"What are you waiting for?" he asked.
Just then Alexander appeared. There was a truce between the two, but he glared at his former nemesis. Alexander wasn't too possessive of me - and he didn't need to be. I wasn't the kind who flirted with just anyone. But I could tell there was an underlying mistrust of the Maxwells that went as deep as blood.
Chapter 9 Night Fever
I wanted Billy to have a positive experience for his first dance, and I wanted to make sure he'd treat Stormy to the gentlemanly behavior that Alexander always showed me. I didn't want my brother to act like the Nerd Boy that he was, so I brought in reinforcements - my mother.
She dragged us both to Jack's Department Store, and while she was outfitting Billy with a new suit, I browsed through the junior dresses. I had already decided on a dress at home, but I saw one on the clearance rack that caught my eye. It was a stunning strapless indigo-blue corset dress with hints of black feathers. Wow - I never found things like this in Dullsville, only during Halloween or at a thrift store.
I took it off the rack and quickly read the size - which happened to be mine. I held it up to me and felt exhilarated. I checked out the price. It had been marked down several times. Who wouldn't want this? I thought. But then I saw a few girls examining the dresses that weren't marked down. And then I knew. It wasn't their style, and it wasn't full price. I took the dress back to the guys' department to show my mo ^aid sre was am.
I didn't recognize my brother at first. There was a young man in a suit in front of the mirrors outside the changing room. My mom was fussing over him and trying to make sure the length of his pants was just right. I couldn't believe that the handsome young man was the boy who had bugged me all my life.
I was surprised at how grown up my brother looked wearing dress pants and a sport coat. I gave him a thumbs-up, and he appeared pleased by my fashion affirmation.
I showed my mom the dress I'd picked out. "It's on sale," I said. "Can I get it?"
"It's beautiful," she said. "Where did you find it?"
"In the juniors. It's my size, too." I showed her the price.
"We'll take both," my mom said cheerfully to the salesman.
"It's that time of year," he said. "Fall dances."
My mom was overjoyed as the salesman rang up our purchases. "I never thought I'd see this day," she said joyfully. "Both of you going to a dance, and it being the same one."
"Neither did I," my brother and I said in unison.
The three of us went to our local florist to pick out a small wrist corsage for Stormy. Dullsville's florist shop was a family-owned one-room store with a huge display of flowers, vases, and knickknacks. A friendly woman wearing a pink-and-green-striped apron was finishing up with another customer.
"I'll be right with you," she said.
Billy looked lost in the jungle of flowers without his cell, computer, or video games, clearly bored.
"I don't even know what she is wearing," he said when I showed him a few flowers.
Good point, I thought.
"May I help you?" the florist asked, coming over to us.
"We'll need a small wrist corsage," my mom said. "For a school dance."
"What color would you like?" she asked.
Billy shrugged his shoulders. "Do you have something black?" Billy asked.
The florist looked at Billy like he was deranged.
"You are going cou panto a dance, not a funeral," my mom teased. "How about pink?" Billy shook his head. "I'm not sure she'd like that." Billy looked to me for help.
"I know she likes purple," I told him.
"Yes, that's what I want," he said emphatically. "Purple."
The florist showed us several purple flowers. Billy was overwhelmed with which one to pick and turned to my mom and me for guidance. We narrowed them down, and Billy was still uncertain which one to choose. Floral arranging was out of my twelve-year-old brother's skill set.
"It's okay," I said. "They are all beautiful."