I’m glad he’s coming, but I laugh a little on the inside. Poor guy has no idea what he’s gotten himself into. The kids are going to eat him alive.
Chapter 31
Rhea - Shopping with the Ladies
“What about this?” I hold up a floor length dress in a pale blue colour and Xena makes a face.
“No. That’s like an ugly bridesmaid’s dress. Here,” she says and passes me an armload of dresses. “Try these on. One of them is going to be the one.”
I pass the stack of dresses to the saleswoman who’s been hovering nearby, waiting to start a fitting room for me, and follow her to the back of the small dress shop. I’ve only been in a store like this once before, and that was to pick up the strange flamenco style bridesmaid dress I wore for an old college friend’s wedding.
It’s not a coincidence that we lost touch after she made me wear that thing. Out of six bridesmaids I was the only one looking like a flamenco dancer, and I didn’t even know it until the ceremony. I guess it was her way of getting back at me for a crush that I wasn’t even aware her fiance had on me at some point in the distant past.
That’s besides the point, anyway. I’m uncomfortable in this store. My clothing choices tend toward the sporty and casual. Now that I’m not wearing a uniform every day, it’s even more casual. This store is way out of my comfort zone. Good thing I brought Xena. She seems to know what she’s doing here.
The sales lady hangs up the dresses that Xena picked out and directs me into the fitting room. She tells me to call her if I need a different size and then leaves me to my own devices.
The first dress is made for a much shorter woman. It barely covers my ass and even though I am looking for something that Aiden will find irresistible, having my flaps hang lower than the hem on my dress is not an option. The second and third dresses are better, but I don’t like them enough to even leave the fitting room in them, let alone wear them out on a date. The fourth dress is the one.
It’s a little shorter than knee-length with a slightly flared skirt, but not as indecent as the first dress, and it’s black. The cap sleeves and high neckline look modest, but the back is open to my lower back with just a small ribbon up at the neck to tie it.
“Xena, where are you? I think this is the one.” I step out of the dressing room to look in the three-way mirror just outside the door, to find not only Xena but also Alex, Denise, Becca, Ivy, and the Titty Club, all waiting to see me. “Oh shit, I didn’t know this was an ambush.”
“Surprise!” Gran and her titty club friends yell. They’re all in matching tracksuits again, just with different shades of teal as the theme. They still have the white sneakers, and Gran is still wearing her ‘fuck bitches, get money’ hat. “We found out you were going on a little date and decided you needed our help to choose an appropriate outfit. And I don’t think that dress is it.”
“What? First of all, how did you ‘find out’? And second of all, what’s wrong with this dress? I think it’s perfect.”
“Devon told us,” Becca says. “He got the inside scoop from Xena and filled us in.”
“And that dress is so boring,” Gladys says. “Even I wear more revealing dresses than that and I’m so old I’m practically mummified.”
“It is pretty plain,” Gran adds. “Nothing much special to it.”
These guys are nuts. This is more risque than any dress I’ve ever worn.
“Did you see the back?” I ask, turning to show them the complete lack of fabric. “I think that is what makes this dress special.”
They make noises of approval. I guess the back really does it for them. Or, the lack of a back, that is.
“Well, why didn’t you say so?” Gladys chuckles. “If I’d noticed that, I wouldn’t have said anything. Except I really do have more revealing dresses, you know. You need to have a really, really low neckline if you want any cleavage when your boobs hang down to your belt.”
Gran and Lana laugh and nod in agreement. I guess they too have more revealing clothes. Seems funny that I’ve only ever seen them in tracksuits. Even when Gran was by herself at dinner the other day, she was wearing a tracksuit. I wonder if it’s a club uniform or something?
“Okay, that’s the dress.” Xena claps her hands together, then says, “Now go get changed so we can buy that and move on to shoes.”
“Oh, I know just the place to go,” Denise says excitedly. “I get all my shoes there.” She points down at her feet, which are sporting electric blue stiletto booties, despite her pregnant belly. I can barely do heels as it is. I doubt I’d be able to pull it off pregnant. That seems like too much hassle to me. She looks amazing, though, so I guess it’s working for her.
I turn back into the dressing room, closing the door on the conversation that starts up between all the women about what shoes will look best with this dress. If it were up to me, I’d probably just wind up wearing my old combat boots, so it’s probably a good thing that I have this team of women helping me out. I can’t deny that the few times I’ve seen Denise, I’ve loved the shoes she’s wearing. Maybe this store we’re going to has something a little flatter for me though. I’m already pretty tall. Do I really need to add to that with a super high heel?
After I pay for my dress, we all pile into separate vehicles and make our way to the store that Denise recommended. It’s just a few blocks from Xena’s coffee shop, in the opposite direction of my place, but still within the section of the city that houses all the trendiest specialty shops. Yes, that means that the creepy doll store under my apartment is a trendy shop.
Xena and I are the last to arrive at the shoe shop, the not very originally named Sole Mates, and by the time I walk in, the other women already have a pile of shoe boxes full of shoes that they want me to try on. I didn’t even tell them my shoe size. One of them must be a magical shoe wizard. My money is on Denise.
“Okay, these are all the options that will work with your dress, that they have in your size. Sit down, and let’s start trying on shoes.” Denise can barely contain her excitement. Her love for shoes is contagious. I’m almost convinced I actuallywantto try all these shoes on. Almost.
“How did you know my size? Tell me the truth. Are you some sort of shoe wizard?” I ask her, squinting and giving her a once over.
“I’m pretty sure shoe wizards are actually just leprechauns. And last I checked, I was not a leprechaun. I am good at guessing shoe sizes, though. It probably comes from back when I used to work a part-time job in a shoe store after school. I’m sure you can guess that I loved it there.”
