Chapter 46: The Gifts

The day of the graduation dance arrives. I wait impatiently for Dahlia to come out of her room. The limo waits in the driveway, and we are beginning to be late. When she steps out of her room, it is worth the wait. She is in a red strapless dress. The skirt goes down to the floor, but there is a slit ending near the top of her thigh. The dress is stunning, and sexy, yet eloquent. It’s the perfect look for one of my girls.

“You never cease to impress me. Right when I think you can’t get any more beautiful, you come out looking like that and prove I have no clue what I am talking about.”

That puts a big smile on her face, and she kisses me, but just a quick one. She pulls away, saying, “Careful, I don’t want you to mess up my makeup.”

“We will save that for later.”

“I hope so.”

“You two horn dogs are going to be late. You best get a move on it,” comments Sam.

Zlata says, “Hold on a minute. We need to take some pictures. You two will be sure to take a picture of all 5 of you once you get there, won’t you? This is a big moment, and I want pictures to put in the album.”

I acknowledge, “Yes, yes, I will be sure to get pics now hurry up. We need to get going. It wouldn’t be good if we are late picking up our dates.”

Dahlia giggles and comments, “They are your dates, sully. I’m not dating any of them.”

We quickly pose for pictures and are off. I hold the limo door open for Dahlia, and she gets in. Before I get a chance to get in with her, she is asking, “What is this?”

She is referring to my stack of presents on the seat beside the corsages. I get in and pick up her gift, giving it to her, saying, “I thought I would get you each something to commemorate the occasion. She unwraps it to discover an elongated jewelry box. She opens it up to see a locket on a chain. She holds her hand over her mouth and gasps, then says, “Oh, it’s beautiful.”

I hold out my hand for her to give it to me, and I show her the clasp to open it. Inside is a picture of the two of us. On the other side is a picture of all four sisters. Looking at it, she says, “It’s perfect, thank you.” She then leans in and kisses me. This time, with a little more passion, leaving a touch of lipstick on my lips. Pulling away, she giggles, then grabs a hanky out of her clutch purse, wiping the lipstick off of me.

“Here, let me put it on you. It will go perfect with your dress. I need to pin the corsage on too.” She turns her back to me and pulls her hair out of the way. I draw it around her neck and clasp it, then kiss the back of her neck. We don’t have much time before we get to Carol’s, so I quickly get her to turn around. She plays with it with her right hand while I pin the corsage on her dress. Right when I finish, the car stops.

I kiss her on the cheek and say, “I will only be a minute.” I then grab Carol’s gift and corsage, then exit the car. We aren’t in the driveway because our convoy will not fit. Two bodyguards are on motorbikes leading the convoy with the limo in the middle and the armoured SUV trailing.

Her father greets me at the door, saying, “She is just about ready. She is so excited. Your date is the only thing she has talked about all week.”

“I’m excited myself. It’s not often I have butterflies.”

“The girls have been in and out of here the last few days. All of them seem pretty giddy.”

Right then, Carol walks down the stairs, in an identical dress to Dahlia. If they are all wearing the same thing, there will be no doubt that they have all come as my girlfriends.

“Now that is a thing of beauty,” I exclaim.

It is also the first time I see her without her cast. She holds her arm out and says, “Ya, look, it’s as good as new.”

“I wasn’t talking about your arm, silly. I know it will pale in comparison, but I got you a little something.”

I hand her the gift, and she opens it to discover a jewelry box, about the size of a ring box. When she opens it, she finds a broach. She holds it up and says, “Daddy, look. Isn’t it the most beautiful thing you ever saw?”

I state, “It goes with your dress too.”

She holds it up near where I am going to put the corsage.

“let’s see,” I say and hold out my hand for her to give it to me. Then I add, “It will look a little tacky beside the corsage like that. How about here?” I pin it on the front of her right hip. Then I pin her corsage above her heart, the same place I pinned Dahlia’s.

She rushes off to her room to look in the full-length mirror. Loud enough for those she left behind to hear, she exclaims, “It’s perfect.”

She comes down with her camera and hands it to her father. He blushes, saying, “I can’t believe I forgot.”

“It’s OK, Daddy. Just take the pictures. We can’t be late.”

We quickly do the pictures and are off to the next house. In the limo, the girls are gushing over each other’s presents.