Dating on the Dork Side

Chapter 9-1

Chapter 9

DAD SURPRISED ME when we pulled up in front of Tillie’s the next day. I’d already jumped out, slammed the door and was starting to wave goodbye. Then I realized he had turned off the engine and was opening his own door. Of course. He wanted to shop for homecoming dresses too.

I told him I’d be okay. Then I pointed out that the Vikings were playing at noon. When that didn’t work, I walked around the car and gave him a hug.

“It’s kind of a girl thing,” I said.

He looked embarrassed. And maybe a little hurt too. I felt like a bad daughter but, really, I was desperate. The idea of both Rhino and Dad helping me buy a dress? I figured Sophie would take one look at the three of us and never speak to me again.

So, at five minutes before noon, I was standing outside Tillie’s Bridal and Formalwear alone. Actually, I didn’t just stand. I walked past the display window once, twice, ten times. I had to work up the courage to try the door, even though the sign told me: Yes, We’re Open!

Before Olympia turned into a faraway suburb of Minneapolis, it had been its own little city. We still have a real downtown here, where people come to shop and eat. We still have a glockenspiel. And kitty-corner from that glockenspiel, we still have Tillie’s. It’s kind of a tradition. Shopping for a formal dress somewhere else, like the Mall of America? That’s considered a form of treason.

I’d never been inside the store, but I knew my mom had bought her wedding dress there. (Apparently, even ultra-feminists have their girly-girl days.) And every time I’d been in the car with Rhino and his mom, if we even got close to the place, Mrs. Reinhold would slow down.

“One of these days you’ll buy your dresses there, Camy,” she’d say. Then she’d get a goofy look on her face. I could never figure out if she was remembering old times or if she just really wished she had a daughter.

The glockenspiel chimed twelve times. I pulled out my phone and checked for messages. No Rhino. No Sophie. Just the formalwear and me.

I held a hand over my eyes and looked through the window. Near the back of the store, a giant HOMECOMING! banner was hanging on the wall. Below it, two huge racks threatened to burst with formal dresses, an explosion of sapphire, azure, and navy.

The glockenspiel had just finished its song when Sophie’s car roared down Main Street and rocked to a stop in front of me. She leaped out of it. “Hey,” she said, but her eyes were fixed on the window just over my shoulder. “This is going to be so much fun.”

“Sort of like playing dress-up.” The second the words had left my mouth, I wanted to shove them back in. I was such a dork sometimes.

Sophie raised her eyebrows. “Whatever.”

Inside the store, the satin, the tulle and the silk took over. Both Tillie and the salesclerk hovered over us as we eased the dresses aside on one of the racks.

Tillie pulled out a sleek gown and held it up so Sophie could see. “Honey, try this one. It’s a little too sophisticated for most girls, but I think you could really pull it off.”

“Thanks,” Sophie mumbled.

I could see it in the way she barely glanced at Tillie and the dress. I could see it in the way she held her shoulders too. Even though she’d been the one to set up this shopping trip, and even though she’d been the one to say this was going to be fun, something had changed. As tough as Sophie could be, it was like the dresses scared her. She wasn’t going to try anything on.

So I did the only thing I could do. I picked the most ridiculous item from the rack and headed for the dressing room. I came out a few minutes later in a dress with a hoop so huge, I had to tip it sideways to get through the door.

“You’re freakin’ kidding me,” Sophie said. “Go try on something real.”

“Not until you do.” I pulled out the dress Tillie had suggested.

She rolled her eyes. “Only if you take that hideous thing off,” Sophie said, but she grabbed the dress and vanished into a dressing room.

I wasn’t about to duck back into my own room to change. I didn’t want to miss seeing Sophie in the dress. I was still waiting five minutes later. Tillie smiled at me, then crossed the room. She knocked once on the dressing room door. “How are you doing, sweetie?” she asked, but before Sophie could answer, Tillie pulled open the door and stepped inside.

Sophie yelped.

“Oh, don’t you just look lovely?” Tillie said. “A vision. An absolute vision. Now get out there and show your little friend how it’s done.” A second later, she was shooing Sophie out onto the sales floor.

The dress was strapless, with crystals that spilled across the bodice and a split up the leg. It was just the right shade of blue, too. The color looked amazing on her. It made her hazel eyes shine, her hair appear blonder. She looked older, but in a good way. Grown-up, sophisticated, just like Tillie had predicted.

“You could be a model,” I said. “They should take your picture and use it in the catalogue.”

“Shut up.” She sliced me with a cut-you glance, but her expression softened as she viewed herself in one of the three-way mirrors.

Tillie bustled over. “Oh, I knew it. That dress is simply stunning on you,” she said. “Of course, you’re free to try on the others, but would you like me to hold this one for you?”

Sophie turned again in the mirror. “Maybe.”

“What, maybe?” I started to say, but the bell above the front door chimed.

In walked Elle, Mercedes, and Clarissa.

“Convenient how they just happen to show up.”

I turned to find Sophie behind me. Her eyes were locked on the newcomers.

“Well,” I said, “I did mention to Elle that I’d be shopping today.” As soon as the words had left my mouth, I knew how they sounded, like I was either incredibly stupid or intentionally cruel.

“You know, for a smart girl, sometimes you really don’t get it.” Sophie spun away from me. She hiked the dress above her knees and marched toward the dressing room.

