Middle Aged Prom Dress #7

Lael Littke's Prom Dress: Chapter Seven

Hi, friends,

Welcome back to my deep dive into YA horror of the ‘80s and ‘90s!

If you’d like to start from the beginning of my Prom Dress coverage, the first six installments are here, here, here, here, here, and here.

My recapping of Christopher Pike’s Slumber Party starts here.

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Scholastic Point edition of Lael Littke’s Prom Dress

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Dean Goudy’s two-story house was impressive, especially with all of its small-paned windows lighted the way they were. Actually, it probably wasn’t Dean Goudy’s house at all, but merely the home provided for him while he served as the head of the divinity college. There was no reason for Felicia to hope that she and Mark would ever have such a home during his career as minister.

—Prom Dress, by Lael Littke

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Scene One: Arrival at Dean Goudy’s house

While Felicia is very into Dean Goudy’s house, she’s not worried by the idea that Mark will never be able to afford something like it, because it’s his “strong character” that she loves. I feel like we haven’t see much character at ALL from Mark, strong or otherwise, so I guess we’ll have to take her word for it.

The Dean IMMEDIATELY comments on what a fine-looking couple they are—everyone in this book is so weirdly obsessed with physical appearances? it’s not that I don’t think people are like this, but I feel like most people at least largely pretend that they aren’t?—as he and Mrs. Goudy greet them at the door:

The Dean was a tall man when iron-gray hair and piercing blue eyes that Felicia was sure could see right through to her guilty secret. Would he still think them a fine-looking couple if he knew she’d really stolen the dress that made her look so fine? But that was nonsense, she’d only borrowed it.

Sure, Felicia.

Mrs. Goudy compliments Felicia on the dress, which makes Felicia feel good—so of course, the dress responds by beginning its torment (I think):

She knew how to give a true compliment. But Felicia wondered if she imagined a faint air of disapproval as Mrs. Goudy’s eyes swept the length of the dress, which felt tighter than it had when Felicia had first put it on.

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Several of Mark’s classmates greeted them as they walked into the library, a large, pleasant room lined with polished walnut bookshelves. A long library table held several trays of food. Uniformed maids passed around more trays of bite-sized canapes.

—Prom Dress, by Lael Littke

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Scene Two: Enter the class skeeve

While perusing the appetizers and admiring the library and congratulating herself on “borrowing” Robin’s dress—who, let’s not forget, is still in the hospital after HER run-in with the dress—instead of buying that “tacky” one from the mall, Felicia is introduced to one of Mark’s seminary buddies:

“Watch out, Felicia,” he said. “This is Brent, the class Romeo. He forgets every scripture he ever knew at the sight of a pretty face.”

It continues:

“We voted Brent the guy most likely to run off with his prettiest parishioner,” Mark said. “He’s proud of the honor.”

Brent grinned. His eyes took in every line of Felicia’s figure.

*makes note to tell everyone with teenage daughters to avoid Brent’s parish*

Okay, we’re in full THE DRESS IS GETTING TIGHTER mode:

The dress was too tight. Felicia wished she’d let it out a little. She could have taken it in again before she hung it back in the closet in Robin’s hospital room.

i mean not to victim blame but MAYBE SHE COULD HAVE WORN SOMETHING ELSE IT WOULD HAVE BEEN SO MUCH EASIER ON ALL FRONTS OMG OMG OMG

He’s joking here, but ew, Brent:

Brent took Felicia’s arm. “Come on, angel. Let’s find something to snack on before I start nibbling at your ear.”

If someone called me ‘angel’ like that, I’d barf on them.

Also, he’s really coming off like a jokester character in a slasher movie, and they’re usually one of the earliest ones to Get It. Which is always a relief, because they’re SO. ANNOYING. And I still can’t wrap my mind around this dude becoming a minister. (I’m aware that I’m probably absolutely mixing up terminology from various Christian denominations, sorry.)

This, in re: Brent’s joke-flirting, is one of the more rational things I’ve read in the last 71 pages:

But it seemed out of place here. In bad taste. Through the double doors of the library, she could see Dean Goudy watching them during a lull in the arrival of guests.

Mark rescues Felicia from Mr. Handsy Ear Nibbler, but the dress is still acting up:

Brent was amicable about it. “Worth a try.” He grinned, and Felicia could feel him watching her as she and Mark headed for the hors d’oeuvres. The dress seemed to tighten across her hips. She took smaller steps so it wouldn’t be so obvious, but she could feel the dress ride up just a little in the back.

