Page 27 of Bride in Blue
“I don’t know,” he hesitated. He didn’t like all this change.
“Think about it, Max. I’m a customer. I come in,” Cassie insisted. She walked to the door. “Good afternoon, Mr. Blue,” she said in her deepest voice, taking long strides to the first table. “I see you have some mighty fine cravats here.” She put her hands on her hips and stood tall. “I was just saying to my missus; Missus, I really need a cravat; I’m going to run myself down to that haberdashery and get myself a new cravat.” She punched the air before crossing her arms and looked at Max, causing him to laugh.
“I’ve never had a customer do that.”
“Okay, how about this?” Cassie ran back to the front door. “Hello, Mr. Blue. My wife and I are going to the theater and I need to get a jacket. The one I have is pretty threadbare in spots.”
She quickly jumped over to the wardrobe where she had put jackets on display. “Why, yes, Mr. Smith,” she said, imitating Max, “as you can see, we have a grand selection of the finest frocks for men you will get this side of the Mississippi. I think this one will fit you perfectly.” She took a jacket from the wardrobe and walked over to Max. “Let’s try it on, shall we?”
Max allowed her to help him into the jacket. Once he had both arms in, she lifted the jacket to allow it to rest on his shoulders. Max felt her hands brush the shoulders and the back, removing any creases. His mouth went dry as her fingertips lightly caressed the fabric.
“Turn around,” she softly said. Max complied and she made sure the lapels were just where they needed to be. Max watched her as she picked a piece of invisible lint from the front of the jacket.
She looked at him and her mouth parted slightly. Max could see the tip of her tongue where she pressed it against her teeth. He gave a slight moan and cupped her face in his hands. He was about to lower his head, when she put on a serious face and grabbed his hands.
“How about a new pair of pants to go with that frock?” she said, imitating him again.
“What?” Max said.
“You need a new pair of pants if you are going to take your wife to the theater. Did you know light pants are all the rage with a dark jacket. Here are our selection of pants.” She moved to another display and picked up a pair of light-colored trousers and draped them over Max’s arm. “These should fit you perfectly. Now, do you have a cravat?” She flitted to the corner where she wanted to display the ties and other sundries. “This one will do nicely.” Max took the cravat she handed to him.
She then leaned against the workbench. “So, we started at the door and we ended up by the register in a perfect pattern.” She resumed her normal voice.
Max looked at her. Her hazel eyes wide as she regarded him. “What do you think?”
“I think I’ll take these.”
“What? These clothes?”
Max nodded. “You picked the perfect size, and I feel the need to take a lady to the theater.” He moved closer to Cassie. “What do you say?”
“You want to take me to the theater?” she gave a little squeal. “I’ve always wanted to go to the theater.” She stopped suddenly. “I don’t have a thing to wear. I don’t have any nice clothes.”
“We can get that taken care of.”
“Oh, I can’t do that,” Cassie insisted.
“Well, we will figure something out.”
“If I can get some fabric, I can make myself a dress.”
“Well then, we will take a trip over to the dry goods store.”
Cassie gave a little squeal and wrapped her arms around Max giving him a hug. “Oh, when will we go?”
“I heard that there is a new group of traveling performers in town. I think the shows start next week. How does that sound?”
Cassie gave him another quick hug and kissed him on the cheek. “This is the best surprise ever!”
Max spent the rest of the day listening to Cassie hum as she moved things around the store. When they wrapped up at the end of the day Max had to admit that the store looked much better than it had before.
Cassie finished placing the last cravat on the display, and she stood back to admire her work. “What do you think, Max?”
“I think it looks like a real upscale store.
“What about that space over there?” he asked, pointing to an empty space.
“I thought you might want to add a shaving station. The chair and display could go there when you are ready.”
