Today is the big day. Homecoming. We all attended the homecoming game last night. It was a picture perfect ending, our team scoring a touchdown in overtime to win the game. Tonight is the dance.
Janna and Melody have been giddy all afternoon. They decided to get ready together. Emmie is here too, but she’s been very subdued. I admire her courage. Most girls would have stayed at home and cried into their pillows. But not Emmie.
“Emmie,” I ask in the late afternoon, “would you like me to curl your hair?”
She politely declines my kind offer with a shake of her honeyed head. “No, thank you. Janna is going to braid a crown around the top of my head and leave a waterfall of hair flowing straight down my back underneath.”
“Ooooh! That sounds beautiful!” I exclaim, glad that my daughter is being so kind to her best friend.
Initially, Janna was going to invite only Emmie over, but Melody asked if she could come get ready with the two girls. Janna didn’t know how to exclude her without hurting her feelings. In consequence, I know Janna’s been a little nervous about today.
“Mom, Kookie has put us all in a very awkward situation. I wish he would just wake up and realize what a great girl Emmie is and that she is just perfect for him! It sure would make my life a lot easier!” Janna complained to me last night after everyone else had gone to bed.
“Yes, and Kookie’s love life should revolve around you!” I retorted wryly.
She glared at me. “Maaahmmm, you know I’m right!”
Privately, I thought she was, but I didn’t admit it. Kookie is his own man and must make his own decisions.
Back in the present, I watch as Janna fixes first Emmie’s hair, and then Melody’s, before doing her own. She is a whiz at hairdressing.
“Emmie, you look stunning!” I exclaim in awe as I stare at the lovely girl in front me. How is Kookie so blind?
Emmie’s face is even more beautiful framed by the crown of hair Janna has braided on the top of her head. The little wispies crowning her face give her a softer look as does the mass of board-straight golden hair falling past her shoulders. Her ivory gown somehow highlights her hazel eyes. The soft fabric of the dress hugs her slender frame before falling in soft folds down to her ankles. The simple spaghetti straps adorning her shoulders set them off to beautiful advantage, the long line of her glowing skin visible from her neck to her fingertips. As I gaze at her adorable face, I notice that her eyes look even larger than usual tonight, and she’s painted her lips with a subtle shade of red that matches the roses in her cheeks. She is absolutely ravishing.
I glance up just in time to see my eldest son come breezing through the room. His eye falls on Emmie, and he stops short, staring at her, a look of awe blanketing his features momentarily before he schools his expression to one of disinterest. Interesting. Apparently, Kookie isn’t blind after all.
