Forever Remember: The Rose Code

Chapter 20: The Charity Ball

The constant humming of Mother's sewing machine filled the next seven days, interrupted only by The Rents shouting at each other and Melaney and Hannah laughing at me. Mother recruited me to help sew the costumes, but after two failed attempts at stitching a straight line, she demoted me to fabric holder. So both Hannah and I "helped" by holding the material when and where she needed.

Melaney stopped by every day after school to check on our progress. She gave me her three-inch-high heels to wear to the ball, but I couldn't walk in a straight line without twisting my ankles. Much to Melaney's and Hannah's amusement, I had two left thumbs and two left feet.

I decided to wear my silver slip-ons. No one would see my shoes anyway. Unlike Cinderella, I had no intention of leaving a shoe behind at midnight. Besides, I had to be home by eleven.

Melaney agreed to do my makeup and hair for the main event. Because the dress was pale blue, I had to use some cosmetics or I'd look like a ghost. Each day she tried different colors and different hair styles until we discovered the ones we liked the best. She put some lipstick on Hannah too, which started the first shouting match between my mother and stepfather when he got home.

When Mother explained that Melaney was doing my makeup for a charity costume ball at the Price mansion to raise funds for the library, Jonathan retorted with the comment, "I don't care if it is a costume ball for charity. No daughter of mine is leaving this house looking like a prostitute."

I had to bite my tongue to keep from shouting, "I'm not your daughter!" But I kept quiet, knowing that anything I said would be used against me. I trusted Mother to fight this battle for me, and the next, and the next.

By the end of the week, my stepfather had grudgingly given his consent for me to attend the ball, but Tyler had to come to the house to pick me up and be interrogated by him. It was the one concession we had to make. Jonathan insisted on talking to Tyler.

On Saturday, Melaney put the finishing touches on my hair, while I stood in front of the full length mirror, not recognizing my reflection. I had been transformed into Cinderella. But instead of meeting my Prince Charming at the ball, I was waiting for the knock on my front door and dreading the conversation Jonathan would have with Tyler. Would he run away screaming and decide not to take me to the ball after all?

I heard the knock and the front door open and close. I wanted to rush downstairs and rescue Tyler, but I had promised Melaney I would wait for at least five minutes before I made my descent down the steps. It was the longest 300 seconds of my life. I watched out the window, expecting Tyler to flee to his shiny black Mercedes and race away, but he stayed in the living room.

Finally, Melaney opened my bedroom door and allowed me to leave. I lifted my dress skirt with one hand and held on the stair rail with the other, praying I wouldn't trip over the ruffles.

Jonathan and Tyler stood up when they saw me. Both had expressions of shock and awe. Tyler's lips formed the word, "Wow," but no sound came out of them. I knew I looked beautiful, but it annoyed me that they were so surprised by my appearance. Was I normally ugly?

When I successfully reached the bottom of the steps without embarrassing myself, I sashayed over to Tyler and said a shy, "Hi."

He wore a long-tailed, white tuxedo, which made quite a contrast to his black hair, bronze skin, and midnight-blue eyes. He looked more handsome than I could ever imagine.

"You look very charming," I admitted.

He smiled, dazzling me with his perfection. "And you will be the most beautiful Cinderella at the ball."