Because of that Night (Book 2)

Chapter 47: Lila

Lila grazed her hand over the intricate beading and jewels of the peach-colored gown that descended down to the floor below her as her aunt Nova's hands wove back and forth tying the corset in the back. Lila felt the dress pulling tighter and tighter as her mother looked at her admiringly, her hands clasped together, trying to hide her smile. Her long, red nails clacked against each other as she moved them away from her face.

"The dress is so beautiful, Baby," she cooed, shaking her head in disbelief.

"And to think Lorraine's daughter only wore this dress once and paid hundreds for it," Aunt Nova said, clicking her tongue.

"I'm gonna send her a note in the mail with more money for allowing us to borrow it," Lila's mother said now, her smile fading as she walked over closer to her daughter, pulling the top of the dress upwards to cover Lila's cleavage the best she could.

"Edie," Aunt Nova chided gently. "It was a kind gesture; just accept it and let it go."

"Ha!" Lila's mother scoffed, going back over to where her glass of wine sat and took a sip. "Nova, we're not a charity case. Maybe we couldn't afford a dress from one those little boutiques where they're outrageously overpriced like all the other pretentious Borne mothers and daughters did, but we could have still gotten her something nice at one of the department stores. She only asked us for fifty bucks. We can swing more than that."

"But now Lila gets to wear one of those boutique dresses, too," Aunt Nova argued, but she had a devilish grin on her face as she caught Lila's eye in the full-length mirror they were in front of. "And we beat the system in the process. It's a win-win if you ask me."

"We could have at least given them a hundred or something," Edie scowled, pursing her red lips as she observed Lila from head to toe.

"Mom," Lila finally chimed in as she watched the gears turning in her mother's head.

Edie could get this way sometimes, a lot of the time. Borne had its groups of working-class families, sure. But it was no secret that the town was mainly comprised of wealthy, affluent, white families. The Ambrose family was certainly not part of the majority, and their olive skin only highlighted that fact. Though Lila was lighter than both her mother and aunt, it was clear she still couldn't entirely "fit" in the sea of white that existed in Borne High. She and Seth were two of the very few students who weren't white, and Lila couldn't stand it. If there was one thing she wanted to be able to do, it was blend in, and in Borne, that just wasn't possible.

It wasn't that students were rude to her because of this part of herself, per se, but that it was very hard not to get lost in your own head when it came to events like prom. She knew most every girl at Borne High would have on a brand new, bedazzled and unique dress from one of the boutiques in and around Borne. And it wasn't that Lila didn't feel beautiful in what she wore now. The detail and the way that the sun glimmered on each of the fake jewels on the dress's bust were a sight to be seen, but Lila did miss the excitement that came with the actual pomp and circumstance of picking a dress out for yourself.

She had gone with Zooey to a few shops as she browsed these boutiques. Zooey's family wasn't the wealthiest in town by any means, but with the divorce of her parents, her father was willing to do just about anything to get Zooey back on good graces with him. If she wanted one of those big, expensive, two hundred-dollar dresses, her father may grit his teeth, but would buy it for her anyways.

"I really should just double the price of whatever dress I pick and make him think it really was that expensive," Zooey had commented one Saturday the two had journeyed out alone to a boutique in neighboring Webhannet. "Men are stupid, they don't know how much a dress cost."