Morbid

Annie took Arnold home and since all he had to do was get dressed, which would only take ten to fifteen minutes, they had several hours to waste until he had to get ready. He and his mother settled down on the couch with Annie sitting up and Arnold with his head on her lap to watch television.

“Arnold, I'm tempted to tell you exactly what you should say to Kelly when you see her all dressed up tonight.” Annie said and he looked up at her. “I'm not going to.”

“Why?”

“I want you to figure it out on your own.”

“What if I say the wrong thing?” Arnold asked.

“It might hurt her feelings, or she might understand that you tried, or she could thank you.” Annie said.

Arnold stayed quiet as he thought about it.

“I can't leave you completely in the dark about it, so I'll give you one hint.” Annie said. “It can't be a compliment that she's heard from you before.”

Arnold nodded and turned his head to watch television.

I hope that wasn't too vague for him. Annie thought and started to rub his chest. I really should tell him everything he should say, just so he doesn't mess things up. “Arnold, I...”

“I'll get it.” Arnold said without looking at her.

Annie nodded and they watched television together for several hours until it was time to get ready. They both went up the stairs and Arnold took a quick shower to freshen up and then when he went into his room, Annie was there with a large dry cleaning bag.

“This should fit you.” Annie said and opened the bag to reveal an odd suit. It had black dress pants, a pitch black shirt, a white suit jacket that had a flower brocade pattern on the shoulders with black lapels, and a traditional long white tie that also had a flower brocade pattern on it. “Your father wore this at our senior prom.”

Arnold quickly dressed in the pants and shirt, which gave him a more mature air for some reason, especially when he tugged on the cuffs to pull them straight to match.

“Now the tie.” Annie said and quickly put the tie around his neck and showed Arnold how to tie it to get the right sized Windsor knot to fit the style of jacket. There was a quick knock on the front door and then the sound of some scuffling feet.

“We're back!” Katheryn said loudly.

Annie went to Arnold's door and leaned out. “It's up here on my bed!”

“Thank you!”

Annie shut the door and went back to Arnold and helped him put on the suit jacket. She adjusted it and buttoned the two buttons on the front, then tugged it down straight. She ran her hands down the front to smooth it out, then did the same to the back. They both heard a couple of people walk near the door and then a door shut.

“I'm so glad that this fits perfectly.” Annie said. “I was a bit worried that it might need to be altered, especially the leg length.”

Arnold looked down and saw they were almost touching the floor.

“Your shoes will hide that and give you an extra inch and a half in height.” Annie said and took the shoes out of the closet. She used a cloth to give them a quick wipe to remove the dust and they shined in the light. Arnold put them on and tied them and stood in front of his mother.

“You look so handsome.” Annie said and tears came to her eyes.

“I love you, mom.” Arnold said and gave her a quick kiss and hugged her.

“I love you, too.” Annie said and he let her go. “Let's go downstairs to wait.”

“I need to use the bathroom.” Arnold said.

“Okay, but be careful of the suit.” Annie said and they left the room. She went downstairs and Arnold went into the bathroom. He didn't use it like she thought, though. He took out his phone and searched for something for a couple of minutes, nodded and turned it off, then went downstairs to wait. Kelly's father was there in the living room and was waiting as well.

It took twenty minutes for them to hear something, then Annie waved for Arnold to go stand at the bottom of the stairs. He did so and Kelly's mom came down the stairs in a rush with a long lace shawl over her shoulder. She took out her cell phone and set it to record.

Then Kelly came down the stairs.

The first thing they saw was the four foot wide bottom of the white dress. It was puffed out with fabric to make the circular shape and had a ridge of the same flower brocade pattern along the edge. At her waist was a white belt that matched Arnold's tie, even with the thick and thin ends that hung down. Her torso was covered in a tulle lace with the same flower brocade pattern. The dress was tight against her body, almost like a corset, and the preformed chest piece held her chest steady as she came down the stairs.

A normal piece of lace covered the top of her breasts and went to her neck in a triangle shape to a one inch collar. It left her shoulders and arms completely bare and her hair was done up into a fancy hairdo that had some baby's breath and white flowers tucked into it. Kelly walked down the stairs with both poise and confidence, which made her look very classy.

When she reached the bottom, she did her best to not blush at the attention and also tried to ignore her desperate need for Arnold to say something. It could be anything, anything at all, then he spoke.

“You look amazing.” Arnold said. “For the rest of my life, I'm going to remember this moment, because it was the moment that I saw the most beautiful creature in the whole world.”

Annie and Katheryn took in sharp breaths, for slightly different reasons. Annie was surprised that he had come up with the perfect compliment and Katheryn because it was a fantastic compliment and described her daughter perfectly.

Kelly's face flushed red and tears came to her eyes. “Arnold, thank you very much.”

“Kelly, you can't cry so much.” Katheryn said and darted forward with a tissue and dabbed her daughter's eyes before the tears fell. “You need to be careful of your make-up, so keep this on you in case it happens again.” She said and tucked the tissue into the edge of her belt.

“Thanks, Mom.” Kelly said.