Things start to improve on the social front as she meets other, less toolish classmates, but the dress isn’t letting up (also, god forbid that a pretty girl in one of these books isn’t immediately hated by all the other girls in the room, yeesh):

The other young men had better manners than Brent, even though they, too, looked at Felicia with what seemed like appreciation. Some of the girls were not so cordial, she thought. She was sure they were eyeing her up and down, and then turning to say something to someone nearby.

The dress grew tighter.

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Felicia was relieved when it was time for dinner. At least she could sit down then and part of her would be out of sight. She’d have to be careful not to eat a lot, which would only make the dress tighter.

—Prom Dress, by Lael Littke

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Scene Three: Dinner

It’s finally time to sit down for dinner, and Felicia decides to try not to eat much, because she’s worried that the dress will get even tighter if she does. She’s hoping she and Mark will be seated far, far away from the Dean and his wife—preferably at the overflow tables, rather than in the main dining room—otherwise she’s just going to be anxious and self-conscious all the way through dinner.

But no dice: They’re seated just a couple of seats down from the head of the table.

Once the Dean has given a little speech and said grace, the food gets passed around—roast beef, scalloped potatoes, and green beans—and everyone digs in.

Apparently this is what passes for seminary hijinks??:

“Enjoy yourselves,” Dean Goudy boomed as he scooped food onto his own plate. “Remember, ‘he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast.’”

“Proverbs: 15th chapter, 15th verse,” Mark said, and the Dean led the laughter that followed.

Things go along pretty well for approximately nine seconds… and then someone recognizes Felicia as Robin’s nurse and conversation turns to The Prom Queen Tragedy and Felicia is TERRIFIED that someone is going to accuse her of Dress Kidnapping:

Felicia felt her whole body stiffen. Had Linda recognized the dress as well as her? Was she going to mention it, right there in front of Dean and Mrs. Goudy and all the others?

The dress seemed to shrink more, almost choking off Felicia’s breath.

This made me laugh so hard:

Felicia realized what she was saying. Linda hadn’t been at the prom herself. She hadn’t seen the dress. And it was unlikely that she’d have looked in Robin’s closet at the hospital. Felicia was so relieved that she took a big bite of meat.

This is a moment that could play as Total Comedy with the right actress.

Mrs. Goudy compliments Felicia on her career choice, the Dean agrees, and as he’s basically given his blessing, apparently NOW Mark feels like he’s allowed to make the very personal decision to, like, propose marriage to Felicia:

“Yes, yes, indeed.” Dean Goudy nodded briskly, making his head of iron-gray hair gleam in the candlelight. “Medicine and the ministry, caring for the body and the soul. A fine combination.” He smiled at Mark and Felicia.

“I think so, sir.” Mark turned to smile into Felicia’s eyes and she knew this would be the night he’d propose, now that he had the Dean’s affirmation.

I just. The idea that the Dean’s opinion should have anything to do with this is so obnoxious I can’t even.

BUT THEN, the Dean starts going on and on about integrity and how no person who went into nursing could EVER lack integrity, which OBVIOUSLY sets Felicia off:

Was he looking straight into her guilty soul? Was he seeing what she was really made of?

Felicia pretended to choke on the meat she was chewing. She had to get away from the Dean’s blue gaze.

Again, this could so easily be played as comedy. FAKE CHOKING!!

But for real, I have to give this chapter points. For one, it went in a COMPLETELY different direction than I’d expected, ramping up Felicia’s self-consciousness and anxiety about the night into full-on paranoia instead of turning Dean Goudy into a lecher, AND this bit is truly nightmare quality:

Everyone was looking at her now. They had to see how the dress was squeezing the very life out of her. She gasped for breath. The seams must be about to split. She couldn’t just stand there at let it break apart and fall away from her, leaving her practically naked in front of the entire crowd.

The fake choking isn’t enough, and she’s so freaked out at this point that she ALSO pretends like she spilled something on herself, just so she has a reason to gtfo of the room for a minute.

Hilariously, at THIS point—after she’s already stopped fake choking and is now holding a napkin in front of her non-existent stain—Mark helpfully thumps her back, ahahaha.

