Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
Something in me knew that Cassie and Matilda hadn’t come to the store just to buy dresses or<br />
earrings, a fact confirmed when Cassie returned on her own two days later, just before closing time.<br />
“I thought I’d take you up on the offer to help me accessorize,” she said, pulling a little black dress<br />
out of a shopping bag.<br />
“Oh great, yeah.”<br />
I was surprised at how happy I was to see her. She followed me to the dressing rooms, my<br />
nervousness making me uncharacteristically chatty.<br />
“I have a pair of gold hoops and a cuff that’ll look amazing with that dress. What size are your<br />
feet? You need to try everything on with shoes.”<br />
“Eight,” she said, slipping into a stall.<br />
I dashed to my office ahead of her, catching myself in the mirror: cat glasses, cream-colored<br />
twinset and A-line plaid skirt. I looked like an extra on Happy Days. I didn’t even need glasses. Ugh.<br />
Why did I suddenly care what I had on? I flipped through my index cards and cross-referenced them<br />
to the second drawer of the third filing cabinet where I stored my gold hoops; the drawer below held<br />
my cuffs. I was saving the big hoops for a Cher-type outfit, but on Cassie, with a simple black dress,<br />
they’d be stunning. Cassie poked open the office door, trying not to look shocked at my hive of<br />
inventory.<br />
“Wow. There’s a whole other store back here.”<br />
“Trust me,” I said. “I know it looks like a lot of stuff, but I know exactly where everything is.”<br />
I pulled her in front of the nearest mirror.<br />
“The top is a little snug. I haven’t worn it since Jazz Fest,” she said, tugging at the halter.<br />
She looked gorgeous in black and I said so. I was about to snap the cuff around her wrist when I<br />
noticed her charm bracelet; it was unlike anything I’d seen before.<br />
“That’s a stunning piece,” I said, holding up her wrist to get a better look at it. Normally, charm<br />
bracelets did nothing to charm me. They were often so trinket-y, but this one was distinctive. It was<br />
made with my favorite kind of gold too, pale yellow, with that rough hammered finish. The chain was<br />
thick, almost masculine, and each charm had a Roman numeral engraved on one side, a word on the<br />
other.<br />
“Curiosity … Generosity … Courage—where did you get this?” I asked.<br />
Cassie gently pried her wrist free.<br />
“It was … given to me.”<br />
“It’s about as beautiful a thing as I’ve ever seen. Whoever gave this to you thinks very highly of<br />
you.”<br />
“I think you might be right about that,” she said. “But does it go with this dress?”<br />
“Mmm … Not really. It overwhelms it. Why don’t you try this—?”<br />
I traded a simple cuff for her bracelet. When she dropped it in my palm, it felt heavy, pleasing; it<br />
took everything in me not to slip it on my own wrist.<br />
“No necklace?” she asked, sliding the cuff over her bare wrist.<br />
“Not with a halter dress,” I said with authority, my attention still drawn to the bracelet in my hand.<br />
“These hoops will add a bit of sparkle. But I would keep the sides of your hair up.”<br />
She took the earrings from my other hand and held them next to her lobes.<br />
“See? Perfect,” I said.<br />
“You’re right. That’s perfect. Wrap them up.”<br />
She passed me the earrings and held out her hand. It was the strangest sensation, my reluctance to<br />
return her bracelet.