When my phone rang, I jumped, hoping it was one of the jobs I'd applied for. Instead, it was Jana Easton, the only friend I'd made in Seattle.
"Hey," I greeted.
"Feel like dressing up tonight and going to a fancy party?" she asked.
"You know I don't have anything to wear to one of those," I muttered.
"Let me handle that. Besides, there'll be a fancy dinner to go along with the fancy clothes. When's the last time you ate something besides ramen?"
She had me there. The days I worked, I brought home leftovers. The rest of the time I lived off peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or ramen. I'd already given up everything except for the most basic cell phone and internet, and I only kept those to help me find another job. Not that I received any calls to schedule interviews. The only person who called or emailed me was Jana.
We met nine months ago at the humane society, when we both found ourselves volunteering there. I ended up there because I wanted a cat, but my apartment complex didn't allow pets. Volunteering let me find a way to have animals in my life.
Jana wanted to do more for animals than throw an annual benefit dinner. It was an easy and fun job. We played with the animals to make sure they were properly socialized and adoptable. That's how I became best friends with a socialite.
"What is the charity this time?" I asked. She knew I was going to go, but she also knew I didn't want to be the charity.
"Who knows? My mom organized this party though, so it should be a great time. I know why you're not agreeing already. This isn't a pity invite. You have to come with me. My mom wanted me to go with Gregory Jones. He's the son of one of the ladies on one of her committees. This one is probably something super important like theCommunity Garden Planning Committee."
"Please tell me that isn't a real thing," I said chuckling.
She sighed. "I don't know. Probably. Please, tell me you'll come. He's so boring. You have to say yes, because I already told my mom you were coming and that's why I couldn't go with him."
"Okay, fine. I'll go, but there better be those little salmon mousse cups," I demanded.
She squealed, and I pulled the phone away from my ear for a moment. "What kind of fancy party doesn't have fish appetizers? If you need to shower do it fast, I'm sending a car to come and bring you to my house. I've got dresses I want you to try on."
A quick shower helped me to get rid of the chill that lingered in my bones. It would return though. I didn't have enough money to run the heater before December. The ambient heat from the other apartments kept the temperature from dropping too low.
I put on some jeans and a thick sweater for the ride to her house. My favorite boots went on after I pulled on some thick socks. I'd had enough of freezing for one day.
My second boot was barely on my foot when her driver called my phone to let me know he was there. I hurried down to the street, and her driver opened the door to the back seat.
"Thank you."
"It's my pleasure, Miss Holmes." He always looked at me with his brow creased in concern. This time he cranked up the heater. It was a small gesture, but I found myself fighting tears to have someone show basic concern for my well-being.
The ride to Jana's apartment only took about twenty minutes. She didn't live far, but in Seattle traffic, nothing seemed close.
I'd been to her place enough that the doorman buzzed me in directly and cleared me up to her floor without calling her. Jana was practically bouncing when she opened the door.
"I have a magic dress." She grabbed my hand and pulled me through the apartment toward her closet.
"Hello to you too," I replied to her odd and very enthusiastic greeting.
She waved her free hand around in dismissal and continued to march us through her large apartment. "Yeah, yeah. Hi, how are you, long time. Blah, blah. I have a magic dress."
"I thought your grandma was joking at brunch last week, but are you on the marijuana?" I teased.
She stopped for a minute. "Huh. Maybe?"
That earned her a bit of side eye from me. "Wouldn't you know?"
She shrugged and recommenced dragging me through her luxury pad. "There were some hinky brownies my assistant was passing around the office. Of course I took one, because … brownies."
"What makes the dress magic?" I asked, changing the subject.
"You'll see." She pushed open the door and turned on the lights.