Pride Goeth...

Chapter 7

“JR, we’ve been in every dress shop in the city,” Lindsay said with a heavy sigh, as they exited yet another store.

“But nothing looked right, Mommy,” JR replied with her little girl voice.

They had spent the whole morning wandering through every dress shop that might have a suitable frock for the upcoming school dance. JR had turned her nose up at all of them for one reason or another.

Lindsay looked up and down the street. “We’ve been into every shop I can think of.”

“There must be more,” JR said with a note of panic in her voice.

“I can’t think of any,” Lindsay replied curtly. She was tired and ready to go home.

“But, Mommy, I have to have a dress,” JR whined.

“You could have had any one of the hundred dresses you tried on.”

“But they weren’t right,” JR persisted.

Lindsay bit back an expletive and put the strong desire to smack her daughter out of her mind. Getting a grip on herself, she glanced up and down the street. She noticed a sign she hadn’t paid any attention to before. She grabbed JR’s hand and hauled her down the street toward it.

“Where are we going?” JR asked as she was practically running to keep up with her mother’s long strides.

“You’ll see,” Lindsay said as they came to an abrupt halt in front of a shop called Second Hand Rose.

“What … what is this?”

“I’d say it’s a clothing store,” Lindsay said with a smirk.

“But … but it’s used clothing,” JR protested, disgust evident in her voice.

“They call it vintage these days, my dear,” Lindsay said as she pushed the door open and dragged her daughter inside.

“I don’t want anything in here,” JR stated bluntly. “I want a new dress.”

“You didn’t like any of the new dresses you tried on.”

“But Uncle Brian might take me to Versace or Dolce and Gabbana if you asked him,” JR said with a pleading voice.

“No fucking way!” Lindsay replied. “To quote said uncle.”

“But, Mother … I can’t…”

“Let’s just look around. You never know what we might find.”

“I know what we’ll find,” JR moped. “Junk!” Lindsay began moving through the racks of clothes looking for something that might possibly be suitable. JR followed her, arms crossed on her chest, and her best pout that she had inherited from her father drawing down the corners of her lips.

“Why, Miss Lindsay, I do declare!”

“Emmett, what are you doing here?” Lindsay said with surprise as the tall queen came over to her.

Emmett kissed Lindsay’s cheek, and was about to do the same with JR when he saw the look on the girl’s face. “My, my, we seem to be in a bit of a mood,” Emmett observed.

“My mother wants to dress me in used clothes for the school dance. I’ll be the laughing stock of the whole place,” JR declared.

“Now, now, you’re jumping to way too many conclusions, sweetie,” Emmett said gently. “Sometimes you can find the most divine frocks in places like this. Valentino, Chanel … a store like this is where I got my pink Jackie O suit,” Emmett said with a wistful look on his face.

“Auntie Emm,” JR replied. “I don’t understand a thing you’re saying.”

“Emmett … oh!?” Richie said as he came around the end of one of the racks of clothes. His face turned scarlet and he shoved the garment he was carrying behind his back.

“Yes, sweetie,” Emmett replied to his son. “You know Lindsay and JR.”

“Yeah,” Richie said his eyes glued to the floor.

“We’re here on a little shopping spree for PRIDE,” Emmett said making sure he kept his voice upbeat. If Richie wanted to dress up, he might as well get used to people’s comments. “They have some great items here. Did you find something you like, Richie?”

“No, I mean yes, I mean, maybe it’s not very good,” Richie stammered, his embarrassment growing with each passing moment.

“Are you going to wear a dress for the parade?” Lindsay asked Emmett.

“Yes, I think I will, if I can find the right gown,” Emmett said. “I feel like honoring Godiva this year. Richie may decide to join me too.”

Richie looked with horror at his new father. If these people hadn’t realized what he was doing before, they certainly knew now.

“Are you going to the parade?” Emmett asked Lindsay. He pretended not to notice Richie’s embarrassment.

“Mel wants to march with the equal marriage rights group.”

“Mel always wants to make a statement,” Emmett chuckled.

“Yeah,” Lindsay agreed. “But today we’re trying to find a dress for JR to wear to the school dance. We’ve been in a million stores so far, and she hasn’t liked anything.”

“They have some younger looks over here,” Emmett said leading the whole group back to the area where Richie had just come from. “Richie found some lovely frocks. We have them hanging here.”

JR made a face. “How can you wear someone else’s clothes?”

“We all wear someone else’s clothes,” Emmett stated. “Unless we sew them ourselves.”

“You know what I mean,” JR pouted.

“Richie, show JR that lovely turquoise dress that would suit her coloring so well. It’s totally the wrong color for Richie, but it would go so well with your dark hair, JR.”

Richie hung up the dress he had been carrying. It was a pale, pale pink color. He really liked it. He lifted the dress Emmett was talking about off the rack and held it out to JR. JR crossed her arms on her chest and glared at him. Richie moved closer deciding this was what Emmett wanted him to do. He held the dress in front of JR’s body.

