Page 1 of Sugarplum

Chapter One

Julie Evans sighed as she stood in front of the mirror, turning this way and that. She pursed her lips as she perused herself, satisfied at what she saw. She knew that this was probably as good as it was going to get for her.

She wasn’t ever going to be supermodel pretty. That was fine. She planned on enjoying her life anyway. She was twenty-seven years old, 5 ft 2 inches, and a little on the chubby side. She had grey eyes and chestnut brown hair, and she still had her whole life ahead of her, so she wasn’t going to let something as trivial as weight get in the way of living life to the fullest.

She unzipped the dress and left it in a heap on the floor. She bent over, picked it up and checked the price tag. She shook her head at the exorbitant amount of money they were asking for what was essentially to her, nothing more than a piece of fabric. She touched the fabric absorbedly as if she could somehow imprint the way it felt into her brain, but she knew that it wasn’t possible.

She just had to tell herself that it wasn’t worth it, even though it actually made her feel good.

“You okay in there?”

The sound of her best friend’s voice came filtering through the door. Her best friend of 6 years, Melissa, was a little fireball of energy. Julie often wondered how they came to be such good friends with their polar personalities. While Julie was a quiet introvert, Melissa was a loud extrovert. They were like the sun and the moon, but they went together like peanut butter and jelly, or at least that’s what Melissa liked to say. Melissa was taller than Julie, but she was a bit on the heavy side too, and that’s what made them bond initially.

“Mel, how badly do I want to eat this month?”

“What?” Melissa’s voice sounded confused as her laughter came in through the thin walls of the dressing room.

“I mean, I could probably let myself starve a little for the sake of this dress, right?”

Julie wriggled into her jeans and slipped on her shirt before she picked up the dress and draped it over her arm.

She swung the door open to reveal her best friend dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, standing there with her hands on her hips, and an amused look etched across her face.

“You’re considering starving yourself for a-what do you call it? A consumerist product?” Melissa used air quotes around the last word.

Julie rolled her eyes. “Well, I didn’t mean it quite so literally. Besides, I didn’t think you were actually listening to my little rant.”

Melissa smiled as she tucked Julie’s arms into the crook of her elbow. “You know, I would like to say it’s because what you have to say is so interesting, but it’s mostly because you can be louder than the TV when you’re on one of those rants, so it’s more out of being forced to listen than an actual interest.”

“How nice of you to let loose such an interesting titbit,” Julie commented very dryly.

“It’s what best friends do,” Melissa commented cheekily as she dug around her purse for something. She produced a stick of gum a while later, and offered Julie a piece which Julie proceeded to turn down.

“Why are beautiful things expensive?” Julie bemoaned as she untucked her arm from Melissa’s and headed towards the rack to put the dress back.

“Is that a philosophical question like the meaning of life, or is this more along the lines of why is Channing Tatum blessed with such good genes?”

Julie snorted as she turned around to face Melissa. “This is definitely a Channing Tatum kind of question. Incidentally though, why is he so good looking? It’s hardly fair.”

“Well, I can’t attest to the big man upstairs, but I can probably say that it’s why he was a stripper for a good while, because that bod wasn’t meant to be kept hidden and, we got Magic Mike out of it, so yeah, not a total loss.”

“You’re so wise, Mel.” Julie replied.

“It’s both a curse and a blessing,” Melissa responded sagely.

“So Gandhi, what about the other part of my question?”

Melissa laughed. “It’s to get us to spend all of our moolah in one place, and that way we can come back and pay more, so that they increase profit. I mean, I suppose it makes us feel good, but realistically, they benefit way more than we do.”

Julie raised an eyebrow.

“What?” Melissa responded, defensively. “I do listen to you. Sometimes.”

Julie chuckled. “You are just full of surprises today, Mel. I almost don’t know what to do with myself. How long was I in that dressing room?”

Melissa sighed. “Ha ha, mock me all you want, but you’re the one who always said I had it in me to change, so boom!”

“Well done Mel. Next stop, Hollywood, and those abs.”

“Definitely the abs. A woman’s got to have priorities.”

Julie cocked her head to the side. “Well, of course it isn’t all about the abs.”

Melissa shook her head empathetically. “Of course not. I mean, how shallow do you think we are, Jules? Biceps are important too.”

“Let’s not forget the shoulders too.”

They began to laugh as the exited the store, the sound of their laughter echoing behind them as they looped their arms around each other, and made their way towards their next destination.

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