He does ask her if she’d like to leave! BUT EVEN AFTER ALL THIS, SHE DEMURS, the dummy. Because she’s worried about how it would look. So Mrs. Goudy takes her in hand and they head off to the upstairs bathroom to clean the (fake) stain off of the dress and, I dunno, find a cough drop.

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Upstairs, Mrs. Goudy led her to a large, white-tiled bathroom where she took a clean washcloth and wet it slightly.

—Prom Dress, by Lael Littke

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Scene Four: In the bathroom with Mrs. Goudy

Mrs. Goudy comes at her with a damp washcloth, and Felicia, thinking quickly, is like GOSH IT’S SUDDENLY FINE MAYBE IT WAS JUST WATER? and Mrs. Goudy is actually totally nice about everything, but THE DRESS is IN Felicia’s BRAIN:

Wasn’t she going to comment on how tight the dress was? How Felicia was hardly able to breathe in it? Couldn’t she see how uncomfortable Felicia was? Maybe she’d offer to lend her something to finish the evening in. They could say the spill made Felicia’s dress unwearable.

But none of that happens and Mrs. Goudy gives Felicia a cherry cough drop—that’ll make those potatoes taste ABSOLUTELY VILE, ask me how I know—and heads back downstairs, telling Felicia to hang for a bit to “rest” and to come back down when she’s ready.

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Felicia wished she’d asked her about borrowing something to wear. She had to take off the dress. It was so tight she could barely move. Walking stiffly over to the mirror, which stood in a corner of the room, she looked into it, expecting to see the seams of the dress separating before her eyes. Her reflection looked back at her from the mirror, pale-faced and a little wild-eyed. The rows of lace scallops around her hips should have been pulled out of shape, the high collar could have been strangle-tight around her neck. But the dress — the dress hung smoothly, a perfect fit. It looked just as it had at the beginning of the evening when Mark had said she should be the queen of the ball.

—Prom Dress, by Lael Littke

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Scene Five: PLOT TWIST! Felicia steals MORE clothes

Once Felicia has the realization that the dress is EVIL, she can’t get it off her body fast enough:

What was wrong? She could feel its constriction, and even now it was getting tighter and tighter. Why didn’t it look tight?

Frantically Felicia tore at the little buttons that held her captive inside the dress. She had to get it off. There was something awful about it. It seemed to have a life of its own. And that life was threatening her life.

Which, honestly? Fair. As a life-long New Englander, I’m not so into being nekkid, but I feel like I’d already have torn this cursed thing off and run out of the house in my underwear, screaming like a banshee all the way to the bus stop.

Back to Felicia, who wants to ditch this dress, STAT—good instincts, sis—but doesn’t know HOW to get rid of it without losing her job, her boring boyfriend, possibly her life:

But was now? She had to get it back to Robin’s hospital closet. She had to be free of it. She couldn’t keep it over night. What would it do to her, alone in her apartment? And she couldn’t leave it there at the Goudy’s house. They’d be sure to find it and think she’d lost her mind. And that surely would reflect somehow on Mark.

So Felicia is now stuck upstairs in the Goudy house, just, like… in her underwear. She considers sneaking out of the house, catching the bus, going home, changing, and then coming back and hoping that no one would notice. But she dismisses that idea as “insane,” which is rich coming from a character in this book.

So INSTEAD, she grabs some of Mrs. Goudy’s clothes—jeans and a shirt—and puts THOSE on, topping off the ensemble by shoving her hair up into a “visored cap.” Which… isn’t that just a baseball cap??? Whatever, I’m not going to worry about it. ANYWAY, she also grabs a bag, jams the dress and her heels into it, and takes off down the stairs and out the door—I assume barefoot—crying all the way.

BUT THEN MRS. GOUDY SEES HER RUNNING OUT THE DOOR, and given that she literally just walked Felicia upstairs, this is QUITE the leap on her part:

“Who’s there?” Mrs. Goudy called out. “Harry, somebody’s been upstairs. Stop!”

Felicia ran from the house, slamming the door. Behind her she heard Mrs. Goudy yell, “Harry, he’s got my blue bag. Something go after him!”

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PHEW. Of all the things I thought the dress might do to her, basically turning her into the human equivalent of a sausage was NOT one of them.

Hands down, my fave chapter so far—for being weird, for having moments of genuine nightmarishness, for being funny (even if it was unintentional), and for some wonderfully bonkers and surprising plotting.

I’m so excited to say that I have NO IDEA what’s going to happen next week!

Talk soon,
Leila