Something in Red
By
Something In Red
As the squad pulls out of Rampart Roy turns to Johnny “Can I ask you a favor”?
“Sure Roy” Johnny says picking up the mic “Squad 51 available and returning to quarters”
“Squad 51” LA responds
“Well you know my anniversary is next week, I was hoping that you would be able to stay with the kids for the night”
“Lets see, your anniversary is Wednesday, we don’t work till Friday so yeah I can do that” Johnny looks thoughtful “Since it’s a school night, I assume you want me to stay at your house?"
“Yeah! I am taking JoAnne out to dinner and then I’m going to surprise her with a night in the same suite we spent our wedding night in.”
“Roy that is so romantic, Jo will be so happy. What are you going to do about luggage though?”
“Jo is picking up the kids early from school and taking them to the dentist for cleanings, so while she’s gone, I’ll pack a bag and put it in the trunk.”
“Sneaky. So what time do you want me there?”
“Well our reservations are for 7:00, so how about 6:15?”
“Your on. Come on, I am hungry and since your cooking I will help.”
E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!
“Jo thanks for picking me up. My car wont be ready until tomorrow.”
“No problem, Dixie, I am just glad you’re going to help me find the perfect dress.”
“So what is this dress for?”
“Next Wednesday is our10th anniversary. Roy said he is taking me out to dinner and I just want to look...I don’t know...Not like a mom.”
“Well I think we can take care of that. Lets start at that new department store on Westmont.”
3 hours later, the Ladies stop for lunch.
“I can’t believe that I haven’t found anything yet” Jo comments as they are seated.
“Jo you seem to be looking for something specific,” Dixie says setting aside her menu. “Tell me what and maybe I can suggest a store”.
After placing their order, Jo starts to talk “I need a red dress and, by red,
I mean RED!
You’ve heard the guys talk about how Mike keeps the engine? Well this red will
put that to shame.”
“Wow! why so specific?”
“You know that I have known Roy since the 4th grade, right? When we were seniors and the prom came around, Well Roy didn’t ask me to go, he just assumed that I would be going with him. My girlfriend and I decided to teach him and his friend,whom she was dating a lesson and when he made a comment a few days before the dance about getting a tux and what color was I wearing so we would match, I told him that it didn’t matter since we weren’t going together. To say he was shocked was putting it mildly. He was livid, told me that I was his girl and I had to go with him.” Stopping to take a drink Jo notices that Dixie was looking at her in shock. “What? He deserved it! I told him that since he didn’t have the decency to ask me, I wasn’t going with him and that was that.”
“So did you go to the dance?”
“Oh yes! See my girlfriend and I had our dresses and we bought our own tickets. We knew that the guys were going too. My friend's mom had taken us shopping and, since she was much less uptight than my mom, I had a hot dress. It was bright red, Covered with sequins, very low cut and strapless. Her mom had even made sure we had stockings and garters and, believe it or not, lace underwear!” Jo stops talking as the waiter brings their food “I can hardly believe I got the nerve to wear the dress let alone the garter.”
“I remember the first time I got dressed up. What a rush!” Dixie comments “So how did Roy react when he saw you?”
“Well we got to the dance a little late so everybody was there and starting to dance. The music was loud and the talking was even louder, but when we walked in...” Jo starts to smile “It was amazing- kind of like a wave going over the room, things started to get quite and all the kids were staring at us” Jo laughs. “I stopped and looked down to make sure everything was covered. Well we make our way into the dance and everyone is coming up and saying how great we look. My friends boyfriend has come up and apologized profusely and they are dancing, but I have seen nothing of Roy. All of a sudden, I feel a tap on my shoulder, I turn and there is Roy, holding a dozen white roses. He says *You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen and I don’t deserve this, but will you please forgive me?* I said yes and we danced the rest of the night”.
“That is so romantic”
“Yes it was. Dixie, I want to recapture that! Now don’t get me wrong. We still love each other very much. It’s just that with 2 kids and Roy’s work we don’t have that much time just to be romantic. Roy is taking me out to dinner and I hope dancing, so I want to remind him what it was like before all the responsibilities”.
“Well, lets finish up here and then I think I know just the place to find what you are looking for”.
An hour later, they pull up in front of a small vintage clothing shop in Hollywood.
