Rancorous

Chapter 28

PRESENT

Herlina

Last night, even with the amount of hands helping out, my grandmother's house wasn't impeccably clean until 1:30 in the morning. Between the mess in the kitchen and the mess that the children left lying around it was almost an impossible feat, but we accomplished it.

Everyone completely left at around 2 am and I was ready to sleep. Before I can even set a foot on the stairs, my mom approaches me.

She pulls me into a hug. "Herlina, I want to ask you something."

"What is it?" We pull away but she holds me in place by my arms. Her smiling green eyes that I inherited dance between my own. She's grinning, like she's been holding a secret for so long and is impatient to get the words out. "I want you to attend an event that I organized. I've been wanting you to see my work for quite a while now."

I raise my eyebrows, not expecting her words at all. When I was a little girl, I remember there being several times where I asked my mother if I could go with her to an event she worked on perfecting. A look of understanding flashes across her eyes, like she's reading my mind.

She remembers what I desired so much when I was younger and is proud to finally fulfill that little dream of mine.

"Really?" My cheeks ache at the large grin I plaster on my face.

"Really." She nods with equal happiness.

"Okay, I'd love to mom. When is it?" I can't contain the excitement coursing through my veins. I want to ask so much more, but I bite my tongue not wanting to ruin the moment.

My mother reciprocates my grin. "Saturday, at around 6 pm. We can go together. It's a formal event, so we can go shopping to buy you a dress if you'd like."

I'm about to reluctantly agree, when I suddenly have an idea. "You have tons of gorgeous dresses. Can't I just borrow one of yours?"

Love and happiness glimmers in my mother's eyes like the glittery reflections in snow from the sunlight. "Of course Herlina." Her eyes begin to water, so I embrace my mother in a hug to avoid looking at her eyes and having mine mirror the same reaction.

The next day, a little past noon, my mother arrives with my dad bringing a dozen dresses along with some jewelery and fancy heels. My mother and I have almost identical body shapes and the same size shoe. The only difference is I got my dad's dark ebony hair while hers is a dark shade of brown.

As my mom and dad drop the dresses on the bed, my grandmother sits on the window cushion admiring the elegant dresses with doe eyes.

"Alright, I'll leave you ladies to it." My dad pulls me in a hug and kisses the crown of my head. He leans toward my mother and kisses her on the cheek. Then he turns to my grandma and says, "I'll be downstairs Mrs. Pontes."

"Alright Abel. We might be here a while, so go eat, watch t.v. or take a nap." She smiles and my father laughs.

My grandmother and mom spend the next hour and a half helping me try on different dresses in combination with different jewelry. In the end, I hesitantly and partially agree to a white floral dress.

"I don't know mom." Staring at my reflection in the mirror, I don't find the colorful flowers scattered throughout the white fabric of the dress appealing. "I was hoping for a dress of a single color," I admit. All of my mother's dresses have at least two different colors to them.

My mom begins lifting dress after dress. "I do have one dress that's a neon pink. It should be here somewhere, I thought I brought it." I shutter at the mention of a bright pink dress, I'm not particularly fond of flourescent clothing. I tried all the dresses she brought, and I gladly don't recall seeing the one she describes.