“What about your escort?” Lili jokes.
“Michael already has a date. But he wouldn’t be my first choice, regardless.”
Oh.
“So, it’s—like, as a date?” she asks.
“Yes, Lili. As a date.”
She chews her lip, considering the unexpected snap of unease when she first saw the photograph, clarification of the sharp shadows of—something. Growing shapes of meaning, pointing to outlines of potential loss, absence that is full for now.
But the threat of loss, and absence—it hinges on the swell of having.
“Okay,” Lili breathes. Near a whisper, but clear.
“Yes?”
“Yes,” she repeats. “Yeah, I’d really like that.”
“Alright,” Amina says, stepping back. “What do you think?”
Lili examines her reflection in Amina’s mirror.
It’s a beautiful dress—stunning, really. Black, simple, fitted but still loose enough to be suggestive rather than overt. Its high neckline skims under her collarbones. Silk, sleeveless, but an entirely open back.
“It’s—yeah, it’s nice,” Lili says, turning around. The open back dips low enough to see the dimples at the base of her spine. “Gorgeous, actually.”
Amina nods approvingly. “It’s Demeulemeester. I thought you’d like that. A bit alt, avant-garde, deconstructivist, but still totally flies for black tie. Sort of like a wink, a nod, you know? And I got it off TheRealReal, so it’s actively anti-capitalist.”
“Exactly, fuck the system,” Jackie comments, as she holds a lush green minidress against her body in the mirror. “All those rich SoHo girls outside TheRealReal? Major Engels fans.”
“Shut up, or you’re not borrowing that,” Amina snaps. “It’d be nice if you wore your hair up,” she adds, turning back to Lili and gathering her hair at the nape of her neck. “Like this, sort of.”
Lili smiles, seeing how her hair drawn back opens up her face, revealing her cheekbones, a shine in her eyes. Like she sees something pleasing in her own face. “It’s beautiful, genuinely.”
“It’s yours.”
Lili looks at her sharply. “What?”
“Pretend it’s a belated birthday gift.”
“Yougotme a birthday gift.”
“Just pretend this is another one.”
“Amina, no—I’m not comfortable with that, this is expensive—”
“I’m never going to wear it anyway,” Amina says. “I got itespeciallyfor you. It’s supposed to be floor-length, but it comes up to, like, my knees.”
“I found out I was going to this gala yesterday.”
“Yeah, well, sometimes I get things because I know they’ll look good on you.”
“That’s insane! Do you have any idea how privileged that sounds?”
“Lili,” Amina insists, irritated. “It makes me happy to give you this. Genuinely. So, you’re actively making me unhappy by arguing.”
“That’s not—”