Lindsay gasped. “Oh, JR, look in the mirror. It’s a perfect color for you. You would look breathtaking in that dress.”

“I totally agree,” Emmett concurred. “You have to try it on.”

JR frowned, but she did like the color. “What’s this material?” she asked.

“It’s taffeta. See how it shimmers,” Richie said with a smile as he gently fingered the material. “I love the feel of fabrics.”

“You seem to know a lot about them,” JR said.

“Richie, let’s see the dress you were carrying,” Emmett encouraged his son.

Richie had lost a lot of his embarrassment. He scooped the dress from the rack and held it up in front of himself. “It’s so beautiful,” he said as he ran his hand down the skirt. “It’s chiffon.”

“That’s a perfect color for you too,” Lindsay said.

“Thanks,” Richie replied, starting to feel much better about this shopping trip.

“They have two change rooms back there,” Emmett said. “You two go try these on.”

“Okay,” Richie said.

“If I have to,” JR moaned. The pout was back.

“You’ll look beautiful honey,” Emmett said as he gently pushed the two young people towards the back of the store.

Lindsay and Emmett waited with bated breath for the two to emerge from the fitting rooms. JR came out first. Mouths dropped open as both of them saw the young girl. She looked like a model. The dress fit her like a glove. It was longer than the current style, but that only made her stand out more with the shimmering fabric all around her.

“You look … exquisite, sweetheart,” Lindsay said with tears in her eyes.

“I do?”

“Look in the mirror.”

“Wow!” JR reacted as she saw her reflection. “Is that really me?”

“It certainly is,” Emmett said. “You look beautiful.”

“You and Gus are all grown up,” Lindsay whispered with a touch of sadness in her voice.

“That does happen,” Emmett said with a chuckle and a kiss to Lindsay’s cheek.

“Emmett,” Richie said as he came out of the change room. “It’s too big,” he added with disappointment.

“That’s a wonderful color on you,” Lindsay said encouragingly.

“Yeah, it is,” JR had to admit. Even though the dress was so loose, it still looked pretty wonderful on Richie. He had such soft feminine features, and the color was just perfect.

“We just need to take in a few tucks,” Emmett said pulling the fabric closer around Richie’s slim body. “But you will need some undergarments,” he whispered in Richie’s ear.

Richie blushed and said, “Yeah.”

“I bet Deb would do the alterations for you,” Emmett told him.

“She made my wedding dress,” Lindsay said cheerfully. “She sews beautifully.”

“Let’s get it,” Emmett said enthusiastically. Richie nodded his approval.

“And what about your dress, JR?” Lindsay asked. “Do you want it?”

JR nodded, running her hands over the smooth fabric of the skirt of the dress. “I think Curtis will really like it.”

“And that’s all that matters,” Lindsay laughed. “It’s perfect for you, honey. Go get changed.”

The two young people walked back towards the fitting rooms.

“How do you know so much about clothes and fabrics?” JR asked Richie.

“I know because I’m interested in clothes.”

“Oh.”

“I … like to wear amazing clothes like this. I might even like to design them.”

“Wow!” JR responded. She stared at Richie. Maybe there was a lot more to him than she had thought.

“We better get changed,” Richie said as he entered his change room.

“They’re great kids,” Lindsay said as she and Emmett waited for them.

“They sure are. I’m kind of glad we ran into you today. Richie likes to dress up in female clothes, and this may be the first step in conquering his fear and embarrassment about doing that.”

“You’re going to march in the parade with him?”

Emmett nodded. “I plan to. Thanks for not making a big deal of him being here today. Did you notice how he was when he first saw you?”

“And I saw how he was now when he went back there with JR,” Lindsay said with a smile. “I’m happy to help.”

“Thanks, sweetie,” Emmett said pulling her into a hug.

 

*****
 

“And then we went into this used clothing store on Liberty; that’s when I found the dress!” JR was explaining the saga behind her dress to Curtis. She had called him the minute she got home from her shopping expedition.

“Miss Lindsay found you a dress?”

“More like Richie found me the dress.”

“Richie?!” Curtis exclaimed, not sure if he was happy about that. “What was Richie doing in a dress shop?” Curtis asked trying to keep his cool about it. If JR had an inkling that Curtis was upset, she didn’t sound like it.

“It wasn’t just a dress shop. It’s a shop that sells old clothes including dresses.”

“Oh.” Curtis wasn’t all that sure what the difference was.

“Except that mommy called it a vintage store,” JR went on oblivious to Curtis’ conundrum. “Anyway, Richie had picked out a bunch of dresses and Auntie Emm suggested I try one on. It’s sooo beautiful and it fits like a dream. I don’t have to get it altered or anything. Mommy said she’ll get it professionally cleaned before the dance. It’s sort of blue, if you want to get something to match,” JR said, her last statement almost in a whisper.

“What do you mean sort of blue?”

“They call it turquoise.” Curtis rolled his eyes. Real men didn’t wear turquoise, at least none of the men he knew, except maybe for Auntie Emm.

