As time passed, and the night of the ball got closer and closer, Theresa was becoming gradually nervous. Nervous because she realized what a big night it would be for Ethan, and that all of his clients and co-workers would be at the ball, too. Every night that week, whether they were together or talking on the phone, Ethan always tried to put Theresa's mind at ease. But it wasn't easy. She was also still nervous about Gwen. She was afraid that Gwen would show up to the ball. Ethan assured her, again, that it couldn't happen. He made sure that no copies of the invitation would be accepted, and that the invitation had to be addressed, that way Gwen couldn't get in using someone else's. By Thursday, Theresa was feeling confident about the whole thing. Which was good, because that was the day Gwen was coming to get her dress.
"Hello, Theresa! Thank you for calling me to let me know my dress is done! I'm so excited about the ball!!"
Theresa wondered if she would ever give up on the charade. She also decided, to have a little fun with Gwen.
"Yes, the dress is done, and I don't mind saying, it's gorgeous. I'd love to have you try it on before you go. That way I can take a picture for my portfolio."
"Of course!" Gwen said, as she made her way to the dressing room.
Maria walked over to Theresa. "Does she still think she's going?"
"Oh yea. But if you don't mind, I plan on having a little fun with her", Theresa said, as she grabbed a camera from behind the counter.
"Be my guest", Maria laughed.
"Well, what do you think?" Gwen said, as she came out of the dressing room.
"Oh Gwen, it's wonderful! Now, wait right there, I just need to take a few pictures. So Gwen, I'm assuming that you have your invitation to the ball."
"Invitation?" she said, as her face dropped. Theresa snapped a picture.
"Yes. I'm sorry, I just assumed that you had one, because mine was delivered a while ago."
"Oh, you received an invitation?" Gwen said, trying to keep smiling.
"Oh yes. I have it locked away. You know, you can't get in to the ball without the invitation."
"You can't?" Click!
"No, that's why Ethan made me hide it away, so he was sure I'd have mine."
"Ethan?" Click!!
"Yes, I'm going to be his escort after all. I'm sorry did he not tell you?"
Click, click!
"Well, don't worry, Gwen. I'm sure you can go with someone who's invited, like.......well you could go with.......well, I'm sure they'll have pictures of it in the Sunday paper. You can see it then. But this dress, looks just fabulous on you."
Click!
Finally, the day of the ball arrived. Theresa not only designed her own dress, but she and her mother had made it themselves, too. She didn't trust it to anyone else. Theresa took all day to get ready, she wanted to look absolutely perfect. She had toyed with her hair for days before, making sure she got a perfect style to compliment her dress. She searched for days for the perfect accessories, shoes and matching clutch. She even drove back to the department store she had worked at in the Castleton mall to find the perfect colors of make-up. She made sure she got her jog in, in the morning. And decided at about 1pm to lay down for a nap. She hadn't done that since she was 4!
Ethan called her at 4 o'clock to tell her that a limousine was coming to pick him up, first, and then he'd have the driver go to her apartment. He should be there about 5:45pm.
"That sounds perfect, Ethan. I'm getting ready right now!"
"Right now, it's only four o'clock!"
"Hey, you want me to look beautiful, don't you?"
"Theresa, all you have to do is wake up in the morning and you look beautiful."
"You might be singing a different tune tomorrow morning when you wake and look over and see my hair a mess and smell my morning breath!"
"I think I'll just wake up and thank God that you're next to me."
"Such a charmer. I love you Ethan. I can't wait to see you."
"Me either, see you in a bit, I love you too. Bye."
And Ethan timed things perfectly. Theresa looked out at quarter to six and saw the limousine pulling up. She went to get her clutch and her wrap, and started to make her way to the door. When she opened it, Ethan was there.
"Hey, where you going? Your not backing out on me, are you?" Ethan laughed.
"No, I didn't know you were coming to the door. I thought I'd just run down to the limo."
"Well, Ms. Lopez-Fitzgerald. I am your escort, in every sense of the word. So I came to escort you from your door to the car."
"Well, Mr. Bennett, thank you very much. But Ethan, what about my overnight bag?"
"Not to worry. I know you well enough to know that you've had your bag packed and next to the front door since last night. So while you were in the shower, I snuck in and brought it to my place. You're all set."
"While I'm glad that you know me so well, I'm also pretty embarrassed. You might think I'm anal.", Theresa laughed.
"No, I think you're my soul mate, and I love everything about you. Now, let's get in the limo and get ready to have an amazing night!"