Calah
Rhea and I spend the morning re-assigning tasks and tying up any loose ends. After we have a quick bite to eat we head to the shopping district downtown. When we get there I think it’s best to follow Rhea’s lead because if it was up to me, I’d probably go to a big box department store and buy whatever the mannequin is wearing, but Rhea has style.
“What are you exactly looking for?” she asks me once she pulls me into a fancy looking boutique.
The environment is a little bit overwhelming. It smells sweet and flowery like perfume and the floor, walls and fixtures are incredibly shiny.
“I don’t know, maybe like more fashionable work clothes and then I don’t have a swimsuit…” I mutter out.
“A sexy dress and some new lingerie, got it!”
“Rhea!” I exclaim drawing the attention of the saleswoman.
“What if you do meet your prince, don’t you want to be prepared?”
Why is she always right? “Hmm, Rhea my dear you might have a point.”
Rhea flags down the saleswoman who has been watching on. They set me up in a dressing room and I head in and start to try things on, but Rhea just keeps bringing me more and more. I’m surprised how much of it I actually like. It’s been years since I’ve allowed myself to buy new clothes. My parents always taught me to be tight with my money, but this seems like the perfect occasion to spoil myself a little bit.
Rhea knocks on the door again so I open it and she gasps, “Calah! That’s gorgeous.”
“Where would I wear it?” I look at myself in the mirror, a deep purple, silk gown is draped over my body highlighting my shape. The plunging neckline is a lot deeper than I’m used to but in this dress, I don’t mind. When I shift my hips a little the high slit shows off my leg and for a minute I’m not even sure who the woman in the mirror is.
“See how you can’t take your eyes off yourself? No one else will be able to either…” Rhea asserts.
“I do like it, I just don’t know where I’ll wear it,” I admit.
“Get it and wear it out at night in Spain! You can be as fancy as you want, this is your trip.”
“Right, yeah! You’re right my dear, I will buy this gown.”
“You’re so cute,” she muses.
“Is that a good kind of cute or did I do something strange again?”
“Calah, have I ever said you were strange?” she challenges.
“Not to my face… but…”
“Hey, I don’t think you’re strange. I think that sometimes you can be quirky but it’s part of the reason I like you so much. I just said you were cute because you called it a gown.”
“It is a gown,” I insist.
“I know but I would have said something boring like dress. The way your mind works, everything is so elegant and wonderful, I love it. I don’t think you’re strange.”
It is so nice to be accepted even if it’s by only one person, “Thank you, Rhea.”
She wraps her arms around me and gives me a tight hug before she starts to help me organize the pile of clothes I’ve amassed.
“You know Calah, Spain is so perfect for you.”
“How do you figure that one deary?”
“I know it’s a stereotype but aren’t like Latin men very passionate? I bet you will meet your prince charming there.”
“One can only hope.”
“No more hoping, what would Ellamay do?”
We both start to laugh until the saleswoman comes in and collects everything I want to buy, the pile is huge. I can’t believe I’m about to do this but when you haven’t shopped for a long time you need things; at least that’s what I’m telling myself.
After I finish running up my credit card I drop Rhea back off at her car and head home. I’m not planning on going into the office tomorrow, there is still a lot to pack and plan for plus I’ll have an early flight the following day. That night I can’t help imagining more wonderful stories of my upcoming adventures in Spain. Maybe this is why people think I’m strange but who cares, it’s helping me deal with the nerves.
*****
The next morning when I wake up I let myself stay in bed and read the Ellamay book for a while. There is no rush to get to work and now that I bought all new clothes my packing is going to be easy. Around lunchtime, I get up and make a cup of coffee.
After I finish packing everything into my suitcase I decide to take a shower and get back into pajamas. This is the last day I’ll really feel comfortable for a while so I decide to bask in it. I order a pizza and sit on the couch most of the day until it’s later in the evening. My mother is forever and always in my head so I double-check my packing one more time and stage everything for the morning. I’m not sure what my sleeping schedule will be like with the time change so I want all the rest I can get. Tomorrow will be a huge day, I get back into bed and go to sleep early.
When I wake up the next morning I hop in the shower then get out and try to get dressed but before I’m finished the doorbell is buzzing.
“Come in,” I yell, it figures I got ready five minutes early so she’s ten minutes early.
I hear a key turn in the lock and then my mother steps into the living room, “Hi sweetheart.”
“Hi mother.”
“Are you all ready to go, is there anything I can help with?”
I decide to go give her a hug. My father is right, it’s free and once I get on the plane I’m not sure when I’ll see her again. When I move to embrace her she smiles and happily returns the hug.
“How are you feeling?” she asks.
“I’m good, all packed, I’m almost ready to go.”
“Is there anything you need me to check on while you’re gone?”
"No, I don’t have anything to worry about. I unplugged a lot of things, my fridge is empty, and my trash is out."
"Alright my dear, well I guess all that is left to do is go."
"Right."
She reaches for my hand, "Calah, I’m really proud of you for standing up for yourself with us. Do you promise to stand up for yourself while you’re away?"
"Yes, mother, I promise."
She looks like she might cry, "Hey! Mother, it’s just a business trip, there is no reason for tears, I’ve done this before," I say trying to ease her worry.
"I know but not in another country on the other side of the world."
"You’re being very dramatic," I laugh, "I am a big girl and I promise I’ll be just fine."
After one final hug the two of us make a sweep of my apartment before we carry my bags down to her car and she drives me to the airport. She grills me relentlessly on the way about what needs to be accomplished on the trip and what we are offering. She also explains what she knows about the De Leon family. By the time we get to the airport I feel really overwhelmed but I don’t want her to know because the last thing I want is for her to cry again. I put on a brave face, she lets me out at the curb and I drag my bags inside.
