Page 44 of A Place for Daydreams

For a moment, their eyes met, and she could feel the shared excitement arcing between them like an electric current. In that moment, Noelle realized that she shared a connection with him like she’d never shared with anyone before. And she knew thatshe was attracted to him. Her heart began to beat wildly in her chest and her smile faded, but she couldn’t look away.

Dean held her gaze as well, also looking suddenly starstruck. For a few wild moments, she felt as though she couldn’t breathe, and then she forced herself to snap out of it.

This is a professional setting,Noelle, she reminded herself.You need to keep romance out of your office.

“But of course it’s important that you keep up the good work,” she said, tearing her eyes away from Dean and smiling briskly. She took a deep breath, willing her heart rate to go down. “You seem to be well on your way to making these at-home exercises a regular habit. That’s the best thing you can do for yourself—put in the work, and put it in enough that it becomes part of your regular routine. Then you’re less likely to miss the exercises.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Dean nod. “Makes sense.” He seemed to still be smiling, but she didn’t look directly at him. She suddenly felt extremely shy.

“Do you usually do your exercises at a specific time of day? Or rather, at a specific point in your regular routine, such as before you brush your teeth before bed? That’s the best way to solidify a habit.”

“No, I haven’t been. That’s a good idea.”

She turned her gaze back to him with a smile, and was relieved to find that she could look at him without feeling as though she was turning three different shades of red. He made her feel comfortable in a way that quickly put her at ease, despite her jitters from realizing that she was attracted to him.

They continued with his physical therapy appointment, neither of them making any kind of a comment on the moment that they’d shared.

Hazel watched her family members walking ahead of her on the sidewalk and her heart stirred with happiness. It was a brisk, sunny autumn day with a pale blue sky. She felt alert and alive and full of energy, and happy to be spending time with all of the women in the Owens family—but at the same time, her heart kept twisting with twinges of worry.

Hazel, Vivian, Julia, Alexis, and Samantha were out shopping for a dress for Samantha to wear to the dance. Samantha seemed absolutely giddy with excitement, and her aunts and grandmother were being supportive and cheerful, making sure the pre-teen felt special as they wandered from store to store.

Hazel wished that she was as carefree as everyone else seemed to be feeling. She was enjoying herself, that was without question, but she kept thinking about the boy that Samantha had confessed to having a crush on. She worried that Samantha would get hurt if he didn’t ask her to the dance, and she worried that if he did ask her, he would end up treating her badly and she would get hurt anyway.

“Let’s go in here!” Alexis said eagerly, stopping in front of a little antique store. “They have all kinds of vintage dresses in here. I remember some of them being really beautiful. And I bet a lot of them will have the kind of full skirts that you’re looking for.”

“Sounds great to me!” Samantha grinned eagerly. “I love old stuff.”

They pushed open the door of the little shop, which jangled pleasantly. The antique store was clean and cozy and offered a beautiful display of whimsical and charming old objects.

“The clothing section is in the back of the store,” Alexis said, leading them toward a doorway at the back of the room. “Follow me.”

“I just know this is going to make me feel old,” Vivian said, laughing. “I’m sure they’ll have the kind of stuff I wore as a teenager on these racks. I guess that makes me an antique.”

“Never,” Julia said, laughing and kissing her mother’s cheek. “Things only become antiques when they stop being the current fashion. You’re always in fashion.”

Vivian chuckled, looking happy. “Oh, tut.”

“Gosh, this place is amazing!” Samantha scampered ahead, gazing up in delight at the two tiers of clothing racks. “I bet most of it won’t fit me, but there’s so much pretty stuff here.”

“It might.” Alexis grinned at her. “You’re pretty tall for your age, and they made plenty of petite dresses back in the day. Let’s see what we can find.”

For a while, they all split up, going through the dresses one by one and cooing in delight over all the beautiful ones they found. Most of them looked too big for Samantha, but then Julia found a beautiful yellow satin dress that looked as though it might have been from the nineteen sixties.

“It doesn’t quite fit with your Glinda theme, but it’s so cute,” Julia said, holding up the dress eagerly. “You want to try this one on?”

“I’d love to.” Samantha looked at the dress as though it was made out of pure gold. Hazel felt an ache of nostalgic happiness in her heart, knowing that Samantha was about to experience so many of the joys of growing up.

They found the small changing room and Samantha went inside to put the dress on.

“Be sure to come out and show us,” Vivian urged. “Even if you don’t choose this one, I want a picture of you in it.”

“I do too,” Hazel said.

A moment later, Samantha stepped out of the changing room, wearing the yellow satin dress and practically glowing. She gave a twirl as her mom, grandmother, and aunts applauded.

“Here,” Alexis said, handing her a pale blue dress with a tulle skirt. “Try this one on.”

Samantha continued to try on dresses, even a few that were definitely not her size, just for fun. Hazel couldn’t stop thinking about her daughter wearing one of the beautiful dresses to the dance, accompanied by the boy she had a crush on. Samantha looked so beautiful. She was sure to have many young men interested in her as she grew up, and Hazel didn’t know how she was ever going to trust any boy or young man with her sweet girl.

---