“This shop often gets in old costumes and clothes that belonged to actors and actresses. They have some gorgeous things and I would be surprised if we don’t find something here." Dixie holds open the door for Jo “I found this shop years ago by accident, and whenever I feel like treating myself to something fancy I come here”.
“Hello, may I help you?” the clerk asked
“Yes, thank you, We are looking for an evening gown, preferably red”
“Our gowns are back here and you’re in luck because we just got in a shipment from one of the studios. Help yourself and the dressing rooms are just behind the screen there.”
“Dixie, I can’t believe all this. Look at all these beautiful dresses”
“Well, lets find you just the right dress for your evening of romance”
As they looked through the dresses, they chatted about who might have worn what and memories the dresses reminded them of.
“Dixie, see this green dress? I had one somewhat similar when Roy was in the army. I bought it to make him jealous”.
“If he was in the army how did it make him jealous?”
“Roy had finished his basic training in Georgia and had been sent to Fort Bragg in North Carolina for medic training. When it was time for his graduation, he had already found out he was being shipped to nam and I wanted to see him before he left. I had been working so I had money and, although my mom wasn’t happy, I bought a plane ticket to go back for his graduation. They were going to have a dance after the ceremony and I needed to get a dress, so I went to a department store. While I was shopping, I overheard some local girls talking about how they had been spending time with the guys when they had leave and that Roy was the best of the bunch. Well, I got jealous and never stopped to think that their might be more than one Roy in the class. So I found this Jade green dress with pumps and a purse to match, then I found a subtle but sexy perfume. I had to meet Roy at the dance because he had to finish up something on base. When he walked in, I was surrounded by guys. He walked up to me and said *Excuse me, fellas, but this is my lady love. Go find Roy Wills and you will find all the local girls you can handle.* I felt like an idiot, but Roy never knew and that night he proposed”.
“I would never have guessed that Roy was this romantic,” Dixie remarks “He seems so quite and reserved. But then again, around Johnny, everybody seems quite and reserved”.
Just then a glint of red catches Dixie’s eye on a rack in the back.
“Excuse me, Miss, but can we look at the red dress in the back there?”
“I can show it to you, but we haven’t put it out because it needs to fixed. The hem is coming out,” she says, walking to the backroom. “This dress is a size 10.”
“Oh, Dix this is perfect! I have to try it on.”
“We even got in shoes with this dress. Let me find them for you”
The dress and the shoes were a perfect fit. They even took $20.00 dollars off since Jo said she could fix the dress herself.
“Dixie you are the greatest!” Jo says as they head home. “Would you like to come back to our place and have dinner with the kids and I?"
“That would be great! I haven’t seen the kids in ages. But how about we get Chinese takeout- my treat”.
“Dixie, you don’t have to do that”.
“I want to.” Dixie looks at Jo with a smile.
“Hey, we have time before we need to get back because the kids had a birthday party at a friends right after school. Since we have to go by the station on our way to my house, why don’t we pick up a desert for the guys and surprise them?”
“Sounds like a plan. There is a great bakery just a few blocks from here. It’s called the Cakebox.”
“Oh I have heard about them. They do beautiful cakes for all kinds of occasions. You can even take in your own picture and they will replicate it.”
A few minutes later, they pull into the parking lot.
“Just in time, It looks like they are about to close.” Dixie says, as she walks over to the cake display. Jo goes to the cookie display. “How do we choose what to get them? It all looks good”
“Good afternoon, Ladies. What can I get you this afternoon”?
“Hello, We are looking for something to surprise 6 men with large sweet thooths.” Jo says as she looks over the cookies.
“Well we can do a large box of cookies or any one of our cakes should take
care of them.
Are they having a party with a theme or just hanging out?”
“Actually it is for my husband and his co-workers at the fire station”.
“Firemen huh? Well I think I have the perfect thing. I will be right back.”
The clerk goes into the back.
“Sounds interesting”
“We made this cake up for a birthday. But the party got canceled at the last minute due to an illness. We just haven’t had a chance to take the writing off yet” she said, as she walked out of the kitchen.
The cake she carried was shaped like a fire engine and, on the side, it said
*Happy 51st*
Dixie and JoAnne just started to laugh. The clerk was looking at them kind of
funny.
