“I agree completely,” Ellen replied. “We need to show off your beautiful neck. It’s like a dancer’s neck,” and Clara cringed remembering the exchange over Christmas with Beatrice about The Nutcracker.
“Clara? Are you completely and utterly excited?!” Beatrice squealed. She took another large gulp of her soda.
“I think you’ve had too much caffeine, Bea,” Clara replied.
“That’s not an answer!” Beatrice said. “Tell us what you’re feeling!”
Clara grinned. “I feel really excited and really nervous.”
“Well, when everyone sees you in that dress, they’re going to stop cold,” Ellen said. “Are you prepared to have all eyes on you?” She laughed as Clara’s face froze in fear. Beatrice saw it, too.
“Oh Clara,” she said. “Relax! There’s nothing wrong with being the center of attention every once in awhile. Especially when it’s good attention.”
Clara tried to relax. She watched her mother in the mirror as she pulled her hair towards the nape of her neck, securing strands of it with pins until it was fastened into a messy chignon. She gave Clara a hand mirror to look at it from behind.
“What do you think?” Ellen asked.
“It’s so neat. How do you do that?” Clara asked, tentatively touching her hair.
“Well, I always wanted to be a hair dresser,” Ellen said. “And an actress. Bea, that’s where you get your acting bug. A singer and a writer. Oh yeah, and a sculptor.” She winked at Clara. “I’m not quite finished yet,” and she disappeared to another room.
She came back with a few red roses that matched the rubies on Clara’s dress exactly.
“What do you think about pinning some of these in your hair?” Ellen asked.
Clara nodded, and her mother pinned three roses in and around Clara’s chignon.
“Oh, Clara,” Beatrice said dreamily. “You look so elegant.” She sighed and finished her soda then plopped herself down on Ellen’s bed. “Isn’t she elegant, Mom?”
“Beyond elegant,” Ellen answered. She looked at her daughter wistfully. “Clara, you’re all ready. You just need to get dressed.”
***
Beatrice grabbed Evan’s hand and pulled him into the house.
“Now you’ll want to faint when you see her because she’s so beautiful, but don’t,” Beatrice said. “Otherwise you’ll be late for the dance.”
“Naturally,” Evan replied. He stood in the center of the living room looking handsome in a black tuxedo and closed his eyes at Beatrice’s command. He was apprehensive about seeing Clara dressed up. He’d never seen her that way and wondered if he would even recognize her. He wondered, too, if he would like it.
“Okay, Clara!” Ellen called, and Clara emerged from her bedroom.
Evan could hear the clicking of her heels on the hardwoods and was anxious to open his eyes. He knew Beatrice was watching him, though, and kept them tightly closed, waiting until she ordered him to open them. When the clicking stopped, he knew Clara was standing in front of him, and he was impatient to reach out and touch her.
“Evan, your princess awaits you,” Beatrice announced, and Clara giggled. “You can open your eyes now!”
His eyes flew open and fastened onto the most beautiful and tragic girl he’d ever seen. He prayed his face did not betray his thoughts as he took in her dress. He recognized it instantly, and his heart sank. It was the band of rubies he remembered so distinctly, wrapped around another girl’s waist last year, a girl he didn’t care to think about tonight. He considered the probability of Clara choosing the same dress, thinking life was incredibly unfair sometimes, wondering where on earth she even got her hands on it, and fearing her response if he told her. He simply had no words. He could think of nothing to say, though he knew he couldn’t stay mute forever. There were three expectant faces staring at him waiting for a verbal reaction. He had to make sure he said the right thing.
“Clara,” he said quietly. “You are breathtaking,” and Beatrice squealed her approval.
It was the truth. Clara had never looked so beautiful and refined. Evan took out the wrist corsage he brought. Ellen told him to get one with red roses, and he thought that meant Clara would be wearing a red dress. He slipped the band of the corsage over her wrist and entwined his fingers with hers.
“I just want to take a few pictures,” Ellen said. “I promise it won’t take long.”
“Clara, are you excited about your spectacular entrance?” Beatrice asked.
“Yes, Bea,” Clara said, though the only person she cared about looking at her was Evan.
Evan ran the scenarios over and over in his head as he escorted Clara to his car. He could tell her right here and ruin her happiness. He never saw her look so happy and confident. He could take her to prom and hope that Amy and her friends would not notice the two of them. It was a large senior class made even larger by everyone’s dates. There was a good chance that he and Clara would not run into them. Evan even entertained the ludicrous idea that Amy wouldn’t remember. She was always getting new clothes. She tossed in-season clothes to make room for all of the things her father constantly bought her. And Amy obviously donated the custom dress. So if she donated it, it must not have meant anything special to her.
The more Evan thought about it, the more he convinced himself that it wasn’t the big deal he originally thought. But he wouldn’t allow his mind to contemplate one other scenario: Amy and her friends making fun of Clara. He couldn’t allow his thoughts to go there. Girls weren’t that cruel.
But Evan was na?ve.
***
Clara wasn’t sure what to expect upon arriving at the prom. There were so many people, and she gripped Evan’s hand as they made their way into the dance hall to keep from getting separated. She hooked the wrist band on her arm like Jesse instructed so she wouldn’t trip over her dress. She noticed that some girls looked at her oddly. Perhaps they didn’t recognize her. She barely recognized herself.