’t you think?”

“What about the phone calls? I’m sure your mother took my message more than once.”

“My mother? My mother never answers the phone at home. That was probably our maid, Lyla. I usually don’t get home until after she leaves for the day. Around 5PM. I’m sorry but we probably didn’t cross paths.”

“Likely story,” I sniffed.

“Well, it’s the truth. To be honest, I thought you’d forgotten about me. New school, new friends…new boyfriend?”

“Oh, look, they’re playing ‘My Love’ by Paul McCartney. I love that song!”

“Put the punch down. Let’s go cut a rug, babe.” Jeremy took my hand and led me to the dance floor.

They played “My Love” for the last dance of the night. I was a combination of tired and dreamy as Jeremy and I slow-danced to the band’s passable attempt to reproduce McCartney’s hit song. Leaning into Jeremy’s shoulder, I listened to his breathing as we tried hard to avoid stepping on each other’s feet. My thoughts strayed to the future. My future. Perhaps our future.

“How are you planning to spend your summer before entering college?” I asked.

“My mother wants me to go to Europe with her for a few weeks. She and her best friend like to go antique hunting in Italy and France every summer. Since grandmother can’t stay at The Lodge now that it’s been torn down for that Supermall that Kellerman’s building, mom has dragooned her to come along too. So I guess I’ll be riding the Eurail for a few weeks.”

“Can’t you decline the offer? And Elena’s not some doddering old biddy. She can spend her summer anyway she wants. She doesn’t need to be chaperoned by her daughter-in-law.”

“My mother’s very commanding. Even Elena acquiesces to her most of the time. My father is also very protective of her. With grandfather gone and me heading off to college, they don’t want her to be alone.”

“I was hoping we could spend some time together—”

“Didn’t you say you were doing your magic act with your dad this summer?”

“Well, part-time really. July 4th weekend, my dad got booked at The Steel Pier in Atlantic City. Sort of a compromise. He wanted me to stay home. Grandma wanted me to be his assistant all summer. But he’s got a new assistant and…well, he’s kind of…”

“Smitten? Yeah, it probably gets real lonely on the road. And your father’s not getting any younger. Anyway, it’s a shame but it looks like we won’t see much of each other this summer. It would take a miracle to get my mother to change her plans.”

The band finished playing. All the couples on the dance floor applauded politely before walking back to their tables, saying their goodbyes, not bothering to listen to the headmaster’s farewell wishes.

On the way home to Summit, we eschewed conversation. Throughout the 45 minute drive, a light rain fell. The pitter patter of raindrops on the windshield was the only sound to compete with our breathing. I lay my head on Jeremy’s right shoulder. I felt like crying. It was a reawakening of the fear I harbored last summer, before I discovered that Jeremy had known I was originally a boy all along. Elena hadn’t kept the secret as she had promised. At the time, Jeremy said it didn’t matter to him. That he loved me just the same. Now, as the sights along I-78 shot by in the glowering darkness of a late Spring night, I doubted Jeremy’s assurance. What would a year at Princeton do to that assurance? New friends, new experiences, new loves will change everything.

“Don’t cry,” I told myself, muttering into Jeremy’s shoulder.

“Did you say something?”

“Nothing. It’s not important.”

I steadied myself at the edge of the stage, ready to climb the three steps to meet the audience at The Steel Pier. My father’s new assistant came down the steps, giving me a thumb’s up as she walked past me. I took a deep breath and placed my right foot on the first step as my father started to introduce me.

“And now, ladies and gentlemen, it is my utmost pleasure to introduce you to the apple of my eye, my lovely and brilliant daughter. A magician in her own right. Some of you might have read the glowing review of her act in The New York Times last summer. Though still in high school, she is a magician of the first order. In fact, I think she’s better than her old dad. Lindsey Ace!”

Polite applause greeted me as I hopped onto the stage, wearing the sexy black outfit I’d worn last summer. Of course, I’d grown some in the ensuing months. Grandma had to let it out here and there. Especially the top. She grumbled about my modesty or lack thereof in this costume. Then she let out a screech when the needle pricked her finger.

I began by asking the audience where they were from. Most of the answers named places in New Jersey, a few named New York City. A solitary voice loudly announced they were from Mars. Everyone laughed.

“Welcome to Earth, my otherworldly friend! Of course, we all know Mars is a dead world. But perhaps a long, long time ago, maybe even a billion years in the past, Mars was a planet full of life. A home for intelligent life. An advanced civilization. Even more advanced than Earth in 1973 AD. Come, let me show you. Stage manager, please dim the lights. Everyone close your eyes. Don’t open them until I ask you to.

You are floating above a Martian city from the long lost past. You can feel the warm breeze as you descend. The city’s sounds grow louder in your ears. The chirping of exotic birds solicits your attention. Now, please open your eyes!"

"A canal of silver water glimmers below the double moons in the darkening sky. There are people, Martians, in streamlined boats going up and down the canal. On either side of the canal are curving rows of ornate buildings of Martian design, so beautiful yet alien to our eyes.

The laughter of children draws you to the torchlit parks and plazas that separate sections of the magnificent city. In the hills beyond there are colorful houses in which lit windows show glimpses of families settling in for the night. A closer look at the pedestrians in the immaculate streets below us tell us we once had brethren in our solar system.

What happened to this civilization? What disturbed their peaceful existence? What ended their time on the stage of cosmic history. We do not know. But we can listen to the music they made. Look! Over there. An amphitheater on a hillside. A band of musicians is playing some otherworldly chords, singing in an ancient lost language…”

After the second show, we emerged from the stage door into the sultry warmth of the July 4th night. The fireworks show was at its zenith, splashing red, white, and blue lights all across the sky above the ocean. “The Stars and Stripes” blared through loudspeakers as the crowd along the boardwalk cheered and applauded. Dad, Margie, his new assistant, and I weaved our way through the throng of onlookers to get closer to the railings. We got separated somehow and I looked all around to see where Dad and Margie had gone. Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see who it was. It was Jeremy with Elena standing a few feet behind him, smiling broadly at me.

“Jeremy!”

“Lindsey! We saw the show. Both shows actually. We paid twice. It was worth it. You were amazing. The audience was in disbelief at what they had just experienced.”

“Thanks to Elena, of course,” I waved to Elena. “But weren’t you two supposed to be riding the rails in Europe?”

“Oh, I wasn’t going to have Jeremy’s mother railroad me into spending the summer following her and her friend around checking out glorified rummage sales. Besides, Jeremy here had someone he wanted to spend the summer with instead…” Elena winked at me and then started to walk away. “I’ll be up in my room, kiddies. It’s sleepy bobo time for us senior citizens.”

“So what’s your plan for the summer now that you’re not going to Europe?” I shouted above the music and the machine gun bursts of fireworks.

“That depends on you,” Jeremy replied.

“Well, after this weekend, I’m stuck in Summit all summer until school starts again.”

“Great! You haven’t seen much of New York City, have you?”

“Very little. I’m a Jersey girl.”

“You need a guide. A very personal guide.” Jeremy took me in his arms and leaned in to kiss me. Our lips met as the fireworks show reached its loud and fast climax. And the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air.

Miracles do happen. I’m proof positive of that.