He was eccentric and definitely fit the bill as a unique personal designer. One look at him and I knew he had some sort of fashion sense, despite the old Chucks.
“Oh honey, it’s so good to see you again another year,” Bobbi crooned over Lola’s shoulder as he hugged her. “You can’t keep letting me spoil you like this, girl, or I’m gonna let it go to my head one day.”
Lola tittered, as he did. “You know this is my favorite place to be when I need a dress for the gala, Bobbi. I wouldn’t be anywhere else.” She turned sideways and gestured to me and Olivia. “This is Olivia and Ivy. They work at the Ladies with Passion charity with me, though Ivy is off today but decided to tag along with me to play dress-up.” She gave me an appreciative smile. “Ladies, this is the wonderful Bobbi Sleek. I get all my dresses for the galas from him. He is phenomenal.”
Bobbi moved toward us, extending both his arms so we could shake at the same time. “Nice to meet you, ladies.”
“Nice to meet you too,” Olivia and I said in unison.
“Lovely. So, what’s happening today? Am I going to need to find dresses for all three of you or just get you fitted, Lola?”
“Actually, Olivia already has her dress. She’s had it for a couple of weeks now, right, Liv?” Lola asked.
“Yep, sure do. I still need to get it tailored, but it’ll be ready by gala night.”
“But on the other hand, Ivy just started working for me, and seeing as this is her first time attending a Ladies with Passion Gala, I think I need to treat her.” She gave me a wink.
“What? Oh—no, Lola, that is way too generous. I seriously can’t let you do that.” Oh but I could. It was the least she could do, right?
“Don’t even try to be modest with me, Ivy!” Lola walked my way in her nude, red-bottomed Louboutins. “Let me do this for you. I want this night to be magical for all of us. You never went to prom, right?” she asked. “I remember you telling me you didn’t.”
“No, I didn’t,” I confirmed. “I couldn’t afford it.” And that was true. Prom was expensive as hell, and I’d much rather have been fed than attend a dance in a tulle dress.
“Well, let’s consider this your prom night. We’ll get you into a nice dress, and when it’s go time, we’re going to doll you up. It’ll be great.”
“That’s so much to ask, Lola. Really, I can just find a dress the next time I go shopping.”
“I’m not taking no for an answer. This will be my treat. After helping at the camp and being there for me after everything, this is the least I can do. Let me treat you, babe.” By “everything,” she meant that little secret about Keke’s fall.
I sighed, pretending I was at war with this decision of hers. But Lola knew I’d do whatever it took to make her happy, and she knew I didn’t like to say no to her, so I smiled and said, “Okay, okay. Fine.”
“Wonderful.” She clasped her hands together and spun in her heels to face Bobbi again. “All right, Bobbi. I’ve been waiting for this day forever. Show me what you’ve got.”
* * *
Bobbi Sleek’s Boutique had everything we needed, from complimentary coffee and fresh-baked pound cake to large fitting rooms for the biggest, puffiest dresses.
I now understood why Lola was so excited to get to New York City to this place, and why she couldn’t stop talking about it. Bobbi was attentive and kind and swift. Apparently, he had an assistant, but from the looks of it, he didn’t need him or her because he handled everything with a cool head. He was made for this.
As Lola tried on several blue dresses Bobbi had designed, Olivia fed her details and asked her questions the event planner was asking. I was glad I wasn’t working that day. To know I was going to be wearing a ten-thousand-dollar dress had done me in and I couldn’t think about anything else.
I couldn’t hate Lola right now. Not for this.
Truthfully, no matter how much I pretended I didn’t care about not going to prom, I was the girl who had always wanted to go. Call me old-fashioned. It was every girl’s dream to get dolled up and look great after enduring so many years of teachers droning on and nagging you.
None of the guys in school would ever ask me to go with them. No one even wanted to date me in school. I was the girl without parents, who got shuffled around in the system too much. I was the girl who cried in the bathroom stalls because my days had become too much, and who got picked on for taking meds to control those emotions. I wanted to be normal, trust me, Marriott, I did, but my life refused to give something so simple to someone like me.