Over the course of two weeks, Johnny got better. His concussion all but disappeared with his constant commitment to daily exercise, rest, and no hard thinking. To which end Ava teases, "The no hard thinking part should not be a problem." He told her she was naughty and she agreed. Then she showed him naughty she was. Which he says "Quality time is back Baby!" And the lack of it was thoroughly made up for.
During those two weeks, an envelope arrived addressed to Mr. John Lawrence. Ava handed it to her husband and encouraged him to "Open it now. I'm dying to know what this is." He decided to torture her by leaving it unopened, on the kitchen island. He did his thirty-minute workout followed by some cognitive activity. Then he had a snack, a nap, another snack, and finally, Ava pointed out to him "If you don't open it now, then I'm going to."
He looked at her and stated, with a straight face, "Opening another person's mail is against the law. You could have jail time."
With narrowed eyes, she scoffed. "Fine, then you will have no quality time." With speed as quick as The Flash, he picked the letter up and opened it. Then he proceeded to read. As he read, his eyes bugged out of his head. Seeing this she asked "What? What is it?" He handed her the paper and sat down on the sofa. With skepticism she eyed him. Holding it up to her eyes, she began to read. By the second paragraph, she could not believe what she was reading. "Johnny! Do you know what this means?" He just looked at her. She kept reading until the whole letter had been read from top to bottom.
"So, what do you think?" he asked. He wants her opinion on the matter.
Giving him a look that said are you for real, she sat in his lap and threw her arms around his neck. "Johnny! This is so amazing. No! This is more than amazing. It's incredible!"
Smiling his bright Johnny smile, he spoke with a catch in his voice. "I guess one of the scouts did see something they liked." The letter, which was a full soccer offer from Pepperdine, fluttered to the floor from Ava's hands. Her hands were busy holding on to her husband while placing kisses all over his face.
"Of course they did. You're the best. I'm so proud of you," she asserted. He soaked in her words. They celebrated, that night, by ordering pizza and having quality time (after her favorite TV show Dallas).
With it now mid-April, Prom is a week away. Then there's Ava's final golf match, Senior exams, and graduation. It seems like a mad dash to the finish. But today is Thursday in the valley, and the girls are going prom dress shopping. Ava hates that she's had to put this off to the last minute, but her husband was more of a concern than a dress. She has never been a last-minute person a day in her life. She's always prompt, punctual, and organized.
While she and the girls are dress shopping, Johnny and the guys are hanging out. It's funny because all of this was supposed to have happened three weeks ago. But then life has a funny way of sneaking up on you when you least expect it. How ironic.
After school, Johnny hugged his woman and said "Buy something hot and pretty." Ava gave him a look. He just raised an eyebrow in response. They kissed and said goodbye. Since the doctor gave him the all-clear to drive again, he's been riding on his bike. He just can't get enough of it. It's funny how you take things like driving for granted, especially when you have to rely on others.
As for Ava, she rode in Rachel's car with Dawn, and Jennifer (who already purchased her dress but wanted to come with them for the fun of it). Together they rode to the boutique stores around the valley first, before they browsed racks of picked-over dresses at the malls. Their first stop is in Encino with Shawna's Fashionable Frills. Dawn found her perfect prom dress right off the bat. Hot pink with a satin sweetheart neckline at the top, and a black polka dot, tulle, chiffon skirt. She tried it on and loved it. Done.
Neither Ava nor Rachel saw anything that struck their fancy. So on to Bella's Boutique where a whole bunch of Jessica McClintock dresses was in stock. While Jessica McClintock is THE name in prom dresses, Ava hates them. She just cannot understand the whole prairie look or the whole Victorian style of evening wear. It's so old-fashioned. But on the other hand, Rachel loves it. She admired this white prairie style, off-the-shoulder dress. She picked it up and tried it on. The dress looked good on her and she bought it.
Now at the same time, Rachel was marveling at her prom dress, Ava was admiring something she wasn't even supposed to be looking for... a wedding dress. Tulle, tulle, tons of tulle. It's a sleeveless A-line princess tulle dress, with a V-neck front and back. It also has a sweeping brush train with yards and yards of beading. Gorgeous.
The girls urged her to try it on. "I don't know. I mean I came in for a prom dress, not a wedding dress. I'm already married. It kind of defeats the purpose," she told them. They insisted and wouldn't take no for an answer. So she did and she loved it. But put it back on the rack.
They left the store and headed to Malibu. Three stores later, Ava still hasn't found a prom dress. Not willing to be deterred, or give up hope, the girls decided to try Charmed Bride & Prom. As soon as they entered Ava saw two things. One, her perfect prom dress, and two, the wedding dress of her dreams.
She started with the prom dress, as that is the most essential item. While Jessica McClintock is THE name in prom dresses, Gunne Sax is THE other name. This store is loaded with Gunne Sax dresses. The prom dress, Ava fancies is a Gunne Sax. The second she laid eyes on this dress, she knew it was for her. Taking the dress off the rack, Ava went to try on the magenta satin, strapless cocktail dress. The thing that made it stand out to her is the black lace overlay on the entire thing. Since it has a boned bodice, with a full skirt, it elevates her curves in all the right places. And because it's mid-calf, not full length, makes it even better. Johnny will die!
When she stepped out of the dressing room, her friends raved over it. "It hits you in all the right places. And it accentuates your cleavage. Johnny will love it," Dawn told her. Rachel also said, "I think this dress was made for you." Jenny agreed with both of them.
