Prom

The last few weeks have been prom season in our town. It was hard to escape the buzz of anticipation that this season brings. It was on the downtown streets, where girls were shopping for dresses; at the local florists and nurseries, where parents were ordering corsages and boutonnières. It even invaded the usual sanctuary of our screen porch, as prom goers gathered for picture in our neighbor’s backyard. Mostly this has been a painful season that we have had to endure, but it is a season with connections to happy memories of the two proms Emma attended.


I will always have fond memories of shopping with Emma for her prom dresses. She went o her first prom when she was a freshman and brought a friend along on the shopping trip. I remember being impressed by the excitement and generosity this friend displayed. She wasn’t going to the prom and I was amazed that she would give up her Saturday to help Emma find the perfect dress. And we did find it – an elegant dusty blue tea length dress that brought out Emma’s beautiful blue eyes. After scoring the dress, we made our way to the shoe department, and then the jewelry counter where we found a blue crystal necklace and matching earrings that perfectly complemented the dress. Afterwards I treated the girls to lunch and as they chatted about all the details of the upcoming prom night, I continued to be impressed that Emma’s friend could be so excited for her.


Last year’s shopping trip was equally memorable. At the recommendation of one of Emma’s friends, Sarah, Emma and I headed to the small storefront of a local dressmaker. Emma had gone there the day before after school to scope out what they had and already had a few possibilities in mind. When we arrived, a friend of hers was there trying on dresses, so it immediately became a congenial community shopping venture. Emma pulled out the dress contenders she had spotted the day before and went into the dressing room. The first few dresses she tried were disappointing on, but a sales clerk quickly took to the racks and identified some dresses with better potential. While Emma headed back into the dressing room to try these on, a new customer arrived at the store with a dress she wanted altered. This woman was clearly a regular and seemed to know the store as well as anyone working there. As the two girls, Emma and her friend, emerged from the dressing room with new dresses on this woman would give her opinion and suggestions. It might have been obnoxious, but her opinions were always spot on. We felt like we were in the presence of an expert.


After trying on 5 or 6 other dresses, Emma emerged from the dressing room in a beautiful strapless yellow satin dress. She looked stunning and the sales clerk, Sarah, her friend, her friend’s mom, and I all told her so. But the sale wasn’t made until the regular customer got involved. “Oh, that’s the dress, sweetheart. Not everyone can wear that color, but you look absolutely gorgeous in it. Now let’s see these earrings with it. Aren’t they perfect? And you’ll need this yellow pashmina. Here let me show you how to tie it so that it looks like it’s part of the dress.”


Thanks to that customer, my job was simple. I just smiled and handed over my credit card.