Homecoming

by Janet Wellington

  “No more stalling,” Cory said as she pushed him into one of the library’s study rooms.

  He said his speech twice more for her. She’d made him index cards with bullet points of the major topics, which helped him stay on track. He could easily handle glancing down once in a while to prompt himself with a few carefully chosen words. Phrases, he could handle, just not long passages of text that somehow seemed to animate and gyrate before his eyes when he was nervous.

  The rehearsal went perfectly, just like old times.

  After he’d earned her applause, they went into Sara’s office so he could make the arrangements to have a tux delivered to his apartment. He would be able to change there, and take a cab or even walk to the Sheraton since it was close.

  “Mind if I take another few minutes to check if I have any replies to the messages I left yesterday?”

  “Sure.”

  Jake used Sara’s desk phone, punched in the numbers he’d memorized from his long distance account card and got into his voice mail box. Five replies. Good. Odds were fair that there would be at least one positive response.

  With each reply, though, his heart sank. Not one of the women he’d called could commit to the event. Sabrina was in Paris, Marianna was on assignment in DC, Kirstin was angry she hadn’t heard from him in so long and if he thought she could drop everything to do him a favor...he skipped the rest of the tirade, knowing she would say the same thing in five different ways. Caroline was otherwise occupied. The last message held just a little hope. Julia would love to come, but she just couldn’t quite say for sure. She could try to make it, but her schedule wasn’t looking open at the moment—if only he had called sooner....

  Cory raised her eyebrows at him as he listened to the last message; he shook his head as he hung up the phone. “No dice.”

  She nibbled on her lower lip and shrugged both shoulders. “Well, then I’ll go.” The words tumbled out of her mouth, and it was too late to take them back.

  “Really?”

  “Sure. It’ll be...fun to go to the city. It’s been a while.”

  “I guess everything’s covered then.”

  “Great.” Was she nuts? All she had was two measly days to make herself into a sophisticated, confident woman who looked suitable on the arm of the future VP of Think Tank.

  “We still make a good team, don’t we?” he asked.

  She nodded. They did. And she’d loved every minute as they’d stayed up half the night, with him brainstorming and her capturing every idea that came out of his mouth. She’d had hours of staring at him, watching his brain come to life, hearing perfect sentences spew forth from his lips. She’d spent a lot of time staring at those lips.

  “Cory?”

  “Go away. I have shopping to do.” She waved him away and watched as he left the library, dialing Sara’s number as soon as he closed the big wooden doors behind him.

  “Sara, it’s me. I’m in your office. You know how you’ve been looking for a reason to get out of the house? I need you. You up for some shopping?”

  ***

  Little Molly had slept peacefully during the entire drive to Green Bay even though Sara had talked nonstop and had asked dozens of questions. Cory dutifully answered, only leaving out Jake’s reading problem from her responses.

  “You’re sure you know the right kind of dress shop?” Cory was counting on Sara’s shopping expertise.

  “Stop worrying. I know exactly where we can go. You need something one-of-a-kind if you really want to make an impression and look good with Jake. Remember when Ted was selected to give that lecture last year? Remember my dress? Relax, Cory, you’re in good hands. I know just where you’ll find the perfect dress.”

  Cory sighed. She’d been working too many years in whites and scrubs to even know what was considered fashionable these days. She’d glanced at some fashion magazines at the library, but nothing seemed right for her. Sara was exactly who she needed to push her outside the safe little fashion box she was stuck in.

  “There it is.” Sara pointed to a red brick building with charming blue-striped awnings, and Cory pulled into the parking lot.

  “I’ll quick feed Molly so she’ll be quiet, and meet you inside.”

  Cory stepped inside the front door and a soft chime announced her arrival. Seconds later an Asian woman flitted out from behind the counter to greet her. She was tiny, barely five feet tall, wearing a measuring tape like a boa around her neck, her snow white hair in an elaborate chignon, and impeccably dressed in a powder pink crepe suit.

