“Hm…” she says, looking from the rack to me, then back to the rack.
“It’s just…this is probably a big mistake.”
“Did Duke have the wrong date?”
“No. He has the wrong girl.”
She giggles. “Duke didn’t seem to think so.”
“You don’t understand…”
“Can you fill me in while I get to work?”
“It’s stupid for me to get ready when there’s no point to it.”
“No point to it? Greyson Prosper wants to take you on a date. Are you just not interested?”
“It’s not that I’m not interested. It’s just…you wouldn’t understand.”
She pulls a dress from the rack. “Well, put this on and make me understand.”
For the next hour, I try on various dresses while Karmen gives me her opinion on each. We don’t talk about the elephant in the room, or rather, the elephants. Because I think the obvious one, my growing belly, explains the not-so-obvious one, why I’m hesitant to go on this date.
“This is the one,” she says confidently, hovering over my shoulder in front of the full-length mirror.
I turn to the side to glimpse the black dress from another angle. “It’s a little low-cut, don’t you think?”
“For your typical style, yeah. But I suppose mine is different.”
Different is an understatement. Karmen is known around the small town of Perish Prosper for her bright, vibrant clothes that match her bubbly personality, whereas I’m known for my flannel shirts and ho-hum personality.
“You can think on the dress while I get started on your skin.”
“My skin?”
“I’m supposed to be pampering you all day.”
“No, thanks.”
Karmen frowns. “Look, I know that this is probably not how you envisioned spending your day, but I closed down my shop for this.”
“Why would you do that?”
“Duke asked me to for Grey.”
“So you know everything?”
“Not exactly. I was told there was a runaway Penny, but that’s it.”
I cup my belly. “I’m sure you’re able to fill in the rest.”
“I have theories, but I won’t pry.”
Feeling guilty that she’s come all this way and may not get paid her full fee, I decide that maybe a makeover isn’t the worst thing. It certainly doesn’t obligate me to go on a date.
“Fine, you can do the whole makeover thing, but don’t expect me to get excited about how I look afterward.”
She chuckles. “With you, I would never.”