“Pictures!” Annie said excitedly and took them into the living room. She used an actual camera and took several pictures of Arnold and Kelly.

“Oh! The corsage!” Katheryn said and left the living room and came back in with a one foot wide box. “Here we go.” She said and opened the box and handed a boutonniere to Kelly and then a wrist corsage to Arnold. “Let me record it while you exchange them!”

“Open it and put it on my wrist.” Kelly whispered to Arnold.

Arnold opened the plastic container and took out the large orchid that was on an elastic strap and put it on her wrist, then Kelly took the pin from the orchid boutonniere and slipped it into the lapel of Arnold's suit coat and pinned it to itself to hold it in place.

“That's so beautiful.” Annie said and she wiped at her own eyes. “We had red carnations at my prom and it looked horrible!”

Katheryn laughed. “Yellow chrysanthemums for us! The shop got the orders mixed up.”

“It took us half the dance to find the couple that had our flowers.” Kenneth said and shook his head.

“At least we had a good time doing it.” Katheryn said and gave her husband a knowing smile.

“We should take a few pictures outside!” Annie said excitedly.

“We can't.” Kelly said and looked at the clock. “We need to go.”

“What?” Annie and Katheryn said at the same time and looked.

“It's that late already?” Annie asked, surprised.

“I'll start the car.” Kenneth said and then paused next to Kelly. “You know I don't like saying things like this to my own daughter.” He said and gave her a brief hug that didn't wrinkle the dress. “You look beautiful.”

“Th-thanks, Dad.” Kelly said and kissed his cheek, then she had to grab for the tissue in her belt and tried to wipe off his face.

“Don't worry about that.” Kenneth said and smiled. “Battle wounds can be treated later.”

Kelly chuckled and put the tissue away. “Only you would think complimenting your daughter and getting a kiss is a battle!”

“It's one of the hardest.” Kenneth chuckled and left the living room and went out the front door.

Annie discretely handed Arnold some money and whispered. “Take this in case you decide to go with your friends to eat afterwards.”

Arnold nodded and gave her a hug and a kiss. “Thanks, Mom.”

“Call me when you want to come home.” Annie said.

“I can't believe dad agreed to that.” Kelly said and she took Arnold's hand.

“We have a date.” Kelly's mom smiled. “We're eating dinner out and everything.”

“Have fun.” Kelly said and gave her mom a one arm hug, then led Arnold from the room.

“Kelly!” Katheryn said and followed her daughter to the front door and draped the lace shawl over her daughter's shoulders. “There! Now you're ready to stun everyone!”

Kelly blushed a little and she and Arnold went outside to her father's car. It took a little adjustment to get her and the dress inside the car, then they were off to the school. Annie and Katheryn stood just inside the front door and watched the car drive away.

“Annie.” Katheryn said and turned to the other woman. “I can't thank you enough for letting Kelly wear that beautiful dress.”

“It's been sitting in my closet for about twenty-five years, since I only wore it once.” Annie said and shut the front door. “It seemed like such a shame to let that continue.”

“You know how much of a relief it was to not have to search for a dress so late.” Katheryn said and touched her arm. “Plus, it's a fantastic dress. I'm really grateful and so is Kelly.”

“She let out a nice scream when she saw it, didn't she?” Annie asked. “I was deaf in my left ear for half an hour.”

Katheryn laughed. “I could be about half that loud if I tried.”

Annie nodded agreement. “Would you like to have some tea? Kenneth is going to be a while dropping them off.”

“That sounds nice.” Katheryn said. “Thank you.”

They shared small talk while Katheryn enjoyed a particularly delicious cup of tea.

*

Kenneth seriously debated having a talk with Arnold before they went into the prom. He knew Kelly wouldn't like that, especially since it would be more bluster than actual threat. He had made that mistake before and he didn't want her angry at him again, so he fought his instincts and stayed quiet. He drove them to the school and had to stop half a block away, because there were so many cars and well dressed people walking all over the place.

“I don't have to warn you about funny smelling punch or people passing certain things around, do I?” Kenneth asked as he pulled over to the curb.

“Don't worry, Dad. I told Arnold all the tricks that people have used to get others drunk.” Kelly said. “We'll both be careful about it.”

“All right. You have my permission to have some fun tonight.” Kenneth said. “Some.”

Kelly laughed. “Geez, Dad!”

“Arnold.” Kenneth looked into the rear view mirror at Arnold and saw his nod. “Don't forget to call Annie for a drive and then call us tomorrow to tell us how everything went.”

“We're moving Arnold to the college tomorrow.” Kelly said. “He has work first thing in the morning.”

Kenneth smiled and nodded, because he assumed they would go home early for the long drive to the college. “Then we'll wait for your call tomorrow night.”

Arnold opened the door and stepped out, then reached in and helped Kelly climb out without getting the dress stuck in the door.

“Bye, Dad! Have fun with mom!” Kelly said and shut the door, then she and Arnold walked arm in arm down the street and joined the other people walking towards the school. Kenneth watched them until he couldn't see them anymore, then he turned the car around and left.

“Looking good, Arnold!” A guy's voice said and Arnold and Kelly turned to look at him.

