by KJ Swann
Ivy grinned and hugged Tessa. “Thanks. He’s been chomping at the bit to get a peek, but now he only has a few hours left.”
“We need to get started if we want to be ready in time, so hair or makeup first?”
“Hair. It takes the longest on me. Plus, you have short hair and it’ll be nothing to get yours styled.”
Tessa nodded in agreement. She stood and walked toward Ivy’s vanity table to plug in Ivy’s flat iron and curling iron.
“I can’t believe another year has flown by,” Ivy remarked, getting up off the bed and moved toward her vanity.
As Ivy was getting ready to sit down, there was a knock at the door.
“Who is it?” Tessa yelled in an annoyed tone.
“It’s your mother.”
“Oh. Come in.”
As Vivian opened the door, her two daughters stood side by side.
“Ah, what a beautiful sight.”
Ivy and Tessa looked at each other and started laughing.
“Us? Beautiful? Give us a few hours then you can say that,” remarked Ivy.
“Now listen. You both are beautiful. No amount of makeup or styling your hair or even clothes will change what I already see in you. I’m not the only one. Derrick and Jace see it too,” chided Vivian.
Ivy walked over to her mother. “I understand what you’re saying. I didn’t mean for it to come out the way it did.”
Vivian patted Ivy’s cheek. “Just remember what I said. I’ll let you get ready and meet you girls downstairs when you’re done. Oh, don’t forget your long black coat tonight.”
“What coat?”
“The long coat in your closet. Did you forget you had it? It should cover up most of your dress.”
Ivy searched the back clothing rack and found her black floor-length coat. It was still covered in a dry cleaner’s plastic bag from the last time she’d worn it. “Yep, found it,” exclaimed Ivy.
“Oh, good. Now Jace won’t be able to see much of your dress until we arrive at the ball,” Vivian said.
Ivy laid the coat on the bed. “Time to get started. Otherwise we’ll never be ready in time. Don’t need Dad upset because we’re late.”
“True, so true. I’ll leave you girls be, and I’m going to start getting ready too. Oh Ivy, did Jace show you the results yet?” Vivian asked.
Ivy shook her head. “No, he told me about it, but we never talked about it. It’s good news though.”
“Oh, that is good news.”
After Vivian left, Tessa played around with Ivy’s hair. Tessa looked at Ivy in the mirror and asked, “Do you have a certain idea on how you want your hair or just want me to wing it?”
Ivy narrowed her eyes slightly. “No, you aren’t winging it. I’d like to have my hair in ringlets.”
Tessa made a face. “Eww, why ringlets? Why not just curl, then brush out?”
“Because it’s what I want as of now. Don’t put hair spray until we see what the first few couple are like. Never know, you could be right.”
Tessa set to work brushing out Ivy’s hair when suddenly Ivy held up her hand.
“What?” Tessa asked.
“Forget the ringlets. It’s going to take too long. Let’s go with your idea of curling my hair and leaving it as curls. Sound good?”
“Sounds a hell of a lot better than ringlets,” replied Tessa.
Tessa continued to brush Ivy’s hair and put it into sections. Once that was done, Tessa started working one section at a time, combing it, then curling it. Ivy watched her sister in the mirror. She loved the way Tessa moved so smoothly while working on her hair.
“I appreciate you doing this, Tessa.”
“It’s no big deal, you know that.”
“I know, but I wanted you to know.”
Tessa set down her comb and curling iron and picked up a handheld mirror, and placed it behind Ivy. “So, what do you think?”
Ivy stared wide-eyed into the mirror. She couldn’t believe all the curls Tessa had managed to put into her hair. “Tessa, it’s beautiful! I absolutely love it!”
Tessa set the mirror down on the vanity and smiled. “Good. Now I’ll get my hair fixed quickly and then we can do makeup.”
Ivy nodded, stood, and hugged Tessa.
“Stop, you’ll mess up your hair. I haven’t put on any spray yet,” exclaimed Tessa.
“Oops, sorry.” Ivy pulled away.