  “Welcome to The White Lily—you must be Sara’s friend. I am Ana.”

  The woman kissed the air on either side of Cory’s cheek, leaving the scent of gardenias behind.

  “Let me look at you.” She gestured for Cory to turn around. “Yes, yes—we have several things that will accentuate your nice bosom, your small waist and good hips. Too many women are so thin these days; it will be nice to fit a figure that is not all skin and bones.”

  Cory’s cheeks warmed as the woman wrapped the tape measure around her waist and chest before she could even respond. The chiming of the door announced Sara’s arrival and she mouthed a “help me” at her.

  “So you’ve met Auntie Ana, dresser to the stars.”

  Ana clucked her tongue and wagged a finger at Sara. “Just one star.”

  Sara winked. “We’re all sworn to secrecy,” she explained, “but a musical legend arrived for a performance sans luggage, and it was my Auntie Ana who saved the day and provided the perfect sequined dress, didn’t you Auntie?” The two touched cheeks and then Sara handed Molly to the woman to coo over while she directed Cory to a wall of dresses.

  “Doesn’t everyone wear black these days?” Cory asked.

  “True, you can’t go wrong with black,” Sara said, “but what do you think, Auntie?”

  The woman stared at Cory from head to toe and back again before she answered. “No, no...it must be something to bring out your eyes, the creaminess of your flawless skin.” Her eyes danced as she handed Molly back to Sara and rushed to a rack on the opposite end of the room.

  “Uh-oh,” Sara said, her eyes following the tiny woman. “You’ve got a limitless credit card, right?”

  “Jake gave me his American Express. Why?”

  “The really good stuff’s over there.” She tipped her head, indicating where her aunt had disappeared.

  Jake had been specific. She was to buy whatever she wanted, no holds barred — whatever made her feel like a million bucks, a princess. She’d protested at first, but had finally given in.

  Ana came toward them with several dresses on a rolling rack, whooshing past them on her way to the dressing area.

  “Follow me, ladies,” she called over her shoulder.

  Sara grinned at her and gave her a nudge. “After you, Cinderella.”

  ***

  Every dress she tried on was beautiful. Fine material caressed her skin like silken rain, and she’d never felt more like a dress-up doll in her life.

  Ana handed dress after dress to her through the curtains of the dressing room, then impatiently called for her to come out and model them. She was starting to get the hang of it, obediently stepping onto the small raised platform, doing a full turn first to the right, then the left. All the while, she caught glimpses of herself in the floor to ceiling mirrors that covered all four walls of the spacious outer room.

  She’d tried on several dresses of every hue, with and without sequins, short and long, strapless, short-sleeved, long-sleeved. They were all fine, but none elicited the ultimate “ooh” from Sara or Ana as they scrutinized her from the comfy chairs that surrounded the carpeted platform. At first she’d taken a peek at the price tags, then stopped herself from looking. Most were the equivalent of at least a week’s wages when she’d been working double shifts at the hospital.

  After what felt like an endless amount of time trying on gowns, they took a break and Sara went down the block to pick up the salads Ana ha
d ordered. Cory perused The White Lily’s dress racks once more as she bounced a fussy Molly against her shoulder and patted her tiny behind. She’d spotted a small rack she was pretty sure Ana hadn’t explored yet. When Molly quieted, Cory walked over to take a better look at the pale lavender-colored material that had caught her eye.

  With one hand, she pushed other dresses away until she could reach the hangar with one hand and pull it off the rack and rehang it on the wall hook.

  It was a strapless dress, its fitted bodice a masterpiece of seed pearls and embroidery; a full skirt billowed out from the waist, chiffon underneath with an overlay of color-matched lace.

  “Ooo...” the baby cooed.

  “I agree, Molly.” She stroked Molly’s head as she stared at the dress. It was the color of lilacs, the most delicate pale lavender she’d ever seen.

  “I put our salads in the stock room—Auntie’s going to set up a little table for us. Hi, sweetie.” Sara sidled up beside Cory and scooped Molly from her arms. “Why is it that she stops fussing whenever you hold her? Maybe you need to start thinking pink and blue before time runs out.”

