One afternoon he even insisted:
“Go out with your friends. I’m going to use a strong product to clean and I don’t want you to be breathing it.
Something seemed strange to me.
But I thought I was being paranoid.
Until the night of my graduation.
I pulled out the blue dress.
I held it in front of me.
For a moment I remembered Mom’s hands passing the cloth through the sewing machine.
I put it on.
When I looked in the mirror, I cried.
Not because I was sad.
For a few seconds I felt that Mom was still there.
“I hope you like the way I look,” I whispered.
Shortly after, Gary arrived.
He was my partner.
Easy.
Smart.
The kind of guy I heard before I spoke.
When he saw me, he stood completely still.
“Is that bad?”
“No.
He smiled.
I don’t know what to say.
I laughed.
“Then don’t say anything.
And during the first part of the night I was happy.
We dance.
We took pictures.
My friends asked me about the dress.
I said to them,
My mom did it.
And every time I said it, I was proud.
Until the side doors were opened.
Some parents started to come in.
I was talking to Gary when I heard several murmurs.
I turned.
And I saw her.
Shirley.
I felt my face freeze.
She was wearing a blue dress.
My blue dress.
Or rather…
a copy.
Shirley walked slowly, enjoying every look.
Several people turned from her to me.
Then again to her.
Gary frowned.
What is going on?
I couldn’t answer.
Shirley came to us.
She looked at my dress from top to bottom.
Then he smiled.
“Wow.
I walked over.
Where did you get that dress?
I sent him to.
How exactly did they know how to do it?
His smile grew bigger.
“You’re not the only person who looks good on blue.
Then I understood everything.
The evenings “cleaning” my room.
The hours I had spent alone near my closet.
The times he insisted that I go out.
