Pulse of Heroes (41 page)

“You don’t have to worry about any of that.
Tomorrow we’ll go shopping and you pick out whatever you want to
wear.” But Michelle didn’t have a lot of money, and she couldn’t
justify emptying the savings account her parents had started for
her just for a dress. She was embarrassed to tell him all that
because she didn’t want to sound as if she was asking him to buy
her something to wear. The other problem was that her parents would
never let her go without meeting Elliot first. What would she tell
them? Where did she meet him and how long have they known each
other? What school does he go to, and how old is he!!! Elliot felt
Michelle’s blood pressure rising. Whatever thoughts were running
through her mind were stressing her body, so he pulled over the car
and turned off the engine, although Michelle hardly took notice. He
leaned over and took her face in his hand, kissing her sweetly.
“Don’t worry. Everything is under control. We will make this
happen.”

Michelle had never thought about what she was
going to tell her parents about Elliot, and for a long time she
didn’t think she would ever have to. She always felt as if every
day she had with him was a gift from another world, and that one
day that fantasy would vanish as if it had just been one long
dream. But everything was different now. On Saturday morning she
approached her mother and told her that she had met a guy during
Easter break and that they had been talking to one another and had
decided to go to the prom together. Michelle’s mother didn’t see
any problem with that arrangement and was quite happy for her
daughter. As they discussed her plans later during dinner, Michelle
couldn’t believe how easily the lies fell from her lips. She told
her mom that Elliot was from a school down south and that he had
graduated two years earlier. Her father was a little concerned
about Michelle’s date being three years older than her, but her
mother reminded him that they were four years apart when they
started dating. He replied that they were both adults at that
time.

“Dad, its not like I’m marrying him. It’s
just a dance!” Michelle chimed in, but her father insisted on
spending some time with this stranger before he would let Michelle
go anywhere with him.

“There is nothing wrong with him showing up
an hour early so your mother and I can get a feel and see if we
like him.” How on earth was she going to explain that to Elliot,
Michelle wondered with great concern? And besides, what if Elliot’s
eyes started changing colors right in front of her father? Then
everything would be a total mess and they would never let him take
her anywhere.

After watching James graduate, Michelle
excused herself from her friends and made her way to where Elliot’s
Explorer was already waiting. When she got into the car he gave her
a small peck on the cheek though she would have preferred the lips,
and told her that she looked very pretty.

“It’s just a simple dress,” she told him.

“Then it must be a good time to go fetch you
a fancier one,” he said. They decided to head south to San
Francisco to the many little boutiques there because Elliot
disliked department stores. En route, Michelle embarrassedly
recounted what her father had said, and Elliot seemed to be as
pained by the idea as she was. He leaned his head back against the
neck rest and let out a low whistle.

“I told you,” Michelle said, a bit
disappointed at Elliot’s response. “This is just a stupid
idea.”

“No, no, it’s not stupid. No matter how old I
get I still don’t like to meet any woman’s father. And trust me
when I say that throughout most of history a guy couldn’t even talk
to a girl without her father or brothers being present, and on top
of that there was no taking anyone out anywhere without a marriage
proposal first, and even then there was always a chaperon
involved.” Michelle looked at Elliot in complete disbelief.

“Then how did a couple know if they even
liked one another if they never got the chance to be alone?” she
asked. Elliot explained to her that love was not a modern
invention, but that marriage was viewed as more of a business
transaction rather than an expression of undying devotion. Of
course, if the couple happened to be in love than everyone was
happy, but many times that did not happen and men and women were
married to people that their parents had chosen for them, while
still being in love with someone else. Michelle thought that that
was sad and awful, and she was glad that she lived in the present
time. Elliot agreed that he liked it this way much better.

“There are still many places in the world
where marriageable women are bartered over the same way they do for
a farm animal.” Michelle shuddered at that thought. “Don’t worry,
even back then lovers snuck out in secret as much as they could.”
Elliot decided not to mention the almost certain death punishment
for getting caught. For Michelle, there could be no better feeling
than sneaking away with Elliot and getting as far away as
possible.

After trying on numerous dresses Michelle
settled on a classic floor length satin gown that was almost black
but was in fact deep purple with the slightest iridescent sheen. It
had a deep v-neck cut and the body had panels of fabric that
crisscrossed from below the bust line, getting gradually wider
until they wrapped perfectly around her hips. Elliot enjoyed
watching Michelle model the different outfits, and it became
obvious to him that she definitely possessed the body of a little
woman, and that the clothes she wore in her daily routine hid her
natural curves. He definitely preferred seeing her in dresses that
emphasized her waist and hips. For Elliot, women wearing pants was
quite a recent trend, and although he understood that they were
much more comfortable for the ladies than heavy skirts and corsets,
he still couldn’t help but miss the days when women looked like
fluffy flowers wrapped up in miles of lace.

“Elliot!” Michelle repeated his name a little
louder when he just stared at her, not answering on whether she
should wear her hair pinned up or down.

“I’m sorry, I’m mesmerized. You look so
beautiful in that dress that I didn’t hear you speak,” he said in
honesty. Michelle blushed.

“Don’t be silly. It’s a pretty dress, but I’m
not all that.” A woman’s self doubt in her appearance was something
that never changed. They all needed constant reassurance. Elliot
attributed that to them being so fragile. To his eyes, Michelle
looked like a movie star straight out of the 1930s. She was still
waiting for his opinion on her hair, and her eyes were now sending
small darts in his direction while she stood tapping her foot for
extra effect. Elliot laughed and walked over to stand next to her
by to the three-way mirror. He placed his hands around her waist,
feeling the small of her back as it curved downwards and back
out.

