S.E.C.R.E.T. Shared (Secret 2)

“Michigan. Yeah. But I’ve been here almost eight years, so I feel more and more like a local.”

Her eyes landed on the glittery tower of clip-on rhinestone earrings on the display case.

“Those are what I’m looking for!” she said. “I have this thing to go to.”

She removed a heavy pair of clip-on clusters, almost tipping over the whole tower.

“Oh, sorry. I’m so clutzy.”

I could not picture this woman being invited to the kind of event that would require these earrings. She was too casual, too down-to-earth.

“This is a really nice store,” she said, struggling to center the earrings on her lobes. “Do you own it?”

“I do. Almost ten years now. Here, let me help.”

“Wow. Ten years.” She moved her hair back so I could clip the earrings into proper place, one then the other.

I stood back.

“So do you have a business partner or is it just you?”

“Just me,” I said, turning her around to look in the mirror. I quickly changed the subject. “What else are you wearing to your event?”

“I … don’t think I’ve decided yet … It must be hard to run a business all on your own.”

“I have Elizabeth and a few part-timers.”

Her questions were inching to places where she wasn’t invited.

“You’re doing things a little backwards,” I said. “You shouldn’t start with the earrings. Start with the dress. Bring it in and I’ll help you find the right jewelry.”

“I didn’t mean to offend you when I asked if you were running your own business. I’m sure you’re quite capable of operating on the planet without a partner. I certainly have.”

“Yes, but that could change,” I said. “That guy from the patio? He was cute. Maybe that’ll turn into something.”

Should I tell her who he was? Can she sense my jealousy? I did mean it as a compliment, but I seemed to have alarmed her. Oh god, I was coming across as peculiar!

“Trust me, talking to cute guys is not a skill I was born with. I had to learn how to do it. And frankly, I’m still quite new at it. When you’ve been single for a long time, like I have, you forget how to approach men, you know? But it’s really just muscle memory. I just needed a little … boost.”

I felt her words slice right through me. Yes. That’s exactly it. That’s what I need. A boost.

She lowered her voice. “I had to get some help in the ‘men’ arena. Big-time. That’s how I met Matilda.”

I could hear Matilda and Elizabeth laughing and chatting at the back of the store.

“Is she a dating coach or something?” I asked.

“You could say that,” Cassie said, spinning the earring rack, examining a pair of gold hoops that seemed more suited to her. “She has a lot of confidence, a lot of knowledge about this stuff.”

“Well, sign me up for the next round of lessons,” I said, laughing.

“I will!” she said, as though it were a real thing, these lessons, this kind of coaching.

Matilda and Elizabeth returned from the dressing room, triumphant.

“I never knew I looked so good in yellow,” Matilda said, the gown draped in her arms. “You can find out all sorts of things about yourself in a place like this.”

Something in me knew that Cassie and Matilda hadn’t come to the store just to buy dresses or earrings, a fact confirmed when Cassie returned on her own two days later, just before closing time.