“No problem, Sunshine. We’re going to an open-air mall. Lots of room, and it’s a weekday, so it won’t be crowded.”
“It sounds like a great idea,” Zander interjects. “You should get some lighter clothes. It is much hotter here than you’re used to. You can get whatever you need for track, and you’ll need a suit for the wedding Saturday too, Summer.”
I look between them, uncertain.Be brave Summer.“Please?” Gabby begs.
A new beginning, I remind myself. Taking a fortifying breath, “Ok,” I nod. “Let’s go shopping.”
“Yay!” Gabby cheers. “I promise you’ll have fun, Summer.”
“Summer, take my card with you. Get whatever you need,” Zander offers, pulling out a card from his wallet.
“No thanks, Zander. I’ve got money.” He opens his mouth to protest, but I raise an eyebrow and stare at him.
“Fine,” he mutters, his gaze becoming thoughtful. “I’ll transfer some money into your account instead.” He quickly pulls out his phone and starts typing.
We decide to have lunch before we leave, so Zander grills chicken while Gabby and I prepare a salad. I ask Zander to come shopping with us, but he declines, saying he wants to enjoy being lazy before he’s back at work full time.
After lunch, we head outside to the Jeep. Gabby gets in the backseat with me, acting like Seb really is a chauffeur. Seb rollshis eyes and goes along with it. Gabby noticed my driver’s manual on the couch and got her beginner’s permit a few months ago, so she talks me through the written test as Seb drives. She’s bubbly and sweet, so I don’t have to worry about finding things to say, and she keeps the conversation going the entire drive. We go over the bridge to Charleston as Seb drives us to an outlet mall.
“Summer first stops are for track and cheer. Let’s hit the sports stores,” Gabby declares. We get out, Seb and I following her down the row of stores to the end. “This outlet mall has an app, Summer. If you download it on your phone, you’ll get alerts for coupons and sales. There’s a 30% off coupon you can use today for one store. I’m getting new sneakers with it.”
“Okay, I’ll download it now,” I reply, getting my phone out. We enter a shoe outlet first, and Gabby heads straight for the athletic shoes. I’m a bit overwhelmed for a minute with all the choices.
“What brand did you run in before, Sunshine?” Seb asks.
Yeah, that helps. I’ll focus on that brand. I walk down the wall of sneakers until I find the correct brand and style. Seb helps me grab a couple in my size to try on. I’ve found two that are comfortable, but I keep eyeing the mint green ones.
“Get the green Sunshine. You keep staring at them,” Seb looks at me.
“You’re right,” I nod. I box them up as Seb helps me put the rest back. That wasn’t too bad, especially with Seb to help me. The store is also quite large, and like Seb said, it’s not busy today.
Gabby comes over carrying a box of sneakers. “Do you have any sandals, Summer?”
“Um, no, I don’t.” In Virginia, I rarely wore them. Being up in the mountains meant they weren’t necessary even in midsummer.
“You’ll need a pair around here. Follow me.” Gabby chooses a few pairs of cute sandals for me to try on, and I end up liking one pair. Next, we stop at the dress shoes, but I veto the high heels. Gabby brings me to the boots and chooses two pairsof black, dressier boots with sturdy soles. One has a little chunky heel, the other is flat, and both have a hidden side zipper. I try both on and end up choosing the chunky heel. She assures me they are dressy enough to wear with a suit. Gabby and I both use the 30% off coupon for the footwear. It’s more than I’ve ever spent at once, but I know I need them.
The next stop is a sports clothing store. They’re having a clearance sale that Gabby gets excited about. She asks what I wear running and quickly has an armload of sales clothes for me to try on. She fills a changing room for me, then grabs a bunch of clothes for herself. “Whatever you like, Summer, make a separate pile,” she calls out. “If you need a different size, fling it over the door and tell Seb. He can grab it for you.” She enters the dressing room beside me, closing the door. I do the same and take a minute to separate out the tops, bottoms, and sports bras. I never even noticed she grabbed those for me.
I find one sports bra that fits well and leave that on. I have only two bras that don’t fit properly since I bought them at a box department store without trying them on, only getting them out of necessity after the accident. The style of the other two are great, but they don’t fit. Not running track last year had one upside - my breasts have filled out. Setting the two I like aside, I’m not willing to have Seb exchange sizes for me.
Most of the tank tops fit. They are a variety of styles, and many have cut-outs on the back or sides. The fabric is much lighter than I usually wear. I pick several styles and soft colors to buy, along with a few plain t-shirts as well. I can hear Gabby telling Seb to get her some different colors and sizes next door. Gabby didn’t grab any leggings, so I try on the shorts next. I pick a few loose mid-thigh pairs I like, but they’re too big. I put them on the door and ask Seb for one size down, and he quickly grabs them off the door. I try on the short spandex-style shorts and they fitwell.
“Here ya go, Sunshine.” Seb flops the new sizes over the door for me.
“Thanks,” I reply, grabbing them. When I’ve tried on everything Gabby set aside, I put my clothes back on and pick up the pile I want to buy along with the two bras I need to switch sizes on. Opening the door, I see Seb sitting on a chair outside the dressing room, looking around the store.
“How’d it go, Sunshine?”
“Good. I need to grab a few more items.” Seb gets up to follow. “You can wait for Gabby, Seb. I’ll only be a minute,” I say, blushing. I don’t need Seb watching me pick out sports bras.
Seb must see me getting red. “Sure, Sunshine,” he shrugs and sits back down.
I quickly find the sports bras and grab a few in the correct size, and also grab a pair of leggings and some new athletic socks. I check out while Seb and Gabby are still by the dressing rooms. As the cashier hands me my bags, Gabby and Seb step up to the counter.
“Yay, you got a bunch of stuff,” Gabby smiles. She sets a few tops on the counter for herself and a pair of shorts. I step back with Seb until she finishes, then we head to the car to drop off our purchases.
Gabby leads me to the other side of the mall, where we stop at a dressier store. She helps me pick out a black suit for the wedding on Sunday and a cute button-up sleeveless blouse to go with it. Again, the fabric is much lighter than I expected. Gabby tells me it’s a linen blend. Next, we hit a popular clothing store that also has a huge sale on. It’s harder for me to shop in this store because I don’t feel like I actually need any regular clothes, unlike track. Gabby’s enthusiasm is infectious, though, and I soon have an armload of outfits to try on. This time, I’m told to model the outfits Gabby put together for me. The first outfit is a skirt and blouse combination. I’m not crazy about skirts, but I step out to showthem anyway.
