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I climbed the stairs quickly and headed into my bedroom, pulling the closet door open. Flipping through the dresses that hung there, I worried. I hadn't been on a first date in thirteen years. I did not know what people were even wearing on them anymore.
I shut the door to my bedroom and grabbed my cell phone, dialling my sister.
"What's up?" she asked breathlessly into the phone.
"Beth, I need help.”
“What is it? Is it one of the boys?” she questioned concern filling her voice.
Did I sound that frantic? I thought I sounded calm, I thought to myself. “No, the boys are fine. I have a date tonight, and I don't know what to wear," I whispered, swallowing hard. Truth was I was trying to swallow down the butterflies that had been swirling in my stomach the entire afternoon and this evening. "As a matter of fact, I'm regretting even saying yes to this,"I added, after thinking about yesterday morning and the fool I’d made of myself, opening the door, not thinking about how wet my shirt had been.
"WHAT?" The noise in the background stopped, and instantly I knew I'd caught my sister in the middle of her workout. "Now, you better spill it all and do it now."
"I don't have time to tell you about it now. I need you to tell me what on earth I should wear. You were the one who organized my closet," I mumbled, going back through them again.“You know what I have, so please, help me.”
"Iris, I need details. What does said date look like? What on earth is so great about him that made you say yes? Lord knows I've tried to set you up with many eligible bachelors, all of which you didn’t bother to contact again, may I add. I need these details in order to make my choice."
"Beth, come on, please. Which dress should I wear?"
Beth let out a sigh. "You’ll probably hate me for this, so I am going to make you promise me you won’t kill me first.”
“What…fine…I promise.”
“Reach into the back of your closet, left-hand side, and grab the last hanger."
“What did you do?” I questioned.
She let out a sigh. “You are so stubborn. Just do it.”
I did what she told me, and what I removed stunned me. There in my hand was a beautiful beige dress. I could remember from the feel of the lightweight material that it felt amazing against my skin. It also hugged me in all the right places, and it had been something my sister had been dying to get me into for months and months. If I remembered correctly, she'd been angry at me when I'd refused to buy it. "Where did this come from?"
"A little mouse left it for you. EEEEK! A date finally!" Beth screamed into the phone.
“Is this the same dress you tried to get me to buy six months ago when we went on the girls’ weekend?”
“Maybe…”
I looked at the dress that hung on the hanger, debating if I should just tuck it back in the closet again. It was a little much for a first date, at least in my mind and Beth would never know I didn’t wear it.
"Don't you dare hang it back in that closet!"
I glanced around the room, looking to see if she'd installed cameras in here. How else could she have known that I was debating hanging it back where it belonged? I let out a deep breath and placed the dress on the bed.
"Now, tell me all about him."
"He just moved here. He is redoing the Willow Valley Bed and Breakfast."
"Oh, Harry and Bessy's old place. I was sad to hear about Harry. What is his name?"
"Zach."
"How did you meet?"
God, I felt as if I were in the middle of an inquisition. I reached for my brush and ran it through my hair. "It was odd, actually. He came into the bookstore to return a children’s book."
Immediately, Beth began choking on whatever she was drinking. When she finally stopped coughing, she cleared her throat. "Childrens book? Dare I ask you if you are robbing the cradle?"
"Oh for the love of...no, he was returning a book for his daughter. Anyway, it didn't start out all peaches and cream, but we have since mended that."
