Hold Me Now

Chapter 18: I Have Your Back And Front

On the day of the homecoming dance, Linda took her daughter back to Mia Bella to have her hair done. Javier worked his magic. He twisted and pinned her long honey brown hair into an elegant updo. "It is perfection," he said spinning the chair around to the mirror. 

At the first look, Ava's mouth hung open. "I agree! It's so lovely." Why hasn't she taken her mother up, on her offers of bringing her here, before? Javier is a master stylist! The things he can do with hair are incredible.

After the salon, both Linda and Ava had their nails done. Mother-daughter days are always fun. While Linda's nails are a more traditional plum color, her daughter's are not. Ava opted for a mint shade to offset her teal dress. She went with the teal dress because of Johnny's opinion. If he thinks she looks "hot" in teal, then who is she to disagree? Once their nails had dried, they headed to the Encino Hills Mall. 

Her mom had said "It's your senior year. Let's do things right." This is why Ava is sitting at the Estée Lauder makeup counter, getting her makeup done. She's never felt so pampered in all her life. If this is how her mother treats her for homecoming, what will prom be like? 

When the sales lady finished, Ava saw her mother nod her approval. Looking into a mirror, she viewed herself and loved the look. It's soft but not too overdone, like some of the girls she knows. Instead of a true pink lipstick, the lady used pink lipgloss. It's super pretty. She had to have it and used some of her babysitting money, to purchase it.

Next mother and daughter proceeded to the Lord & Taylor shoe section. Ava still hasn't found any shoes for the dress. Every pair she's tried on just isn't what she's looking for. This is her last hope. How hard can it be to find a pair of sparkly silver heels?

Apparently very difficult. The store's silver shoe quotient is pitiful at best. However, she found a sparkly champagne pair. The shoe itself is metallic glitter for the eyes. They're fully embellished with crystals, all over, and have a medium block heel. They have a sparkly strap across the toes as well as one that fastens at the ankles. The shoes might not be silver, but they're what she's looking for. Her mother bought them and by then it was time to head home.

At home everything was hectic. In less than an hour, Johnny would be picking her up. Linda came into her daughter's room, bringing some bracelets for her to choose from. She wants something simple and dainty, to match her necklace. It's the one from the Halloween treat bag, which her parents gave her. And the earrings are the ones from the silent auction. Holding her mom's diamond gold bangle trio up, she knew they would do nicely. 

Ava didn't have to worry about eating since Johnny would be taking her out to eat. They were going alone. She thought it would be awkward with Rachel and Joy and their dates (who aren't friends with the Cobras). Plus she's kind of leery seeing her friends. One of them betrayed her and she isn't sure who it is. Johnny thinks it's Rachel, but she doesn't want to cast blame without any proof. So for now she'll be sure not to share any information she doesn't want to be spread around.

With twenty minutes to go, the nerves started kicking in. She put on her flirty cute dress. When the girls went shopping together she didn't find anything she liked. Tons of dresses with ruffles (barf her out) or big puffy sleeves (gag) or butt bows (absolutely not). But there was nothing to suit her fancy. So, she went alone one afternoon. 

Her dress hunt started, at the mall, with Lord & Taylor first. It had nothing of interest except a red mini dress with floral appliques and a beaded attached belt. It's a possibility if other stores don't have anything teal. Then she went to her favorite store Nordstrom and found it right away. A strapless, a-line mini dress with a sweetheart neckline. She's been told that's the best for her body type. Plus the dress has all-over sequins and all in teal. It is perfect! When she tried it on it fit beautifully. And it still does. Admiring herself in the mirror, she twirled around. Now for the shoes.