For Every Missing Shade

Entry 16

I was still in my bed when I heard a knock at my door. I slowly walked downstairs to another knock, this time louder. I was still in my pajamas, so I decided to let it go unanswered.

I got a call from Emma.

"Hey, how's it going?" I said, checking my door to see if whoever knocked had left yet.

"Oh, I'm doing alright. Just trying to figure out why you're ignoring my knocks while wearing plaid boxers."

"Where are you?" I asked, embarrassed.

"Look behind you."

I saw a flash of brown hair bounce by one of my windows and saw a familiar face in my backyard. She looked absolutely gorgeous. She had on a navy blue dress and yellow heels. Her hair was curled, and her makeup was done.

She yelled through the door again. "Put some damn pants on and let me in!"

Still mesmerized, I unlocked the door for her. "What are you doing here? And why are you so dressed up?"

"We're in luck! One of the richest neighborhoods in Saint Louis is having a series of open houses. And, some of them have very nice houses that they want to sell. That's where you and I come in."

"Is this the part of our story where you tell me that you're secretly a millionaire, and you're going to buy me a house?"

"No, but our make-believe parents are! And they are on a very important trip for work, so they sent their trusty children to get the job done for them." She smiled behind some expensive-looking sunglasses and tilted them down to below her eyes. "So," She continued as she walked around my table. "You are going to go get dressed up real nice and fancy so we don't look like the hobos we are."

"Well, you have that last part right." I thought for a second. "I mean, I'm going to have to clear my schedule of TV and napping, but... screw it, alright. I'm in."

I started up the stairs to my room but caught myself before I was out of sight. "Hey, don't do, well, anything while I'm changing. Like, just sit down and put your hands in your lap."

She widened her eyes and emphasized every word, "Israel Taylor, don't you have any trust in me at all?" she folded her hands in front of her dress. "I promise I will be angelic."

"Okay. My parents aren't home, but that could change any minute. If they come back, please don't tell them the truth about ninety percent of what just happened here."

"My lips are sealed. Now go! The event starts in half an hour." She waved her hands at me, and I ran up the stairs.

I didn't have very many dress shirts and most were butt ugly to begin with.

One shirt was black with grey paisley around it. I lifted it in front of me to show her. "This one was from a dance where all of my friends decided it would be funny to dress up like eighties dads."

She fake gagged. "Even for a dad in the eighties, that would be a stretch of fashion."

I nodded in agreement. I moved over to my next dress shirt, a red and white checkered button-up. "This lovely number was bought when I got way too into country music. Thank the lord I didn't spend three hundred dollars to get the boots that the cashier recommended."

She widened her eyes and scrunched up her nose. "Next."

The last one I pulled out was a shirt that had broad stripes of different dark pastel colors. It looked like it belonged to someone with their hair slicked back, two gold chains, and yellow-tinted sunglasses.

"I don't know if I want to bust you for cheating on your wife or for dealing drugs. Maybe both. Either way, none of these are wearable."

"Well I don't have any other dress shirts, I guess I could just wear a polo and khakis?"