The whole drive Lacey is nagging me to meet Hudson. I finally give in and tell her that I will talk to him about it. We head straight for downtown Portland where all the dress stores are. I took money out of my savings, but I still don’t have a lot to spend. I’m hoping to find something that will work.
Shop after shop we look for the perfect dress for me. Nothing seems to work, though. It’s either too long, too short, or just the wrong color. I’m exhausted, and I know Lacey is too. I follow Lacey into the next shop and hopefully the last one. I just want to find a nice dress that won’t make me look a tramp. When we walk into the store, every dress is glittery and it smells like fresh flowers.
“Lacey,” I whisper. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a store this fancy before.
“I know we will find something for you in here.” Lacey goes straight for the evening dresses.
I follow her while gazing at everything around me. Every color of the rainbow is in this store. Every possible material too. I look at the far back wall and see a hundred pair of shoes. On the left side is every accessory that you can imagine.
I hear Lacey gasp. “I found it.” She rushes up to me, grabs my arm, and pushes me into a fitting room with a mass of material.
“Try that on,” she orders.
I look down at the dark purple dress in my hands. I begin taking off my clothes to try on the dress. When I slip it on and zip it up, I stare at myself in the mirror. I can’t believe it’s me that I’m looking at. The deep purple dress stops a couple inches above my knees. It hugs my hips and breasts perfectly. One side has a complete sleeve, while the other is bare. Every time I move, it shimmers in the light.
“I need to see it,” Lacey yells out, bringing me out of my trance. I open the door, and her mouth drops open. “Here,” she shoves shoes at me, “put those on.” I slip on the heels that match the dress perfectly. “Here,” she clasps a bracelet on my bare arm, and then puts two clips in my hair. She spins me around to the large three-way mirror, where I can feel the tears building as I look at myself. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so pretty.
“You have to get this dress.” Lacey stands behind me.
“Is there anything I can help you ladies with?” An older lady comes up and asks.
“Um, how much is all of this?” I ask sheepishly.
“The dress, shoes, and accessories should be right around five thousand dollars.”
My mouth drops and I can’t even form a word. Five thousand dollars. That’s insane, I could never afford this. I look in the mirror one more time, and my heart breaks. I feel fabulous in this dress, but I would have to sell a kidney to be able to wear it outside this store.
“Thanks, I’ll just take it off.” I tell the clerk. She smiles and turns back to the counter.
“What? No way, you’re getting this.” Lacey crosses her arms at me.
“Lace, this is five thousand dollars. I don’t have it. I don’t even have half of it.”
“Fine, we’ll just put it on my credit card, and you can pay me back.”
“Are you insane? There is no way I’m letting you do that. Besides it would take me two years to pay it back. I don’t see Jeffrey giving me a raise anytime soon.” I turn away from her going back into the fitting room.
I very carefully take off the dress, shoes, and jewelry. As I’m removing the dress, a few tears fall. Why am I so upset about a stupid dress? I look at it again. The shining embellishments twinkle under the light. I touch the material one more time and leave. Lacey complains the whole way back to my house. I let her go on because there’s no way I’m letting her pay for that outfit.
“I’ll find something else.” I tell her as she drops me off.
I go into my house and get ready to cook dinner. Hudson is supposed to be here soon. He just got back into town this morning, and we are going to watch the next movie in the collection. I’m still upset about the whole dress shopping that I don’t even feel like cooking. I call a local pizza parlor and order a couple of pizzas. I’m not sure how long Hudson will be so I give him a quick call.
“How close are you?” I ask.
“I’m a few minutes away. Why?”
“Would you mind grabbing the pizzas? I don’t feel like cooking. I just ordered them and they should be ready when you get there.”
“No problem. I’ll see you in a few.”
When I hang up, I flop down on my couch. Why the heck am I so upset about a dress? I mean, it’s a dress. I sit there sulking over some man made material and sequins, when I hear a knock on my door. I didn’t even realize that I had sat there that long. I get up to let Hudson in.
“Hey.” He leans in, kisses my cheek, and heads off to the kitchen with the pizzas. He isn’t wearing a jacket, and his muscles are bulging through his t-shirt. He must be really working out more.
I follow him into the kitchen and grab a couple of plates. Hudson puts the pizzas on the counter, then heads to the fridge to grab a couple waters. It’s nice that he feels so comfortable in my house.
“Hey, why the long face?” He sets the waters down and pulls me close to him. I lay my head on his chest, and wrap my arms around him. It’s something that I don’t normally do, but I feel safe in his arms.