She grabbed her receipt book and started scribbling out a short description of each garment before handing it to Holly. ‘OK, this time tomorrow, good?’
Holly nodded; she knew she was being dismissed. She gave a little wave as she left the store.
Next, she made her way to the Korean deli next door, ordering butternut squash soup and crispy bread to go. She impatiently checked her watch as she waited at the counter; she only had ten minutes left to eat, and the knucklehead in front of her couldn’t find his wallet.Typical. Holly eyed the impeccably tailored midnight-black suit and the scuff-free Bruno Magli shoes. Wall Street for sure.
Back at the shop, Holly set out her lunch on the counter over a cloth napkin. Carole was very strict about keeping the place clean, and bug and rodent free (not an easy task downtown). She checked the time.Great, five minutes to eat.She drank the soup like coffee instead of enjoying it, and only took one bite of the bread before throwing the whole lot away.
The store got even busier as the day went on, and by the time she had a free moment, it was almost five.
Darn. She had promised Kate, that she would be home by five today, yet there was still a customer in the store, painfully making a decision over a Dior riding jacket.
She watched the young woman turn in front of the mirror for the umpteenth time, anxiously biting her lip.
‘I think it looks great!’ Holly said, sliding off her stool and walking over to her.
‘You’re supposed to say that,’ the woman eyed her dourly.
‘Maybe, but I wouldn’t want you to come back for a refund either.’
‘I just think I can’t … I’m not sure if I can pull it off. It’s too … much for me.’
Holly knew from experience that ‘too much for me’ usually meant ‘too good for me’.
‘Not if you wear it the right way,’ she said pleasantly. ‘By the way, do you know who wore that jacket?’ she added. ‘Well, maybe not that particular jacket, but something almost identical.’
The woman shook her head.
‘Faye Dunaway. She used to have a house upstate, with horses and everything.’ She smoothed the back of the jacket across the woman’s shoulders, and began pulling the sleeves down for a better fit. ‘She used to throw riding parties there, with people like Al Pacino and Clint Eastwood.’
The young woman’s eyebrows shot up. ‘Seriously?’
‘Yeah,’ Holly continued, ‘right before Al broke her heart, but it didn’t matter, she rebounded with … what’s his name? You know the one.’ She continued to shape the jacket and could see the woman physically become more relaxed and comfortable in it, finally looking at her reflection with a smile rather than a frown. ‘You have hair just like her, you know. Maybe blow it out, add some tight jeans and heels with the jacket and you’re good to go.’
The woman nodded receptively, ‘You really think so?’
‘Absolutely.’
Then she smiled and shook her head. ‘OK, you’ve got me. I’ll take it.’
Holly grinned. ‘I promise you won’t regret it.’
She was just starting to cash out and run receipts when Carole breezed in. ‘Sorry I was gone so long … ’ She paused and looked at Holly. ‘In a hurry?’
‘Sort of. Kate has a date tonight and I promised I’d be home by five.’
A good friend as well as helping her out with Danny, Holly wanted to give Kate moral support before her date, not just thank her for collecting Danny from school and giving him mac ’n’ cheese. Kate had had terrible luck with men lately – not that Holly’s luck was any better. But at least she was choosy, whereas Kate seemed to date anyone … the guy she met at a hot-dog stand, the bass player from a club last month, not to mention the guy who did her taxes and got her audited by the IRS.
‘Well then, shoo, it’s almost five after,’ Carole chided. ‘I’ll take care of that.’
‘Are you sure? I hate leaving you in the lurch … ’
‘Don’t be silly; usually I can’t get rid of you!’ she joked. ‘Seriously, go.’
Holly duly handed the cash and receipts over and gathered her things.
‘Thanks, Carole, see you tomorrow.’ Heading out the door, she flipped the sign to closed so that no one would bother her boss after hours.
She made it back home in record time, and pounded up the stairs to her apartment. Before she could slip her key in the lock, Danny opened the door.
