Page 47 of Hockey Heart

“The Mayor’s…” Kensy stumbled on the words as Jimmy came back to the door.

“It’s an Oscar de la Renta. The woman who was supposed to wear it just went to rehab - slightly unwillingly and at the last minute - but it still turned up. I think it’s a close fit.”

Kensy repeated his words in a dreamy-sounding voice, “Oscar de la Renta…”

“Okayyy then,” I said to him suspiciously, taking the dress from his hands in a daze as Kensy rocked on her heels next to me.

I turned, closed the door, and we looked at each other in disbelief. Then the screaming started. Was this actually happening? It was straight out of a fairytale.

The next hour was a blur of wild and fantastic energy. Kensy and I feverishly emptying make-up bags into piles, washing, blow-drying, straightening, preening. We did and redid my eye make-up at least four times.

“Kensy…”

“Uh uh!” She shut me down as she finished delicately lifting my lashes. “Stop thinking! Just turn it off and go have the evening of your life. I swear, Sarah, I’ll be mad as hell if you mess this up.”

“Okay. Thanks, Kensy,” I told her affectionately. “What’s he doing now?”

Kensy went and pulled back the curtain as I slipped into the dress. The softest satin and lace pressed against my skin like a sensual love letter. The shimmering cracked effect of the pattern seemed to come alive in the light as the blanket of perfect joy gently bobbed around my ankles.I can’t believe this fits,I whispered to myself in disbelief.

“He's still just sat in his car waiting. I think he might be air-drumming.”

She turned back to me and gasped, “Are. You. Fucking. Kidding me!”

I looked over to the full-length mirror and my hand rose to my mouth. There was no denying it. I looked fucking incredible. I mean, I glowed in that dress. This must be what superheroes feel like when they put on their costumes. Suddenly pulled out of being dull and ordinary and changed into something amazing. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d looked or felt remotely like this.

“No, no!” Kensy cried out as the tears came to my eyes, “The make-up!”

She held up her handkerchief and gently dabbed at my wet eyes.

“Hey,” she stood back, her mouth hanging open. “My God. You look absolutely stunning, Sarah.”

Then it was Kensy’s turn to dab at her eyes.

“Well, I guess I’m ready then.”

“More than ready,” she said, admiring me so intenselythat I couldn’t help but blush in delight at her dazzled attention.

I stepped outside and my mystery date quickly hopped out of the car and walked round to open the passenger door for me with a surprised and pleased look on his face.

“You look fabulous, Sarah,” he told me softly as he approached. The look in his eyes told me he meant it, too.

28

BALLED OUT

Sarah

I liked Jimmy immediately. For a start, he immediately switched the radio over from Classic Rock Hits, and Taylor Swift’s ‘Change’ came on the airwaves. It made me smile as we cruised through my neighborhood and toward the twinkling city lights. All those homes we passed were full of people who would never know what it felt like to be wearing a high-end designer dress on a soft luxury leather seat, on their way to mix with the rich and famous. I tried to forget for a moment that I was one of those people too, because tonight that was exactly what I was doing.

The real nerves didn’t come until we reached the city. Through the tinted windows, I could hear the swell of buzz and excitement from the crowd who had come out to catch a glimpse of those attending the ball. All hoping that some of their stardust might rub off on them and they would be sucked into that vibrant other world that ran parallel with theirs. I, however, was a complete imposter. An infiltrator.Snuck in the backdoor by some strange twist of fate that I didn’t entirely understand.

“Hey. So, that’s Farla Robinson’s car in front of us,” Jimmy told me.

I gasped. I’d seen her on billboards all over the city. She was like a goddess in Merryville.

“You know she grew up in a trailer park in Southview? Still gets her security team to pick her up KFC.”

“For real?”

---