玛丽·安·佩奇·皮尔斯Mary Ann Pecci Pearce
1959年6月，在一个星期日的早晨，妈妈来到我的房间，自豪地举起一条带黑白条纹的黄色连衣裙说：“给你一个惊喜！这是我亲手为你量身缝制的，你觉得怎么样？”
我忍住了，没说话。过分浓烈的颜色，华而不实的莱茵石纽扣，锃亮的漆皮皮带，还有早已过时的蓬起的裙摆，然而，我怎么能对妈妈说，那是我见过的最难看的裙子呢？
妈妈继续高兴地说道：“穿着这条裙子去教堂真是太棒了，我多么希望别人也能够为我缝制一条这样的裙子呀！”
我心想，这条裙子太难看了，实在无法穿出去。但是，我明白，妈妈花费了很长时间才做成这条裙子，只有这个世界上最不懂得感恩的女儿才会拒绝穿上它。尽管很不情愿，我还是穿上了它。
在教堂做礼拜时，我一直祈祷：上帝，请您保佑我在离开这里之前不被任何人看到，尤其是丹尼斯·皮尔斯。他是内普丘恩高中最帅的男生之一，是我暗恋的男孩子。他从来没有注意到我，尽管有些课我们是在同一个班级上。
礼拜一结束，我快速地逃向教堂门口。然而，我不得不站在教堂的台阶上等候，因为父母正在跟朋友们聊天。我等了好一会儿……正在那时，我用眼角的余光瞥见皮尔斯一家人正向我这边走来。就在我要躲到一边的时候，丹尼斯站在了我的身旁。
我开始和他不停地聊天，只是为了让他不要注意到我那条糟糕的裙子。我对他说：“九月份，我就要去大学报到了。”
丹尼斯说：“太棒了，我也被警察学院录取了。”
我说：“哇，太好了！”我就一直跟他聊着，一会儿就一起走到了停车场。我记得，丹尼斯在此之后就与我约会了。
我们上大学的时候一直在谈恋爱，最后终于结为夫妻。结婚几个月后，我问丹尼斯是否记得第一次向我发出约会邀请的事情。
他答道：“当然记得，在学校的时候，你不爱说话，表现得几乎有点儿冷漠。所以，我认为你是一个没什么意思的女孩子。然而，在教堂的台阶上，你跟我谈话时是那么活泼愉快，这不由得使我想更多地了解你。”或许，那条斑马纹的黄裙子并不是我想选择的。然而，那一天，它就是我最理想的选择。
One Sunday morning in June 1959 my mother walked into my room.“Surprise！”she said，proudly holding up a yellow dress with black and white stripes.“I made it just for you.What do you think？”
I bit my tongue.How could I tell Mom it was the most hideous dress I had ever seen？The too-intense colors，the gaudy rhinestone buttons，the shiny patent leather belt，the hopelessly out-of-style billowy skirt.
“It’s perfect for church，”my mother continued blithely.“I wish somone had made a dress like this for me.”
Too bad you can’t wear it，I thought.But I knew Mom had spent a lot of time on the dress.Only the world’s most ungrateful daughter would refuse.Reluctantly I put it on.
All through church I prayed，Lord，let me get out of here without anyone seeing me.Especially Dennis Pearce，the boy I had a crush on.He was one of the cutest guys at Neptune High.Although we were in some of the same classes，Dennis had never taken any notice of me.
At the end of the service I bolted for the door.But I had to wait on the steps while my parents chatted with their friends.Just a little while longer...Then out of the corner of my eye I saw the Pearces approaching.Before I could escape，Dennis was right beside me.
I started gabbing a mile a minute，hoping if I kept it up he wouldn’t notice my horrible dress.“I’m going to college in September，”I said.
“That’s great，”Dennis replied.“I got accepted to the police academy.”
“Wow！”I said.Somehow I kept the conversation going.Soon we were walking to the parking lot together.The next thing I knew was that Dennis had asked me out on a date！
We courted through college，and eventually got married.Months after our wedding I asked Dennis if he remembered the day when he had first asked me out.
“You bet I do，”he said.“You were always quiet in school，almost standoffish.I didn’t think you’d be much fun.But you were so animated when we talked on the church steps.I wanted to get to know you better.”Maybe that zebra-striped yellow dress wasn’t what I would have chosen，but that day it was the perfect dress for me.
