Turn To You

Turn To You: Chapter Five

Rosalie and I took our seats at the stools behind the counter. Rosalie was biting a nail and I was drumming my fingers when the curtain rustled and then moved. And then Betsy reappeared.

I gasped the same way I had when I had seen the dress on the hanger. My heart rate seemed to accelerate a little. I couldn't take my eyes off Betsy. The dress fit her slender body perfectly, hugging her just enough to accentuate the curves she often hid. The color of the dress against her skin gave it an iridescent look. I knew immediately what kind of shoes she could wear. She was gorgeous and the dress, I realized, would match up with the earrings I'd bought her. I could tell that, although she'd probably never say so, she liked the dress, too. She stood in front of the mirror, walking back and forth in her cowboy boots and turning around like a supermodel. I stood up beside her and looked at her face in the mirror. I smoothed her hair to one side - the way it might look if she wore it that way - and smiled at her reflection.

When I went to take my hand away from her head, though, I happened to graze her shoulder. I felt all my hairs stand on end and the swirling in my stomach increased a little. Get a grip, Asha, I told myself - it was getting pretty late in the afternoon and I was probably just hungry. Betsy and I caught each other's reflection in the mirror and to my surprise, she looked a little sheepish. When our eyes met in the mirror, she quickly glanced away.

"We'll take it," I said. Rosalie raised an eyebrow at my sudden bossiness, but Betsy nodded to her and Rosalie went to ring it up. Since she and Betsy were old friends and "practically family," she gave us a 25% off discount. 

As we were leaving, Betsy and Rosalie hugged and I saw Rosalie whisper something into Betsy's ear. Betsy's eyes looked down at the floor, her face flushed. Then before I even had time to be surprised by it, Rosalie leaned in and hugged me, too.

"It was so lovely to meet you," she said to me.

"You, too," I said. We stepped back from each other and Betsy's arm found my elbow, steering me toward the door.

Back in the car, I started to ask what Rosalie had said but I decided it wasn't my business and I shouldn't ask. Though I did give myself a clause in my agreement with myself not to ask - that if I changed my mind and curiosity got the best of me, I could inquire after all.

"You hungry?" Betsy said.

"Starved," I said.

"Give me the address of the Mediterranean place," she said. I did and we pored over the map to find the best way to get there. More than once, I found myself noticing precisely how close her shoulder was to mine. What the hell, Asha? I thought.

It wasn't far to the restaurant and we ordered appetizers first since we were so hungry. Two hours trying on dresses was apparently enough to wear us thin. We had stuffed grape leaves and some kind of seasoned flatbread with tabouli salad, baba ganouj, and hummus dip. Then we had falafel sandwiches with tahini and drank iced tea. We talked about movies and the last great books we'd read. I told her my favorite book was Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen and she said she liked 1984 by George Orwell a lot - and we both promised to read each other's favorite. At one point, a belly dancer appeared and as she circled close to our table, the tiny bells and cymbals on her harem pants shook. She shimmied closer to me, jingling. Betsy and I began to giggle and it only encouraged the woman, who just continued to gyrate without speaking a word. 

After lunch, Betsy took me to the mall as promised. I went into a party store and Betsy was trying to help me find prom decorations.

"What's your theme?" Betsy asked. "They do have themes right?"