After taking the prom dress off, and handing it to the lady helping her (to keep at the register), she put on a robe (which had been given to her at the store). Walking straight over to the bridal section, she pulled a dress off the rack and went right back into the dressing room. If she loved the prom dress (which she does), then that is nothing compared to what she feels for this particular dress.
The sales lady helped her button and zip it. Then she exited the room with a "Are you guys ready?" Her friends were. She went to stand on the model box, in front of the big mirrors. All at once Ava became overcome with emotion. The dress is everything.
It's a sleeveless, sheath silhouette with a modest V-neck. But the gown is SO glamorous with beading all over, front and back, in a modern linear style on the skirt. The beading on the bodice is traditional, as is the attached beaded belt. The straps of the gown are sheer with beading on them as well. She thinks it's just the prettiest thing.
That is just the front of the gown. The back is the show stopper. It buttons at the top with a delicate keyhole back. Don't even get her started on the train. The train is insane. It's a full chapel train. And the thing about this is, it's the kind of dress she's always wanted.
As Ava stood there, viewing herself in the mirror, she couldn't. It is so hard to look at herself because seeing herself in THIS dress beats everything. Except, there's absolutely no reason to buy it. She's already married. Her wedding is done. So when Rachel asked her "Are you OK?"
Ava could only respond "No. This is MY dress. MY wedding dress. But I'll never own it. EVER! Because I got married... at a chapel... in Vegas." Then she was depressed.
It was all she could do to take the dress off and hand it back to the saleslady. Sucking in a shuddering breath, she changed back into her old married lady clothes and purchased her prom dress. The ride to her house was quiet, as she sat with her thoughts.
Pulling into her driveway, Ava remembered all the guys are at her house. Her girlfriends are going to be at her house too. She tried to put on a brave face, as she got out of Rachel's car. But that dress did a number on her heart. And it's stupid because it's just a dress. She knows that.
However when she entered her house, and she heard the laughter, and followed her friends to it... her heart wouldn't let go. The guys greeted them and her friends went to sit with their respective boyfriends. When she looked at Johnny, who was smiling at her, she lost it. Tears running down her face, she ran to their bedroom and threw herself on the bed. Where she cried her eyes out. She kept telling herself it's just a dress.
Having no idea what is going on, Johnny asked her friends "What's wrong with my wife?"
All three of them looked at each other and looked at the guys in the room before they looked back at Johnny. Dawn decided to speak first. "Well, we went prom dress shopping."
Tommy wondered "Did she not find one?" Which is what Johnny thought too.
"No. She found one," Jenny said shaking her head. Her blonde curls bounced around her face.
Well, that didn't help Johnny, not even one little bit. "Well, I'm confused. If she found a dress, which should be something hot, then why is she upset? Did some old hag say something to her? Do I need to go tell them off?"
Letting out a sigh, and running her hand through her hair, Rachel explained. "You see the thing is, the boutique that she bought her prom dress at, also had bridal dresses. The minute she entered the store there were only two" â- she held up her fingers for emphasisâ- "Dresses for her. One is her prom dress. And the other is a wedding dress. When she put the wedding dress on and modeled it for us, she fell in love with it."
Dawn finished for her. "She did. That dress is made for her. It fits her perfectly, no alterations are needed. I think it hit her, as she stood there wearing it, that it can never be hers. She told us as much. To quote her words, I'll never own it because I got married in a chapel in Vegas."
And then he, and all of his friends, understood. "Bullshit!" Johnny exclaimed. Sitting there, in the armchair, holding his beer, Johnny felt like the biggest loser ever. Thoughts of his own started swirling around in his brain. An idea began to take shape. Standing up, he told them "I'm going to go check on her." They all nodded.
On the way to the bedroom, the idea really took form and started to become a plan. Opening the door, he saw her sprawled out sideways on the bed. He closed the door and joined her. Laying on his elbow, gazing at her, he saw red eyes and a sad red face. "Want to talk about it?" he suggested.
Sniffling, she remarked "I guess you know why I'm crying. I'm fine. It's just a dress." She sucked in a breath.
If anything, those words just make him sad. He disagrees with her. "No. It's not just a dress. It's a special dress that you wear for a special day. And you didn't get to have that."Â She couldn't disagree. He's right.
Doing the one thing he knows he can do, he begged her "Tell me about this dress, that has you so upset."
So she did. She told him about the beads and the train. But the one that broke his heart was when she voiced "It's just I felt like I found my favorite love song was written about my dress. It is so pretty and I just wished I could see your face when you saw me in it. But we're already married and I'm glad about that. I am. I'm silly to cry so. It's just a dress."
It wasn't lost on him she called it my dress. That's when he knew he had to see his idea come to life. It's something he had been thinking about anyway, even before this dress crisis. This whole thing just makes it all the more relevant. "Babe, I love you." He kissed her sweetly and gently. Then he asked her to "Tell me about your prom dress. Is it hot?"
She laughed and told him, "You'll just have to wait and see." Then she sat up and together they left their room and rejoined their friends. It's ironic that when you're not even looking for something, it seems like it finds you anyway. Be it love, a lost sock, a windfall of money, a job, or even the perfect dress.
**Author's Note**
Here is a link to Ava's dress. Now you can see why she's so emotional.
https://www.theknot.com/fashion/maddie-k1845-kittychen-couture-wedding-dress