Solo (12 page)

We moved on to the next store with the same dilemma. In fact, all the stores were the same. We repeated our method of trying on dresses in every store. By two o'clock, we had covered most of the mall. Casey had eight possible dresses, and I had two.

 We rested on a bench trying to figure out if we should eat lunch or finish up with the last three stores.
Then it happened.
I turned to look in the window of the pricy boutique in front of us that neither of us had planned on going into.
It
was in the middle of the display with lights shining on
it
like a spotlight meant only for me. The black satin halter dress with its low back and flowing layers of floor-length chiffon, screamed, "I'm yours!"

Casey turned to see why my jaw had dropped. "Now
that's
a nice dress!"

"I love it. Do you mind if I try it on real quick?"

"If you don't, I'll think you're insane."

I crossed my fingers when we went into the store hoping they had my size. I headed straight for the sales clerk by the register.

"How may I help you?" she asked.

"I'd like to see if you have a size four in that black dress." I pointed to the display window.

"Oh, we didn't get many of those dresses in, let me check."

Casey and I anxiously waited while the woman made her way to a rack and flipped through a few black dresses. "I don't see a four, but we have a two. Would you like to try it?"

My heart sank. I'd thought for sure this was my dress. "That's okay."

"No, she'll try it on," Casey blurted. "You never know, sometimes these pricy places run bigger."

"Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to try." I looked at the woman and nodded.

She took the dress to a fancy room and held the door open. Casey waited outside. I slipped the dress over my hips, surprised it slid so easily. The real test, however, would be when I tried to zip it. I squeezed my eyes tight, praying as I pulled up the zipper. It didn't stick. I opened my eyes and looked in the mirror. It fit like a glove. I opened the door and stepped out. Casey eyes bulged.

"That's
hot
! If you're trying to be
just
friends with Lucas, this dress isn't the one you want."

I stepped closer to the three-way mirror and turned to see my back better. I couldn't get over how well it fit, and I'd almost not tried it on—a size two. The size four would have exposed way too many goodies. This dress was—well, it was perfect.

"It looks like it was cut to fit your body." Casey gave me a thumb's up.

"Yeah, I don't think there's another dress to compare with this one. But I don't know what my mom will say about the back being so low."

"Well, get two. If she doesn't like this one, you'll have a back up," Casey suggested.

"That's a good idea. How much is this one anyway?" I looked at the price and gasped. This masterpiece cost a hundred seventy-five dollars. I'd never spent that much on any single piece of clothing in my life. I had second thoughts about the dress. The sales clerk came over to see how we were doing.

"Just so you know, all our formal wear is thirty percent off this weekend. This particular dress will be around one hundred twenty."

I looked at Casey. "I don't know what to do. I need to call my mom."

Casey handed me my phone. I looked at myself from every angle while waiting for her to pick up.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Mom, it's me."

"Hi honey, how is everything going?"

"Well, I need your advice."

"Okay."

"I found my dream dress. It's absolutely, positively gorgeous."

"So, what's the problem?" she laughed

"It's a little revealing in the back and it's about a hundred and twenty dollars."

"That's not a bad price for a prom dress. My only question is, how revealing are we talking about?"

I looked at the back of the dress. "It hits about four or five inches above my tailbone."

Mom was quiet. I assumed she was trying to figure out how high four or five inches were. She finally said, "I don't think that's too bad. If you really like it, get it."

"Well, do you think I should get a second dress just in case you don't like this one?"

"No, don't worry about another dress. If I think it's too revealing, we'll come up with a way to fix it."

"Okay, thanks Mom. Love you"

"Love you too. Call me if you need any thing else."

I hung up and looked at the lady. "I'll take it."

While I was changing, Casey said from outside my dressing room, "That dress was meant to be yours; it couldn't have worked out any better."

"Yeah, this was pure luck."

"More like fate," Casey said seriously.

I paid for my dress—my masterpiece—and we headed for the food court for lunch. We needed to replenish our energy because we still had three more stores to check out. If we didn't have any luck, we'd be on our way to Gateway Mall to hunt for Casey's dress. I was hopeful we'd find her dress here. She had such a cute, petite figure.

After lunch, we hit the ground running; almost literally. Casey was determined to find her dream dress. She couldn't decide if she wanted long and elegant or short and flirty. I recommended something elegant
and
short. She was already vertically challenged, so if she wore a long dress, it would shorten her even more.

At the second to last store she found five dresses to add to her possibilities list. I found more while she tried on other dresses. One by one, she vetoed them. Then I found a rack of new arrivals. I selected a light salmon colored dress that would fall right below her knees. It was form fitting, but left room to move. It had a delicate lace overlay with lace spaghetti straps. To me, the dress was the prefect fit for Casey's personality. I walked to her dressing room.

"Casey, I have one more dress for you to try on."

She opened the door and her eyes widened with excitement. "It's my fate dress."

"I thought the same thing." I smiled and handed it to her. "Go on—try it."

Impatiently, I paced while she tried on the dress. Finally, she opened the door and stepped out. A huge smile lit her face, almost as big as when she'd told me Jack had asked her to prom.

"I love it!"

"I do too! It's totally you! Strappy heels will make it perfect."

"Yeah, especially if I can find them in the same color." She paid for
her
masterpiece and we still had hours before we needed to head home. We started the hunt for shoes. It didn't take long. Casey found lighter salmon colored shoes in the same department store. I also found some dainty, black strappy heels. My dress was so long that I needed heels to make it brush the floor; perfect.

