"Elizabeth, does this dress make me look fat?"
Elizabeth Thatcher glanced up from the magazine she was skimming to look at Rosemary, "Rosie, you look fine. Lee will love whatever you wear," she assured her friend. Elizabeth hadn't grown up in Hope Valley, similar to most of her friends. Elizabeth had grown up in Hamilton, Ontario, the daughter of a wealthy ship builder, William Thatcher and his wife, Grace. The family had moved to Hope Valley the summer before Elizabeth's sophomore year of high school, where she had met Jack Thornton, Rosemary LeVeaux, and Faith Carter. Though Elizabeth and Rosemary were great friends now, that hadn't always been the case. When Elizabeth had first arrived in Hope Valley, Jack and Rosemary had been dating for almost a year. Despite a mutual attraction between Jack and Elizabeth, they were still together until they broke up January of their sophomore year. Elizabeth and Jack had started dating in February with Valentine's Day being their first official date. Needless to say, Rosemary was not pleased with Elizabeth, thinking she had stolen Jack from her. That all changed, however, when Rosemary had met Leland "Lee" Coulter, whose family had moved to Hope Valley from Edmonton the same year the Thatchers had after his brother, Patrick, had passed away from leukemia the year before hand. He had always seemed pretty humble in class, quietly building sets for the drama club for his chosen extracurricular activity. His work with the theater program was where he had met Rosemary LeVeaux, the bold, beautiful, Montreal native who was his complete opposite in almost every way, yet somehow, they had both been smitten from the moment they had laid eyes on each other. Their first date had been the annual Spring Fling dance in March and from then on, Elizabeth and Rosemary had become fast friends, despite Jack and Rosemary having known each other from growing up in Ottawa, where Jack was originally from and Rosemary had lived since the age of ten when Francois LeVeaux had expanded his clothing business out of Quebec. Once LeVeaux Formal and Leisurewear extended into Alberta and British Columbia, the Thorntons had followed the LeVeauxs out to Hope Valley as Charlotte Thornton had obtained a teaching position at Hope Valley High School. So now, all four individuals, along with Hope Valley native Faith Carter, were their own special circle of friends, so much that each of them were going to pursue higher education at the University of Calgary together, minus Jack who would leave for Regina, Saskatchewan to train to become a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, just like his late father, Thomas Thornton. As for the other four companions, Elizabeth would be majoring in education, Faith, in nursing, Rosemary, in drama, and Lee, a double major in landscape architecture and entrepreneurship and innovation.
Now, here they were. It was four weeks before prom for the senior class at Hope Valley High School. The students couldn't wait for the big night, but of course, there was a lot of planning involved. The affair would be taking place at a local banquet hall in downtown Calgary, about 30 minutes from Hope Valley. There had been lots of planning on the students' parts with Rosemary heading the planning committee for their senior prom. Jack and Lee had their tuxes all ready for the big night, but the girls had yet to find the perfect dress, which is why they were currently in the prom dress department of Nordstrom's at the local mall.
"Are you sure this dress doesn't make me look fat?" asked Rosemary for confirmation.
Cecile LeVeaux came up behind her daughter and laid her hands on her shoulders, "Ma chèrie, you look très belle," she smiled.
"Maman," scolded Rosemary lightly and began to converse to her mother in French so Elizabeth walked away and started browsing the racks of prom attire. She knew once the LeVeauxs started speaking in French to each other, that usually meant it was a private conversation and they had a convenient way to make sure no one else understood them.
"How about this dress, Elizabeth?" asked Julie Thatcher, eagerly holding up one of the dresses. Julie was only a freshman at Hope Valley High, but the two sisters were relatively close; their older sister, Viola, currently lived in London where she had met her husband, Lionel, while studying abroad in college.
"It looks nice," smiled Elizabeth softly, but Julie could tell something was on her sister's mind.
"Elizabeth, what's the matter?" asked Julie sincerely.
A few tears fell down Elizabeth's cheeks, "Just that I can't believe it's actually happening. We're going to our senior prom, our next big event is graduation and then Jack is going to Regina for 26 weeks. I'm going to miss him so much."
"But there's always Skype, Facebook, texting, phone calls, email," listed Julie.
"It still won't be the same," said Elizabeth.
