Nights Like This

Chapter 35

The next afternoon Metty parked her decrepit Ford next to a Mercedes at Seaside Thrift. There was one pickup truck in the lot, a very expensive one, but most cars were in the same luxury category as the Mercedes. One looked like Marco's Porsche. She locked her car and entered the shop.

Two-thirds of the store was designated for clothes, divided into sections for men, women and children. She spotted a fur, possibly fox, on a mannequin wearing a red dress. She checked the tag. It was fox, price $15. She didn't see Memo so she browsed through the women's section. There were some clothes in size 12 she thought might fit. She pulled out a forest green dress with gold details and a label from a famous designer. She thought it might be right for the dance. The price tag read $35.

She checked the racks, but only saw three that might fit her: a red that was too low cut and skimpy for her taste, a gold that was too garish, and a white that was bland. She wondered if any of them were the dresses Memo mentioned. She took the white out. It had a beautiful empire cut, though. Maybe she could dress it up with jewelry or a shawl. She was holding it next to a green shawl when she heard Memo say her name. 

"Hello, Metty, I was in back when you came."

She turned around. "Hi. I've been looking at evening dresses. What do you think of this white one?

"Hmmmm. Could be fixed up a bit. Let me show you the dresses I told you about. I set them aside."

She put the white dress back and followed Memo to a door marked "Employees Only." He opened the door and, reaching inside, took out two dresses. Metty gasped.

One had a tight, dark green bodice with spaghetti straps and a skirt in shades of green. Metty loved it. The greens would set off her warm coloring.

Memo held it up to her. It dragged on the ground. He hung it on a hook and held out the other. It was black velvet, severely cut, with a modest neckline and cap sleeves. It was stunning. Metty touched the soft fabric.

"Oh, this is stunning."

"Yeah, you wouldn't think plain black could be so great." He handed her the dresses and pointed to a dressing room. She went in, shut the door and hung the dresses on hooks.

She examined them for a minute, then took off her pants and shirt. She had worn the shapewear, realizing it smoothed her figure attractively. She took the green off its hanger and pulled it over her head. Settling it into place, she zipped up the back and adjusted the straps.

She twirled in front of the mirror. The skirt panels floated in shades of dark and light green, but a piece dragged on the floor. Holding up the skirt, she walked out to show Memo.

He nodded. "Really nice. Bit on the summer side. Also, this layer is torn." He pulled a green layer that was hanging loose. "Easy enough to fix."

He took some pictures of her in the dress. She went back in the dressing room and put on the black velvet. She examined herself in the mirror. The dress made her skin look luminous and fit sleekly to her curves. She smoothed the dress over her hips and walked out to show Memo.

His eyes opened wide. "That's the one. The right accessories and you'll be stunning."

She walked over to him. A man and woman walked past them, carrying armfuls of clothes. The man turned to look at her.

"What do I need? A shawl? I don't have an evening coat. Just a couple of jackets."

"That brown cloth one?" Memo asked. She nodded.

"Get it cleaned. There's a school of thought that says you're going to leave the coat in the coatroom, so it doesn't matter. If it's the best you've got."

"Okay," she said. She looked down at her jogging shoes. "I've got black shoes. And a white purse."

Memo shook his head. "Let's check here. There're usually a few purses." He handed her a white shawl. She wrapped it around her shoulder. Memo took it and draped it gracefully around her, leaving the ends hanging.

She looked in the mirror.

"I think this will do it," he said. "Do your hair, makeup, nails. Do you have any jewelry?"

"No real stuff, except for a pearl pendant and studs I got for Confirmation. And a gold chain."

Memo thought for a moment. "The pearls will do nicely. If you could add a glittery brooch, maybe pearl and diamond, you know, costume jewelry."

Metty left Seaside Thrift with a dress, shawl, tiny black velvet shoulder bag, and a brooch with a large pearl—the moon to crystal stars. Under $50 dollars, leaving her enough money to buy shoes and get a manicure.