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"To the mall and to the row of boutiques downtown, if I have to. Boone and Hank need to schmooze a client, and we're having a fancy dinner in Charleston. This place has a dress code, and I need an actual dress. I don't recall the last time I bought a dress, or had to wear one, so I figured what better thing to do, than go buy one. To do that, I need the opinion of a friend who's a female. Boone will tell me to go short, and while I wanna look hot, I'd also like to look professional. More than likely, I'll handle most of the actual communication with this client. There are a lot of logistics and..." she sighs. "The guys are mostly out in the field. I don't want the client to be thinking about the thigh I inappropriately showed at this dinner. So please," she fixes her hands like she's praying, "Come with me?"
I playfully sigh. "Oh okay. Let me tell my crew where I'm going, and make sure they're prepared."
"Ugh, Kara. They're prepared."
"I like to check."
"You like to micromanage," she argues. "If you gave them a chance, they might surprise you."
They might, but I don't like to leave things up to chance. "Can we swing by my apartment so I can change?" I question, ignoring her question.
"Sure. I'd even let you take a shower and put some makeup on."
The sentiment makes me melancholy for a moment. My life has been completely about work for far too long. I need to take these opportunities. Before I know it, we or just her, will be married and possibly a mother to a child, or life will take us on different paths and we may not have what we do right now. I swore to myself that when I could step back from the food truck, I would. Yet here I am, still making excuses because I'm scared to let my baby go. "Thank you." I give her a soft smile.
"Hey, sometimes you need help to get out of your own head. I get it. I'm the same way."
I've never had a friend like her, or had someone who understands me the way she does. "I worked so hard for it..."
"And now you get to enjoy the fruit of those labors, Kara. You're talented, you're a shrewd businesswoman, and you've got good people around. Come on, give yourself permission to have some fun. I know you want to."
"I will. It's a promise I made myself at the beginning of the year, and here we are, almost at the end. I can count on one hand how many times I've followed through with it. Life is passing me by and I'm just letting it." Sighing heavily, I wipe my hands off on a dish towel and head outside. It's time I give some of this stress to the people I'm paying to handle it.
------
"What about this one?" Alexis asks as she spins around in a circle.
It's black, and tight, but modest at the same time. "I don't know, it just doesn't look right. I think you need some sparkles. Think of our summer Taylor Swift concert. It doesn't have to be different colors like we did then, but you need something that shows off your personality, and you've still got your tan, too."
The girl working the floor hears me. "She's right. I have a gorgeous light blue sequin dress in the back. I haven't put it out yet. Would you like me to bring it out for you to try?"
I don't wait for Alexis to answer. She does things for me, and I do things for her too. Which means, I nod. "Yes, please. Even if she won't ask for it, I'd love to see it on her."
"I agree. You two wait right here. I'll be back."
Alexis whispers to me. "This place is so much fancier than I thought it was going to be. I can't believe they gave us champagne."
I nod, agreeing silently. This is a new boutique in town, and it's nicer than anything we've had previously. "I'm gonna be saving up some dollars to use it here myself. Because I love that white dress over there. I almost want to try it on, but I'm afraid I'll love it, then catch sight of the price." I whistle softly.
"Yeah, Hank is footing the bill for this, since it's mostly required for work. I wouldn't be here unless he was," she takes another drink from her flute of bubbly.
"He's a good boss."
"He's agreatboss. I'm incredibly lucky," she murmurs. "Actually, I'm incredibly lucky for Boone. Speaking of. Did you have fun with my bonus son yesterday?"
I glare at her. "Okay, I draw the line at you calling him a bonus son. He's our age. That's too weird for me."
She laughs loudly. "The other day we went out to eat, and the waiter assumed Boone was mine and Abel's dad. The way he put his arm around me and pulled me close? It was pretty hot. But enough about me. Did y'all have fun?"
"We did," I smile, remembering our afternoon in the wilderness. "We're planning to go again in a few days. But he's taking me to a train trestle."
She snorts in a very unladylike manner. "Be sure your birth control is up to date. There were many high school babies born from days spent at the train trestle."
Did Abel take other girls up there, back then? I'll have to ask him and watch his face get red. "Thanks for the heads up."
"What's Abel doing today, anyway?" She questions. "I figured since it's the weekend and all you'd be with him."
"I told him I had to work," I cringe, even as I say it, knowing I didn't have to, but chose to. "So, he's spending today with his mom."
