Chapter 50: Dress up

Dorah walked out of the bathroom looking all refreshed. A towel was tied around her body and a short one was in her hand; she was using it to dry her hair. She was singing Still Falling by Tatiana Manaois as she walked towards her bedside and dried her body. She plugged in her hair dryer and blew her hair with it. As she unplugged it, her phone started ringing. She picked it up and saw Ronald's name displayed on the screen. "Hey, babe," was the first thing she heard as she answered the call. "What's up?" she asked, resting her body on her reading table. "Are you ready for prom?" he asked on the other end of the phone, making Dorah chuckle. "Bro, it's still 6 o'clock. I'm not among the finalists, neither are you. So, why the rush?" she asked, rolling her eyeballs. "I'm just so excited that I'll see you today. I can't imagine how beautiful you'll be, so I want to see it with my own eyes," he said. "You really know how to flatter someone, right?" she asked rhetorically, and he chuckled. "Just only for you. So, are you done dressing?" he asked, and she nodded sideways as if he'd see her. "No, just going to check my closet for a dress that I can wear," she said. "How about looking for it together? Let me switch to video call," Ronald said and switched the call to video. She felt like she was forgetting something. All of a sudden, she rushed into her closet and looked for a baggy top and bum short. After getting herself dressed, she picked up the call, stretching her hand a little forward so he could have a clear view of her. "What took you so long to pick?" Ronald asked as her face displayed on the screen. "Let's just get to picking out the dress," she said, ignoring his question. Seeing she didn't want to give him an answer, he didn't bother to push any further. "Okay," he said, nodding his head. She walked to the dressing table and put her phone on a phone holder. She turned her phone to the direction where she hung her dresses. "What do you think about this white?" she asked as she removed a white gown and walked to the phone. Ronald put on a thinking face and placed his index finger on his chin. "Nope, I don't like it," he said after a minute. Dorah walked back and picked a short silver gown. "What about this one?" she asked, showing it to him. "No, it's too short and I don't like it," he said, making her roll her eyeballs. "What about the red one there? Let me see it," he said, pointing toward another dress. She walked back, removed the gown, and walked back to her phone. "It looks somehow odd. I don't want it," she said, squinting her face. "Seriously, Ronald? Just pick one. I'm tired already," she whined and sat on the chair in front of the table. "Seriously? It's just three gowns already, not all your closet," he said, chuckling. "Whatever," she said, folding her arms on the table and resting her chin on them. "Awwwwn, my baby is tired. Okay, how about I make it easier for you? Check the picture I sent to you," he said, and she picked up her phone from the table and checked his message. "Wow, it's beautiful. But I don't have this in my closet," she whined, pouting cutely as she returned to the video call. "Does it matter? I'll order it for you now. It'll be at your doorstep in some minutes," he said, taking another phone from his side and starting to operate it. "No, no, no, no, no....." "What?" he asked, cutting her off as he raised his brow. "I don't want you....." "......buying things for you," he said, cutting her off again, and she nodded. "I've been wanting to do this for you, like apart from birthday gifts. Can you just let me do this? Please," he said, giving her puppy eyes. "But...." "Pretty please. C'mon, it's just one dress. Please," he pleaded, and she nodded. "Okay. Hope it won't be delivered late?" she asked, sitting up. "No, I ordered it already. It should be there in the next 20 minutes, I think," he said. "Well, that's pretty fast," she said, nodding her head. "So, babe," he called as his expression dropped. "Hmmm?" she hummed, raising her brows. "Ehm… about my date to the party. I think I'll be taking Madison with me," he said. "You think, or she's your date for the party?" she asked, resting her elbow on the armchair. "My parents told me to take her with me as my date. Believe me, I tried to disagree but they...." "Geez, stop. It's fine. She's your date already. There's nothing to change about it. Moreover, it's fine by me. I expected it already," she said, smiling. "You sure?" he asked, and she nodded. "You don't need to freak out. It's fine by me," she shrugged. Then, she heard the doorbell ring. "Oh, I think someone is at the door. Let