Cheating Death

Cheating Death Chapter 4 Unfinished

Chapter Four

Daniel's prom was first. I gave him my address and we arranged everything through email. I even called him a few times, but Mom says I just sat there blushing the entire time and said nothing. Tim said it was cute and sometimes you can communicate without words, even over the phone.

Mom did my hair and makeup. She fussed over the wig for two hours straight. I wore a head wrap while I waited. An older lady, the aunt of a girl who goes to the clinic made us all one. She says all of the body heat escapes from your head, so she wanted us warm. After Mom was done with the wig I put it on, and even a pair of earrings and a necklace, she says Dad and David got those.

I didn't want to look in the mirror, but Mom and Timmade me. I usually look sick, or I think I do. I guess that happens when you've had one thing or another your entire life. But looking in the mirror, I looked healthy. If I didn't focus on the wig, and didn't know it was one, I'd have thought it was my own long blonde hair. Mom had it done with braids starting at the temples, that went to the back. Then a ton of curls from there down. They reminded me of Shirley Temple, that little girl who sang in movies Mom liked. She even tried teaching me the Animal Cracker song.

I felt beautiful, staring in the mirror. I wanted to twirl. I found myself wishing this dress was made for twirling. My red dress seemed like it would be fun for that. I decided I would twirl in that one, it seemed like it would be fun.  Mom fussed a little more over my hair as the doorbell rang.  Tim went downstairs, leaving Mom and I alone. She was staring at me, her eyes looking watery. Like they do in movies when they're fighting tears. Instead she brushed something off my shoulder and sniffled. "I don't want to get mascara on your dress, Em." She ran a hand over my cheek and finally gave in, giving me a tight hug.

Mom and David got tons of pictures. Daniel and I had to wait a full three minutes for our eyes to clear before he could drive us there. I half expected his entire suit to be blue, and was slightly disappointed it wasn't. But the black suit with blue accents looked just as good. His brown hair was still stubble, having just started to grow back, he said before he started his treatments, he was working on a mustache. He would look strange with a mustache. The blue in his suit made his eyes look blue, Dad says those are called hazel eyes. David has eyes like that.

Daniel took my arm, leading me to his car and opening and closing the door for me. I've never been good with vehicle types. I do know it was compact, dark blue in color. The seats inside showed the vehicle was driven a lot, the soft grey fabric covering them showing a few holes. The car looked and smelled like it had been cleaned very recently.  He climbed into the driver's seat, his legs were so long. It was almost comical. But it wasn't until he started the car and the music began did I laugh. My favorite song, "Another Postcard" started playing. I had told him I like the Barednaked Ladies, and that is my favorite song. I was surprised he remembered. He smiled while I laughed, then we both began to sing along.

The drive to his school didn't take long, or it didn't to me. We sang the entire way, as he had made an entire CD of nothing but songs he thought I'd like. He guessed correctly, I loved every single song on the CD. I even asked him if I could have a copy, which he said yes. When we got to his school he parked and went to open the door for me.