“No worries. Let’s get it spritzed so it can set.” Tessa picked up the can and sprayed Ivy’s hair.
Ivy coughed. “Are you putting the whole dang can on my hair?”
“I guess I got carried away.”
“You think?”
Both girls burst out laughing, waving their hands to disperse the hair spray cloud hanging over them.
“Now we can breathe again, I’m going to quickly do my hair, and then we can figure out how we want to do our makeup.”
Ivy nodded and walked toward her dress. She stood for a few minutes, touching the soft fabric and took a deep breath to combat her nerves that were starting to take over. Ivy had started to take her dress off the hook when there came a knock on the door.
Ivy looked at her sister. “Now what?”
As Ivy went to the door, the knocking got more insistent.
“Who is it?” Ivy asked.
“Who do you think it is?” Jace replied.
“You can’t come in here!”
“I forgot something though.”
“Oh really? Like what?”
“Umm. My shampoo.”
“Use Derrick’s shampoo,” Tessa replied.
“Well, there are other things I need too. I’ll only be a few minutes.”
“No. You only want to snoop, Jace Tysen. If you need certain things, make a list and slip it under the door and Tessa will bring it down and set it in front of you guys’ door.”
Jace sighed. “Fine, I’ll be back.”
Tessa doubled over in laughter. “He sure isn’t giving up, is he?”
Ivy stood there with her hands on her hips. “No, he sure isn’t. Make me wonder if I should give in and let him see the dress.”
“Oh hell no. Don’t you even think about it. He’s been hounding you since we got the dresses. Jace needs to wait until we get to the ball.”
Ivy groaned. “I know you’re right. I guess a few more hours won’t hurt.”
Tessa smiled and went back to fixing her hair. A few seconds later, a note was pushed under the door. Ivy picked it up and read the items Jace needed. She went to work gathering them and placed them in a basket sitting on the vanity.
“Once you get done fixing your hair, please take this down and do like we told Jace we would do.”
“No problem. I shouldn’t be much longer. I’m only using the flat iron on my hair.”
Ivy sat the basket on the bed and looked at the makeup that was in another basket on her vanity. “Hmm. I’m thinking about doing purple makeup with my dress. What do you think?”
“I think that would be awesome if we do it right.” Tessa set down the flat iron, picked up her brush, and brushed out her hair. Once she was done, she examined herself in the mirror. “I like it. What do you think?”
Ivy glanced at her sister. “Looks good, but you always do that. Why aren’t you doing something different?”
Tessa rolled her eyes. “Because this is me. I don’t want to change who I am because we’re going to some dumb ball.”
“Excuse me. I forgot.” Ivy chuckled.
With that, Tess picked up the basket and headed out of the room.
Ivy sat down at her vanity and pulled out her foundation and other items she was going to use. She reached for her liquid eyeliner but couldn’t decide on what color at first, but settled on black. As she applied it to her first eye, her thoughts took her back to the past to another time when she was putting on makeup for a night out.
Ivy couldn’t wait to get out of the house and go to dinner and the movies with Jace. As she watched herself apply makeu
p in the mirror, her door swung open, and there stood her father. He stared at her in the mirror.
“Get that crap off your face. You’re not going anywhere. I’ve already called Jace and canceled your so-called date.”
“But, Daddy, you told me earlier this week I could go,” cried Ivy.
“Well, I changed my mind.”
“But why?”
“As I looked around the house, I noticed you didn’t get your chores done. The dishes aren’t put away; the dishwasher isn’t filled with dirty dishes, and you never took out the trash like you were supposed to. Need I go on?”
“Tessa said she was going to help me with my chores so I could get ready.”
“It’s not her responsibility to do your tasks. It’s yours. She has her own. I saw her doing your chores and I stopped her and reprimanded her too. You’re both grounded for as long as I deem necessary.”
Her dad slammed her door shut before Ivy could say another word. Ivy stared at herself in the mirror, her face halfway made up, tears starting to form in her eyes.
