Page 17 of Keeping Her Safe

“Do you want one?”

“No need. Nobody calls, anyway,” she said. Having to say it so many times, it bothered her a little that nobody called.

“I would call you,” he said.

“Call my landline. I’m usually home.” She smiled at him.

He smiled back. “Are you ready to shop, Mrs. Wainwright?”

“I’m ready to not be in sweats,” she admitted. Zephyr hated shopping—she was no good at it. Her formative years were spent being broke, so spending money now was still hard.

Soon, they pulled into a parking lot at a strip mall. There were stores that sold everything here. Clothing, jewelry, shoes, everything.

“What do you need?” he asked.

“I need a power cord for my computer and headphones,” she answered with the first thing that came to mind.

“Focus, Zephyr. Clothes first,” he said.

“Clothes then,” she replied with a sigh. He followed her and pointed out a few stores, but the one closest to the car seemed to be the best choice. And it would get them out of the cold fastest.

Together they walked into the store, and a saleswoman walked up to them immediately, asking if they needed help. Zephyr wanted to crawl into a hole since the woman was wearing perfectly tailored clothes, and she was in sweatpants and sandals.

“My wife needs new clothes,” Zachary said matter-of-factly. “Seven days’ worth of new clothes.”

The woman turned to Zephyr and grinned. “You came to the right place. Let’s see what we can find. I’m Paige.”

“I’m Zephyr.”

“What a unique name. Pretty,” Paige answered with a nod.

“Thank you. It’s just weird,” Zephyr stated her usual answer when people found out her name.

“So, you need seven days of clothes? What kind?” Page asked as Zachary hung back.

“My husband has surprised me with a trip up north for seven days. Surprise means he didn’t let me pack anything.” Most of it was true.

“Lake country?” Paige questioned

“Yes.” Zephyr went with it, wherever that was.

“How romantic.” Paige looked at Zachary, who was looking at his phone near the front of the building.

“It is. Just a little inconvenient.” She smiled.

“Oh, sweetie, it is very inconvenient. What do you usually wear?”

Zephyr looked down at her frumpy outfit. Oddly, it was mostly this. “Shorts or jeans and T-shirts, mostly. But I want something different.”

Paige laughed at her. “No shorts this week. How about we look over here?”

The woman walked around the store, picking out outfits and folding them over her arm. Zephyr followed behind, wondering how she could just put together outfits. Did the woman know it would all look good together, or was she guessing? Zephyr could describe color at length for pages, but matching a top and pants? No way. Coordinating colors was not something Zephyr could do.

When the other woman’s arms were full, she led Zephyr to the back of the store where the dressing rooms were. Paige set the pile in a chair just outside the room and started sorting them, making outfits from the pieces. Once she got one together, she put it in a dressing room.

“Try this one on and see how it looks.” Paige held open the door for her.

“Okay, but do you have any undergarments in the store?” Zephyr questioned, biting her lip. This was so embarrassing.

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