Page 51 of Until the Sea Runs Dry

Going slowly, it allowed them to take in all the sights the place offered. When she caught sight of the Nordstrom sign, she felt a flutter in her chest.

This was where she wanted to shop.

Helping Loki off the trolley, Jane spied a pretty green print midi dress in the window display that she instantly loved. Heading inside, the store was a large white space with strategically placed racks and displays of gorgeous clothing.

Loki tugged at his leash, keen to play among the fun looking mannequins. A buff security guard who must have been at least six foot five tossed a look their way. Jane steeled herself for the inevitable ejection that she felt was surely coming, but his eyes glanced past her with disinterest.

It seemed dogs were as welcome as their two-legged owners in many of the stores in this city.

Having felt surrounded by a heavy, dark cloud, there was now excitement at the prospect of feeling normal again. And what could be more normal than trying on and buying clothes?

She walked past a section that was in the middle of being arranged. Several mannequins lay on the floor, their limbs in a pile beside the bodies still waiting to be attached. She maneuvered Loki past and spotted the dress she wanted. Making sure Loki was preoccupied with the chew toy they had brought with them today, she reached for the dress but stopped short of taking it.

She had no idea what size she was.

She no idea what size she wore — for anything.

She should have paid closer attention to the items in her closet, but her daily dressing routine had consisted of grabbing whatever didn’t seem too ostentatious. She had never once glanced at the labels inside.

Instead of shoes, her feet were encased in generic flip flops. She slipped her right foot out of one, hoping to see a size, though it only revealed an “M” which wasn’t particularly helpful.

She took hold of the collar of her shirt, twisting the collar around, but it was impossible to see what the label said.

A sigh of irritation hissed from her lips. Shopping was going to be a lot more difficult than she’d thought if she didn’t know what size she was.

“You look like you’re in need of a little assistance.”

The warm voice that greeted her belonged to a sales assistant with startling emerald green eyes. Her hair was a glossy almost-black, and she was wearing a summery off-the-shoulder dress that showed off creamy bronze skin. If it wasn’t for the nametag pinned to her chest, Jane would have thought her a customer.

“What gave it away?” She smiled back ruefully.

Clare — for that’s what the name tag read — smiled wryly at her.

“Well, the adorable dog wrapped around your feet for one. If you take a single step forward, I think you’ll find yourself flat on your face. And the fact that you were looking at the rack like it was an alien creature.”

She had a nice, easy way about her that seemed completely natural, almost as if she were a friend and not a sales assistant interested in only her money.

“I need some things, but I don’t know what size I am.”

Clare blinked at Jane, confusion clouding her eyes.

“Has your weight fluctuated recently?”

“No…” Jane hesitated, unsure exactly how she could explain herself. Should she go for a variation of the truth, or would a lie be easier?

“I lost my memory recently. I woke up on a beach with nothing but the dress I had on. I can’t remember anything of my life before, including my name or what size I am.”

That wasn’t at all what she had expected to say. It seemed she needed to talk to someone about her ordeal, and poor Clare was going to be the victim.

To her credit, Clare’s immediate response was to take a moment to let her reply sink in. Jane felt terrible. What a thing to spring on the poor woman. She only wanted to sell her some clothes!

Mortified at blurting out her story, she fumbled an apology. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to just blurt that out…”

Feeling the sting of tears, her embarrassment turned to horror. Seeing the onset of them, Clare took her by the shoulders and steered Jane onto one of the velvet gray pedestal seats dotted around the store. Gently, she tugged Loki’s leash from her numb hands.

Jane sank onto the seat, laughing humorlessly. “I don’t know why I said that. It’s unprofessional of me. You don’t need to deal with this…”

Clare tutted and gave her a reproachful look.

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