43. Chapter 43
Chapter 43
Sloane
M y mom and I walk into Perimeter Mall to begin our hunt for the perfect prom dress. “I hope we can find something that fits well and is cute,” I tell my mom as I fidget with my purse strap. I'm excited to finally get to go prom dress shopping with my mom, something I worried I might not get to do.
“Oh honey, we will,” my mom says, her eyes shining with excitement. “If it takes all weekend, we’ll find the perfect dress!”
I hope it doesn’t take all weekend because shopping isn’t my favorite thing in the world. Partly because I get sensory overload in the mall and partly because it’s so hard to find clothes that fit me, especially dresses. As we walk through Rich’s department store on our way to the juniors' section, I’m overcome with the strong scents of perfume. “Would you like to try Obsession by Calvin Klein?” A lady with big, curly hair and lots of makeup asks as she holds the bottle toward us.
“No, thanks,” I smile as I try to avoid being sprayed as we walk by.
My mom is looking up at the signs, “This way,” she says as I see the sign that says ‘Juniors’ pointing to the right.
When we walk into the juniors' section, the décor turns edgy and industrial as INXS’s song ‘New Sensation’ blasts through the overhead speakers. We walk past the mannequins dressed in flannel shirts, jeans, and combat boots to the formal section.
“Okay,” my mom says, “why don’t you pick some dresses you like, and I’ll pick some that I like, and you can try them on.” Her expression is so excited, it’s as if she’s a kid on Christmas morning and the tree is surrounded by presents that need to be unwrapped.
I smile. “Okay, but no strapless dresses. I don’t have anything to hold one up.”
“Oh, sweetie, don’t be silly. We can get you a padded strapless bra.” She squeezes my elbow. “Something to help give you a little something up top.”
“Mom,” I groan as I feel my face flush. “I want to be comfortable, so let’s just try to find something pretty that isn’t strapless.”
I slide dress after dress across the rack I’m looking at, the metal hangers screeching against the metal rods. “Why does everything have to have so many ruffles?” I ask my mom who’s on the next rack over. I keep sifting through the dresses. “Or bows. I really don’t want bows.”
My mom looks at me then proceeds to put three dresses back onto the rack. “No ruffles, no bows. Okay. That’s going to make it a little more difficult.”
Once we each have an arm full of about five dresses each, we head to the fitting room. My mom sits on a bench by the three- way mirror as I go into the dressing room to try on the dresses. Of course, I start with one of my dresses, a simple black dress with spaghetti straps. When I slip it over my head and over my body, I expect to see a dress I love, except, I don’t. It’s just so plain.
I walk out to the mirror and stand on the platform in front of it. I can see my mom in the mirror seated behind me on a padded bench. “What do you think?”
I turn so she can see me from the front. My mom cocks her head. “It’s pretty. It’s just very plain.”
I nod. “I agree. It doesn’t do anything for me.”
My mom shakes her head. “No, it doesn’t. Try the black and white one I picked out.”
When I go back to the dressing room, I pull the black and white dress out from the middle of the rack. When I see it fully, I realize the white at the top is a giant bow. “Mom, this has a giant bow across the top.” I call out to her.
“I know, honey, but just try it on. It’s cute.”
I roll my eyes and put on the dress. “I look like a giant present.” I call to her.
“Just come on out and let me see it.”
As I trudge out to the mirror and stand on the platform, the giant bow looks even more overwhelming. I can see my mom trying to muffle a laugh behind me. I spin around and start cracking up with her. “I look ridiculous.”
My mom cracks up even more to the point where she can’t breathe, and I start doing the same. “Your frame is so tiny—” she says through laughter. “It really does make the bow look overwhelming.”
“I think it’s about to take over my body,” I joke as I hop off the platform to try on a different dress.
I love these moments with my mom. When it’s just the two of us, it’s nice because I have her undivided attention. We have fun together and that’s not always the case when my sisters are around. They are a lot more demanding of attention and I try not to rock the boat. I love it when my mom is so carefree and we share these silly, hilarious moments. When she starts laughing like that, it’s totally contagious.
Next up is a teal dress that I had high hopes for, but the fabric is shiny and looks cheap. My mom agrees.
Next is one of her dresses, this one is magenta with a balloon skirt, and it’s strapless. I walk out of the dressing room, holding up the top of the dress with my fingertips. “Now that one’s cute,” my mom says.