  “What do you think?” Cory asked, nodding at the dress and ignoring Sara’s reference to her biological clock.

  “Try it on.”

  “There’s no price tag.”

  “You know the saying: if you have to ask....”

  Cory sighed. Maybe it would look horrible. She should try it on and then it would look absolutely awful and she’d stop thinking about it. With any luck.

  “Do it now, before you have time to change your mind,” Sara said.

  Cory went to the dressing room alone while Sara went to help Ana. Her fingers shook as she slipped the dress off the luxurious padded hangar that was made of the same material as the gown.

  This was no mere dress. This was a gown.

  When she pulled it on and zipped up, she knew. Even before she looked in the mirror. When she stepped onto the platform and finally dared to find her reflection, she gasped at the transformation.

  She brought shaking hands to her torso—the bodice fit like a glove and hugged her so her breasts pushed up just right, creating the illusion of more; her waist looked tiny and delicate, the fullness of her hips completely hidden. She dropped her hands to smooth the full skirt. The color was simply delicious, making her skin shimmer, making her eyes bigger and darker.

  It was perfect.

  Cory saw Ana’s reflection in the mirror and she turned around on the platform; when their eyes met, the woman smiled and nodded. No words were necessary between them. Cory knew. Ana knew. She wasn’t leaving without the dress.

  Ana broke the silence with a long, satisfied sigh. “My work is done—except shoes. What size?”

  “Six and a half.”

  “I have the perfect pair—good for dancing all night and it has a matching purse. And Sara has already made an appointment for you at Tony’s, for after lunch. Now, come, eat, and I shall wrap up your gown.”

  ***

  “Tony!” Sara hurried in the door, with Molly in her arms and Cory at her heels.

  “An angel, you bring me.” The man whisked Molly into his arms and made the rounds while Cory made her way to be shampooed and conditioned before her cut and style.

  When she was in Tony’s chair, she took a deep breath. “Do whatever you want.”

  “You sure?” he asked. “Your beautiful hair—you have not cut it in so long...you will not miss some of the length?”

  “You’re the expert.” Cory caught Sara’s nod in the mirror. This was a time for bravery. It was only hair. It would grow. I need a new “me” to go with that dress.

  Tony sectioned off her hair and began to snip. At first she watched as the long strands slipped down the cape to the floor. Then she relaxed, put her fate in his hands, and practiced dance steps in her head.

  As the weight of her hair lessened with each snip, she began to feel a bit light-headed, and finally forced herself to take a peek in the mirror.

  Her hair no longer reached half-way down her back; instead it waved and curled in long layers that still reached well past her shoulders at its longest. He hadn’t cut it short at all.

  Tony dramatically spritzed some kind of lotion or spray gel in a cloud above her, then drew his fingers through the layers, scrunching the curls as it dried under heat lamps that created a red-bulbed halo around her. “You like?” he asked.

  Cory blinked, then nodded. It was a perfect blend of the past and the present. A good compromise.

  “It will be so easy—you finger fluff as it dries; but it is still long enough to put up...you see?” He piled her hair on top of her head in a simple twist, spinning her chair around and handing her a mirror so she could see the back.

  “Oh, Cory, it’s so great!” Sara appeared with Molly. “I already put the dress bag in the car. Give me your foot and—”

  “No-no-no,” Tony interrupted. “Let me put the slipper on the princess.” After she’d slipped off her sandals, he took the shoe from Sara and put it on Cory’s foot.

  “Ah—this shoe, she is made for you!”

  He slipped on the other shoe and Cory looked down to see lavender lace pumps. Shoes for dancing. With a shiver of vivid recollection she remembered her last dance with Jake; her lips tingled from the memory of his kiss. She was stepping into dangerous waters with a magical dress and princess shoes.

  And she didn’t care.

