She pulled things out one by one and showed them off to us. A yellow sundress I’d worn for an entire summer the year I turnedtwenty. A flannel so worn it had gone nearly translucent at the elbows. A denim jacket with a broken zipper I’d fully intended to fix and never did.
Each piece pulled up a memory.
Then Rose pulled out a pair of jeans and held them up by the belt loops, and I felt a jolt of pure recognition.
“For real? I forgot all about these.” I reached out and took them from her, running my finger along the frayed hem. They were dark-wash denim in a low-rise fit with hearts sewn on the back pockets.
They were soft from a thousand washes. I’d loved those jeans more than anything.
And I’d gotten rid of them along with a lot of other clothes when I decided I needed to try on life in a grown-up style instead of my old, ratty mish-mash clothing collection.
Rose was already grinning. “Try them on.”
“Rose.”
“Try them on right now.”
“They’re twelve years old! And I think they were out of fashion even when they were new.”
“Low-rise is coming back.” She reached back into the bag and pulled out a thin white t-shirt, shaking it out so I could read the faded iron-on print across the chest.Girls Are Like Country Roads. The Best Ones Have Curves.“Wear this with it.”
I’d forgotten all about that shirt.
This was the outfit I’d worn to the dinerallthe time, trying to catch Zane’s eye.
Kelly burst out laughing from across the room when she saw the shirt.
“That was your Snatch-A-Zane look. You never know. It could still work!”
“They probably won’t even fit,” I muttered.
But that didn’t stop me from stripping down and shimmying into the jeans. After I pulled the shirt over my head, I asked, “How do I look?”
Both my friends sat there with the happiest looks on their faces.
Then Kelly said, “You look like Mallory now. Not a corporate drone. I love it!”
“Hey, I donotdress like a corporate drone.”
But maybe they were right. I’d shown up today in what I’d considered my weekend wear when I lived in Chicago. And it had been ten times dressier than what Kelly and Rose were wearing.
Then I turned to look at myself, and a piece of my heart melted on the spot. Ididlook like me.
The denim sat exactly where it always had, hugging the full curve of my hips and the thickness of my thighs in a way that had always made me feel like I was built exactly right for them. My ass lookedfantastic. That part hadn’t changed. And my belly still hung over the top, just like it had all those years ago, but that was part of life, right?
I stood there for a moment longer than I needed to, studying my own reflection.
These clothes were just a memory of who I used to be. Even if they fit, this wasn’t me. Not anymore.
Kelly blurted out, “Thatis your outfit for the Bear Den tonight.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Mallory.”
“Kelly, I am thirty-three years old.”
“And you look incredible.” She crossed her arms, satisfied with herself.
