Which is Which

     My son was asked to the Turnabout Dance when he was a freshman in high school.  A girl from his English class had asked him, and when he found out that all he had to do was get dressed and show up, he said yes.
     On the night of the dance, all the couples in the group went to someone's house to take pictures.  Freshman year they were all pretty awkward.  When we arrived, the girls were on one side of the room and the boys were on the other.  My son was carrying a box containing a white rose corsage for his date, and I saw him looking around for her.
     He grabbed my arm and forcefully pulled me into the hallway.
     "What's the matter?" I asked.
     "I'm not sure which one she is," he said.
     My instinct was to laugh out loud, but he was frantic, so I restrained myself.
     "What do you mean?"
     "I don't know which one she is, Mom.  She's got an identical twin sister, and they are both here."
     I began to understand.  The girls were beautiful. But in dresses, high heels and make up, they didn't look anything like they did in English class.  It's hard enough to tell identical twins apart, but my son had lost all his markers.
     "Well," I said, hoping to devise a plan, "are they dressed alike?"
     "No. I don't know if my one is in the blue dress or the black dress."
     "What's your date's name?"  I asked.
     "Brittany," he said.  "Her sister is Brianna." (The names have been changed to protect the humiliated.)
     "Wait here, " I said.
     I walked back into the living room, hoping for a clue.  I approached a group of mothers and introduced myself.  Luckily, the twins' mother was in the group.
     "They are such beautiful girls!" I exclaimed.  "Which is which?"
     "Brittany is in the blue dress, Brianna is in the black."
     I wanted to ask if she was sure, but I decided not to.
     I repeated under my breath, "Brittany in blue, Brianna in black.  Brittany in blue, Brianna in black."  I'd forgotten which was my son's date.
     I pushed through the crowd and found my son in the hallway. He looked panicked, but I gave him a thumbs up.
     I said, "Brittany in blue, Brianna in black."
     He asked, "Are you sure?"
     I said, "I asked their mom."
     He looked mortified but I assured him it was fine.  "Get in there and give the girl the corsage."
     He smiled.  "Thanks, Mom."
     I watched him walk towards the girl in the blue dress, and I saw her face when she saw him.  Brittany in Blue.  Bingo.