“Kelly!” Two said and hopped up and down a little, which she probably shouldn't do with her low cut dress. Her date didn't complain or tell her to stop, though. “You look amazing!”

“Thanks! You do, too.” Kelly said and they all started walking again. “What is that, turquoise?”

“Yes! My mom helped me pick it out.” Two said. “She wasn't fussy on the bust line, though.”

“I think it looks fantastic.” Her date said, his face slightly red. “My friends already threatened to beat me up for having a hotter date than them.”

“Oh, my god.” Two whispered and blushed a deep red.

“It's true.” Another guy said from not far away and led his date over. “We heard them say he deserved a good pounding.”

“It was pretty cute, actually.” His date said with a laugh.

Kelly recognized them as the couple that sat at the end of their table at lunch. “I really like your dress.”

“Thanks.” She said. “It's downright plain compared to yours, though.” She chuckled. “Where did you get such a vintage dress?”

“Arnold's mom!” Kelly said excitedly. “She wore it to her prom.”

“No way!” Two exclaimed and looked at Arnold. “The suit, too?”

Arnold nodded.

“That's so romantic!” One said as she came over and dragged her date behind her. “My mom doesn't keep things longer than six months and then she cleans out her closet.”

“Don't complain!” Two laughed. “We get so many nice clothes that way!”

“Hey.” The new guy said.

“Hey.” Two's date, Arnold, and the other guy said back. Nothing else needed to be said between them, because their dates pretty much said everything to each other. The guys were just along for the ride as they all walked to the school together.

Three saw them coming and jumped and waved to them to get their attention. “Hey! HEY!” She stood at the doorway with a guy who was almost twice her height.

“Okay, calm down! We see you!” One said with a laugh.

“I had to make sure.” Three said as her friends approached. “It's super-crowded inside! Half of the senior class brought non-senior dates!”

“Like him?” Two asked and pointed to Three's date.

“He's a neighbour and has had the hots for me for ages.” Three said. “When someone didn't take the hint to ask me out, I had to take matters into my own hands.”

“I thought she didn't like me.” The tall guy admitted and all of the girls laughed.

“Guys totally don't understand playing hard to get.” Three said and rolled her eyes, then she smiled up at the tall guy. “Dancing together is going to be interesting.”

“More like a disaster waiting to happen.” He said with a chuckle. “I can't see her feet with her dress in the way.”

“I was not going to wear pants at prom!” Three said and he laughed.

A woman walked over to them wearing a nice pants suit. “I think you should all get inside.” The vice-principal said and gave Arnold a strange look. “They're going to be making an announcement soon.”

“The King and Queen!” One nearly yelled. “Come on, come ON! We have to see this!” She said and dragged her date inside. Everyone followed them and Kelly saw the look that the vice-principal had given her escort. Once inside, she took Arnold aside and leaned close to whisper.

“I forgot to ask you earlier what she said to you on the stage this morning.” Kelly said. “What was it?”

“She told me my actual grade point average and apologized that I wasn't chosen to speak.” Arnold said. “She also thanked me for the report I wrote after my suspension and gave me an extra credit for it.”

“Oh, wow.” Kelly said. “What was the number?”

“Six-point-eight.” Arnold said.

“Wh-wh-WHAT?!?” Kelly yelled and several people around them turned to look.

“I did all the extra assignments for every course and passed all of the exams.” Arnold said. “The teachers agreed to mark me fairly as long as I didn't become valedictorian. With the vice-principal's extra credit, that was my average.”

“Arnold, that... you don't realize...” Kelly put her arms around his neck. “Our school grades on a four-point-oh average. That's a consistent A student, which means at least a ninety percent on all tests, projects, and reports.” She leaned in close and put a gentle kiss on his lips. “A-plus students are ninety-five percent minimum. A-plus-plus are one hundred percent.”

“What's above that?” Arnold asked.

“You.” Kelly said and gave him another gentle kiss. She was trying very hard to not mess up her lipstick and to fight her need to kiss Arnold passionately. “What you said when you saw me. It was perfect.” She said and gave him another kiss.

“It's a line from your favorite movie.” Arnold said.

“Yes, it was.” Kelly said with a smile and gave him another kiss. “I want to kiss you a lot more than this; but, I don't want to mess up my make-up or smear my lipstick over your face.”

“We could kiss each other somewhere else.” Arnold said, and Kelly seriously considered it.

“All right, folks! This is it!” A sequin-covered girl said from the stage and waved an envelope. “The first announcement is the King of the Prom!”

Cheers came from the crowd and Kelly ignored it and gave Arnold another kiss.

“I think... I'd like to try that.” Kelly whispered. “Maybe we can sneak off to the bathroom.”

The girl on the stage opened the sealed envelope. “Drum roll, please!”

The crowd made drum sounds and she laughed and she pulled out the folded piece of paper.

“The winner... with ninety-five percent of the popular vote...” She said and paused dramatically.

“Hurry up and say it!” A guy's voice said loudly and everyone laughed.

“It's... ARNOLD STRICKLAND!” The girl yelled and nearly everyone cheered.