"Elizabeth," Julie took her sister's hand, "You and Jack love each other very much. You'll make it work, I know you will," she comforted.
Elizabeth squeezed her hand and said, "Yeah, I know. But I still don't have to like it."
Rosemary came back over to the rack of dresses in her every day clothes and started browsing the selections, "I've got to find a different dress. You and Maman can try to convince me in whatever language you want, but that dress still made me look fat."
"How about this one?" asked Elizabeth holding up an orange dress.
"Elizabeth, orange is not my color," scolded Rosemary, "Bad enough I have to where orange when Lee insists on taking me to Oilers games with him." Elizabeth snickered. She knew very well how much Rosemary hated hockey, only following the Habs during the NHL playoffs and the national team during the Olympics; even then, Lee still had to explain everything to her.
"Okay, well how about this purple one," asked Julie.
"Huh, that one might work," smiled Rosemary and then pulled out a red dress, "Oh Elizabeth, this would look beautiful on you," she gushed.
"I don't think so, bright colors don't really look good on me," insisted Elizabeth.
"Oh come on Elizabeth! The one time I saw you wear red at school, you looked stunning!" Rosemary emphasized, "Maman, Mrs. Thatcher, wouldn't Elizabeth look beautiful in this dress?"
"I think it would look wonderful on you, Elizabeth," said Cecile.
"See, and Maman and Papa know their fashion," said Rosemary, leaning closer to Elizabeth.
"You used to love wear red when you were younger, Beth," said Grace.
"See, that's God's way of saying you should try it on," Rosemary pulled Elizabeth back into the dressing room. The girls locked themselves into the changing area and Rosemary was chatting away about decorations for the prom, though Elizabeth wasn't really listening. Once she stepped out of the dressing room, Cecile, Grace, and Julie gazed at Elizabeth in awe. A few tears formed in Grace's eyes and she laid her hands on Elizabeth's shoulders, "Beth, you look beautiful."
Rosemary came out and smiled when she saw Elizabeth, "Oh Elizabeth, when Jack sees you, he's going to think he's in Heaven."
Elizabeth grabbed Rosemary's hands and smiled, "And Lee is going to think the world of you. More than he already does."
"I don't know," Rosemary glanced in the mirror.
"Rosie, mon amour, you look absolutely breathtaking," said Cecile.
"Lee always has loved you in purple," reminded Julie.
"Well…." Rosemary hesitated. Everyone held their breaths before she said, "I think you all are right."
Once the night of the prom arrived, everyone had decided to get ready at the Thatcher house since it was the largest and had the most room. Elizabeth, Rosemary, and Faith spent their day having their hair and nails done before they all gathered at Elizabeth's house for pictures. Faith's date, Shane Cantrell, was the first to arrive; the pair knew each other from a few AP classes and they were only going as friends, or so they claimed. Jack and Lee both arrived at the Thatcher house at the same time. When both young men saw Elizabeth and Rosemary in their dresses, they were mesmerized, "Wow, Elizabeth, you look amazing in that dress," said Jack.
"Oh Jack," said Elizabeth taking his hands in hers, "You look very handsome tonight."
Jack kissed her cheek and whispered in her ear, "Red really suits you."
Elizabeth smiled and everyone glanced over at Lee, who hadn't managed to say a word since he had walked in the door. He was too busy ogling Rosemary in her royal purple dress, "Lee, sweetheart, please say something," she teased.
"You're….you…" he stuttered, "You look stunning," he finally said.
"Oh," Rosemary scrunched her face and Lee's face fell.
"What did I say wrong?" asked Lee worriedly.
"I was going for breathtaking. I guess stunning will have to do."
"Did I stay stunning? I meant breathtaking," corrected Lee as the couple walked towards the back terrace. Jack, Elizabeth, Shane, and Faith looked at each other and laughed. No one understood the relationship between Leland Coulter and Rosemary LeVeaux, but they somehow managed to make it work. Once the photographs were taken, and the corsages and boutonnieres were exchanged (Rosemary and Elizabeth hadn't gotten any better at pinning them from the previous year), the limo that the Thatchers and the LeVeauxs had pitched in to rent arrived. William instructed the chauffer where to go and that the prom ended at midnight. His wife and he walked over to their daughter and Jack, "Have a good time tonight, Lizzie."
