“Your sister’s going to be in town this weekend? You don’t think she’d want the ticket?”
“They’re all coming down to play indoor golf at Five Iron. They do it every few months. They always end up at Scallywag’s because it’s close to her friend’s apartment. They’ll probably be blacked out by the time we meet up, but it’ll still be a good time.”
His persistence felt genuine. I was aware of how easy it was to spend time with Charlie. But I wasn’t ready for another relationship, and he wasn’t someone I could treat casually.
He tapped his fingers on the desk. “So?”
He lookedsohopeful and earnest, I almost felt guilty.
“Okay, if you insist. And no, I’ve never seen it.”
He looked pleased. “You’ll love it. And in the interest of full disclosure, my ex is going to be at the bar. She’s still in my sister’s group of friends.”
“Which ex?”
“Kristen, my college girlfriend. We broke up right after she started law school.”
“Are you guys still in touch?”
He shook his head. “I was pretty beat up about it for a while. We actually haven’t talked in years.”
“How come you broke up?”
He rubbed his jaw. “She slept with a guy from her 1L section. Like, the first week of law school.”
“Ugh. Not cool.”
He nodded. “I think she does employment law for a local firm somewhere on Newbury Street.” He paused. “Honestly, it was for the best. I couldn’t see myself staying in Boston.”
“Is she dating anyone now?”
“No idea. I don’t ask Perry for updates.”
“Perry is your sister?”
He grinned. “You’ll like her. She’s two years younger than me but way more mature. She got engaged last year.”
I held back the unsolicited opinion that being engaged doesn’t necessarily equate to maturity.
I texted Caroline asking if she knew the appropriate attire forThe Nutcracker. She responded immediately to book an appointment with Rent the Runway on Fifteenth Street.
I stopped by on my way home later that evening, hoping they could fit me in. A tall, stylish brunette walked over with an iPad in hand. I told her I needed a last-minute dress forThe Nutcrackerand wasn’t sure where to start. She disappeared and came back with four dresses. When I tried on the last dress, we both knew I’d found the one: a deep-red floor-length sleeveless dress with an open back and a high neckline. As I waited for the stylist to process the gown rental, I texted Charlie.
Crisis averted. Found a dress. I’m going to look insane at that pub.
He responded immediately.
They’ll all be too drunk to notice. Actually, no. They’ll be just drunk enough to thinkThey’reunderdressed.
“All I can say isthatis a dress,” Charlie said as I climbed gingerly out of the Uber Black I’d ordered for the occasion. I hadn’t been this accessorized since my wedding. The gown was slightly too long. I was wearing the tallest heels I had, my three-and-a-quarter-inch black suede pumps I’d gotten on sale at Bloomingdale’s in SoHo. I had dug out a pair of vintage clip-ons I’d gotten years ago from an estate sale. I wasn’t used to wearing earrings, and I’d only worn the heels once before.
“You have five minutes to show me I’m not the most overdressed person here.”
“I already went inside to use the restroom. You’re the least dressy in the two- to eight-year-old demographic.”
“Humiliating.”
I hiked the gown as we approached the steps up to the David H. Koch Theater. Charlie extended his arm.
