The Girl in My Dreams (12 page)

“Good, I’m glad you’re going. I want to see it after you get back,” she said.

“Colors?” I asked.

“Yup. I have to make sure they’re perfect. I want this night to be perfect,” she said.

“The colors won’t make this thing perfect, Belle. We aren’t going to be looking back on this years from now obsessing over the colors. It’ll be perfect as long as we’re there together, dancing, like we should be,” I said.

“I know, but—”

“Hey,” I said, looking at her with a smile. “Trust me.”

She kissed me on the cheek, saying she had to get to class, but still letting me know that she planned on seeing the tux after I got back. I rolled my eyes, said okay, and gave her a hug before she ran off to her chemistry class. I looked up at the clock, seeing I had two minutes left, and casually walked toward my own class—Spanish—and got there just before the bell rang.

I’d noticed that I had become a little more calm and laidback since this whole dating and “I love you” stuff started. Before, I was like a chicken with its head cut off as I scrambled to get to class on time. I’d get a five-second delay behind someone and be sure I’d be late, even though it would only end up taking me a minute to get to class. I suppose I was so scared of the unknown that I’d try to do everything I could not to be late. Since dating Belle, though, I’d realized that the unknowns in life could be the best parts. There was an unknown in talking to her that one day, and look how that turned out. I’m not saying being late to class is a good thing, not by a long shot, but it’s not the end of the world either, and I’d come to realize that.

Spanish had never been one of my strong suits, with the whole learning another language thing being foreign to me, pun intended. I was horrible at verb tenses, and my body almost locked up when we had to talk primarily in Spanish to the teacher or the rest of the class. I always made a fool out of myself, but then again so did half of the class, so it wasn’t
as
embarrassing as it could have been. Sometimes I wondered why they made being a teenager so difficult.

•••

“Man, I’m going to look so slick,” Martin said as we walked into the mall.

“Yeah, you get to wear all-black everything. I get pastels,” I said, laughing.

“And you’re lucky to be wearing them for Belle,” he said.

Martin had ended up getting a date, Kara Remington, to go with him to the dance. She was a quiet girl, the artsy type, and I didn’t know her that well. Martin didn’t even really know her. I think they both just wanted to go with someone, so they teamed up to go together. I wasn’t even positive they liked each other in that way. I supposed it was better to go with a friend than not at all, though.

“Hello, gentlemen. May I help you?” the man behind the counter asked.

“Hi, we’re here to pick up our tuxes for the winter formal this weekend,” I said.

“Ah yes, I expected as much when you walked in. May I have your names, please?” the man asked.

“Theodore Quinn,” I said.

“Martin Jones,” Martin said.

“Right. I’ll be right back, gentlemen,” the clerk said.

“So, how are you guys getting there?” Martin asked.

“I don’t think we’ve talked about that,” I said.

“You should ride with Kara and me. It will ease the tension for me,” he said.

“I’m down. I’ll just talk to Belle and let you know later. She’s making me show her the tux anyway,” I said.

“Making sure it matches?” he asked.

“You know it,” I said.

“Okay, gentlemen, here you are. Please look them over and make sure they’re correct,” the man said as he brought them out and hooked them on a metal rod.

We unzipped and inspected ours. Martin’s looked incredibly classy, and mine looked, well, coral.

“Boy, that sure is bright. That’s like highlighter bright,” Martin said.

“You don’t need to point it out,” I said.

“I’m just saying, you’re
really
going to be seen, maybe even from space!” he said, teasing me.

“Is it not to your satisfaction?” the man asked.

“No, it’s fine, my girlfriend picked it out. I just didn’t know what she was picking out,” I said.

“I’m sure she’ll love it, then. After all, happy wife, happy life, or something like that,” he said.

“Yeah, you better get used to that saying,” Martin said, patting me on the back.

We paid the man and were told we needed to bring the tuxes back before the end of the day Sunday. He zipped them back up, we signed a waiver, and before we knew it, we were walking out the door with our very own rented tuxes for winter formal. It was starting to feel real. Before I knew it, Saturday would be here.

