"Hello?" Pt. 2

December 15th 2016

"Hello?"

"Sophie?"

"Yeah?"

"Now, don't be angry-"

"But?"

"It really is not my fault, I swear!"

"What have you done?"

"It's kinda more like, what I'm about to do."

"What are you about to do?"

"Make you hate me."

"Daniel?"

"Yeah?"

"Spit it out!"

"So, I was in the kitchen at work and in walked Peter Mathers."

"..."

"We got talking and everything was going well."

"..."

"But then, he turned to me and asked if I wanted to go to the staff party tomorrow night."

"..."

"And I said, 'Yes, why not?'"

"..."

"Then he told me that I could bring a plus one, so I said that I'd bring you."

"..."

"To the staff party. Tomorrow night."

"..."

"Sophie?"

"Just to be clear- you want me to go with you to the staff party tomorrow night?"

"Please."

"Tomorrow night? A party?"

"I think you're beginning to see why I believe that you would end up hating me."

"You're giving me twenty-four-hour notice of a party?! What type of sadist are you?"

"..."

"I don't have a hair appointment, I don't have a waxing appointment, I haven't seen my manicurist in almost a week and I ran out of foundation this morning. To cap it all off, I don't have a dress!"

"You have plenty of dresses."

"Be realistic, Daniel. It's a party, I'll need a new dress. Gah, I need to find a dress!"

"I can pick one up for you on the way home later if you want."

"You will do no such thing. No, this calls for desperate measures."

"Which would be?"

"Off the rack."

"Off the rack."

"I'm going to have to suck it up and brave Harrods. Or Selfridges. Or Harvey Nichols. Or Browns. I wonder if I pull a few strings, I could get Net-a-Porter to deliver on the same day."

"Or, here's a radical idea, but you could call Camille and ask her for a dress."

"Camille? My mum, you mean? Oh, no, I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"Well... she's kinda angry ith me."

"You didn't tell me about this. What have you done to upset her?"

"I invited my French cousins to come on the hen party with us."

"And that's angered your mother?"

"In a way. Some of my cousins on that side are really nice, but Laure? No, she is not nice."

"And you invited her?"

"You invite one, you invite the whole lot."

"Right, so you can't ask Camille, then?"

"Not until Thursday of next week."

"That's a very specific timeframe."

"It seemed like an eight-day cooling off situation."

"..."

"Is there a dress code for the party?"

"Not that I know of."

"Cocktail, evening, party?"

"Not a clue."

"Can you find out?"

"I could. -Evie! What's the dress code for tomorrow's party?-"

<<Evening.>>

"Evening, Soph."

"I can make that work. I have to go now. I need to create a mood board."

"A mood board?"

"Outfits don't just plan themselves, Daniel."

"Right..."

"Trust me, I'm a woman. I know these things."

"..."

"Any other surprises you want to spring on me?"

"No, that was it."

"Wonderful. Oh, by the way, Hetty-"

"Ate my slippers?"

"She didn't eat them."

"She just chewed them."

"You know about that?"

"I caught her running back to her bed with one of my slippers dragging from her mouth this morning."

"Oh."

"Yep."

"Well... I love you. Even if you no longer have slippers."

"Thanks, I think. I love you, too."

"Bye, Daniel."

"Bye, Sophie."