The John Hughes Club

Chapter Sixty Eight

Descending the stairs, I am aware of my mum capturing every moment with her phone. I'm also aware of my dad and Rob standing and staring with massive smiles on both their delighted faces. In front of them, wait Zigs and Ros's date, Isaac, their eager eyes honing in on their glammed-up girls stepping down behind me, but my peripheral vision takes a backseat and time begins to pass in glorious slow motion as soon as I see Chas...my boy...the father of our baby.

As soon as our eyes find each other, everyone becomes a wallflower to the perfectness of our passage in time.
Here.
Right now.
No one else matters.
Not one moment, is more important than this one.

Chas has always had an innately captivating presence, an absorbing presence, but tonight that presence is so captivating and so absorbing, that I have to tell myself to just breathe. To breathe and to just keep myself moving towards him. For my breath-taking boy is there waiting for me, wearing a striking turquoise skinny fit suit and an equally striking smile. The sateen tapered trousers and blazer are handsomely made complete with a plain tight black tee and patent slip-on loafers. The closer I get to him, the more I am unable to smirk at his refusal to wear a tie, which he has so sophisticatedly pulled off.

"Happy Prom Night, beautiful girl," cruises from out of Chas's throat as he reaches to take hold of my hand, his words of celebration lovingly expressed to only me, yet for everyone else to hear.

Aware that all eyes are very much now on us, while we share this sweet and adoring moment, a sudden coyness comes over me. "Thank you," is my shy reply back to him as my fingers keenly curl themselves around his, my heart skipping to just how incredibly good it feels to touch him.

Gently drawing me in nearer to himself, Chas then whispers in my ear, "My very own Molly Ringwald...you look so pretty in pink." I know this is where Chas would like to kiss me, but instead, he allows his compliment to.

"Ohhhhhh! You all look so amazing!" Again, mum excitedly starts taking as many pictures as she can of us, and indeed of our friends. At some point, she also gets herself, dad and Rob into some of the shots that we shall one day all look back on, remembering this evening with a nostalgic smile and a warm fuzziness filling our hearts. Once completely satisfied that she has captured enough memories, mum is then happy for us to leave.

"Okaaaaaay, are we ready to roll?" Zigs croons, throwing his one arm around Ella while his other smoothes down his blue windowpane check waistcoat. Yup, Zigs has put in a dapper Z into his name for the prom this evening. Teamed with a snazzy crisp white shirt and coordinating skinny tie, he really looks great in his posh threads.

"I think so," Chas eagerly says, brushing his thumb across my hand that he isn't wanting to let go of anytime soon.

"I'm certainly ready to roll!" Ros sings back with, wrapping her arm around Isaac, who she's happily been dating since Easter. They met when he became one of the newest members of The John Hughes Club, and he too, looks just as dapper as Zigs does.

"Let's get you lot in the limo!" Dad suggests, ushering us all out of the hallway with one of his grins tattooed on his face.

Sure enough, when Rob opens the front door, a white stretch limousine is there waiting for us—yet another prom night treat from all of our adults, who kindly chipped in together to provide us with this joy ride.

Getting caught up with the excitement of Ros and Ella's shrieks of absolute glee, I turn to look at Chas with an irrepressible bounce in my heeled ankle boots. "Go on, I know you want to," he teases, a gorgeous smirk smothering every inch of his boyfriendly lips.

Letting go of him, I rush to be where Ros and Ella are, to add a third squeal of delight to their raucous duet. Laughing, Chas watches me. He watches me with love shining in the depths of his brown eyes, with love emanating from the depths of his enormously big heart. It's like he's enjoying the fact that I am enjoying tonight. On more than one occasion, I didn't want to do this whole prom night thing. I didn't want to be the only pregnant girl at the ball. But Chas, he convinced me that it didn't matter if I was the only pregnant girl there. He convinced me that it only mattered that I was there, with him. And now that tonight is here, I'm so glad that I've decided to go and be a part of this.