"Thank you, Father," she smiled.
"Love you, Beth," Grace hugged her.
"Take care of my little girl, Jack," William shook his hand.
"I will sir, I promise," affirmed Jack.
Rosemary hugged Cecile and kissed her on both cheeks, "Love you, Maman."
"Love you too, ma chèrie," said Cecile.
Francois came over and kissed his daughter, "Have a good time, ma petite Rose," he turned to Lee, "Have her back by 12:30, un jeune home," he said to him.
"Papa, you don't sound any more threatening in French," said Rosemary, though Lee begged to differ.
"Have a good time, Lee," said Cecile, kissing him on both cheeks as well.
"Thanks, Mrs. LeVeaux," said Lee. Once the group of friends was on their way to Calgary, they conversed happily about how excited they were for the night.
At ten of seven, many Hope Valley High School seniors were arriving at the prom venue. Shane and Faith went off to find several of their mutual friends while Jack and Lee escorted Elizabeth and Rosemary on their arms, "Oh Rosie, this place looks gorgeous. The prom committee did an excellent job with the decorating," said Elizabeth gazing around the room with an 'Under the Stars' theme.
"Well, my Honey Bunny spent a lot of time putting in the hard work to build so many decorations," Rosemary giggled, rubbing Lee's arm lovingly.
"Sweetheart," warned Lee, though he had a hint of amusement in his voice, "If you call me Honey Bunny one more tonight, I will personally make sure your nickname is published in the yearbook."
Rosemary's eyes widened, "NO! Not Squidget!"
"Oh yes, Squidget," smirked Lee.
A Hilary Duff song came on and Rosemary's face lit up, "Oh, I love this song. Lee, ask me to dance!"
Lee sighed jokingly but outstretched his hand, "Mademoiselle LeVeaux," she chuckled and took his hand, before he led her out to the dance floor. Jack and Elizabeth laughed as they watched their friends dance, though Rosemary was doing most of the dancing. Once a slow song came on, Jack held out his hand for Elizabeth. She smiled and accepted as he led her out onto the dance floor. The couple wrapped their arms loosely around each other and swayed back and forth in time with the music.
Jack glanced down and gazed into Elizabeth's blue eyes, though she was currently fighting back tears, "Lizzie?" asked Jack, squeezing her hips, "What's wrong?"
Elizabeth sighed, "I just can't believe it's really happening. Senior prom, graduation, the senior class trip to New York City, and then you move to Regina for twenty-six months. I know it is what it is, but I'm just going to miss you so much. To hear Lee and Rosie talk about all of their summer plans and college plans makes me feel a little jealous, that's all."
"Elizabeth," Jack looked directly into her eyes, "I promise you, we'll make it work. I love you too much for it not to."
Elizabeth leaned closer to him and inhaled the scent of his cologne, "Promise me we'll stay in touch, Jack Thornton."
"I promise," he kissed her, "I love you."
"I love you too," she whispered softly. The DJ put on a line dance and the senior class spent the night dancing, partying, eating, and having a good time. After prom was over, Faith and Shane's mothers picked them up and other classmates went to after prom parties. The limo took Jack, Elizabeth, Lee, and Rosemary back to the Thatcher house. The two couples stood outside and Elizabeth said, "I had a really good time tonight."
"Yeah, tonight was a good night, wasn't it?" Lee looked at the time on his phone and said, "Well, I better get you home or I'll have to incur your father's wrath," said Lee said to his girlfriend.
Rosemary nodded and headed towards Lee's car, "Bye Jack, bye Elizabeth!" she waved enthusiastically. The two lovebirds drove away and Jack and Elizabeth turned to each other.
"Well, I probably should be going soon too. I'll see you tomorrow?" asked Jack.
"If not, then definitely Monday," smiled Elizabeth.
Jack smiled and kissed her long and hard. They didn't want to, but they eventually pulled apart, "Good night, my sweet Elizabeth."
"Good night, Jack," said Elizabeth. Jack got into his car and drove towards his house. Every time she was around Jack, Elizabeth's heat raced and her palms became sweaty, even though they had been together for nearly two years. But with her friends, family, and the love of her life by her side, tonight had truly been a night to remember.