“Oh, no, darling,” Penelope shook her head. “You are not changing anything, only adding to what is already there. You can still keep the same hobbies, and be the same person.”
“Just in a dress?”
“Yes, and look fabulous while doing it,” Penelope chuckled.
Odette’s lips curved upwards in amusement. “Well, you seem to make it quite simple. But I have a hard time adapting to change like this.”
“So you can take it at your own pace,” Penelope assured. “One dress at a time, one little change, as long as you are comfortable with it.”
“And what if Father stops recognizing me?”
The statement came from a place of innocence, but it shocked Penelope to hear it. She put a hand on Odette’s shoulder, “That is something that will never happen.”
“You say that,” Odette sighed. “But who is to know for sure?”
“You can find out,” Penelope suggested softly. “If anything, it might be fun to see his surprise. Change is not as scary as you are making it out to be.”
“It is when you are young,” Odette replied. “I just wish that I could stay little forever, and not have to deal with all of this .”
“You must think of it as growth,” Penelope said . “A step forward, but in the right direction for the woman you are growing up to become.”
“I don’t want to stop being close to him,” Odette admitted abruptly. “He doesn’t know anything about… this stuff.”
“You think if you start liking these things,” Penelope said carefully, “he won’t understand you anymore.”
Odette’s shy silence was enough of a confirmation.
“I get it,” Penelope said after a moment. “I do.”
“How?” Odette said, surprised. “You seem as though you were born all perfect and lady-like.”
“Perhaps not in the same way,” Penelope laughed. “But I know all too well how daunting change can be. I was very close to my sister growing up. And when she got older, when she married and her life started shifting… I thought I’d lost her somehow.”
Odette was really listening closely now.
“But I didn’t lose her,” Penelope continued. “And neither will you. Your father knows you’re growing up.”
Odette was silent again. Penelope realized that it was something she did whenever she retreated into herself.
“Why don’t you try it on?” Penelope said gently. “Just to see.”
“What if I hate it?”
“Then we pick another one.”
Odette sighed begrudgingly, but she took the dress into the changing room without another word.
Penelope waited outside, glancing occasionally at Madame Bellamy who was already preparing her next round of suggestions. The curtain opened, and Odette stepped out.
“Lovely! That’s the one,” Madame Bellamy clapped her hands together, beaming.
“You think?” Odette said, awkwardly rubbing the sides of her arms.
“Oh, Iknow,” the modiste said, walking around her slowly. “This looks perfect.”
Penelope smiled, but her attention was only on Odette. “What doyouthink?” she asked.
“I think…” She frowned, glancing down at the bodice. “Maybe the fit is a bit loose around here…”
