Prom Ever After. Dona Sarkar
the neckline of the dress.
“Hit print.” He gestured pointedly at her PC. “We need to get the schoolwork done so you’re not doing garage cleanup with me. I want you to have a good weekend.”
Ash did as he asked and then went over to admire the dress again. “Can I touch it?”
“Let me make sure it’s not hot.” Sebastian reached out and touched it first. “Yep, all yours.”
Ash picked up the dress with two tentative fingers. It was much sturdier than she thought—like a little plastic toy. She was amazed by the printer gizmo.
“This is gorgeous!” She immediately threw her arms around Sebastian. “Did I mention I love you the most? How can I thank you for this? Let me take over your garage cleanup at least?”
When she didn’t remove her arms from around his neck, he hesitantly put his arms around her waist and hugged her tightly in return.
“You can mention how awesome I am again.” He was smiling as he pulled away. “That’s all the thanks I need.”
* * *
Though it was only two in the afternoon on a weekday, the line at Molly Moon’s was around the corner, the for-sure sign that spring had arrived in Seattle. Ash insisted on buying cones for both of them, salted caramel and Earl Grey tea double scoops for her and balsamic strawberry for Sebastian. They had gotten the exact same order for so many years, Ash didn’t even need to ask Sebastian if he wanted a drizzle of homemade caramel on his cone.
They wrapped napkins around their cones and walked across the street to wait for a unique Capitol Hill tradition: bicycle polo. Groups of eight people rode around on bicycles and tried to score goals on each other with polo sticks. The game was due to start any minute.
“I can’t believe that 3-D printer thingie.” Ash reached her head over and took a lick of Sebastian’s cone without asking permission.
“It’s cool, huh? I love technology.” Sebastian held his cone out so Ash could have another bite without a struggle.
“I’m starting to love technology. I always thought it was just a bunch of nerdy guys making stuff no one understands...”
“But it’s actually cool stuff that makes everyone’s life easier.” Sebastian finished her thought.
They’d always been that way. Ash would sometimes think of something to ask Sebastian and he would bring up the topic before she could. Laila had a scientific explanation for it, something along the lines of them being in sync because they had grown up together surrounded by the same environmental influences.
“What do you want to do?” Sebastian asked vaguely.
Ash took a few licks of her cone. “Figure out how to get that dress sewn to look like the figurine.”
Sebastian smiled as Ash helped herself to more of his cone. She was liking going among the three flavor choices. “I mean more in the scope of life. What do you want to do?”
Ash considered this. “Be a lawyer like my mom?”
Sebastian raised an eyebrow. “That’s a lot of research.”
“Oh.” Ash noticed a few polo-ists starting to arrive at the little basketball court they had the game in. At this point, even they had their lives figured out more than she did.
“So, you don’t know,” Seb said.
Ash shook her head. “I’ll figure it out at U-Dub.” She had gotten into the University of Washington along with half the senior class.
“I wish you were going to Michigan,” Sebastian said, not in a nonchalant, casual kind of way
Ash was silent for a second as she took a few more bites of her ice cream and pretended to be watching the polo warm-up. Where was this coming from?
“It’s going to be the first time in our lives we won’t just be able to see each other whenever we want,” Sebastian reminded her. “We won’t be skipping last period to have ice cream and watch this spectacle.” Sebastian gestured toward where an obviously beginner polo player rode his bike into the fence.
Ash swallowed. For some reason, she had not digested that information. Starting in about six months, she was going to be without Sebastian for the first time in her life.
“I promise to visit you,” she said at last, after noticing Sebastian was waiting for an answer. “A lot. I hear Ann Arbor is gorgeous.”
Sebastian shook his head sadly. “You’ll be busy with school. I think we’ll only see each other over vacations once or twice a year.”
Once or twice a year?
They saw each other once or twice an hour right now.
This was not something she wanted to ponder. Having a teary meltdown while the polo players watched was not going to be how she was going to end this wonderful day.
* * *
“Wow. What on earth is that?” Laila Montague pointed at the 3D dress creation that was sitting on the counter. She was home early that evening as Sebastian and Ash sat in their usual places in the kitchen.
Ash was on her Surface, trying to make their school sketch look more school-like. Mr. Watkins hadn’t been impressed by their work so far—he said it was too “literal” and needed to jibe with the rest of the students’ work for their final project. Ash had promised to take over the project. Sebastian had done enough. She welcomed the distraction after their serious talk at Molly Moon’s. She didn’t want to even think of a time when she wouldn’t see Sebastian every day.
Sebastian was searching sewing websites for ideas on how to make their dress sculpture a reality, with minimal sewing to the lehenga since neither of them knew how.
Sebastian glanced over at where Laila was pointing. “Oh, that’s for my doll collection.”
“Sebastian, really.” Even stoic Laila looked amused.
Seb was grinning. He was one of the few people who could make Laila loosen up after her long workdays. “Actually, Ash said she would love to wear your lehenga to the prom.”
Laila’s smile was contagious. Ash suddenly realized how beautiful her mother was when her whole face opened up and relaxed. Those were the moments when she hoped everyone was right when they said she was a copy of Laila when her mother was her age.
“Really? I knew she’d change her mind.”
“Again. People. I’m right here.” Ash looked up from her work. “Talk at me, please.”
“I knew you’d change your mind,” Laila said smugly.
Ash did an eye roll. “I didn’t. Seb came up with the idea of modifying the lehenga into something less...Mogul-esque, and that is what we, well he, came up with.”
Laila picked up the tiny dress sculpture. “It’s lovely.”
“I love it,” Ash said. “We just need to find instructions for how to modify the real one. It can’t be that hard.”
“What?” Laila almost dropped the sculpture. “You want to modify my dress? Into this?”
“Mom!” Ash could tell by the tone of her voice that she was about to quash their great idea. “Can you not be negative for once?”
“Ashmita Montague, do not ‘Mom’ me!”
“Seb, talk to her!”
“Here we go again...” Sebastian nearly flipped his chair over as he leaned back. He shook his head at the ceiling in despair. “The women in my life are going to drive me crazy.”
* * *
“What’s going on?” Josh Montague came in from the garage, where he’d just finished up with the band.
“Ash