Before the Car | Escapes #0.5

Chapter 10

Mom entered the living room after dinner. Nothing unusual about that, but she usually wasn't holding a garment bag. "What's that?" I asked after glancing at Dad, who didn't seem to think anything was unusual about it. 

She smiled at me. "Something you're going to give to Jenny tomorrow," she replied. Before I could ask her anything, she unzipped it. Inside was a beautiful dress. I wasn't sure what they called the neckline, but it was a soft blue strapless dress that flowed. The skirt was covered in a semi-transparent fabric that added to the fullness. 

It would look beautiful on Jenny. Mom could pick the best clothes. 

"Why me? She doesn't like me," I said, looking between them. "And what about me? I don't have a tux or anything rented. I mean, I guess I could see if I still fit in my sui I wore to my prom, but I think I've filled out since then."

"Got you covered," Dad said, standing. He walked out of the room and returned a minute later with another garment bag. "I already got you a suit. I'd planned on giving it to you to wear to our fundraiser later in the year, but this is a good time to give it to you."

I wasn't sure what he was talking about, what that fundraiser was, but I would take whatever it was he got for me. We liked similar styles, so I knew it would look good. He unzipped it. Inside was a nice tux and a bowtie that complimented the dress nicely. "Those really bring back memories," I said. Though, honestly, my own prom was more or less a flop. I didn't have a date, though it wasn't for a lack of choices. I had too many and didn't want to hurt anyone, so I hurt everyone by going alone in a group pf guys.

They had a good evening with girls. We'd planned to leave at some point and play video games at someone's house until dawn. It ended up that they brought the girls to a hotel in town and I went back to my house alone and played games by myself until dawn. I wasn't interested in girls enough to try to mess around with them right after my girlfriend broke up with me. Why did she leave me? Because I wasn't as invested in the relationship as she was. 

Truthfully, I wasn't as into it as she was because we were like oil and water. She showed interest, so I returned it, but the longer we dated, the more I realized we weren't meant to be. I didn't have any incentive to keep her around, so I didn't put in the effort to. I didn't think it was right to mess around less than a week after that - even though she thought it was fine to mess around with any rando that asked her to prom - and hung out by myself. 

This wasn't a do-over by any means, but a small part of me wanted it to be. 

"Hopefully you'll have some better memories this time around," Mom said softly as she sat next to me on the couch. She rubbed my back and I smiled over at her. 

"I'm sure I will." I was going to be going with Jenny, after all. There was no way my evening was going to be a flop.

---

I finished putting on my bowtie and took a deep breath. "Nervous?" Dad asked behind me. 

"Not really. It's just a high school function." The event didn't make me nervous - Jenny did. When she showed me that she was planning to wear a shirtdress, I was silently thanking my parents that they knew her well enough to buy her a dress. 

"You're still allowed to be nervous." Dad stood and walked over me. He inspected my attire and gave me a nod. "You're allowed to be nervous because of the girl. I know you like her. She's going to be 18 soon. You're allowed to think about her. Just remember that I'd be proud to have her as a daughter-in-law." He winked and grinned at  me as I rolled my eyes. 

"There's no way you'll get one from just one night." I looked in the mirror again and took another deep breath. Just thinking about seeing her in that dress had my heart pounding. She was going to be so beautiful.