“I have a black suit,” Curtis deadpanned.

“Oh,” JR said with some disappointment in her voice. “I’m sure you’ll look very handsome,” she quickly added.

“Maybe I’ll ask Dr. Raph about it. He always knows what to wear.”

“That’s a good idea. I gotta go. I’ll see you in school, okay?”

“Okay, bye.” Curtis hung up the phone more confused about his feelings than ever, but determined to figure things out. He headed for the kitchen. “Do you want some help?” he asked as he walked into the kitchen. It was Raph’s turn to get dinner on the table. Hector was working late.

“Sure. Was that JR?” Raph asked making small talk as he stirred a pot of vegetables.

“Yeah, she was telling me about her new dress.”

“So why the long face? I thought you were excited about going to the dance with JR.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Shoot.”

“Can a guy and a girl just be friends?”

“I think so. I have plenty of female friends, so does Hector. Why do you ask?”

“JR likes Richie.”

“That’s nice. I imagine he needs all the friends he can get. You remember how lonely you felt when you first came to us? Richie probably feels the same.”

Curtis nodded; he did remember.

“And your first friend in the family was a girl. A very special little girl,” Raph reminded Curtis.

“Yeah,” Curtis murmured with a little smile but he still had a lot to think about.

 

*****
 

“I’ve heard of football wives but I never imagined I’d be a motorcycle wife,” Jamie mumbled from the back door of her cottage. Leda was in the carport, as usual, tinkering with her latest motorcycle creation.

“Are you ever coming in the house?”

The sun was setting but that didn’t stop Leda who had just flipped on the overhead lights.

“A few more minutes!” Leda called back.

“That’s what you said an hour ago,” Jamie said to herself mostly. She went back inside to clean up the kitchen. She had made dinner but wound up eating it alone. She made up a plate for Leda then wrapped it up to stick in the refrigerator.

Jamie picked up a sketch pad and began to draw out a pattern for her next project. Lindsay had called Jamie a couple of days prior to give her a heads up regarding another “Emerging Artist” show scheduled for the Fall. Jamie was only teaching one class at PIFA during the Summer so she had plenty of time to prepare. And since her spouse seemed to be elbows deep in motorcycle grease, Jamie decided to use her time alone wisely.

About an hour later Jamie stopped to take a good look at her sketch.

“Damn,” she said with a frown.

“What’s wrong?” Leda asked giving Jamie a little start.

“Jeez, you scared me!”

“Sorry, babe,” Leda said contritely as she gave Jamie a peck on her cheek without getting grease on her or on their sofa. “Something wrong with your sketch?”

“Not really, it’s just that it dawned on me that I keep drawing the same thing over and over.”

“Is that a bad thing?” Leda had very little interest in the arts other than her big interest in her own artist.

Jamie showed her the sketch she was currently working on which would eventually be turned into a large papier-mâché portrait with Jamie’s homemade paper.

“It looks like a mother and child,” Leda commented. Jamie then showed her the rest of the sketches that filled her book.

“They’re all variations on the same theme,” Leda observed.

“You’re right,” Jamie said with a sigh as she turned each page. “It just dawned on me.”

Leda gingerly took the sketchbook out of her lover’s hands to study the pictures within it.

“I’ve been doing some research,” Leda began softly as she looked at Jamie’s latest picture. “I talked to a couple of the women at my plant.”

“About?”

“About having babies.”

“You discussed our private life with people at your motorcycle factory?”

“You make it sound like I talk behind your back. Many of those women have been with me for ages. Some even helped me with start up money so we could get the new bike up and running. They believe in me and I knew I could go to them without being judged.”

“I didn’t realize. What did they tell you?”

“They gave me the lowdown about rearing children and recommended a few reliable sperm banks. I called a couple of them and had them send me their brochures.” Leda chuckled.

“What’s so funny?”

“You should read them; the brochures remind me of a Chinese take out menu. Column A - hair and eye color, Column B - IQ.”

“Sounds kind of cold.”

“We could still ask Brian,” Leda said with a straight face then they both laughed heartily.

“Go shower, I’ll warm up your dinner and we can look over the pamphlets. Maybe place an order,” Jamie said as she gave her lover a kiss. “I love you and I’m ready to have a baby with you.”

“I love you too,” Leda said as she returned the kiss then went to scrub off the grease.

 

*****
 

“Emmett, thank you,” Richie said softly as he dried off the dishes before placing them back in the cabinet.

“For what, honey?”

“For today, the dress and everything. No one else understands,” he said sadly.

“You’re very welcome, but sweetheart, I have to tell you, there happens to be a lot of people that understand exactly what you’re feeling. And to prove it to you, I think we should have a little get-together at the restaurant. I think it’s about time you meet some of your kindred spirits.”

Richie had no idea what Emmett was talking about but he had learned to trust this very outgoing and loveable man. He couldn’t help returning Emmett’s infectious smile.
 

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