After my family had an early dinner together, we all went our separate ways to get ready for the evening. As I went upstairs, I could hear Mother telling Father that he needed to rethink his choice of tie.
'That man is too fond of his bold tie patterns.' I thought as I walked up the last step, smiling to myself.
"Sam!"
I turned at the top of the landing and saw Kelly rushing up the stairs after me.
"Hey. Why don't we get ready for the event together?" She suggested.
I could tell she felt nervous about the event again. Maybe my company could help her feel calmer?
"Sure. I'd love to." I said.
"Great!" Kelly beamed. "I'm going to have a shower. I'll come get you after."
"Alright." I said with a wave, as I walked down the hall to my room. I wondered if Kelly missed having sister time with her own older sister Lynn. I had met Lynn before, but we had never spent time together just the two of us. She was the eldest child. When she met her mate, she moved away to where he lived. It was a 5-hour drive away, near the edge of the province.
When Lynn left, she made it clear that she would not be the next Alpha of our family's pack. Out of the kids, Kelly was characterized as the brains, Kyle was the brawn, and Lynn was the heart. She felt that her two siblings would be better for the job than she would. She was excited to leave. Since her mate was an alpha, and she had alpha blood, she felt her new pack was going to be very strong.
'I will get a chance to say hi to Lynn tonight; and so, will all her family.' I thought as I entered my room. 'That will be good for Kelly.'
I opened my closet. I was looking for the dress that was Cindy-approved.
Basically, Mother and I had to compromise when it came to my dressing for semi-formal and formal occasions. We both had very different ideas of what I should wear. She liked flowy or shimmery fabrics, elegant pieces that made a statement and were eye- catching. The sort of things that made people notice your figure.
I, on the other hand, liked simple, but elegant. Nothing sparkly, or scratchy. I don't like bright colours or revealing dresses.
My hand found the dress and I held it out at arms length. It was a scoop neck with a full sleeve. There were shoulder cut-outs, and it was fairly form fitted. The dress ended mid-calf, with a two and a half inch slit on the left side.
I lay the dress out on the bed and quickly moved around my room, collecting jewellery, make up and everything that I would need for my hairstyle.
Since I was one of the few people who would be there, who wasn't a werewolf, I felt more of the need to blend in, than stand out. Which would be easier to do if I looked unremarkable, or unmemorable.
I had just located my ½ inch heels when I heard a knock on the bedroom door.
"Yes?" I inquired.
"Sam." Kelly said, "are you ready to come over to my room and get ready?"
I opened the door and replied, "Yep. How about you help me carry all this stuff over?"
She looked at the items piled up on my bed and laughed. "Alright, but I don't think you will need all of that!"
It was my turn to laugh as I stated, "I really, seriously, think I do."
We scooped everything up, me being extra careful with the dress, and we took it back to Kelly's room.
Twenty minutes after getting started, Kelly and I heard a knock on her door. We looked at each other. We both knew it was Kyle.
"Hey, I know you are in there." He called in to us.
"It's funny, how the men always get ready before we are finished, and then they magically forget how much longer everything takes for us women." Kelly whispered matter-of-factly.
I just smiled. "Yes, Kyle. What is it?"
"The Alpha wants to make sure you ladies are going to be ready on time. He sent me to remind you."
Kelly sighed.
"Yes, we will. You can go tell him that." I told him while keeping my voice neutral. I didn't want him to hear annoyance or exasperation in my voice.
Kelly continued my make up as we heard his soft steps retreat down the carpeted hall.
Half an hour later, as we were both ready, Kelly and I exited her room and made our way downstairs. Half- way down the stair, I heard Cindy gasp at the sight of us.
"You both look very beautiful!" she declared.
"Yes, they do." I heard Father agree from a few steps behind her.
"I guess we are all ready then." Kyle said quietly.
"It's time to leave." Father said, as he reached out to grab Mother's hand. She nodded and the two of them walked towards the front door.
As Kelly and I reached the bottom of the stairs, she rushed up to Kyle, who was still looking at us.
"Let's go. Hurry up!" she chided him. Kelly grabbed his arm and the two of them turned towards the door.
I followed them outside and we got into two separate cars. The men went in one and us women went in the other. While we could have technically all fit in one, Kelly and Cindy used the excuse that their dresses would be ruined if the got all crumpled and squished.
So, for the entire two-and-a-half-hour car ride, the subjects were clothes, shoes, jewelry, hair styles, movies and celebrities.
Some of the conversation I joined in, some I didn't. But I made sure not to let them know when the conversation bored me. I didn't want to seem rude or insulting.
Before I knew it, we were rolling up the driveway of a fancy-looking hotel. I turned to look at Kelly, who was sitting beside me. But she just looked unsurprised.