“You look so beautiful.” He kissed her while
running his hands up and down her satiny hips, pulling her even
closer to him. “I just want to rip this dress right off you,” he
whispered, and Michelle’s body tightened up. Elliot couldn’t
believe that those words came out of his mouth; he should have
known better. He probably completely scared her. Michelle pulled
back and stared at him, studying his face as if she was seeing him
for the first time. She felt awfully confused. The way he had
spoken was different. He sounded so at ease, like a grown man. Was
he really not young like her? Her sweet beautiful Elliot, a man
that she had yet to become acquainted with? Michelle tried to keep
things in perspective, reminding herself that Elliot had probably
had many lovers, and that she needed to grow up. He tried to say
something but she put her finger to his lips, then kissed him
passionately while placing his hands back on her hips.

“If you ask real nice I’ll take it off, you
don’t have to rip it off me,” she whispered in his ear. But Elliot
knew that she was fronting. He put some distance between their
bodies and told her that he was out of line talking to her that
way. Michelle was irritated by his apology. “I’m not a little girl,
Elliot. You don’t have to treat me like one.” Elliot thought to
himself that nothing cuter could have possibly come out of
Michelle’s mouth, even if he had put it there himself. Old people
were just little children to him, people on their deathbeds were no
more than babies. They lived and died knowing a fraction of what he
did. It didn’t matter how mature they thought they were. And yet
here was sweet Michelle, all of seventeen years old, telling him
that she wasn’t a little girl, that she was all grown up. He tried
not to burst out laughing and apologized again, telling her that it
had nothing to do with her age, but was more about where they
were.

“I should have controlled myself a little
better. It’s just hard with you being so beautiful.” He kissed her
one more time, and that seemed to help evade any more discussion on
the subject for the time being. The salesgirl at the counter
cleared her throat as a way to remind the couple that they had an
audience. “We’ll take the dress,” Elliot said, walking over to the
cash register and pulling out a large stack of bills from his
wallet.

Michelle couldn’t believe that that was her
looking back at her from the mirror. Her mother had helped her take
in the dress at all the right places and now it fit her body like
it was sewn on rather than taken off the rack. Her hair was parted
to one side and her mom used a large curling iron to curl the ends.
She looked extra glamorous, and the creamy rosy lipstick only added
to that effect. With her eyes lined with smoky kohl she looked much
older, but that was the whole point, wasn’t it? Michelle noticed
that her mother had a tear in her eye.

“Mom, I’m going to the prom, not a funeral,”
she said, laughing and putting her arms around her mother.

“I know honey. It’s just that you look so
pretty that it’s making me cry,” her mom snuffled into her tissue.
“I still can’t believe you paid so little for this dress. It’s just
gorgeous.” When Michelle had first seen the price tag for the dress
she had argued with Elliot that it was much too expensive, and that
it wasn’t worth it because she would only wear it one time. But
Elliot responded that he had told her that she could choose any
dress and he had meant it; he would have been willing to pay a lot
more to see Michelle looking so happy. The ever-thoughtful Michelle
tried to offset the price of the dress by wearing her same black
heels and small diamond necklace that she wore to the Christmas
party.

Michelle’s nervous father knocked on the
bedroom door and announced that it was almost four-o’clock. Her
mother told him to close his eyes because she wanted him to see
Michelle in all her glory.

“Mom, please. You’re making this a way bigger
deal than you need to.”

“Just let me have my fun,” her mother
protested. When her father saw Michelle his mouth dropped open.

“Don’t you think she’s wearing too much
makeup? She looks like she’s thirty, not seventeen!” he said
disapprovingly. Michelle became visibly upset and her mother came
to her defense, telling him that it had to be like that for the
photos to turn out good, and that she had worn just as much when
she went to her own Prom. Michelle’s father realized that it was
two against one and grumbled to himself while walking downstairs
with his wife and daughter behind him.

The doorbell rang and Michelle froze. It was
like she couldn’t breath. Suddenly it felt as if tonight was her
and Elliot’s first date. Her mother put on her nicest smile, but
when she opened the door her heart just about skipped a beat. There
in front if her was the most beautiful young man she had ever seen,
standing tall and handsome in a perfectly tailored black tuxedo,
and he was taking her daughter to the Prom. She was speechless and
proud at the same time. Elliot did his best to act younger by
trying to appear nervous, shifting his weight back and forth from
one foot to another. He had slicked his hair back away from his
face and shaved extra close even though that didn’t really change
his features; it was more about how he felt. In reality, Elliot had
no idea how old he really looked. Throughout his life people had
usually guessed that he was as young as eighteen, up to maybe his
late twenties. That afternoon he had poured himself a glass of wine
to help relax him. His main concern was that he appear normal. He
didn’t want his eyes to look too intense because Michelle had
mentioned that she was worried about that. Elliot knew that there
were certain emotions that triggered that response in him, despite
his attempts to keep them under control. He himself never knew what
his eyes looked like unless there was a mirror in front of him, so
he mostly went by other people’s responses. To steer clear of
uncomfortable situations, he often wore sunglasses and avoided
spending too much time with people that didn’t know about him. But
now he stood in front of Michelle’s mother, admiring her beauty
with crystal blue eyes and noticing how much she resembled her
daughter.

As Elliot was ushered into the living room he
noticed Michelle peeking out from the kitchen and gave her a quick
reassuring smile. Once inside, he shook Michelle’s father’s hand
semi-firmly and sat down on the couch, looking around as if he had
never been there before.

“You have a beautiful home, Mrs. Andrews,” he
said in his nicest voice. Michelle listened to him from the kitchen
and rolled her eyes with amusement. Her parents asked Elliot all
the regular questions, and his answers were sincere and convincing,
yet still vague enough so that he didn’t paint himself into a
corner. He was, after all, a pro at this.

“Michelle, are you ever going to come out
here and say hello to your date?” her mom called to her from the
living room.