me go and get it," she said and walked out of the closet. "Guess the clothes are there already," he said as she walked out of her room. "How can that be? It's barely fifteen minutes," she said, walking down the stairs. "You can never tell. It might be a fast one," he winked, making her chuckle. "Oh honey, I was about to come get you. A delivery man came to drop this just now and he said it's for you. Did you order new clothes for the prom? You should have asked me to do that," Agnes said, handing two bags to her, and she collected them. "Thanks, Mum, but I didn't order it. A stubborn, unsatisfied person who isn't satisfied with all the dresses in my closet ordered it," she said, rolling her eyeballs. Ronald frowned as he heard her say that but decided to keep mute. "You shouldn't say that. That's so thoughtful of him and caring. He might just want you to look good," Agnes winked. "What do you mean by he? I never mentioned any gender," she said, frowning. "Does it matter? It's only a guy that can get you that. But just be careful if it's actually a guy. I don't want you stuck in a relationship now." "Okay, Mum. I heard you," she said, turning up the stairs. "I need to go and get dressed," she added. "You know it's not too late to call Glam n' Glossy," Agnes said as Dorah walked up. "To do what?" she asked, frowning as she turned to look at her mum. "Your makeup girl," Agnes said, folding her arms on her chest. "Please bring back my mum," she groaned, going back to her room and turning a deaf ear to everything she was saying. "You really have lots of compliments for me there," Ronald said sarcastically as she entered her room. "Oh really?" Dorah smirked. "You've got to be kidding me. You called me an unsatisfied person," Ronald said with widened eyes. "Yes, so?" she asked, walking into her closet. "Whatever. I just don't like the ones you showed me," he shrugged, and she chuckled. "Just say you intended on ordering the clothes from the beginning. You just made me go through that stress because you didn't know how to go about it," Dorah said. "I can't call that stress," Ronald said. "It's still stressful for me," she shrugged and took out the dress. She placed it on the island and turned the camera to back camera, showing him the clothes. "It looks more beautiful seeing it in person," she giggled and returned the camera to her face. "I'm glad you love it. Had to go through everything on the app before finding this. I have eyes for good things," he winked. "There's another bag here too. What's in it?" she said. "You check it out yourself." She dropped her phone on the island. Inside the second bag was a box. She brought it out and dropped it beside her phone. She opened it and found silver glittering high heels. A "Wow" escaped her mouth. "You like it?" Ronald asked as he heard her voice. "I love it. This is pretty," she said, still staring at the heels. "The pretty should be for you, but I'm glad you like it," Ronald said, smiling. "I should dress up. I'll call you back," she said, and he nodded. She hung up and dropped her phone. She dressed up and put on the heels. The gown was an off-shoulder red gown and it was exposed on the right leg up to her mid-thigh. It clutched to her like a second skin, bringing out her shape. She stood before the mirror and packed her hair into a ponytail. "Perfect," she mumbled with both hands on her hips. She decided to go without makeup. She picked up her phone and put a call through to Ronald. "Hey, babe. You're done?" Ronald asked immediately he picked the call. "Yes," she said, turning the camera to back camera. Ronald kept mute, not finding the right words to say. "You don't like it?" Dorah asked, noticing his silence. "I... I do," he stuttered, swallowing hard. "Then why are you not saying anything?" she asked, frowning. "I just... I can't find the right word to say. You're beautiful more than words could describe. You're looking fabulous," he said, making her blush. "I'm flattered," she said sarcastically, making him chuckle. "I've told you several times to always let your hair down," he said. "Why?" "Because I love it like that." "Okay, fine," she said and removed the band in her hair, letting it drop off her shoulder. "That's my queen," he said, smiling. "Stop," she said, turning her face in another direction. "Should I come and pick you up?" he asked, hoping she'd say yes. "No. Have you forgotten Jason will be picking me up? Just chill. We'll meet in school," she said, giving him a reassuring smile. "I wish I'm the one taking you to prom," he said, looking a bit down. "Dorah...." They heard Agnes' voice just as Dorah opened her mouth to talk.