“Feel like getting a bite to eat? My mom gave me some money,” Martin said.

“You’re buying?” I asked.

“I suppose I could treat you. You
are
my best friend, after all,” he said.

“Sounds like a plan,” I said.

We took our tuxes out to his car and laid them out carefully in the trunk so that they’d be safe and out of view from anybody passing by. We weren’t in the mood to have them stolen and lose our deposits, let alone how much it could also cost to replace them. We didn’t have the money, and our moms wouldn’t be too thrilled with us.

We walked back inside the mall and down toward the food court, which was relatively empty this time of day. We got sandwiches and fries and picked a table. They’d renovated the mall a few years back, with the food court becoming all modern and futuristic with its furniture and televisions hanging on almost every pillar. They showed music videos on the screens, the regular speakers on the ceiling putting out the sound, though it wasn’t terribly loud. A few new vendors had also moved into the food court, including some Mediterranean and Indian places, but I always just went for something that I knew, and that was this sandwich shop.

“Man, Alberto really hooked me up on sauce,” Martin said as his sandwich dripped profusely in his hands.

“I guess he just knew how saucy of a guy you are,” I said.

I looked back up to see Martin giving me an unamused stare as I took my first bite, smiling. We loved going back and forth with each other, giving little zings and trying to embarrass the other. It usually worked better for me than him, much to his chagrin.

I felt my phone buzz and pulled it out to see Belle asking when I’d be back. I told her we were eating real quick and then I was going to be home. She replied asking me how the tux looked. I told her it was very bright, which wasn’t a lie, and she seemed happy with that. I’d seen her dress, though not on her yet, and I’d say it was fairly close in color. I knew Rose and Kieran, her friends, were going in an almost lime-green ensemble, so at least I didn’t get stuck in that color.

Martin and I didn’t talk too much over our food, instead scarfing it down as quickly as possible before heading back to the car. The air was frigid as howling winds blew through the parking lot and dried out my already cracked lips. I’d been applying lip balm in haste, though it felt more in vain than anything else. I was just lucky I hadn’t gotten many bloody noses yet this season. I always, since I was a kid, got dozens of bloody noses whenever winter approached. The dry, cool air did a number on me, that was for sure.

The warm air started to eventually boil around us as Martin’s car sputtered a bit as we tried to get up a hill toward my neighborhood. He pulled into my driveway, and I caught Belle in her house through the window as she peeked over and saw me get back.

“See you tomorrow,” Martin said as he popped the trunk.

I pulled out my tux before trudging through the thin layer of snow that had built up on the ground since school got out. Just after I kicked off my shoes and took off my coat, the doorbell rang and I could see Belle outside the small window. I opened the door and let her in as she rubbed her hands together and stomped her feet clean of snow.

“There it is,” I said, motioning with my head toward the bag.

She unzipped it, took the tux out, and smiled from ear to ear. I took it that she really liked the color, much to my displeasure.

“Good?” I asked.

“Great!” she said, clapping her hands and squeeing.

She put the tux away and jumped into my arms, wrapping her arms around my neck as I lifted her off the ground.

“We’re going to be so cute,” she said, smiling.

“How cute?” I asked.

“SO cute,” she replied, laughing, as I set her down.

“We better be. I’m not wearing coral for nothing,” I said.

“You’ll look great, I know it. You have the perfect skin tone for it,” she said.

I looked in the mirror in our foyer and touched my cheek as I tried to figure out what that meant and why it was a good thing. I didn’t think I’d ever matched anything to my skin tone before.

“Oh, honey, I didn’t hear you come in. Is that your rental?” my mom asked as she came down the stairs.

“Yes, and it looks great!” Belle said.

“Oh wow, yes, it does. It’s going to look great next to your dress,” my mother said to Belle.

“He’s a little on the fence about it,” Belle said.

“Oh, there’s nothing to be on the fence about, Theo. You’ll look as handsome as ever,” she said, leaving to the kitchen.

“So, I have something to ask you,” I said.

“What’s up?” Belle asked.

“Martin wants us to ride to the dance with him and his date. I told him I’d ask you before saying yes or anything,” I said.

