Life, Love & The Forbidden

Shopping

Sara's stared at her reflection in the full length mirror before her and sighed. It was hideous. The arm ruffles poked out awkwardly and the skirt flared out like a tutu. It was pink, the colour she really wanted, but it was all wrong. Her face contorted with contemplation but she already knew the answer to her mind's question.

"No?" Her friend called over the faded blue curtain as she waited outside the changing room. Sara's silence had been a sure sign she didn't like this one.

"No," Sara said sarcastically as she pulled the curtain back, it brass rings scraping the metallic pole they were looped on. Her friend's hand covered her face and a stopped laugh that threatened to escape. Sara narrowed her eyes and bit the inside of her mouth as she pulled the curtain closed again roughly.

"Try the next one," her friend suggested with a raised voice as she browsed some near by dresses. They had come to the best shop in town for wedding and prom dresses, a little corner boutique called Presi's that stocked everything for him and her on that special day. Sara had her date for the prom so all she needed now was a dress. She also had Frank's credit card with no limit.

Sara dropped the ruffled mess to the floor with a scuffling noise as the shiny material rubbed against itself. Stepping from it she picked it up and threaded it back onto the decorative padded hanger before passing it to her friend outside. Her bare arm pulled back into the cubicle and she clumsily undressed the next hanger in the confined space.

"So what's Michael wearing?" her friend called, taking up a seat on a stool in front of the curtain and flicking through a wedding magazine. Sara pulled on the next dress and zipped up the side, breathing out and flattening some wrinkles in the material.

"Uh..." she stuttered unfocused on the question. "He hasn't said," she revealed, suddenly wondering what he was actually going to wear. "I'm assuming a tux?" she told her friend, half a question and half wondering.

"Of course he'll wear a tux," her friend told her with a giggle. "And he'll look so good!" she purred in a squeak. Sara smiled and spun around in the changing room, reached up and yanked the curtain back. Her friend looked up and closed the magazine she was reading. Her face screwed up and she cupped her chin in her hand as if she had a beard. "I don't know," she confessed, cocking her head sideways.

"Me either," Sara said honestly, spinning to look at the dress in the mirror again. It was two colours, the skirt one and the bodice another. The skirt was less bouncy than the last but it was white, a colour Sara was really trying to avoid. The bodice was her favourite part, a plum purple corset type device that had delicate white embroidery around the bust line. She pressed her hands to her hips as she studied it.

"Maybe not," her friend told her finally making her decision. "It's kind of wedding dressy," she told Sara. Sara saw her point and although she though it looked fantastic, it was all wrong for her prom. Her friend pushed herself up off the stool, shuffled Sara back into the cubicle and yanked the curtain closed. "Next," she bellowed, leaving Sara no time to reconsider the dress.

Sara changed again, redressing the hanger and passing the dress to her friend through the curtain. She saw the next dress, a light blue number with an exposed lattice type back, thin straps and a long flat skirt. It was made of silk and felt divine to touch but the colour was not what Sara was looking for. She picked it off the hook where it hung, and held it out to her gaze.

"I like the blue one," Sara's friend called through the dividing curtain. Sara studied it longer, wishing it was another colour.

"Me too but I don't want blue," she confessed. "It's too cold," she said passing the dress though the barrier again. Her friend took it and shrugged, hanging it on a nearby rail. A shop assistant watched intently, spying the young girls with a suspicious glare. Her friend gave her a quick smile and inched her face closer to the edge of the curtain.

"I think the woman thinks we are just trying on dresses for fun," she giggled pulling the curtain aside as Sara pulled on the next dress. Her friend looked her up and down, stepping in to zip up the back. It was a peau de soie satin, rose red strapless gown and the material was folded at the bust making a neat seem. It had two sewn seems down the body piece and Sara studied her reflection with awe. "Wow," her friend breathed looking into the mirror.

"You think?" Sara asked, nervously patting her hands down the material and flattening her hair.

"Yes," her friend told her firmly. "And Michael will go insane," she smirked at the reflection. Sara smiled broadly at the thought before reality struck her as she sadly read the price tag.

"Its three hundred and fifty dollars," she sighed dropping the tag with a pout. "And that's without shoes and stuff," she huffed, resigned to the fact she wouldn't be taking this one home.

"Pfft!" her friend exclaimed. "Your dad said no limit, remember?"

"Well, yeah but I didn't want to..." she began but her friend cut her off loudly.

"Don't be crazy! He wants you to enjoy the evening," she said quickly. "Thus the no limit thing," she smiled with a twinkle in her eye. Sara grinned and observed herself in the mirror one more time. The bouffant skirt just touched the floor and the exposed back taped to a delicate point on the small of her back.

"I'll need red shoes," Sara said suddenly and her friend squealed with joy.

"You're going to be the most beautiful person at the prom," She said as she hugged her friend tight. "Michael is very lucky," She grinned.