No Good Hoodlum

shopping with audrey

Penny goes shopping with Audrey

°°°

Too bland. Too dark. Too patterned. Too ugly. Every single dress I looked at wasn't my style at all. Nothing screamed Penny, and all I was looking for was a whisper.

"Audrey, can we go home? Nothing suits me here," I whined as she filed through various racks of dresses.

"Somethin' has to," she squeaked. "Oh, what about this?"

Audrey held up a gaudy purple skirt with red trim. It was sort of pretty, just not something I would ever wear. But I wanted to appease her, so I agreed anyways.

"Okay, I'll consider it," I said, taking it from her hands and hanging it over my shoulder.

I filed through some other racks but sighed. I didn't want to admit the real reason I hated clothes shopping was because it was the last thing I did with my mom before she passed. Now, it just left any empty hole in my stomach. Audrey was great, but when it came to clothes she picked out what she liked, not necessarily what the person she was shopping for liked. My mom was great at picking things out for me. She could always spot the white turtleneck in the sea of chiffon blouses. 

"How about this?" Audrey asked, holding up a dress.

The dress was almost identical to the one my mom bought for me during that last shopping trip. I never wore it. After she died two days later, I balled it up in the back of my closet and never saw it again. Whoever lived in that apartment now could have it.

"Penny? You alright, sweetheart?"

I looked up at Audrey, wiping my eyes.

"Y-yeah," I mumbled, something I did when I was upset. 

"Really? Penny, I've known you for a while now, and I can tell when you're upset."

I took a breath.

"Clothes shopping was the final thing me and my mom did together, and she bought me a dress almost identical to that one," I said shakily.

"Oh," Audrey said softly, putting it back on the rack. "S-sorry hun."

We paid for the skirt and walked to the car silently. Audrey didn't speak the whole time, and I felt like complete and utter shit. I shouldn't have said anything. 

"Hey girls, how was your trip?" asked Seymour as we walked through the door.

"It was fine," I muttered, before trudging to my room and collapsing on my bed.

I could hear crying from the living room, and I felt even worse about it. Goddamn it Penny! When will you learn to keep your stupid mouth shut!

"I've fucked everything up," I muttered into my pillow.

"Penny?"

There was a knock out my door and I heard Audrey squeak my name.

"Come in," I said, weakly.

"I'm sorry, hun. If I had known I wouldn't have taken ya."

"It's really alright, Audrey. You didn't know. Besides, at least it showed you can pick out clothes in other people's styles."

Audrey flushed bright red.

"Ya, I'm not too good at that..." she said softly.

"It's okay. We appreciate your fashion help."

"I should just have Seymour take you from now on."

"Maybe, but I enjoy it with you."

"Really?"

"Duh."

Audrey and I giggled and embraced in a hug.

"So, how do you like the skirt?" she asked.

"Oh, I hate it," I said, "I was lying."

"I could tell."

We both burst into laughter again, and just like that, everything was okay once again.