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refrigerator. Then Colton had come in like a dog looking for a belly rub,
and that was that until later.
Doreen knocked on the alley door exactly at two, and I opened it.
“Thank you!” she said, instead of hello.
Her driver was behind her, holding a huge garment bag.
“My pleasure, come in!” I held my hand out to the driver. “Here, I have
it. Are you coming in?”
“I’ll come back when she’s ready. You have it? It’s heavy.” He let the
weight of the hanger fall on my fingers.
“Wow, it is.”
He said his goodbyes and I closed the door.
“Do you want to sit?” I said to Doreen as I hung the garment bag on a
rack. “It’s not as clean as you’re used to, but I vacuumed the couch.”
Doreen stood in front of the mannequin, shaking hand pointing at the
silver dress. “This is what you wore to the Crowne Jewels?”
“Yeah.” In my fervor, I’d done things to that beautiful dress a sensible
person wouldn’t, and in front of my mother-in-law, I was suddenly ashamed
of reimagining my father’s legacy.
“It’s really something.”
Unzipping the bag, I smiled at the nice-person code for “terrible.” I
couldn’t disagree with her, but I was undaunted. The process made me
happy.
“God,” I said as the butterfly wings bled out of the open zipper. “This is
more amazing the second time I’m seeing it.”
Doreen wrung her hands together, which made them tremor together.
“What do you think? Can you fix it?”
“Let’s get it on you.”
She undressed down to her leggings and tank. I helped her get the gown
on, tucking in the NORA WARREN tag, and stood behind her in front of
the mirror. She looked pretty good, but I made a list of things I’d change if I
could. Which I couldn’t. Forget it.
“See?” she said.
“Tell me what it feels like.”
“Tight here.” She put her hands on her waist. “And here.” Top edge,
under her arms. “And when I do this”—she twisted her hips—“it moves too
much.”
“All right, get it off and we’ll see what we’ve got.”