The Pretty Sister

Making Appearances

Chapter 16

“I have some major respect for you, Brick,” said Chris. “I could not withstand this shopping thing all the time. It is nice to see the women in a dress, but they won’t even parade the dresses like they do in the movies.” 

Brick just merely nodded as he did a quick scan of the dress shop. Besides the assistants that were not attending Fiona, but pestering his brother and him, there was only one other shopper. 

“How do you think this looks? The party is a black-tie thing, right?”  Fiona twirled in the mirror as she tried to catch the silver dress from every angle. 

“Yes. I think the dress is very pretty on you, but any dress would be.” Fiona sighed.

“Alice, seriously. You have to tell me the truth. I don’t need you to help inflate my ego.” She stared at Alice with her hands on her hips. 

“It is true though. You are beautiful in everything you wear.” Alice fiddled with a piece of hair that fell in front of her face as she looked down. She looked almost jealous. 

“Alice, you are very beautiful.”

Alice looked up with a bit of skepticism. “Do not placate me either.”

Fiona was going to say that she had not been lying, but Alice did not look like she would believe it any more than she did the first time. 

“You are very pretty. Even that you must admit. You have yourself a boyfriend. That is more than I can say.”

“Hmm. I don’t know for how long. I just feel. . . Oh my. I can’t believe that I was going . . .never mind. Let’s focus on you.”

Fiona could see that she had opened something up in Alice. Maybe something she had noticed, but never had the courage to say out loud. While her life may be a mess, she hoped she could make someone else’s better. Maybe even live the uncomplicatedness vicariously through them. 

“Go on. We can have a little girl time as we shop.” She told the attendant to bring over another dress. The silver was more of a drab gray in her own opinion. 

“It is way too personal. I just met you. I couldn’t possibly tell you.”

“Who else do you have to tell? Do you have another friend here?”

Alice looked down again. “No, I don’t. We came by ourselves after our graduation. We met at the local community college. I was aimless, but Billy knew he wanted to be an actor. So he did a lot of local drama productions. He is so good, I’m sure. “ Fiona watched as Alice’s eyes lit up at the mention of her boyfriend. “It is just that I’m working all the time and Billy is going to auditions. We hardly have time for each other. There is no way we can make friends with other couples either. It can be lonely sometimes.” 

Fiona knew what the life was like. While her family was close, they were all trying to start their lives as well when she first started. None of them understood what the acting life was like. The endless auditions. The excitement that turned to disappointment when you aren’t called back. The wondering if it is all worth it. 

“Well, starting now, you have me. So tell me what is on your mind.” She pulled on the next dress. The pastel green strapless hung too tight. She motioned for the attendant to pull the zipper back down. She needed to breathe.

“Well, you know this is the state of the beautiful people.”

Fiona nodded as she motioned for another dress. This time, it was bright pink. She could tell this was screaming Barbie! 

“Well, I am just plain ol’ Alice while Billy runs into other beautiful beginner actresses during his roll calls. He is even insisting that I call him Will because Billy is just ‘so country mouse’. I feel jealous that he is always surrounded by these beautiful women. I just feel so dull compared to them. They at least have a dream. I don’t. I am just aimlessly going around. I don’t know what I would do if he left. I would be so lost. Still, I feel like it could happen soon. I am not stupid. I know men can only resist temptation for so long. He can go so far with one of them on his arm rather than me. “