His Girl

Meet

I knew mom would struggle with money for a new dress, so I found one in a thrift store. It had a blue under slip that cinched at the waist and rounded in the shape of a heart on the chest. The sheer outer layer was embroidered with white flowers.

There was a tear in the lining on the back, mom was pinning it for me. I turned to face her, she wiped tears from her eyes.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"You deserve a brand new dress for the Homecoming dance. Next year will be different, I promise."

"It's okay, mom." I felt too guilty to tell her that we were skipping.

"That boy will never even know." She admired her repair work. "When's he getting here?" she asked. "He knows he's meeting your mom, right?"

"He knows, mom."

"Does he know how lucky he is?" She smoothed her hands over my shoulders, still wrestling with her tears.

"Oh, mom." I blushed with embarrassment. The doorbell rang, my insides began to turn and twist.

She looked at me before opening the door, I was frozen with anticipation. It intensified when I saw him standing there. He wore a black suit, with low profile sneakers. A bow tie around his neck hid all tattoos, his white shirt was untucked.

"Mrs. Banks." He handed her a bouquet of yellow roses, a white rose corsage in his hand for me. I smiled, my bottom lip quivering.

"You must be Adam."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Well, come in."

We went into the kitchen, mom opened sparkling cider. We clanked our glasses together.

"Cheers."

"So, you're driving?" Mom asked him. "Just the two of you? You're licensed and insured?"

It was bad enough when she interrogated me, but this was agonizing.

"Mom," I pleaded with her.

"Yes, ma'am. I can show you if you'd like." He went for his wallet.

"No, I believe you. Thank you though." She was staring at him, curiously.

"I don't want to be late," I said. Anything to get out of the situation.

"Chanel, go put your shoes on," Mom said. She wanted to be alone with him.

I hesitated. He winked at me. I shuffled off to find my silver flats. When I came back, mom was smiling while he refilled her glass. Finally, she was ready to see us to the door.

She held me back for a hug. "You be careful," she whispered in my ear. I nodded. I could see the tears welling up in her eyes.

He opened the passenger door for me. I couldn't wait to be alone with him, out of Mom's sight. She was still watching out the window.

"What did she say to you?" I couldn't wait anymore. We were stopped at a red light.

"That's between us," he smirked.

"Come on. Nothing embarrassing or uncomfortable then?"

"No. She cares about you a lot. That's all. I know how she feels." He reached for my hand.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

We drove west until we could see the beach. The Santa Monica Pier was lighting up as the sun was fading and the air was cooling off.