“That would be cute on you.” My mom nods to the cobalt blue dress I hold.
“I need to get a dress for the New Year’s Eve party,” I tell her. “I don’t think this is fancy enough.”
Everyone goes all out for the annual Wentworth New Year’s Eve bash and the dress I hold looks more appropriate for a winter formal.
“You’re probably right,” my mom says. “I need to get a dress too.” She makes a face of disgust. I definitely didn’t get my love of fashion from her. She’s a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl while I usually wear a dress or skirt. Although, on campus I’ve been wearing jeans more often thanks to the frigid temperatures.
I move to another rack and flick through the dresses. The standard red and green colors make me want to pull out my eyeballs.
“Bennett seems really into you,” she comments, getting back to what she really wants to talk to me about.
“He better be. I mean, we’ve only been dating for six months.” Or, you know, a week.
“He hasn’t always been a one-woman man,” she tells me like I don’t already know.
“I know, Mom,” I say. “Things are different with me.”
She looks unsure. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt, Grace. This is your first real relationship and he’s known to get around. Just … be careful, okay?” she pleads.
“I am,” I promise her.
She nods but I doubt this is the last I’ll hear about this. She’s a mom, so she worries twenty-four-seven.
“How about this dress?” She holds up a purple sequined number.
“For me?” I ask, and she nods. “I don’t look good in purple.”
She laughs and puts the dress back on the rack. “What about this one for me?” She holds up a strapless navy dress with silver detailing.
“I think that would be gorgeous on you,” I tell her honestly. My mom is still young and can pull off anything she wants.
She drapes the dress over her arm. “I’m going to try it on.”
“I’m going to keep looking for a dress for myself,” I tell her. “Just holler for me when you’re changed.”
She nods and heads over to the dressing room a few feet away.
I pick up a gold and teal dress and look it over. It’s nice, but still not the one. I put it back on the rack and keep looking. Thankfully, the store is full of dresses, so if I keep looking, I’m bound to find something eventually.
A few minutes later, my mom calls me over to check out the dress she chose.
She steps out of the dressing room with a wondering smile. “What do you think?”
I smile widely. “You look hot, Mom.”
She rolls her eyes. “Oh, Grace.”
“I’m serious.” I laugh. “It looks great. You’ll need a pair of heels, though.”
At the word heels she looks I’ve just handed her a death sentence. “So you think I should get this one?” She turns, appraising herself in the mirror.
I nod. “As long as you like the way it looks and feels, go for it. It’s a great dress.”
She nods at her reflection and smiles. “Yeah, I think I’m going to get it.”
She heads back into the dressing room to change back into her clothes, so I return to searching for my dress.
By the time she comes out, I think I’ve found it. “I’m going to try this one on,” I tell her. “Wait for me.”