What happens when the Pastor's daughter grows up and goes to prom
Julie went to the prom. It happened like this: When we brought the dress home, rustling in its department store wrappings, I knew a storm was brewin' on the horizon. Steve took one look at the spaghetti straps and went pale. “She’s going to wear that out in public?” he asked hoarsely. “We’ll try it on later and see what you think,” I soothed as Julie whisked it out of sight. In the next few weeks, we discussed minor details. Julie's escort was her friend rather than a romantic interest, and they went to choose his tuxedo.
As in weddings, however, the guy is almost negligible at the prom; his job is to show up on time and look handsome in his tux. Steve gave Danny the speech a week ahead of time about driving carefully, this is my baby, and the road will be full of drunks on prom night.
We girls shopped for foundation garments, shoes, and jewelry. My friend’s daughter Mandy would do Julie’s hair. At last the big day arrived. The hair-do took hours! Mandy did a fabulous job pouffing and fluffing Julie's baby fine hair into an upswept wonder.
I prepped Dad as Julie applied the final touches behind closed doors. "You are the man in her life, her first love. Don't let her down. You just get ready to tell her how beautiful she is." He cast his eyes at the floor in despair. "I thought we were homeschooling to avoid all this prom stuff," he whined. "No, that's not why we homeschool," I snapped.
Just then, Julie swept into the room looking like a model. Glitz was big in prom fashion in 1998, and she glittered like a Hollywood star. Sam took one look, turned green, and headed for the bedroom. Julie looked indignant and disappointed.
Glancing outside, Julie spied a more appreciative audience. Her friend Andrew was outside helping to mow the church lawn. (We lived in the parsonage on the very perimeter of the church property.) When Steve recovered and came back to make a more appropriate appearance, Julie was out in the hot Texas sun with the wind whipping her hair-do and sequins. But she was beaming. Andrew gaped approvingly. "Another male is complimenting your daughter." Sam glowered at me. "Get her in here," he growled. "I'll do better now." I merrily called Julie in while I cranked my camera.
By the time she sat down on the couch for a photo with Dad, he was cavorting around with her stuffed pea. That's right, others have stuffed animals, Julie has a stuffed vegetable. Anyhow, Sam was saying, "When you were a baby, this always made you laugh." Julie shook her head hopelessly. Danny soon whipped his sparkling, newly-washed red pickup into the driveway. I snapped a few photos and they were off, promising not to do anything too crazy or stay out too late.
I spent the evening trying to soothe Steve. After all, Danny was president of the Christian Athletes' Association. Half our church members were chaperoning the prom. Since we were in the country, the post-prom parties were in various homes and fields in the community; Julie had made certain promises about behavior suitable for a Christian young lady, particularly the pastor's daughter.So, Sam slept like a baby while I stared at the ceiling at 2:00 AM.
The phone rang at 2:30. "Mom, can we have a little more time? We're having fun."At 4:00, Julie and Danny dragged in. "There was too much booze at the party, so we went to Heather's house, four of us, and watched movies and ate cereal." They looked bedraggled but happy. I breathed a sigh of relief and tucked her into bed. In the morning, Julie would have many memories of a wonderful night, an American rite of passage. Steve and I would have a few more gray hairs, a little more wisdom, and perhaps--experience to put toward future events, like graduations and weddings!
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Julie went to the prom. It happened like this: When we brought the dress home, rustling in its department store wrappings, I knew a storm was brewin' on the horizon. Steve took one look at the spaghetti straps and went pale. “She’s going to wear that out in public?” he asked hoarsely. “We’ll try it on later and see what you think,” I soothed as Julie whisked it out of sight. In the next few weeks, we discussed minor details. Julie's escort was her friend rather than a romantic interest, and they went to choose his tuxedo.
