Date Night

Imagine my excitement when we realized our one night out this week was also prom night for hundreds of high schoolers here.  Eeeek!  Thank God we'd made a reservation.  I am dazzled by the beauty of youth, but not so much by the rest of the things about it.  I'm sure Kenny got tired of me saying, "Oh honey, aren't they pretty??"

One group of girls walked by and I was stunned at the length (or lack thereof) of this young lady's dress. I'm not kidding, the wearer was gorgeous, but I have bathing suits longer than this dress.  OH MY GOSH KENNY DID YOU SEE HOW SHORT HER DRESS WAS, (I am a shout-whisperer).  His reply, "I didn't look directly. Kinda like looking into the sun." Chew. Chew. Chew. He later commented that if she dropped something she'd just have to kick it to the bathroom to pick it up later.  One of her girlfriends who walked with her, because girls must travel en masse to the restroom, was in an equally revealing dress, only hers was so low-cut that she had to clench her arms to her side like a robot to keep her breasts from falling out as she walked. I can imagine the logistics for eating, picking anything up, DANCING, were going to get interesting. Apparently, I'm now old enough to wonder what her mother was thinking letting this child go out like that.

Of course, there wasn't one girl in the place who wasn't stunning, really, even though some of them were more poised than others.   I was surprised, however,  by how awkward their counterparts appeared. Young and not yet introduced to any kind of hair product apparently, the boys were itchy and uncomfortable and skinny and pretty miserable, I think.  It appeared that every goddess had seen something worthy in these very not yet princes and had just done the best they could.

My favorite couple included this drop dead gorgeous blonde - tall, poised, dressed in blue - and her Screech sort of date who's probably going to end up everyone's boss someday, but not YET.  Their conversation didn't seem too difficult, but I loved him because he seemed completely confident that his tux made him a new man despite his hair's unwillingness to shape itself into any sort of behavior.  As they stood to leave, this sweet boy grabs the umbrella he's stashed under his chair (thank God his mom told him they might need it) and realizes he's lost his cuff link somewhere under the table.  While she moves without realizing he's not behind her towards the door, he's doing a frantic search for it, because, you know this thing is a rental and who knows how much they charge for the missing cuff link. HE'S CRAWLING ON THE FLOOR NOW so that he can get a better look through his bespectacled eyes and the hostess is flittering around looking for what we overhear him  call his "cuff linker" (swear to God) and I love him. I love that he's gangly and awkward and nervous and that he likes this girl enough to bring his umbrella because her hair is so pretty and he wouldn't want her to have a concern about that. I love that you can tell it was only some kind of miraculous event that caused her to say yes to sharing this one huge event with him.

I love that he chose to abandon his panicked search for the God knows how expensive cuff linker and finally just dashed to the door so he could open it for her because being a gentleman on this night with this girl mattered more than the consequence of turning it back in tomorrow sans cuff linker.  They did some kind of awkward, No You First kind of move and then off they went - this princess and this boy who absolutely knows he's the luckiest guy in the world.