“I don’t know, mom,” I say with uncertainty as I turn from side to side in the mirror. “I’d have to have a really padded bra to hold this one up, and I’m not sure about the balloon skirt. Isn’t it a little much?”
“It’s the style, Sloane. I think it’s really cute.”
“Let me try on the two long ones I pulled,” I tell her as I hop off the platform and scurry back to the dressing room. I put on the long navy dress, hopeful that it will be a contender, but it’s not. While it’s long, it’s not 6-foot-tall-long. It hits at a weird length. I decide to try the emerald green one and much to my chagrin, it’s the same, not long enough. I walk out to show my mom.
“The length is weird,” I tell her.
She nods, “Yeah, and I don’t like the halter straps on you.”
“Really? But it’s much more comfortable than the strapless one.” I smooth my hand over the bodice as I look at the top of the dress.
“With your thin frame, the strapless just looks better. Those straps overwhelm you.”
I sigh. “Okay, let’s try Macy’s.”
***
Macy’s turned out to be more of the same. “Let’s go out through the upstairs,” my mom suggests. “I think the Jessica McClintock store is upstairs. They should have some beautiful dresses.”
When we walk out of Macy’s, on the left is the Jessica McClintock store. It’s all glass and light, showcasing the beautiful dresses. We talk to the sales associate and tell her what we’re looking for. She pulls some dresses and gets me set-up in a fitting room. I look through the selection that she pulled and immediately put a pastel floral dress on the peg on the opposite side of the wall. Pastel florals are not me.
I try on a black dress with emerald green sleeves that are off the shoulder. While it’s strapless, it’s tighter than the ones at the department stores and fits better. It helps that we bought a padded strapless bra at Rich’s to try on with these dresses.
“How’s it going?” My mom asks from outside the fitting room. “Make sure to show them all to me, even if you don’t like them.”
“It’s good, I’ll be right out.” While the black and green dress looks good from the front, there’s a giant, and I mean super-sized, bow on the back. When I walk out, my mom’s eyes light up.
“Ooh, that’s so pretty!”
“It is at first,” I say, then turn around. “Look at the size of this bow!”
My mom tries to suppress a laugh as the sales associate comes by. “What do you think?” she asks, hopefully.
“It’s pretty, but I’m really not into bows, and this one,” I turn to show her, “is mammoth.”
The lady nods. “It does overwhelm your small frame. Try the teal one, it’s pretty simple.”
The teal dress is pretty, but it has poufy sleeves that are a bit much. My mom agrees and hands me a red damask dress with white lace across the top. It’s strapless, like apparently every dress in the world, but I agree to give it a shot. I wouldn’t normally go for lace, but it’s a heavy lace that accents the arms and bodice and there’s a pretty rhinestone in the center.
I step into the dress and am surprised that it actually looks pretty good. I hold it up so my mom can zip up the back then look myself over in the mirror. “Even though it’s strapless, I think it’s the best one I’ve tried on.”
“I think so, too!” My mom is either giddy from her excitement about the dress or that this marathon prom dress hunt is coming to a close. “Sloane, it’s elegant, just like you. Some of those other dresses were just too trendy, but this one is classic.”
I’m flattered that my mom likes it so much and while I really didn’t want a strapless dress, the joy on her face makes me want this dress. One she picked out and makes her happy. I smile, “Let’s get it, then.”
Even better than finding a dress for prom was shopping with my mom. Bryn usually tags along everywhere, but it was nice to have my mom to myself for a change. The dynamic is so different when it’s just us; we have so much fun together.
After we pay for the dress, my mom says, “Let’s grab dinner at Mick’s. I think we both earned some of their Oreo cheesecake for dessert!”
My stomach growls at the suggestion. “Ooh, that sounds perfect.” I turn to my mom. “Thanks so much for today, and for the dress. I had a lot of fun.”
My mom’s eyes go wide, “You had fun shopping? Wow, I should play the lottery!”
“Ha-ha,” I reply as she hugs me around the shoulders.
“I had fun today, too, sweetheart. We should do this more often.” She must see panic in my eyes because she says, “Not shopping, necessarily, but spending time just the two of us.”
I smile. “I’d love that mom.” I sure do have the most loving mom in the entire world.