Page 34 of That Right Moment

Patience, Iago. Patience. All in good time.He responded quickly.

I groaned, leaning my head back on my seat.Ugh, you’re killin’ me, smalls.

Movie references. I loved us.

All I got in return was a laughing emoji. He was answering the texts quickly, letting me knew he was close to his phone.

I looked at the mall and shook my head. I did not shop. I had no idea what I was doing. Perhaps I would give myself a reward. Once I picked the perfect outfit, I would buy a book as a “yay, you did it” reward. But I know I couldn’t do this alone.

I clicked on FaceTime and tapped Ophelia’s picture. Within minutes, her face appeared, a large smile radiating through my screen, her kitchen in the background.

“Madeline! You were supposed to call me this morning, not this afternoon.” I loved her voice. It was deep and sweet at the same time, always bringing a sense of comfort.

“Hey, Phe. I need your expert advice.”

“I got it, but first…” she set her phone down and took a step back.

“Wait,” I said in shock, bringing my face closer to the phone. “Did you straighten your hair!”

Ophelia felt her hair on her shoulders and nodded. “Not every day. Don’t worry. The curls make their way through. Now…” She left the frame, returning holding up her sketch pad. She placed the white paper in front of her screen and looked out on the side. “I need your honest opinion here. I want to showcase this in Portland, but I haven't shown it yet. What do you think, Maddy?”

It was a sketch of a dress with a billowy skirt and arms, flowing off the woman's every curve. She had colored it dark green, with a bright yellow stripe that ran down the sides of the dress where the seams would meet. The arms were mid length and were wide enough you could fit another person in there. It was a beautiful sketch, but a simple dress.

“For the showcase?” I repeated.

She turned the sketch and looked at it once more, then turned her face back to the phone. “That bad, huh?”

“Not bad. Nothing you design is bad. It’s just simple. Something I can find at a department store, and you are so much more than a department store.”

“Damn straight, I am.” Ophelia thumped her sketchbook to the table, making a loud smack. “I’ve lost my touch! This showcase is killing me.”

“No, it’s not. It’s making you expand your horizons.” I waved my hand in front of me like a rainbow, looking off into the distance.

“Don’t do that again,” Ophelia mumbled. “I need one more dress, one more design to show in Portland, and I am at a loss.”

“Well, I need help. Maybe it will spark your creative side.” I shrugged up a shoulder, tilting my head into it.

Ophelia narrowed her eyes and tightened her lips. “You’re clothes shopping without me?”

“Not without you. I have you on FaceTime, but this is an emergency. I have a date.”

“A date!” Ophelia brought her fingers to her lips. “With who?!”

I clenched my teeth. “Don’t judge me.”

“I’ll only judge you if it’s Kent.” She dropped her hands and gave me the meanest glare I had ever seen. Ophelia Fuller was not a woman you wanted to cross. She had changed so much since college, going from flirty fashion student to top designer in New York, and this new Ophelia didn’t take any shit from anyone and told you exactly what she thought. She was an advocate for black women everywhere and did so many fundraisers and events, all surrounding her heritage and clothing, donating profits to BLM charities. Ophelia was a force to be reckoned with.

“It’s not Kent,” I muttered. I just thought of saying Milo’s name, and the flutters rose in my belly, my cheeks starting to burn. “Milo asked me out.”

Ophelia squealed louder than Jamie had last night.

“Madeline!” she screamed, my name echoing through her kitchen. “I knew, I justknewwhen I set you up twelve years ago, you were it for each other. I knew it!” She jumped back, her butt knocking into her counter. She clapped her hands loudly before coming back to the phone, her face taking up the entire frame. “How did this happen?”

“Well…” I started to tell her the entire story, getting distracted by her little “awws” and “I knew. I just knew it” comments. Her favorite part was when I fell asleep on his shoulder on the ferris wheel. That moment seemed to go into the book to someday tell my kids. I ended with him showing up at my front door, asking me out on a date. “He said he wanted to take me out on the date I deserved.”

“But now you need clothes!” Ophelia had her chin resting on her fist, a gleeful look on her eye. “I know what’s in your closet.”

“I have nice clothes, mainly ones that you designed. But I don't have a lot of dresses or skirts. Kent even commented on my wardrobe.”

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