Melissa checked herself in the mirror. The sleeveless, red dress clung lovingly to her body, its slit baring her leg up to the knee. The round collar was a little snug, but she could get used to it. She had left her hair loose, falling to the small of her back. Hoop earrings completed the ensemble.
It would have to do.
Turning away from the bedroom mirror, Melissa flowed out the door, into the sitting room where she found her mother on the couch. Della wore a similar evening gown, though hers was black. “You look amazing,” she said.
Blushing fiercely, Melissa looked away. “Not really,” she mumbled. “It’s just something I had fabricated a few months ago.”
Della stood up, gliding across the room to carefully inspect Melissa. “I’m suddenly realizing that my daughter has become a young wom