**

The limo was fun, hilarious fun! There was lots of energy, lots of banter, lots of singing, lots of shimmying, and lots of laughter. The experience of that, kind of kept my nerves at bay, but now that we have arrived at Archleigh, those nerves are letting me know that they have arrived too. Whilst everyone else is keen to get outside of the luxurious vehicle, I'm starting to feel like I'd rather stay inside of it.

"You okay?" Chas asks me, noticing my hesitancy as I prepare myself for being the only pregnant girl at the prom.

Not wanting to bring anyone down, especially not him, I paint a wide-ish smile on my face and start easing myself out of the limo with the biggest pair of invisible big girl panties that I imagine myself quickly needing to put on. "Yeah, I'm okay," wanders from between my lips, admirably trying to convince him that I really am.

"Let me help you," comments Chas, offering an affectionate arm to help me and our baby bump elegantly exit the limo.

"Thank you," I mutter beneath a relieved huff, just grateful for that loving little lift from Chas—both physically and emotionally.

In pairs, we meander towards the main hall at Archleigh. In pairs, we want to know what our night shall bring. Occasionally, we stop to take selfies or to simply check out what everyone else is wearing. Every teenager here, seem to be on point with their outfits. On point with their hair. On point with their attitude. The atmosphere outside is buzzing, I can only imagine what it's going to be like inside. Well, my little intake of breath, demonstrates the answer to that.

"Woooooooow!" Ella articulates my thoughts exactly.

"You wouldn't think it was the same room, would you?" Isaac adds, his eyes widening as he starts taking in the whole of the room before him.

Feeling Chas close by my side, I too, begin soaking up the sight before me...and what a spectacular sight it is!

The lights are low but the prom vibe is high. For all of the times when I've questioned whether I should be here, it's like the prettily decorated room is now telling me that I absolutely should. Everything I love, is here—a ceiling of golden fairy lights shimmering down on me, globes of cloud white paper lanterns hanging high above my head, clusters of champagne and silver balloons weighted together with string ribbon on round tables draped in ivory cotton, and large light up letters of: PROM, there upon the hall stage. It's almost as if I have stepped right inside of a John Hughes movie scene—one of those perfect and wonderful, heart-squeezing scenes!

"This place is sick!" Zigs and his loud appreciation for our glammed-up school hall, wrenches me away from all my dreamy and silly thoughts.

I don't know why, but the reality of where I am suddenly makes me feel anxious, suddenly overwhelms me. In my head, everything was perfect. Here, I'm scared that it won't be. How can it? I really am the only pregnant girl here. Nervously, I stare down at my small pregnancy bump that's there beneath my pretty prom dress, wondering whether I really should be here tonight.

"You are beautiful," whispers Chas from behind me, the warmth of his breath caressing the nape of my neck.

He always says the right thing, at the right time...always. And yet, I still stand here doubting his compliment. "Do I really look okay?" I anxiously mumble to him, almost embarrassed at my sudden loss of confidence.

Standing himself lovingly closer behind me, Chas kisses my neck with a smile felt curling the whole of his lips. "Mindy Diaz, you are the most beautiful girl in this room and the most beautiful thing in my life...yes, you look okay." More of his smile can be felt on my neck as he gently kisses it again. "You both do." Bringing our unborn baby into the moment, Chas places both his hands on my protruding stomach, holding it with his palms full of his protective love. "You're both perfect," lazily leaves his mouth, the same mouth that's now gifting me with more of his adoring neck kisses.

When I was younger, my nightmares about Anais would leave me feeling so scared, that the only person who made me feel better was my dad. Sometimes, the only way I would feel safe, was in his arms. With him holding me tightly, I felt secure. Secure enough to face another day. That's how Chas makes me feel. He makes me feel safer. More secure. Less vulnerable. He hands to me my confidence, my strength, my determination. Feeling so aware of his arms around me and our baby, I know that tonight will be great. I know that with him and our friends, some amazing memories are going to be made. Tilting my head against his, I feel ready to start creating them. "Okay, me and little one want to go and have some fun," I sassily state, smirking at the poetic way in which I declare it...but then again, myself and Chas are exactly just that...a living and breathing love poem.