Deborah spent the time laying out Lia’s dress and other accessories on her bed. Lia had been trying since Evan left her to set Deborah up with a date, but even David Krouse refused. Lia had picked out a nice dress. It was not as dowdy as she expected a dress for Lia to be, but it also would not look like a satin feed sack strapped around her like a towel. She even had a little matching purse.

“Okay,” said Lia, as she came out of the bathroom, “I got you a date.”

“With whom,” she asked. “If it’s anyone from school with a bucket of pig’s blood, they’ll rue the day they messed with me.”

“Pig’s blood?” asked Lia, “You suddenly got a whole lot of knowledge about geeky literature Miss Romance Junkie.”

Deborah worried that she gave herself away again. Quickly she covered: “Well I thought Carrie was a romantic comedy. It didn’t end how I thought it would end.”

“Well, anyway my dad’s boss said he would do anything for me. To make a long story short, his son just got home from college and he is taking you to prom.”

“No,” said Deborah. “I don’t have a dress; I don’t have my hair done; and I don’t have anything to wear. Prom is tonight. Besides, I am worried about embarrassing myself.”

“Yeah, we better get to the mall,” said Lia. She grabbed Deborah’s hand and dragged her out to the car.

“I told you it’s too late to get a dress.” The clothes racks in the prom dress sections were sparse. The sales girl was busy consolidating the remaining dresses to a single rack.

“I need a prom dress,” Deborah told the sales girl.

“What size are you?”

“Um, three, I think.”

“I think that dress and that dress are both threes.” She pointed out a hideous green and yellow dress and a very lovely pink dress.

“I’ll try on the pink one,” said Deborah as Lia lifted it up by its hanger.

Lia twirled it around and smiled. “I told you we’d find a dress for you.” She looked at the dress and frowned. She held the dress to the sales girl. “This one has a big blue stain.” Sure enough, a blotchy ink spot covered the bottom of the dress.

“Oh crap, the ink tag must have broken.” The sales girl took the dress and took it to the back room.

“Now what do we do?” asked Deborah.

She pointed at the ugly green and yellow dress. “You can get that one.”

“Absolutely not,” said Deborah. “I am not wearing that ugly dress no matter what.”

Lia pulled out her cell phone. “I guess I better call James and cancel.”

She grabbed the phone away from Lia. “Fine, I’ll wear the dress.” She picked the dress up by its hanger and carried it into the dressing room. As she undressed, she called out to Lia. “You owe me for this.” She kicked off her shirt and pants and pulled on the dress. When she slithered in to the silky dress and looked in the mirror. She stuck out her tongue at her reflection in the mirror. “You had to fit perfectly, didn’t you, ugly dress?”

She heard rattling at the door. “Do you have it on yet? Does it fit?”

With reluctance, she opened the door and spun around for Lia. The sales girl got a weird look on her face when she glanced at them and Lia spun her back.

“Your diaper is showing.” Lia walked around her and zipped up the dress.

Deborah felt her cheeks pinken. “It’s not a diaper; it’s a pull-up,” she hissed.

“Well, it’s covered now,” said her friend.

“Fine,” said Deborah. “Unzip me so I can get dressed and go home.”

“Does the dress fit?”

“Yes, now unzip me,” said Deborah.