“Gloves?” I asked.
Tori nodded. “Oh yes. Until recently, all women at the balls were expected to wear long white gloves, the kind that go up nearly to your elbows.” She sighed a little. “I actually kind of liked the gloves.”
“Well, then,” Maria snickered, “you can have them.”
After half an hour more of searching, I began to doubt that we would ever actually buy any dresses. But eventually, the time came where the ladies decided we all had enough dresses to try on, so we proceeded to the fitting rooms.
It was there that I realized why we had come in such a group. Just like the dresses at high school prom, these were nearly impossible to get into and out of without help. We all took turns zipping and snapping each other up and tying ribbons wherever they needed to be tied. And though the thought of what such dresses might cost still made me nervous, I began to feel the rush of the thrill when I stepped out onto the podium surrounded by mirrors and saw the first dress Kim had chosen for me.
It was navy blue, which had disappointed me at first, as at least half the dresses we had brought back with us seem to be that color. But the bodice was cut in a gently sloping V so it covered my chest in all the right places but left the collarbone and shoulders exposed with beaded spaghetti straps holding it in place. A thick band of silky material was wrapped around the waist with little white pearls sewn into clusters of stars, and the skirt was nothing short of a perfect swath of floor-length perfection that swished and swayed gracefully whenever I moved.
“What do you think?”
I turned to see Kim, Maria, and Tori watching me as Liz ran up to adjust the bottom of the skirt. I turned back to the mirror to revel in the fairy tale that had just become mine.
“It’s perfect,” I breathed. Maybe I wasn’t about to embark upon a quest to an old, haunted castle or to search for my missing aged father, but I, Jessie Nickleby, was going to a ball.
Tori picked up the next dress in my stack and held it up. “This purple one is nice, too. Why don’t you try it on next?”
I shook my head, unable to take my eyes from the elegant gathering of my skirt. “I want this one.”
Kim gave a satisfied smile. “All right, then this one it is.”
Only two of the other women found their ideal dresses. Tori, who I was beginning to think never had to ponder money or maybe she just chose not to, and Liz, who was quite satisfied with her clearance rack find. Maria decided to ask a neighbor if they could trade again this year with some of their old dresses, and Kim said she already had hers picked.
When I got up to the register, I had a minor heart attack when the dress was rung up.
“A hundred and thirty bucks?” I gasped, turning to Kim in a panic. “Derrick is paying for this. I can’t ask that from him.”
“You just need to relax.” Kim took the dress from my hands and put it back on the counter and nodded at the employee. “I’ve already spoken to Derrick, and he knows full well what he’s paying for.” She checked her phone. “Shoes are next and then accessories.”
“Is there anywhere a little less expensive that we could go to look for them?” I whispered, glancing at the man who was ringing up the dress. I had peeked at the shoes earlier, and though their price tag wasn’t hidden like the one inside the dress, they were nearly just as expensive. I hadn’t even bothered looking at the jewelry or handbags.
Kim winked at me. “I know just the place.”
* * *
I left the store with my purchase feeling gleeful and more than a little fazed at the number on the receipt. Kim announced that the other women had to go home, as our dress shopping had taken longer than we had expected, but she and I were going to continue the date alone. We dropped off the other women at Maria’s house and made our way back toward town.
“So,” Kim said, “what did you think of them?” She smiled a little. “Tori’s mouth didn’t turn you off?”
I laughed. Tori, it turned out, had the mouth of a sailor. I heard more curses in the changing room than I had heard in a long time. “You forget,” I said, “I teach for a living. We may have to watch our tongues around the short people, but as soon as the students are gone, teachers can have mouths that rival any practiced swear master.” Maybe not quite as much as Tori, but almost.
“Just wait until you hear Tori and her husband together. You may need bandages for your ears.”
“Truly, though.” I looked earnestly at Kim. “I really do like them. They’re frank. They don’t mince words, but you know they mean what they’re saying.”
“Military life doesn’t have time for pretenders.” She sighed. “Unfortunately, our brusque nature often gets the better of us, and often we forget to speak what we thinkkindly. But like you, I’d rather someone say what they mean to my face than scurry around behind my back.”
“I wonder why the military attracts that kind of personality,” I mused, picking at the edge of my bag. “It’s interesting they would all seem to congregate there.”
“The military doesn’t have time for foolishness. You have to get to the point or people die in war.” She shrugged. “That mindset seems to carry over to families as well. Not that I mind.”
I shifted in my seat. “I do have a question though.”
“Sure thing, but give me just a second. You got your ID?”
I realized that instead of heading into Jacksonville, we were turning an exit sooner.
