Who You Say I Am (A Jai Courtney Fanfic)

Chapter 77-Meg

Meg

We come home joining my parents along with Mikey for dinner before he and Jai get ready to leave for their super fun laser tag night of boys only. I frown as they rise from the table and clear their plates.
"Cut it out Meg. You're not coming," Mikey sighs frustratedly putting his plate in the dishwasher.
I pout my lip out and he growls walking out of the kitchen. I can still hear him stomping as he shuts the front door.
I feel Jai slide his arms around my chest from behind. "He said he's afraid all his awkward mates are going to hit on you," he whispers in my ear.
"Oh," I say in surprise.
"I'll see you tomorrow," he says kissing the top of my head. "Thanks for dinner," he tells my mom.
"Anytime, Jai," Mom smiles as he follows my brother out of the front door.
"Thanks for joining us," my dad tells his retreating form.
"No worries," Jai calls out before shutting the door.
"So..." my mom grins at me.
I raise my eyebrow in question as I help her clear the table. "Yes?" I ask her when she doesn't say what she was going to say.
"Thank you for dinner, honey. You know it's one of my favorites," my dad says kissing her cheek and patting her arm.
"I know. That's why I made it," she smiles back.
He kisses her and I sigh at the affection my parents still have for each other. They're so wonderful together and my heart soars at the sight. He hugs her once more before he leaves the kitchen.
"So... how are things going with you two?" Mom asks me.
"Fine," I shrug. "We swam laps today."
"What else have you two been up to?" she inquires.
"We saw a movie," I tell her.
"Is that all?" she asks.
"We went to lunch and window shopped a bit?" I admit.
"Shopped? For what?" she asks intrigued.
"Um," I say scratching my arm in nervousness. "We went to the prom and formalwear section," I start.
"Is he taking you out somewhere special?" she asks grinning.
"Actually..." I say softly. "He asked me in Jamaica if I'd go with him to a movie screening."
"What's that?" she questions.
"You know, one of those red carpet events movie stars go to. He just finished filming a movie and when it comes out, he wanted me to accompany him to it," I shrug.
She blinks in surprise. "Are you serious?"
I shrug again and nod.
"What'd you buy?" she asks curiously.
"Nothing," I admit finishing loading the dishwasher and starting it up.
"Was the selection as bad as prom?" she asks as we put the dishes of food away in the fridge.
"Worse," I tell her making a face. I explain about the options I found and she nods in understanding.
"Don't they usually have designers make the formalwear for those?" she inquires.
"I told him no. He already offered. It sounded really expensive. I just didn't want to have him, you know, spend a ton of money on something like that," I explain gently.
"He invited you, though," she points out. "He knew what he was doing when he asked."
"Yeah, but... have you seen some of the clothes women wear from those designers?" I question.
She shakes her head.
I do a search on my phone and pull up some for her to view. "Some of these aren't that bad," she insists. I click on a closeup. "Okay, that one is see through. And these are all low cut or barely covering anything. I think the prom selection is better."
"Yeah," I nod.
"What were you thinking then?" she asks.
"Fabric store?" I say questioningly shrugging.
"Do you want to look at patterns?" she asks.
"That's what I was thinking," I nod. "I was considering bringing my sketchbook and making up my own design from the ideas in their books."
"Can I come?" she asks.
I smile and laugh lightly. "Sure," I nod.
My mom insists on driving and we take her SUV to the fabric store. We sit down at the pattern tables and I start with one of the Vogue books, my mom with another brand. I flip through to the dress patterns and see several I like but for many, there's just something about them that I'd change. I open my sketchbook and make some drawings. I flip the page and draw another one. I make so many changes, as if I'm just using what I found in the books for inspiration. My drawings are totally different but one aspect of the whole might be a bit similar. My mom brings over a different book and she has it opened to the costume section. There's a high pointed collar on a witch costume that I can't keep my eyes off of. I draw a high collar but instead of being flat and pointed, I draw one with a folded, sort of ruffled material around the neck standing on end.
"Oh, I like that," my mom points to the collar.
