"Well, why didn't you say so, hon?" the woman smiled as she extended her hand. "I'm Vivica, but everyone calls me Viv. What kind of dress do you need, hon?"
"Something pretty?" I said unsure of what she meant.
"Pretty? You need something pretty?" Viv chuckled. "Darlin', we have all kinds of pretty in this shop. You're going to have to be much more specific than that!"
"It's a formal reception at London House," I said not sure what else she wanted to know, then quickly adding, "It's for a business merger."
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"Oooooh, now that's a serious kind of fancy," Viv said as she quickly crossed the small shop and began rifling through a rack of dresses that were set off to one side. She turned back and looked at me, asking, "What's your name, hon?"
"Grace," I said. "Grace Miller."
As she perused the dresses Viv said, “Well, Grace, go ahead and put your suitcase down and come tell me how you want to look tomorrow night."
"I don't know," I admitted. "I just want to look beautiful and elegant."
"See? You do know," Viv gently scolded. "Every girl knows how she wants to look for the ball."
"It's just a business function," I reminded her. "It's not like a wedding or something. I just want to look like I belong."
As soon as the words left my mouth I felt myself tearing up. Everything that had happened over the past month came tumbling into my brain all at once. Mamm and Dat were gone. Faith and Hope had shunned me along with the rest of the community who were now threatening to shun the siblings I'd left behind. The store was deeply in debt with no way of digging out of it now that Uncle Amos had made it off limits to the community and forbade them from shopping there. We had no real income to support the farm. And Adam. Then there was Adam Wallace.
"Hon, what color do you want to wear?" Viv asked as she pulled a bright green dress from the rack and then shook her head and put it back.
"Nothing flashy," I said not wanting to stand out from the crowd. "I want to look elegant. Classy."
"Ahh, how about a beautiful, black gown?" Viv suggested, holding up a lace and taffeta dress that had a plunging neckline that was way more than I was willing to risk.
"No black!" I declared. "None!"
"Okay, well, tell me how you really feel about it," Viv chuckled as she pushed a few more dresses aside before looking me up and down as she murmured, "Six maybe, eight, or a small ten."
Viv pulled a couple of dresses from the rack and held them up to me as she talked to herself. She nodded as she tossed a navy-blue dress in velvet over her arm followed by an ivory gown and a red gown, then she nodded at me and said, "Follow me."
Viv led me across the thick carpet to a room that looked unlike any fitting room I'd ever seen before. On one side of the room was a small area that had been divided by a tall silk screen covered in tiny violets. To the right of it was a small sitting area with purple velvet chairs arranged around a low table that held a tray of intricately decorated cookies and cakes and a pitcher of frosty lemonade that sweat onto the doily underneath it.
"How did you—" I began.
"Any time the doorbell rings once and doesn't quickly ring again, my assistant preps the refreshments and brings them out," Viv smiled as she moved behind the screen and began hanging up the dresses. She called, "Have something to eat and drink, hon!"
I poured myself a glass of lemonade and turned to look at the other side of the room where an enormous, round platform stood in front of a mirror that nearly encircled it. I walked over and caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and then quickly backed away, feeling completely out of place. The panic began rising as I realized just how out of place I was. I had set my glass down and headed for the door when Viv emerged from behind the screen and said, "Now, you're not going to go and abandon these pretty dresses without even trying them on, are you?"
"No, I...I...no," I stuttered feeling trapped. Viv crossed the room and put an arm around my shoulder.
"You know, when I built this store, it was because I was sick and tired of going into high end places and having them look at me like I was gum on someone's shoe," she said as she gently squeezed my shoulder. "I told myself that when I had my own shop, I'd make sure that every single woman who walked through the door would feel like the queen of the world, no matter whether she bought a dress from me or not."
"But I—" I choked out.
"You aren't going to be the one who makes me break a promise to myself, are you?" she asked as she led me to the screen and gestured to the dresses she'd hung on the wall behind it. "Those dresses are just waiting for you to try them on, darlin! Don't disappoint them!"
I nodded as I looked down and bit my lip, then took a deep breath and looked up at Viv and gave her a weak smile. She nodded, satisfied that her pep talk had done its job, and then disappeared on the other side of the screen.
I began with the ivory dress. It was a made of satin overlaid with gossamer lace, and it felt as light as a cloud as I pulled it on, but once I had it on, I knew there was no way I'd be able to wear it out in public. I stepped out with my arms covering my chest and shook my head.
"Too revealing," I said as Viv waved at me to drop my arms. I did and blushed when she wolf whistled.
"Wow, you do that dress justice like it's never been done before," she said admiring the fit of the dress. "But I see your point."