“Sorry about laughing,” Dixie wheezed “But the guys work out of station 51.”
“Oh! this is perfect then. How about if we just take off the *happy* and the *st*. We will even give it to at a discount since it was made for someone else.”
“We’ll take it.”
With the cake in hand, the ladies made their way to the station. They were glad to see both the engine and the squad were there.
“We either caught them in-between runs or they are having a quite day.”
As they pull around back, they see Marco, Hank, Mike and Chet playing basketball and Johnny and Roy are working on the Dennis.
“Quite day,” Dix and Jo say together.
Everyone turns at the sound of a car pulling in with the exception of Roy who is under the engine. Johnny taps on his leg. “Hey Roy, your lady love is here”.
As Roy is getting out, the guys go and welcome the ladies to the station and invite them in for a cold drink. Roy walks up to Jo and gives her a light kiss.
“Hi sweety! This is a wonderful surprise."
“We thought since we were near, we would drop in and say hi. Why don’t you go clean up and I will be right in."
As the guys lead the way in, Jo reaches in the back of the car for the cake box. She enters the dayroom as she hears Hank ask.
“So what have you ladies been doing today?”
“We have been out shopping,” Dix replies “and, since we had to pass near the station, we thought we would see if you guys were around.”
“And we brought you a present,” Jo says placing the box on the table.
“Great! what is it? Let me see.” Chet makes a grab for the box.
“Chet, sit down.” Cap admonishes. “The Cakebox - that’s a great bakery. My daughter is getting her wedding cake from there.”
“Hank, I didn’t know your daughter was getting married. Congratulations!”
“Thanks, Dixie, It’s been a little crazy around our house, but now that Sherri and my wife have agreed that the dress and veil are up to Sherri, things have gotten better.”
“Sounds like Jo and her mom.” Roy says, reentering the dayroom. “What’s in the box?”
“Dixie and I were on our way home and, since the kids went to that party, I didn’t have to be home early. So we decided to bring you guys a little treat.” This was said as she opened the box.
“Oh man! this is great!” Johnny exclaims.
While the rest guys are looking at the cake, Johnny gets out the plates and silverware. The milk and juice had already been poured.
“So, Hank, does Sherri have her dress picked out yet?”
“Yes, After all was said and done, she decided to wear a long dress with a little beading on the top. I think she looks beautiful. But of course I might be prejudice” He says with a grin.
“I am sure she does, Cap. Almost as beautiful as JoAnne was!” Roy says with a gleam in his eye “And still is almost 10 years later!”
“So you and your mom fought over your dress too Jo?”
“No, I wore her dress. It was long and white, had a fitted waist and it just shimmered. We fought over if I was wearing a veil or a rose in my hair. I won!”
“So which was it?” Dix asks, thinking of the story Jo told her earlier and was fairly sure she knew.
“She wore a single white rose.” Roy said, as he leaned down and kissed his wife.
E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!
Later that afternoon, Dixie and Jo are enjoying a cool drink on the back deck when the kids come running in.
“Mom! Mom! Where are you, mom”?
“Calm down, I am out here on the deck”
“Hi mom, we had the best” he stops when he sees Dixie “Hi, Miss McCall, we had the best time, they had cake and ice cream and pizza and we got these really cool giftbags and...”
“Chris, calm down and take a breath,” Jo said “Now, I gather you had a great time and that Timmy liked his gifts?"
“Yeah, he did. His mom took some of his baby pictures and put them up and we all got to see um. Mom can we look at our baby pictures?”
“Yeah, mom can we? PLEASE!!!!”
“Yes, you can. But first go change and do your homework. We are having Chinese for dinner and it will be here in about an hour.”
As the kids rush off to change, Dixie orders the food and Jo gets out the albums.
After dinner is cleaned up, We all move into the living room to looks at the pictures. Jo starts with the wedding pictures and Dixie comments on how lovely Jo looks and how handsome Roy was.
“He still is,” Jo says
“So how did you tell him you were pregnant?”
