58. Chapter 58
Chapter 58
Sloane
W hen we walk out of the dimly lit ballroom, the corridor feels so bright and busy. There are people milling about, probably because they have been here a lot longer than we have. My mom sees us, and I smile. "Hi! What are y'all doing down here?"
"I didn't want to disturb you, but I also wanted to make sure I got some pictures," my mom holds up one of the many cameras we have in the house on account of my dad being a regional manager for a major camera company.
If one could die of embarrassment, I’m surprised there is still breath in my lungs. However, Evan seems sincerely happy to meet my mom, so my embarrassment quickly fades.
My mom extends her hand to Evan, "I'm Louise," then gestures to Bryn, "and I guess you've already met Bryn."
"Yeah, hi!" Evan says as he shakes my mom's hand and flashes Bryn a beautiful smile then says to her, "Good to see you again."
"You, too," Bryn says. Even though she's nervous around men who she doesn't know well and people in general, I can tell by the happiness on her face that Evan has the same effect on her that he does the rest of us.
"Is it okay if I get a couple of pictures?" my mom asks Evan.
"Sure, yeah, of course," Evan says as he nods his head. I love his slightly goofy countenance, it reminds me of a golden retriever, happy, sweet, and eager to please.
“Are you sure that’s okay?” I ask quietly.
“Absolutely,” he says as he squeezes my hand that he’s still holding.
We pose for my mom, and thankfully, she really only does take a couple of pictures. "Oh, there's Miranda." I look at Evan, "She's my best friend from childhood and the one who introduced me to your music. Can we get a picture with her?"
"Yeah, cool," he says, and we walk over to where Miranda is talking to Tameka.
After I do the introductions, and my mom snaps a couple of pictures, she says, "Are you two going to get a professional picture?"
Not wanting to put Evan out, I'm about to say no when he says, "Yeah, we should do that." He looks genuinely excited to take a professional prom picture with me.
Thank you, mom! I never would have asked Evan to do that, so my mom turning up is definitely a good thing.
Miranda is on the prom committee and explains, "There are two backgrounds, and there's a long line for the good background." She points to the line I didn't even realize was there, and when I finally look around, I notice that all eyes are on us. Even if they don’t recognize my date, Evan is definitely someone who stands out. "And the bad background is over there. It's mostly for large group pictures."
I look at the line, "That could take forever," I look at Evan, "let's go look at the ‘bad background’ and see what it looks like."
"Good idea," he says, and now we have a small entourage composed of my mom, Bryn, Tameka, and Miranda, following us to the photo area.
When we walk into the room, I see a small group of people by the "bad background" which is solid blue with fake dogwood trees situated atop a piece of green astroturf and ferns at the base of each tree. "Well, that's not bad," I say.
Miranda points to the "good background." "That's the background the long line is for."
I take in the background which is a really cheesy airbrushed nighttime scene in shades of gray and purple with a full moon glowing in the starry sky. "That's the 'good background?'"
"Yeah," Miranda says.
I turn to Evan, "I think that's pretty ugly, don't you?"
He nods his head. "Yeah, the 'bad background' is way better."
This makes me laugh. "The bad background it is, then!"
When we walk over to the short line, we see Tracy and Dave again. "Hey guys!" I say as we approach them. "Is this the line?"
Tracy says, "We've already taken our picture. I don't think anyone is waiting ahead of you."
"Oh, even better!"
Dave says, "Evan, do you want to borrow my jacket again?"
"Oh, yeah, that would be cool," Evan says.
Dave slips off his jacket and then says, "Here, you can have my vest, tie, and cummerbund, too." He tilts his chin up and starts unfastening his clip-on bow tie.
"Great, man, thanks," Evan says, and I can tell that he's sincerely appreciative of this gesture.
"No problem," Dave says as he takes off each piece.
Evan takes off his sweater, revealing his white T-shirt which I now see has a faded design on it. "Here, I'll hold that," my mom says and holds her hand out for Evan's sweater.
Dave helps Evan with the bow tie and cummerbund, then Evan slips the vest over his shoulders, and finally, puts the black jacket on. He looks at me, "How do I look?"
"Great!" I smile, "but you looked great to begin with so…" While Dave isn't as tall as Evan, he's only a couple inches shorter, so the jacket fits him pretty well.
"But now I'll look all proper for the picture." He smiles as he holds the jacket lapels in his hands and raises his chin, giving me a dignified look.
Could he be any cuter and sweeter? See what I mean about the golden retriever comparison? He really is going above and beyond for me, and I wonder if he'll ever know just how much this night means to me.
"Are y'all ready?" I look up and see the photographer looking our way.
"Yep, all set," I reply, and Evan and I step in front of the camera.
"Stand right in the center of the trees," the photographer says as he motions with his hand for us to move to our left. "There, perfect."
"Fix my hair how you want it," Evan says.
I look at that gorgeous brown mane of hair and wonder how anyone could make it look any better. I pat down some stray frizzy pieces. "There, it looks good." I look across the room and notice that everyone waiting for their picture at the "good background" is watching us, and dead center is none other than Amber Gates looking like she just sucked on a lemon.
Evan slides his left arm around my waist and pulls me close. I instinctively put my right arm around his lower back. His right hand goes to my left waist, and I place my left hand on his forearm as the photographer looks up, "Okay, so you'll…" he realizes we're already posing for him. "Great, yeah, you know what you're doing." I imagine with all the press Evan has had recently, including several magazine covers, he must look like a natural to a photographer who has had to direct awkward teens posing all night. He steps back behind the camera as Evan pulls me even closer, so that the sides of our faces are touching. I am so glad my mom came down here, because I can't wait to see how this picture turns out!