We decided to take our dresses and shoes to my car so we wouldn't have to lug them around the mall.

"This has been a very productive day. I can't believe our luck," Casey squealed.

"Yeah, I don't usually get this lucky. I know one thing; we're gonna look great!"

"Yeah, I can't wait for Jack to see me."

"Ah, that's so cute. Are you two officially dating?"

"Not yet. I'm not sure where we stand. What if he's not thinking on the same page as me?" Casey stared at the ground.

I changed the subject. "Hey, do you want to get ready for prom at my grandparents' house?"

"I'll let you know. I think Sasha's planning for us to get ready together."

I knew Casey was torn, so I reassured her that it didn't bother me.

We finished shopping and headed back to Myrtle Creek. Casey made the trip go by fast. She was like the Energizer Bunny; she kept going and going. I think she covered every topic of interest. Her talking kept me awake. The previous late night had started to catch up with me. I pulled into Casey's driveway around nine-thirty.

"Thanks for driving. I had a great weekend," she said.

"I did too."

"So listen, my seventeenth birthday is next month. I'm planning a little bash. It's not really a birthday party, but everyone is coming to hang out. I'd love for you to come. It's two weeks from now, but I want to give you time to think about it."

"It sounds like fun. It shouldn't be a problem. If you want, I'll arrive early to help set up."

"I don't think I'll need help, but you can come early. I was also thinking about inviting Lucas. I had a good time last night and it reminded me of how things used to be when we were still friends. We were like brother and sister. We just slowly drifted apart after that crazy feud."

"I wouldn't mind seeing him there," I said, with an ear-to-ear grin.

"I'll ask him next week." She opened the door. "I'll see you Monday."

"Okay, have a good night."

The drive home seemed so much longer without my little chatterbox next to me. I blasted the radio to stay awake, but turned the music down when I approached the driveway. Giving my grandmother something else to complain about was the last thing I wanted.

I slipped through the kitchen door so I wouldn't wake anyone and went straight to my mom's room. She was sitting on her bed reading a book.

I said, "I'm here. I'll be right back." I went to my room and slipped into the dress and shoes so she could see the whole package. When I returned, she looked up from reading.

"Whoa, mama, that's a gorgeous dress!"

"Is it too revealing?"

"No, it's beautiful. We might need to get some double stick tape for some areas, but you're going to look beautiful. I'll take some candid pictures if you can get everyone to come here first."

"That sounds great."

"Of course, Lucas doesn't have a choice." Mom chuckled.

"Don't worry about him." I twirled. "In this dress, he'll be putty in my hands."

The maddening rain was a constant presence on Sunday. The gloomy day put me in a somber mood. I sprawled across my bed staring out the window, distancing myself from reality. Staying inside was going to make the day creep by. I wished I could bury my head in my pillow and sleep all day. I couldn't believe I was looking forward to going back to school.
Actually,
that wasn't true. I wanted to see the object of my obsession—Lucas Andrews. After Friday night, I'd decided that I would allow myself to obsess over him, but I wouldn't accept any one-on-one dates. I would only attend group events. I didn't want him to get the
wrong
idea.

I forced myself to keep busy by digging through my closet looking for clothes I had no problem parting with. I stared at the enormous pile on my bed, not realizing until now how much I'd brought that I didn't need. Apparently, summers didn't reach the scorching digits here I was accustomed to in California. I had no need for seventeen swimsuits or a vast array of nightclub attire.

I filled two large garbage bags. When Mom came in, I basked in the glory of my accomplishments.

"Wow, do you still have clothes to wear to school?"

"Yeah. I didn't get rid of
everything."

"I'm proud of you honey."

Mom seemed a little down. "Is everything all right?"

"I'm just in a funk."

"It's the weather. I felt the same way earlier. I'm really missing the California sunshine."

Mom perched on the edge of my bed and looked around. "You're right, this room
really
is pink."

"The more I see it, the more it grows on me," I snickered.

"Let me know if you want to make a change. I'm sure I can talk Grandma into letting us paint." For a few seconds, Mom gazed off into space—maybe she was rehashing memories from her childhood. She walked to my calendar. "What's with all the numbers in the boxes?"

I felt my cheeks burn. "I was bored, so I took Dad's approximate return date and made a countdown calendar. The little blue numbers are how many days, the red are weeks, and the purple are months."

"That's very thorough of you. Do you really hate this place that much?"

I tried to find the right words. What could I say that wouldn't hurt her feelings? "I don't
hate
it; it's just hard to adjust to a small town. I'm holding back on making friends." I tried to swallow the lump in my throat. "I'm still devastated about leaving my friends."

"Honey, friends are very important. You're going to need a few to survive in this town for a year—
trust me."
She walked over and embraced me. "Believe me; your year will go a lot smoother if you let people in."

That night, Mom's words repeated themselves while I tossed trying to drift to sleep. My thoughts switched between new friends and Lucas Andrews. Finally, I decided to stick with my original plan—be courteous, but quiet. I would blend in with the walls at school, but after the bell, I would escape to my secluded haven. I felt incomplete without an outlet for dancing and my sweet meadow provided that. I wished the rain would stop and allow me a well-deserved visit. One hour of sunshine—was that too much to ask?