Faith watched as Hope opened the backdoor and made herself comfortable on the patio chair, then she scurried towards the landline. She felt nervous yet excited for what she was about to do. It was almost exhilarating, the thrill of it. Cancelling on Sebastian for Hope. Kissing Hope. Having Hope sleep in her bed. Her heart was racing.

"Hi baby," Faith said once he picked up.
"Hey, how are you?"
"I'm good. How are you?"
"I'm good, just getting my stuff together to come see you."
"About that..."
He was quiet for a moment. "Faith..."
"Remember how I told you that I wasn't going to that thing tonight? Well, change of plans. I'm going."
"Are you serious?"
"I'm sorry, Seb. It's a mother-daughter thing. I can't get out of it."
It was quiet for a moment and she could hear him breathing on the other end. "Alright."
"Don't be mad at me," she said. "Do you know how many times you've cancelled on me this month alone?"
"Yeah, because I had to work."
"So? You still cancelled when we had plans. I've never cancelled on you. But I am now. And I'm sorry for that, but tonight is important."
"Whatever," Sebastian said. "Have fun." And then the line went dead.

Great. Now Sebastian was angry with her. But quite honestly, Faith didn't care. She had made a good point. Sebastian had cancelled on her. Multiple times. She shouldn't feel bad or guilty for cancelling this one time.

However, there was still one major factor that Faith had neglected to address.

"Mom," Faith said, walking into her mother's office, only to find Claudia hunched over her desk. "Why are you working? It's a Saturday."
"I'm just finishing something up that I should have completed yesterday," she said. "What's up?"
"I need to ask you something."
"What did you do?" Claudia sat up straight, full attention on her daughter.
"Nothing! There's this thing tonight. A dance. A mother-daughter thing. I was wondering..." she hesitated. "Did you maybe want to go?"
The atmosphere in the room changed suddenly. Faith could see the light in her mother's eyes when she asked the question. As though she had been waiting sixteen years for her daughter to walk into her office and ask her that very question.
"Oh, Faith," Claudia said. "That sounds wonderful. Of course we'll go! What time does it start?"
"I don't know. I'll have to ask Hope."
"Are Hope and her mother going as well?"
"Yes. Obviously."
"How lovely. What are you going to wear? What am I going to wear?"
"Hope and I are going to her place now to pick something out. Is that okay?"
"Of course. Just let me know a time and we will be there."
"Cool," Faith smiled. "Thanks mom."
"Thank you, Faith. Thank you for asking me. For wanting to go."
"Settle down, before I change my mind," Faith gave her a grin. "Okay. Bye."

Faith wandered back through the kitchen and out the back door. Hope was sitting in the chair, holding her glass of orange juice to her lips. Faith didn't say anything at first, didn't want to interrupt her. She simply stood there, appreciating this stolen moment of serenity while it lasted. She wanted to savour it.

Hope turned her head and spotted her, and then the moment was over. Faith smiled and approached. "All good," she told her. "Sebastian's not coming, and my mom is in."
"Perfect," Hope grinned. "What did Sebastian say?"
"Don't worry about it."
"He's mad, isn't he?"
"He'll get over it."

______

Back at Hope's house, Faith scanned through her closet, analyzing each dress one-by-one. There were so many colours that it was overwhelming. Faith's wardrobe consisted of three shades: black, white, and grey. Hope's, on the other hand, looked like a unicorn had puked all over her closet.

"I can't wear this," Faith said, holding up the yellow dress that Hope had picked out for her.
"Why not? What's wrong with it?"
"It's disgusting."
"Don't be mean."
"Sorry," Faith hung it back up in the closet. "Do you have anything else? Red, maybe?"
Hope pursed her lips together and thought. "I think so. Hold on."
Faith watched as Hope went to work, digging through the back of her closet, and eventually coming out with a hanger holding none other than a red dress.
"Ta-da!" Hope said, thrusting it towards Faith.
Faith looked it over, up and down. "Not too bad. It just might do."
"Do you want to try it on?"
"Sure," Faith took the dress from Hope and held it to her body. Then she looked up at Hope. "Where?"
"Oh," Hope said. "Sorry, you change in here. I'll leave."
"Okay."

Hope exited the room, closing the door behind her. Faith was alone in her bedroom. She looked around, taking it all in.

She stripped off her clothes and slid on the dress. Surprisingly, it fit perfectly. It was a tad bit short, but the tightness was fine. It was fitted against her chest and loosened just below the waist where it flowed graciously.

"I'm finished!" Faith called out.
The door opened and Hope walked in. She stood back and examined Faith from head to toe. "It's beautiful! You look ravishing." Their eyes met and Faith couldn't help but smile at Hope's smile.
"You need to wear it," Hope told her.
"You think?"
"Oh, for sure. It's wonderful."
"Okay. If you're sure."
"I am." Hope looked her over once more, then returned her eyes to Faith's. "Tonight is going to be so much fun."