“Achievement unlocked!” Sarah shouted as Karyn exited the fitting room wearing her new bike shorts and camisole. Technically they weren’t paid for yet, but Sarah insisted that she was going to buy the items whether Karyn wore them or not.
“I feel so exposed,” Karyn blushed as she crossed one leg in front of the other.
“Don’t, you look fantastic,” Sarah reassured her. “And besides, once we’re out of the fitting area you can put the cardigan on and it’ll cover everything up that you want covered. But first…” Sarah found herself in her element once more. “While you were changing I found some other things for you to try on.”
“No,” Karyn demurred. “Really this one outfit is one thing but I just feel more comfortable in tees.”
Sarah’s eyes flashed as her lips opened in a secretive smile. “I know that. I know you and I just have different personal identities. We see ourselves differently. But that doesn’t mean that I can’t try to figure you out and find something new that still works for you.”
Karyn laughed at this. “You think you’ve figured me out?”
“Maybe not yet, but I want to try. And I think I’m on the right track.” Sarah produced two items seemingly from out of nowhere: a chocolate-colored calf-length tiered ruffle skirt, and a cable-knit green pullover with a very deep V-neck.
Karyn crossed her arms over her chest. “And I guess you want me to go back in there and try on that outfit?”
“No!” Sarah didn’t quite shout. “That’s the whole point of what you’re wearing, you can just put this on out here!”
A light bulb went off in Karyn’s head. “Is that legal?”
Now it was Sarah’s turn to laugh.
At the end of the day, Karyn did end up leaving the store with the skirt and pullover ensemble. And a blouse with a navy and seafoam paisley print. And a pair of corduroy slacks. Zoe left with a new corset and a black skater skirt. And Dawn left with every pink dress that she could get her hands on.
And when nobody was quite looking, Sarah McMillan cut the bar code tags off, snuck over to checkout, and paid for the entire haul without buying anything for herself.
There were some mild protests in the car on the way back to the Gibson home, but what was anybody going to do, return the clothes and sneak the money back into Sarah’s pocket? And despite the ostensible admonishments, there was a core of appreciation just below the surface. And as Sarah looked at the skater skirt that Zoe wore out the door, at the crumpled set of boy clothes that sat on the lap of the pink dress that Dawn now wore, at the cable-knit pullover that Karyn seemed to be more comfortable in by the minute, she felt a warm glow build within her.
‘If Zoe is going to be the big sister,’ Sarah thought to herself, ‘then maybe I get to be the proud mama bear.’
