Page 26 of Mr Best Friend's Brother Grump

We study the lines of stitching and Gerald smoothes out the skirt in downward sweeps of his hand. Then he takes a step back, looks at me one more time, and says, “Alright, Missy. Next.”

The next one that is passed through to me doesn’t even go on. It’s silver and has sequin details and I just know I will look like a walking disco ball. I hand it back.

“Okay. This one will wow. Guaranteed,” says Gerald almost purring as he presents me with a drape of black jersey, so fine, it feels like water. “Isn’t this fabric amazing? It’s called Slippery Nipple.”

“Did you just make that up?” says Kendra guffawing, almost falling off her stool.

“No. I swear. That’s its name. I can show you the roll if you don’t believe me.”

The dress is unbelievably slinky. It hugs my ample curves in gathers and folds, at once concealing and revealing, like a Greek sculpture of Venus. Tiny glittering black beads catch the light in a scattered pattern at the shoulders and down either side of the deep ‘v’ neckline to a starburst of beads and gathered pleats beneath the bustline. Its sleeveless sultry elegance makes my light cocoa skin look radiant.

“Are you alright in there?” asks Gerald. “Don’t keep us waiting.”

I push the curtain aside and walk forward into the middle of the store, then turn to face my friends. Kendra and Gerald are speechless.

“I love it,” I say in hushed tones.

“Done,” says Gerald who drops to his knees to tuck up the hem. “You know, it just needs a couple of inches taken up, so you don’t trip. Let me pin it while you’re there, hun.” Gerald nimbly dives towards a drawer at the back of the counter where he grabs a pin cushion which he slips onto his wrist. “You’re going to be wearing heels, so I won’t go crazy…” Gerald is on his knees again, turning up the hem. “I think, for this dress, diamanté sandals, or black… but I feel you need some kind of sparkle.”

Kendra is smiling behind both her hands. “You look like a star,” she says. “People will think you’re from TV or a movie or something.”

Gerald has finished pinning and guides me back to the full-length mirror. He gathers my hair and twists it up, holding it in place as he says, “A simple do, like this, looks really pretty… You can get little pearl or diamanté hair slides to hold it…. And match some drop earrings or hoops with a long chain pendant… What do you think?

“I think… if I am going to wear a dress to the Big Apple Media Awards, it’s going to be this one,” I say throwing my arms up, not caring about the eye-watering price tag.

“Oh. Did you say the Big Apple Media Awards?” asks Gerald, suddenly somber.

“Yeah, why?” Kendra and I both articulate together.

“Oh, you know, it’s probably nothing and… there’ll be so many guests, who knows? But…”

“But what?”

“That thing I said about limited numbers, so you won’t see your dress on anyone else.”

“Yeah.”

“You’re probably going to see your dress on somebody else.”

“Ah no,” says Kendra. “This exact same one? What were the chances of that?” There’s a pause and we all look at each other in turn.

Then I say, “How much does it matter? I don’t care. Whoever is wearing this design, will probably be wearing it in a completely different way to me, won’t she?” I’m saying the words but deep inside I’m rattled by this information.

“You are absolutely right,” Kendra says. “You look incredible. This dress is made for you. The other woman… we don’t know who she is… She won’t even look half as fabulous as you, Rosa.”

“No, you do look wonderful and, you probably won’t even see the other woman wearing this dress. I can tell you now, she has a completely different body shape. It could be a completely different dress.”

Gerald says that he could complete the alterations that afternoon in the time it would take us to go and purchase accessories. He points us in the direction of a shoe store close by and hands us a card, which would give us a ten percent reduction on any pair we choose.

“So, I’ll go ahead with the purchase, should I? Because I can’t begin the adjustments until the full price has been put through.”

I feel a bit giddy. The retail high was hitting me like a sugar rush. I take one last look at myself in the mirror before changing back into my worn-out jeans and scruffy T-shirt.

Kendra is at the counter with her credit card in her hand. “Charge it to mine… Rosa, you can pay me back… half, anytime, okay? Happy birthday.” She smiles at me, and blows me a kiss, as I join her at the counter. “Ooh! I almost forgot… We have a discount code from Ingrid’s blog. Is that still valid?”

“Yes, of course!” says Gerald “I just know she will be so pleased… She has the other dress, so you have to look out for her and say hi. She would love that! Ingrid is so great, isn’t she? I love her channel.”

There’s the briefest of moments when I had second thoughts about wearing the dress. I couldn’t quite picture myself standing beside Ingrid, arm in arm, comparing our matching evening wear, as if we had coordinated our outfits. But as Gerald said, The Big Apple will be a huge event. I probably wouldn’t see her, and she most definitely wouldn’t notice me.

---