I smile in response. I also see some renaissance style dresses and I draw my own modern creation for the rest. I flip through page after page of my sketchbook. Everything is just flowing out of me. At this point, I'm not even looking at the patterns. I've got my own unique style and I'm bursting with ideas. I stop in the midst of a drawing and give credit where credit is due—I pray and thank God for the ideas and the inspiration. I was kind of worried today at the dress stores that I wouldn't be able to find anything or have any ideas. I was completely drawing a blank at the stores... but here, I'm just bursting with creativity. I stop after close to twenty designs and continue looking through the pattern books. I draw some more and move onto a different brand of patterns. I draw a couple and move on. By the time I've reached the end of the stack of pattern books, I realize I've completely filled my sketchbook. Some pages have two or more.
My mom reaches out for my sketchbook and I surrender it to her. She flips through it smiling and glancing at me occasionally. She finishes and gives me her full attention. "I think you missed your calling. Anytime you want, I'll talk your father into paying for some classes at the other university," she tells me.
I look down at my hands grasping my book. "Thank you, mama," I say softly.
"So?" she asks me excitedly.
"What?" I question confused.
"Which one do you think you'll wear for that event?" she inquires.
"Um..." I say flipping though the sketches. I look through it and my eyes land on one in particular. I shake my head and flip through them again. I still feel drawn to the same one—the renaissance style one with the collar. It has short sleeves and a floor length semi-full skirt with a slight train.
"This one?" she questions enthusiastically.
"How would I even make a collar like that?" I ask.
"With interfacing," she tells me. "You can iron it between two layers, fold it like that. I'll help."
"Alright," I agree.
"Let's go look at fabric," she suggests.
"Okay," I nod.
We walk through the special occasion fabrics and they're all so exquisite. There are satins, velvets, chiffon, organza, silks, taffeta, crepes... I see brocades, lace, jacquards, damasks. There are so many different patterns to choose from as well: paisley, houndstooth, Moroccan, argyle, floral, quatrefoil, ogee. The possibilities are endless. My mom recommends several different options and I'm surprised since I was just looking for ideas. I wasn't actually planning on buying. She selects a black floral jacquard satin and I pick up the bolt of fabric. I feel the material between my fingers and it's so beautiful and delicate with the rosette patterns weaved into the material.
"I think we should buy this one," she suggests.
"I was just looking," I tell her.
"But it's perfect," she insists.
"I... I do like it," I admit. "But I don't have the money for this right now. I need to start working again," I tell her knowing that my apartment and other costs depleted most of my savings account.
"Think of it as an early birthday present from your father and me. I've been debating on what to get you this year because you're so independent. This'll be perfect," she tells me.
"Alright," I agree. "Thanks Mom," I say hugging her.
"Let's go pick out something for that fringe you drew around the front collar," she says.
"Okay," I whisper smiling.
We look through some of the more opaque materials for the front collar trim. I select a charcoal black voile for the fringe. My mom picks out a simple material for the lining. We get some tulle and interfacing, too. She insists on checking the bargain bins and I nod that we'll take a look at the clearance shelves. We walk over there and I see Christmas and Halloween materials marked down. There's all sorts of out of season bolts in the piles. A random cornflour blue bolt catches my eyes and I gravitate towards it. I pick it up and it's absolutely gorgeous. It's a silk jacquard with a paisley pattern. The blue color is so pretty.
"Do you have a dress in mind for that one?" Mom asks.
"Um... I don't know," I say biting my lip. I set my armful of selections down in her shopping cart and flip through my sketchbook again. I find a kind of fifties style dress with a tie around the waist. It's a bit more modern but this dress would be perfect with this fabric. I show her what I'm thinking.
"Add it to the pile," she says. "Let's find some ribbon for that one and notions."
"Thanks, Mom," I tell her.
"Anytime, sweetheart," she smiles.
We get thread, hooks and eyes, zippers, and a few other random things my mom thinks would go well with our selections. I'm in awe at the bargain she got for everything. I look to her in surprise.
"I had a coupon," she shrugs.
"That must've been a good coupon," I tell her in awe.
"They're in the paper every Sunday. That's one good thing from the last edition," she says. "The rest was fire starter."
I can't help the laugh that bubbles out of my chest at her comment. We each grab a bag and I'm so excited about getting started.