Always

Jennifer raced to the dress boutique in town and got there just in time; the last customer of the night was leaving. Ellie waved her to the back, by the dressing rooms.

“Here are all the new dresses. I pulled them out of the back just for you.” Ellie smiled. The dresses all hung on a rack, some flowing to the ground, others short and colorful.

“Let’s get started.” Lillian, Ellie’s mother who looked simply stunning for being in her 50’s, said as she floated into the room.

Trying on dresses was the easy part, the hard part was trying to pick just one. Every single dress was more stunning than the next. Jennifer tried on a pink floor gown, a short purple cocktail dress, and even a black pencil dress. She had gone through what felt like 50 dresses, when she found one that made her heart stop.

“This is it.” Jennifer declared, walking out to show Ellie and her mother. “It’s wonderful.” She had never felt more stunning than in the moment she looked in the mirror. The creme colored dress had a single shoulder strap, and from her waist to her thigh were beautiful feathers in creme, white, and even blue. It was the prettiest thing she had ever seen.

“And it’s free of charge.” Jennifer was just as surprised as Ellie when they heard the words slip out os Lillian's mouth.

“I can’t take this. I have to give you some money.” Jennifer said, shock still registered on her face.

“No. I know how much tomorrow night means to you. I can’t make you pay for that.”

Jennifer waddled and gave Lillian a hug. She thanked both Ellie and Lillian, and left in a hurry. She still had to find shoes, jewelry, and make-up to wear. The premiere was in, Jennifer starred at her watch, less than twenty hours.

Jennifer rushed home, trying to picture her shoes hidden in her closet. It was not often that she got to dress up, so her heels were in their own boxes and on the shelf in her small closet. She soon pulled into the parking lot at her apartment and ran up the stairs. Once inside, she tossed her purse and keys onto the small counter. Jennifer was in such a hurry, she didn’t even hear her purse fall and spill out on the floor.

“Where are these damn shoes?” She muttered to herself, rummaging through all the boxes. Her patience was wearing thin.

“Where are they!?” She yelled, pulling out the last box. When she tore off the lid, she sighed with relief. The crème colored pumps were there, new and clean.

“Thank god.” She sighed. The rest she could do in the morning. Then she’d have to catch a bus into the city, and walk. The walk would murder her feet, but she didn’t care. Jennifer just wanted to see Matt, even if it was only for a second. It had been so long. She needed her true friend to know how she felt, how much she missed him.

It was hard for Jennifer to sleep that night. All she could think about was what was going to happen the next day. She went through hundreds of scenarios that could go wrong, and hundreds that could go right. After much in depth thinking, she finally fell asleep.

The next morning when she woke up, she was frazzled. She showered quickly and pulled her wet hair into big curlers.

After, she applied all her makeup to her face and slipped into the new dress. When she took the curlers out, her hair fell in loose beach curls.

She grabbed, her clutch, tossing in her ticket, invite, house keys, ID, and cell phone. She pulled on her shoes, and ran out the door to the bus stop.