“No, Mama. It’s a Christmas party, so you have to wear red.”
“But I think this black dress makes me look skinnier.”
Dez scrunched up her face. “Why would you want to look skinnier?”
“It’s just what people do when they get to be old like … oh, never mind. So you really think the red one’s nicer?” She held up the dress on the hanger.
Dez nodded. “Uh-huh. It’s more like a party. The black one would just make you look like …” She cocked her head to the side and considered. “Like a lump of coal.”
“Well, thank you very much, Miss Fashionista.”
She shrugged. “It’s what I’m here for.”
“Well, you go scram now so I can get dressed. And you better have all those new toys off the floor by the time I come out or I’m taking them away for two whole weeks. Got that?”
“Okay.” Dez jumped off the bed and scrambled down the hall. Jade shut the door and eyed both dresses one more time. She didn’t want to wear the red one. She hadn’t even asked Ben how fancy tonight was supposed to be. The black dress was simple and elegant. If she wore the red, everyone would think she was trying to stand out. Like Rudolph’s nose or a giant pimple.
Well, maybe after all she’d gone through there was nothing wrong with standing out. At least not a little. And she did have a pair of heels that would go great with it.
Jade squeezed into the red dress, the one she’d bought herself two years ago as an incentive to lose weight. She’d never lost the pounds, but she managed to zip it up with a little help from her daughter. Jade had just finished applying her makeup when someone knocked on the door.
“I’ll get it!” Dez called from the other room. Jade sprinted to intercept her. For all the danger she’d been in, Dez didn’t seem to have a single scared bone in her body. Her carefree recklessness made Jade nervous.
She glanced out the window, saw Ben in his trooper uniform looking crisp and clean, and opened the door. “Hello.”
He stepped in, and a blush settled on his pale cheeks. For a minute, it looked like he didn’t know if he was supposed to give her a hug, kiss her cheek, or stretch out his hand for a hearty shake.
Jade took a step back, hoping to save him his dignity.
“You look nice,” he finally said.
“You’re supposed to tell her she looks beautiful,” Dez announced.
Jade gave her daughter a warning look.
“You ladies ready?” Ben asked, holding the door open.
“Yup,” Jade answered. “Just let me close up, and we’ll be right out.”
Jade checked the lock twice, glanced at herself one last time in the small mirror, and followed Ben out the door toward his car.