“Hey. You’re making a mess of your face,” Tessa said softly. “What’s up?”
Ivy sighed. “Remembering the past.”
“I’m not going to ask. Let me fix your face for you, if you want me to?”
Ivy glanced up at Tessa with some tears in her eyes and nodded.
After Ivy had finished getting ready and had her long black coat on, she walked out of her bedroom. Out in the hallway stood Jace, smiling until he saw the coat.
“Well that just sucks.”
Ivy laughed. “Aww, you disappointed?”
Jace shrugged. “I hope I get to see the real thing tonight and not just that coat all night.”
Jace offered Ivy his arm to her. Ivy grinned at Jace, slid her arm onto his, and rested her hand on it. Tessa walked out in her dress, and Jace and Ivy stopped to watch Derrick take in Tessa.
“Wow, you are absolutely beautiful, Tessa.”
Tessa scanned Derrick up and down. Her cheeks blushed rosy. “Thank you.”
Down below Michael cleared his throat. “Are we ready to go?”
“I do believe we are.” Jace glanced at Ivy and Tessa, who nodded in response.
“Let’s go have some fun tonight and make it a night to remember,” Tessa said.
“Don’t you all look radiant?” Vivian said.
Ivy smiled. “You’re beautiful, Mother.”
Michael stepped forward and placed a kiss on Ivy’s cheek. “As do you.”
“Thank you.”
Michael turned to Tessa. “You’re lovely as always.”
“Of course I do.” Giving her dad a brief hug, Tessa smirked.
Outside there was a honk of a horn.
“That’s for us,” said Michael.
Everyone looked confused. Michael went to the front door, and everyone followed. As Michael opened the door, Ivy understood why he was smiling: he had rented a car to drive them to the New Year’s Eve ball.
“Michael, when did you do this?” Vivian asked.
“The other day when you were occupied. I figured it would be for the best. Especially with it being New Year’s Eve and all.”
“Oh awesome. A hummer limo.” Tessa picked up the bottom of her dress and darted for the car.
The chauffeur held the door open for Tessa to climb in. One by one, they got in until Michael was the last.
“Make sure we get to our destination safe and sound.”
The chauffeur nodded, and Michael climbed into the limo and the door was shut behind him.
14
As the limo pulled up to the beautiful brick building, Ivy stared in awe. Each window had a little light illuminated by a different colored bulb.
As they prepared to get out, Jace whispered in Ivy’s ear, “Not much longer and I get to see your gown.”
Ivy smiled. Ever since they’d got in the limo, Jace had been trying to take peeks at her dress, only to be shot down by a slap on the hand. As Ivy stepped out, nerves struck again.
“What’s the matter, babe?” asked Jace.
“Nervous as all get out. The last time we attended anything this formal was prom. What if we make fools out of ourselves?”
Jace laid a calm hand on her cheek. “As much as I don’t like these things, I’m glad I’m here with you. So put those nerves away and get the night started, okay?”
Ivy placed her hand on his. “I’ll do the best I can.”
Ivy grabbed a handful of coat and lifted it so she could walk up the stairs without any problem. Jace had hold of her elbow to make sure she didn’t slip.
Once they reached the top, the doors opened, and they walked into the building as couples. In the foyer, Michael and Vivian were in the process of removing their formal winter coats. Derrick was helping Tessa shed her coat to give it to the coat check person.
“Ah I finally get to see you in your outfit… It’s about damn time,” Jace joked.
“Who’s to say I’m not going to wear this coat all night long?” quipped Ivy.
Jace whispered in her ear, “If I have to, I’ll tear that coat off you to see you in your finery.”
Ivy whipped her head around to look Jace in the eye. His eyes were twinkling with mischief. She shook her head and unzipped her coat and let everyone finally see her dress. Vivian took her coat from her and gave it to the coat check.
Jace did a wolf whistle, taking in Ivy in her dress for the first time. “Wow, you are absolutely gorgeous.”
Ivy blushed. “Thank you, Jace.”
