I didn’t have anything to say on the matter,

apart from ‘blue’ when Mum asked me if I preferred pink or blue.

She drove into the center of town and right out the other side.

“Where are we going?” I quizzed as we left the town center behind us.

“That’ll take hours!” I whined when she told me that we were going to Brighton.

“Hence me not wanting you spending all morning watching TV,” Mum replied.

We drove through part of the New Forest,

past Southampton and Fareham before taking the slower yet more scenic coastal route.

I kept forgetting why just we were going to Brighton and mostly enjoyed the journey.

It only really dawned on me after we’d parked the car and found the shop.

“That’ll be it,” Mum said,

pointing out a very pink shop across the road.

“Angelic Pretty?” I read from the sign.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” I thought as we crossed the road and headed towards it.

I recoiled at the dresses in the window.

The only other time I’ve seen such horrendous designs was in Peter’s room all those months ago.

I can hardly believe that here I am, going to buy something similar so I can attend his birthday party.

Inside, the shop stretched much further back than expected and it’s laid out in partitioned sections,

making it feel more like lots of little shops rather than one big shop.

One section would be all purple and lilac things,

another is all white,

some have all rabbit,

teddy bear or kitten designs and another is dedicated to Hello Kitty stuff.

Towards the back is a pink and blue section,

which Mum pays more attention to since I’d apparently like a blue dress,

However, I’m not being very helpful when she tries to find one I like.

There’s also a completely blue section in which I spot something that doesn’t look too bad.

It’s one of those old-fashioned sailor-style dresses in navy blue with no satin,

no frilly stuff and no bows hanging all over it,

just some white stripes around its big square sailor-style collar.

“Well, it’s nice,” Mum said.

“And I’m sure it’d look lovely,

but it’s not really a party dress is it?”

“I don’t know,” I replied.

“I just like it better than all the other stuff in here,” I said as I cast my eyes around the items on display.

In addition to the prissy dresses were some short suits similar to that Peter wore on the day I visited him.

Although absolutely horrible,

they too didn’t look quite as bad as many of the dresses,

so I suggested one of those

but not in a girlie color.

Again, Mum said they were nice but for a party,