“It was our 2 month anniversary and I had just found out that morning. I hadn’t been feeling well for a while. Roy didn’t know because he was coming off a shift and I was working, so he wasn’t expecting to see me till that evening. I called in sick and went to the doctor. Boy was that a surprise! I remember stuttering *but we only got married two months ago* The DR smiled and said *well it looks like you are having a honeymoon baby because you are just about 2 months along*. I was thrilled and, as soon as he told me, I knew it was going to be a boy. I went out shopping and bought some maternity clothes even though I wasn’t going to need them anytime soon. I also bought a bunch of baby clothes, diapers, bibs - you name it, I bought it. I hadn’t even stopped to think what Roy’s reaction would be. We both wanted kids, but not this soon. On the way home, it hit me. What if he was mad? He had just finished the academy and was starting his first assignment. I pulled into a park a few blocks down from our apartment and just sat there. I must have been there for quite awhile because the next thing I remember is this tap on the window. I turned, and there was a police officer standing there. I rolled down the window and he asked if I was OK. He said that one of the neighbors called. They were worried, because I had been sitting there for so long. I told him I was fine, just thinking. When I looked at my watch, I couldn’t believe it was after 4:00. I normally got home about 4:30, so I headed home.
Roy had fixed dinner for us when I got home, so we ate then he asked me what
I had in
the bags. I said it was a surprise and to close his eyes. He did and I got out
this cute little blue outfit I had gotten and held it up. *Ok open your eye’s
and see your 2 month anniversary present* I said. He opened his eyes and then
got this confused look on his face for a second, then he said *are you sure?*
I said yes and he got up, walked around the table and gave me a long kiss then
knelt down, kissed my stomach and said *I love you, I love you both*.”
While Jo was telling the story, we were looking at the pictures of her throughout her pregnancy. As she came to the end, I turned the page and saw a picture of Roy holding his son.
“Look at that, even as a newborn, Chris looked just like his dad.”
“Yes he did.” Jo smiles “ and 2 years later, when I found out I was pregnant again, I went shopping and bought pink clothes.”
A short time later, Jo loads up the kids and takes Dixie home.
“Thank you for all your help today, Dixie, I had a great time.”
“You are very welcome, and I had a great time, too. It was nice to learn more about you and Roy,” Dixie gets out of the car. “Have a great anniversary and let me know what he thinks of the dress”
“I will. Goodnight.”
E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!
Wednesday night
Johnny arrives at the DeSoto’s at 6:15, as promised.
“So is everything ready?” he asks as he walks in.
“The bags are in the trunk. The hotel is paid for and I have the key in my pocket. Now if I could just get these cufflinks, in I will be all set.”
“Let me.” Johnny says, taking the cufflinks from Roy. “Were you this nervous when you got married?”
“Worse,” Roy says with a laugh. “The kids are finishing up dinner and need to be in bed my 8:30. Oh Johnny, will you go out to the garage and in the extra refrigerator are some roses, can you bring them in for me?”
“Sure, be right back.”
“Jo, are you ready? We need to get going so we don’t loose our reservation.”
“Coming, Roy.”
Johnny hands Roy the roses as Jo starts down the stairs. Both men are speechless, then Roy steps forward and offers his hand.
“Jo, you look as beautiful as you did at our Prom. You are still the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.”
“And you are still the most handsome” JoAnne answers, taking the dozen white roses Roy hands her.
They say goodnight to the kids and Johnny as they leave, but they never take their eyes off each other.
The End.
Something In Red
(Angela Kaset)
I'm looking for something in red
Something that's shocking to turn someone's head
Strapless and sequined and cut down to there
Stockings and garters and lace underwear
The guaranteed number to knock the men dead
I'm looking for something in red
I'm looking for something i green
Something to out do an ex-high school queen
Jealousy comes in the color of jade
Do you have some pumps and a purse in this shade
And a perfume that whispers "Please comes back to me"
I'm looking for something in green
I'm looking for something in white
Something that shimmers in soft candlelight
Everyone calls us the most perfect pair
Should I wear a vail or a rose in my hair
Well,the train must be long and the waist must be tight
I'm looking for something in white
I'm looking for something in blue
Something real tiny,the baby's brand new
He has his father's nose and his chin
We once were hot lovers now we're more like friends
Don't tell me that's just what old married folk do
I'm looking for something in blue
I'm looking for something in red
Like the one that I wore when I first turned his head
Strapless and sequined and cut down to there
Just a size larger that I wore last year
The guaranteed number to knock the nam dead
I'm looking for something
I've gotta have something
I'm looking for something in red