“That should be fine. I’d rather carpool than drive ourselves,” she said.

“Are you sure? I don’t want you to do anything that will make you feel weird. I know you don’t really know him all that well,” I said.

“It’s fine! We’ll have a great time,” she said, smiling.

“Good. I’ll let him know,” I said.

“Are we doing dinner beforehand?” she asked.

“I didn’t know we were supposed to,” I said.

“We can just make something here or at my house or whatever. I don’t need to go anywhere,” she said.

“Okay, yeah, that will work. Maybe a light pasta meal? I don’t want to eat so much that I can’t dance with you,” I said.

“Oh, you’re dancing all night with me whether you feel like it or not,” she said playfully.

“Is that a fact?” I asked.

“It’s a fact, all right,” she said.

We didn’t do much else for the night, instead opting to make some frozen pizza and watch a movie on TV. These were some of the happiest nights with Belle, and the best thing was that they were the simplest as well. There was no dressing up or getting ready, no expectations, and we could just be ourselves. I couldn’t think of a more perfect night with the woman I loved.

•••

The morning of the formal came, and I couldn’t have been happier. I looked outside my bedroom window and saw a light dusting of snow, a million little snowflakes falling on the already white ground. I looked across the yard and saw Belle’s blinds still closed. I grabbed my phone and didn’t see a thing from her. She must have still been asleep. She did talk about wanting beauty sleep, even though she was already beautiful.

I stretched a little and went to the bathroom before walking downstairs on the cold wooden floors. I should’ve put on some socks, but I was too lazy to run back upstairs even though I was suffering without them. My mom was reading the paper and sipping some coffee as I walked into the kitchen, almost startling her.

“You’re up awful early,” she said, looking at the clock.

“It’s hard to sleep when you’re this excited. Tonight is going to be the best night of my life—so far at least,” I said.

“Aw, you’re that excited? That’s so cute,” she said, smiling.

“It’s just so crazy to think that a few months ago I was just passing Belle in the hallway or outside and now I’m
with
her. I still can’t get over it,” I said.

“As you shouldn’t. Once you get over it, you might start to lose interest, and then it all goes downhill from there. Never lose your passion for each other, Theo, and you’ll be just fine,” she said.

“Is that what happened with you and Dad?” I asked.

I hadn’t talked about my dad all that much and I definitely hadn’t probed my mom about him, but I couldn’t help asking. It just felt right.

“He lost interest in me, but I hadn’t lost interest in him. He sent you a postcard, you know. It’s on the table,” she said.

I walked over and picked it up, seeing a picture of a beach that was slightly ripped and damaged from shipping. I flipped it around, seeing my name and address. The note on the front was short and not so sweet.

I can’t wait to see you soon, Theo. Things have been great here, and I recently got a job at a local resort as the casino manager. Not sure how I lucked into this job, but I’ll take it! Hope all is well. I’ll call soon.

Love,

Dad

I scoffed, wondering how he thought a postcard was enough. It wasn’t that I wanted to talk to him, I didn’t, but
he
didn’t know that. You’d think he’d want to call his only son and tell him these things himself, but I guess I didn’t exactly know him as well as I’d thought. Whatever. I wasn’t going to let this sorry postcard stop me from having the greatest day and night of my life.

I ripped it up and tossed it in the trash as my mother watched but didn’t say a word. Why, I don’t know, but she didn’t, and I didn’t quite care to talk anyway.

“What time is Belle coming over tonight?” she asked, totally ignoring the postcard.

“She said six. Martin will be here at seven, so I want to make sure I have dinner ready for her,” I said.

“Making her dinner, huh? How sweet,” she said.

“It won’t be much, just some pasta, bread, and salad. It definitely won’t be as great as the meal she made me. Not even close,” I said.

“Well, it’s the thought that counts. I’m sure she’s just happy to spend the night with you and have quality time together,” she said.

“As I am with her,” I replied.

•••

I was in the midst of preparing our meal when my doorbell rang, and the pot of pasta was boiling over. My mother was out grocery shopping, so I whispered an expletive and turned down the heat before running toward the door.