Are You Sure? (Marina)

Twenty-Six.

Carina

"Did you know you can't wear scrubs to the party?" I turned as someone handed me coffee. Gabri was strutting in her dress like she was ready to find the someone who would make her first trip to Seattle memorable. "Lo so, mi guardo bellisima. Now you have to get beautiful for this Maya person."

I rolled my eyes at her and sipped on the coffee, "I am running very late! The unpredictability of childbirth. Of course, a mamma would go into labor the day of the party and of course it turned into a complicated c-section 4 hours in." She walked with me all the way back to my office where I had my dress ready to go and just needed to change and do my makeup and my hair and- okay I was far from ready.

"This is why I chose general- I don't need to be on call every day." I laughed as I opened the door to my office and tore off my white coat.

"Please don't!" I opened my closet door and I saw her go sit at my desk and pick up one of the journals to read while I got ready. I went back to looking at my face. "Bailey is going to fire me for being late." I pulled open my make up bag to refill my eyebrows, and add a lot more mascara after relining my eyeliner. I pinched my cheeks to add some color and put on some wine-red lipstick.

"Then hurry up. Subito, subito!" Gabri screamed from behind me as I pulled off my scrub top and started doing my hair. She paid me no mind, it's nothing she hadn't seen before and had no interest in since our days of casual sex was far in the past. "See pilates has given you roundness, Maya can thank me later."

"You're too optimistic. If she has a date tonight, then what?" I threw my hair all to one side and started pinning up the opposite side to keep my hair that way all night, with a little help from the hairspray I knew it would. I kicked off my new balances and stripped down my pants.

Gabriella stood up and strolled over to me, "I'll seduce her date, so she has to take you back. I'll be your eh- wing person." She grabbed my dress and took it out of the dry-cleaning plastic to hand to me.

Her confidence was everlasting and warranted, my friend was beyond beautiful, and no one could argue with that, "Then I have hope yet." Quickly discarding the hanger that held my dress I opened the zipper and stepped through it. Easily pulling it up my legs and around my hips. Unclipping my bralette, I threw it to the side. I pushed my arms threw and reached behind for my zipper.

Hands moved mine as they reached for the low zipper to move it up, "It's okay to be nervous. This is hard." Her fingers moved the zipper of my dress and slowly pulled it up, knuckles grazing my skin on the way up. The zipper stopped at the small of my back, letting most of it remain visible. "She'd be lucky to have you, Cari."

"We'll see about that." I said and she smiled before leaving a kiss over my shoulder. I looked in the mirror and adjusted my chest in the dress so the cut would flatter it. Not that I have very big breasts, but the low cut allowed me to push up my bust and have the tops of them visible. It hugged my curves in all the right places and cut off right at the knees. For women who didn't have long legs it would've stopped at the shins but not me. The slit however went up high enough that you could see the scar from my surgery. Another reminder of the pain that once was.

I grabbed my black red-bottoms and for the first time in a long time I was wearing a dress and heels. The things I do for Dr. Bailey. I turned around to Gabriella who was looking at me from head to toe and smiling. "Is it too much? I need all the help I can get."

"Cari.. sei bellisima. You don't need help- you just need to be you." The words made me half smile and I grabbed my black coat and clutch. Filling it with my car keys, phone, lipstick, and check book. Just in case the whole party went to shit, and I had to pay for the hospital myself.