A loud giggle was heard coming from upstairs, followed by the voices of two women. This somewhat broke the two from their trance and made them both look up to the two women, making their way downstairs. Heidi was wearing the pink dress she had picked from the store earlier. She looked beautiful in her dress. She actually looked very stunning. Marilyn suddenly had a smile on her face as her friend and her mother made their way downstairs.
Heidi approached her friend in a loud squeal. She happily hugged her friend in a tight embrace.
"I did not know you were already here. I hope you have not been here for too long," she broke the embrace and looked at her friend. Realising Marilyn was wearing makeup which she hardly did, Heidi's eyes went wide open.
"You are wearing makeup. You are really wearing makeup, aren't you?" she looked at her friend with a suspicious gaze.
"Yeah. My mother gave me her makeup to use. Is it obvious? I hope it looks good on me, though," Marilyn answered.
"Come on, girl. You look fabulous. I was just surprised you were wearing makeup since I have never seen you wear makeup before. It really looks good on you. And, where did you get those blue earrings?" Heidi said in her high voice pitch.
"My mom gave them to me. She says my father gave them to her."
"Wow. It matches your dress perfectly. Doesn't it, mother?" Heidi said again
"Of course. It is really beautiful. You girls better start going now before you are late for the parade. It will start soon," Alice tried to shoo them away from the house but both girls started giggling loudly.
"Mom, come on. We still have enough time. But you know what, mother is right. We should start heading over to the town square," she turned to her friend who nodded in agreement.
"We should start going, mother. We don't want to be late," she kissed both her parents goodbye and left with Marilyn who also said goodbye to the adults and walked out of the room with her friend.
When they were out of the room and away from being heard, Marilyn decided to ask the question that was bugging her.
"Hey, Heidi. Why did you not say goodbye to Anthony?"
Heidi rolled her eyes at the question. It was obvious to Marilyn that Heidi did not really like Anthony and she really wanted to know. But the thing was, Heidi did not hate Anthony. She just had a bad feeling about the man. She felt he was hiding something but could not pinpoint what exactly it was.
"I don't hate the man. I just don't like him. I have a weird feeling about him. You know what? Let's forget about him and hurry before other girls take our spot at the front of the parade. That will bother me very much," Heidi quickly changed the subject and literally dragged Marilyn out of the house.
Back at the house, Anthony was still staring at the door even though the girls were long gone.
"Oh, God! I just remembered I have not picked my purse. Can you please wait for me while I go get it?" Alice said and climbed upstairs.
"Ugh, we are going to be late. Please hurry okay. I want us to be there before the parade starts," Heidi's father, Bruce, groaned.
"I will be right down," Alice shouted as she ran up the stairs.
Turning to his friend, he suddenly had a mischievous smirk on his face. "So, what was that about?"
Anthony blinked quickly, bringing him out of his trance-like state. "What are you talking about?"
Bruce chuckled. Anthony knew very well what Bruce was talking about but was just trying to pretend. He smiled and decided to answer him head on.
"Okay. If you want to know, I like this girl and I intend to make her mine."
"What? You? Anthony Willis? CEO of Willis Records? Is finally in love?"
"Yes. And I did not say I was in love with her. I only said I liked her. Don't get it twisted," Anthony warned even though it was in a lighter tone.
Bruce threw his arms in the air, in a way of surrendering to their discussion. "Okay, okay. If you say so. Well all I can say is that, if you really like her like you are saying, then, go for her. She is very beautiful."
"Of course. Her beautiful ebony skin is what attracts me to her the more. I would really like to get to know her more."
"Do you see yourself right now? Your eyes look dreamy while you talk about her. My friend, I am pretty sure you like this girl more than you are letting on. As I said earlier, if you really want her, go get her," Bruce put his hands around Anthony with a smile on his face.
"I found it. We can go guys," Alice announced.
Both men smiled at her. She walked towards her husband who took her hand. The three walked out of the door and left the house.
Heidi and Marilyn had finally managed to make it to the townsquare on foot. Heidi, who was wearing high heels, was already feeling tired than Marilyn who was wearing flat shoes.
When they got to the townsquare, they met a group of young men and women already there talking with each other. They stood in groups as they talked. Heidi and Marilyn saw some of the girls they knew and joined them. Soon, others joined them. The leader of the parade finally arrived and arranged them in a queue. The ladies were arranged at the front as the men were arranged at the back.
All the ladies were beautifully dressed. Some were dressed in the most expensive clothing as others were just in their normal plain dresses. Either ways, they all were looking good in their outfits. The parade was just a ceremony for fun and to attract tourists into town but at the same time, it was a way for the unmarried ones in the parade to find themselves a partner.
So, for some, it was mainly for them to find the right marriage partners and the parade was the only way for them to get the right one. At least, it is, for most of the women who are partaking in the parade. Marilyn had always been a part of the parade just for the fun and so is Heidi. But little did Marilyn know that very soon, she would find the man of her dreams.