She was right. I didn’t get it. I didn’t understand why Elle was here. And I definitely didn’t understand why she’d brought Clarissa along. I thought we were friends. Something cold and tight squeezed my heart and I froze. Right there, in that huge and hideous hoop skirt. If my phone hadn’t started chirping from the dressing room, I might have stood there all day.

I swooshed into the stall, knelt by my bag, and was completely swallowed in an avalanche of ruffles. Everywhere I looked, all I could see was scratchy blue eyelet lace. I felt the floor for my bag, then dug for the phone.

Someone laughed. I craned my neck and squinted through the lace in time to see long legs and several blue dresses float by. Clarissa. A second later, Mercedes bounced past with an armload of satin and silk.

“Wow, Camy!” she said, glancing into the room. “Totally radical choice.”

Three things happened all at once. I grabbed the phone, pushed the icon to talk, and landed on my butt.

It was Rhino. I felt relieved for a millisecond. Maybe he planned on shopping with me via cell phone? If he did, I was all for it.

“You have no idea what I’m going through,” I said.

“I’m pretty sure I do.”

“Unless you’ve been trapped inside a giant blue puff pastry with lace frosting, then trust me, you don’t.” I crawled to the doorway and searched the store for Sophie. Tillie had one hand on Elle’s shoulder. With the other, she pointed to a pedestal across the room.

I pushed aside another handful of lace and scanned the store again. Sophie was standing with her back to me. She was halfway between the dressing rooms and the register. She was holding the dress in her arms. Even though I couldn’t see her face, I could feel the indecision roll off her.

“You do look uncomfortable,” Rhino said.

“I ... look?”

“And no offense, but the Antebellum South just isn’t your era.”

I jerked my head toward the front of the store. Outside, on the sidewalk, Rhino’s big nose was pressed against the window.

I hung up the phone, stood, and took a few steps from the dressing room, the skirt tilting wildly as I squeezed through the door. I pulled at the hoop to clear a three-way mirror. I darted another look at the dressing room doors. Could I get rid of Rhino before Clarissa saw him?

And what would Elle think about his arrival? She had already slipped on a dress and taken her spot on the pedestal. Tillie was hovering near her while the salesclerk placed pins in random spots on the gown. Elle looked beautiful, of course. Regal, even. All she needed was the crown.

The bell over the door jingled and Rhino marched through the store. Elle swiveled on her pedestal so fast that her skirt swirled. The salesgirl went down on all fours to collect the pins that popped off as a result. Rhino nodded to Sophie, then stopped as close to me as the hoop skirt would allow.

“This.” Rhino plucked at a ruffle with a finger and thumb. “This is why I’m needed here today.”

I rolled my eyes. “Shhhh. I just tried it on to make Sophie laugh.”

“You’re going to make me cry if you don’t take that thing off,” Sophie said.

“I’m not changing until you buy your dress.”

She glanced away. “I’m still thinking about it.”

“What’s there to think about?” I looked to Rhino for support, but what did he know? “You should’ve seen her,” I told him before turning back to her. “It’s perfect and so pretty.”

“It’s also pretty expensive.”

I’d been trying my hardest not to look at price tags. I knew from experience that dressing like royalty didn’t come cheap. But now I forced myself to search for the tag on the hoop skirt from hell. Not that I planned to buy it. I found it in my left armpit and had to hold my elbow above my head to read it (backwards) in the mirror.

“Four hundred and seventy dollars?” I felt my eyes widen, and the words came out much louder than I’d meant them to.

Elle shot a look at me from her pedestal. She pulled her eyebrows in close and gave her head a quick shake.

“You’re kidding,” Rhino said. He hefted up my left arm, inspecting the tag (and my armpit) himself. “Holy … granola.” He turned back to Sophie. “She’s not kidding.”

“Guess mine’s a bargain, then.”

“How much?” I held my arms out from my sides, afraid I’d have to pay for the thing if I sweated on it.

“Two eighty, but I only have one fifty for shoes and everything.”

I heard the rustle of silk and satin behind me. Mercedes and Clarissa emerged from their dressing rooms and took spots in front of the three-way mirrors.

“Oh!” Clarissa said. “Now I see it.” She pivoted and planted herself in front of Sophie. “Having trouble deciding?” Her voice oozed out, honey sweet. “Tell you what I’m going to do. I’ll go ahead and buy that dress for myself. Then you won’t have to worry your poor little head about it.”

The way Clarissa emphasized the word poor made my mouth go dry. It wasn’t right; we all knew that. Even so, we all just stood there.

Clarissa held out a hand, like she expected Sophie’s dress to magically appear there. No one moved. Elle glared at us from on high. I think we all held our breaths, waiting for the epic homecoming court smackdown that was sure to come.

Except it didn’t go like that. Sophie swiped at a few strands of hair that had fallen into her eyes.

“This is stupid,” she said. “I didn’t want to be on the effing homecoming court anyway, and I don’t want this dress.” She shoved the mass of satin at Clarissa and spun to leave.

Surprise lit Clarissa’s eyes, then that triumphant smile appeared on her lips. I tugged the hoop skirt and myself forward, nearly knocking Rhino off balance in the process. Taking someone’s, anyone’s, dress was something you only got to do once in a lifetime. Clarissa had already cashed in that token.