  Pronouncing their shopping trip a complete success, Sara tucked a newly fed Molly into her car seat and they headed back toward Faythe.

  After they’d been driving a few minutes, Cory said “Sara, can I talk to you about something?”

  “You thinking you’re going to look a little too stunning in the dress?”

  “Maybe. I feel like I’m not sure what I’m doing anymore.”

  “Confused about Jake?”

  “I think I’ve always been confused about...men. I thought my marriage was okay for a long time, you know? When Ed told me he wanted a divorce, it was more like being let go from a job. He recruited a better wife, then demoted me from the position.”

  “All men aren’t like that, Cory.”

  “But I think my judgment about men—any of them—is...oh, I don’t even know what I’m trying to say. I guess I just don’t trust myself to even know what I want.”

  “Well, what do you think you want from Jake?”

  “When I saw that dress, the way I looked in that dress...I started thinking about the type of women Jake dates. Women he treats well but doesn’t expect anything from, and they don’t expect anything from him.”

  “That’s how he described his dating history?”

  She nodded.

  “And you think you might want to be one of those women?”

  She nodded again, keeping her eyes on the road, not daring to face Sara’s undoubtedly wide-eyed stare. “You think I’m nuts, don’t you?” she finally asked.

  There was a long pause before Sara answered. “I think you’re an intelligent, stubborn, wonderful woman who could be headed for trouble, or, you’re just headed for a great time. If you can control your heart enough to have a little no-strings-attached fun, then maybe you should. A little dancing, share the limelight, a little hot sex....you’re both adults, right? Just think about it, and go in with both eyes open, girlfriend, and you’ll be fine.”

  Cory considered Sara’s thought, rolling it around in her head until they reached the outskirts of Faythe. Could she really be the kind of woman Jake wanted...just for one, magical night?

  Thousands of years ago, cats were worshiped as gods. Cats have never forgotten this.

  Anonymous

  Chapter 9

  “This must be one big dress,” Jake said as he struggled to fold the garment bag in half to place it on top of the overnight bags in the tiny trunk of his two-seater convertible.

  Cory hadn’t shown the dress to him, and she’d kept her hair in a bun so her haircut too was still a mystery. She wa
s enjoying the game. When she’d arrived at the house after her shopping trip, she’d ignored his questions and lugged her purchases up the stairs to her room.

  Now they had a five-hour trip ahead of them in his cramped sports car, and the butterflies in her stomach felt more like a crazed flock of seagulls. As they left Faythe behind them, she popped an Altoid mint into her mouth.

  “Want a mint?”

  “Sure.” He kept his eyes on the road and opened his mouth for her to pop one in.

  Cory took a mint from the tin and carefully placed it on his tongue; at the last second he closed his lips catching the tip of her finger. It was an innocent thing, but it produced a quiver inside, low and hot, in a place where she hadn’t felt anything in a long, long time. How could the simple touch of Jake’s lips make her feel something more intense than she had in seven years of marriage?

  She turned her head away so he wouldn’t see the blaze in her cheeks. If this was a hint of what might come later—if she decided to go through with her plan—she wasn’t sure she would even live through it.

  “You think I should try to say my speech again?”

  When her brain finally registered Jake had spoken to, she pulled herself back to reality. “What?”

  “Where were you, just then?”

  “Oh. Nowhere, really.” His disbelief hung in the air between them

  “So, should I rehearse my speech some more?”

  “I think it’s is as good as it’s going to be. Like they say, you don’t want to leave your best swing on the driving range. Why don’t you tell me more about your work instead, and some of the people I might meet tonight at the gala.”

  He paused for a long moment then said, “I still can’t quite believe how lucky I was—”

  “Wait a minute. You always said there was no such thing, that a person makes their own luck.”

  “Okay. So, it was simply a matter of choosing the right time to get on the elevator one day,” he teased. “I was shooting the breeze with a coworker—a fellow newly hired flunky—about this idea I had for the company’s new account. I hadn’t noticed the big boss get on the elevator at the last second, plus he had his back to us.”