“May I?” asked Jace.
Ivy nodded and took his arm, and they walked into the ballroom following her parents. Entering the room, Ivy couldn’t believe all the beautiful dresses of every color of the rainbow. No two were the same; some were short, some mid-length, the rest long.
“Tonight is going to be so much fun. Just look at everyone,” she exclaimed.
Jace patted her hand and motioned toward the dance floor. Once out there, Jace grasped Ivy’s waist while Ivy placed her hands around Jace’s neck and started a slow back-and-forth sway.
“This is nice,” Jace murmured.
“I agree. My nerves are finally starting to subside.”
Jace chuckled. “That’s good to hear. No need to be nervous, at least for you anyway. That’s more me.”
“Are you glad you came?”
“I’m always glad to be with you.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
“I know. But to answer your question, yes. I’m glad I came.”
“Oh my, did I just hear you right?”
“Oh you, just shut it,” laughed Jace.
Her parents twirled the dance floor, smiling at each other. It had been a long time since she had seen them like that. Ivy nudged Jace.
“It seems like they’re having fun.”
“Yes, and I’m glad. I hope all the bad is in the past. It’s true we have a way to go, but we can work through it as a family.”
“Do you think things will really change?”
“I have to believe they will. Otherwise, what faith do I have in my own family if I don’t?”
“I understand. I know you have my back on the things I’m going through, and I want you to also understand I’ll have your back with everything.”
Ivy ran her fingers through the back of Jace’s hair. “You don’t know how much that means to me.”
“I think I do. You’ve been there for me since I lost Sawyer, through all the ups and downs of my emotions and nightmares….”
“Jace, that’s what you do when you love someone.”
Jace nodded and swallowed. A few minutes later the song was over, and he led her over to their table. Tessa and Derrick were already seated.
“Hey, Tessa, want to take a twirl around the floor?” Jace asked.
Tessa looked over at Derrick, then back at Jace. “Sure, lead the way.”
As Ivy sat opposite Derrick and watched Jace lead Tessa out on the dance floor, she
asked Derrick, “Why haven’t you taken Tessa out there yet?”
Derrick sighed. “I’m not sure. Scared she’ll run the other way when she finds out I can’t dance.”
Ivy laughed. “You can’t be any worse than Jace. He only dances to the slow songs.”
“I don’t know.”
“Get out there and give your girl a twirl.”
Derrick got up and walked toward Jace and Tessa. He tapped Jace on the shoulder, then took over where Jace left off. Jace went back over to where Ivy was sitting.
“What did you say to him?” asked Jace.
“Who? Me?”
Jace rolled his eyes. “Don’t play Miss Innocent. As soon as Tessa saw Derrick heading out, she knew you’d said something.”
“I want my sister to enjoy the evening with her boyfriend. Is that okay?”
“Yes, it is. Always looking out for others.”
“It’s the type of person I am. I didn’t want to see her sitting here all night.”
“She wouldn’t have been. I would’ve danced with her during the slow songs. I know you and she would’ve gone out during the fast ones you girls like.”
Ivy smiled and leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. “You know what?”
“Hmm. I liked that. But what?”
“I love you.”
Jace beamed back, “I love you too, babe.”
* * *
Tessa and Derrick moved slowly across the floor.
“You’re beautiful tonight, and your dress matches your hair,” remarked Derrick.
“Thank you. You’re rather dashing yourself,” replied Tessa.
“I want to apologize to you.”
“For what?”
“For not bringing you out here to dance at first. To be honest, I don’t dance very well.”
“Well, you seem to be doing fine.”
“I think it’s because you’re leading.”
“Oh stop. I’m doing no such thing. This is all you.”
Derrick eyes widened. “You’re kidding, right?”
Tessa smiled and shook her head.
“How? I don’t know how to dance?”
“The music moves a person’s body, and you just go with it. At least that’s what I think.”
“Oh.”
“Well, look at my parents. They’re moving right along, and there doesn’t seem to be any stopping them.”