"Yes, and it's really great for a day at the office," Maggie pointed out. "It's not a dinner date dress."
"Then the blouse and the pants I have on?" Linda held out the blouse and glanced at the black linen pants with the sharp pleats and gold clasp that sat just above her flat stomach.
"Mmm," Maggie said, rubbing her mouth thoughtfully before shaking her head and leaning into Linda's closet, where she began sorting through the items hanging in it. "No. No. No." She sighed and shook her head. Before finding another pair of dress pants that were a dark burgundy. "These." She handed them to Linda. "Put them on and I'll be right back with the perfect top to match."
"These?" Linda asked, holding the pants up.
"Yes." Maggie nodded and pointed. "Those. Put them on." She turned and left the room.
Linda whirled and held the pants against her.
"Mmm," Linda said as she quickly put them on and pursed her lips. "Yes, Maggie's right. These are perfect."
"Of course I'm right," Maggie said, walking back into the room holding a soft gold blouse that shimmered like liquid satin in her hands. "I design and dress people for a living. Here. I was going to give this to you for your birthday. But I think you need it now."
"Maggie!" Linda breathed, staring at a Maggie original. "It's beautiful." The blouse caught the late afternoon light as Maggie held it up, the silk falling in soft golden folds that seemed to move on their own. A delicate scoop neckline, three-quarter sleeves that would skim her elbows, and the kind of cut that Maggie's hands always managed, generous where a woman wanted softness and clean where she wanted line.
Linda slipped off the top she had on and pulled the golden one on. The silk slid over her shoulders the way only good silk did, cool against her skin for half a second and then warm, settling against her like it had been cut for her body specifically, whichwas because it had been. She felt the soft weight of it pool at her hips and the clean line of the sleeve fall against her elbow.
"Maggie," Linda murmured. "It feels incredible."
"Wait until you see it," Maggie answered.
Linda turned to the mirror.
The woman looking back at her was not the woman who had been holding two indecisive dresses ten minutes ago. The gold caught the late afternoon light and threw it softly back along her collarbones. The burgundy pants grounded the shimmer instead of competing with it. The neckline sat exactly where a neckline should sit on a fifty-nine-year-old woman who was about to be looked at properly for the first time in a long time.
"Oh, Maggie," Linda breathed.
"Now the shoes," Maggie said briskly, already turning back to the closet. “Ah there they are and still in the box I gave you them in.”
She came out a moment later with a pair of gold heels held up in one hand. They were not too high or the type of shoes a woman regretted wearing by the end of the night. But they were high enough to give Linda another two inches and finish the line of the pants exactly the way Maggie wanted it finished.
"Maggie, I love those shoes," Linda said. “I’ve just never had an occasion to wear them yet.”
“You haven’t worn them since I gave them to you at Christmas?” Maggie blinked at her in surprise.
“There hadn’t been an occasion to wear them,” Linda admitted. “And I was waiting for a special occasion as they are expensive.”She raised her eyebrows accusingly. “And far more than the present cap we give each other each year.”
Maggie just gave a soft laugh at the accusation. "Well it’s a special occasion and you’re wearing them tonight," she pointed out. "Besides, Darius is tall so even with these heels, you'll still be looking up at him. So put them on.” Her voice brooked no argument. “It’s not like when you were with Richard. He hated you wearing heels because he couldn't stand being the same height as you."
Linda laughed, surprised at how easily it came.
"I'd forgotten about that," Linda said.
"I haven’t," Maggie answered. "He insisted you wear flats on your wedding day because of it." Her eyes narrowed and flashed angrily. “It nearly ruined the entire look of the wedding gown I’d designed just for you.”
Maggie helped Linda with her hair, soft make-up, and a splash of Linda's favorite perfume. When she was ready she stood in front of her bedroom mirror once again and sucked in a breath.
"You look amazing," Maggie said. "I remember when you went on dates and always looked like a million dollars. It's the younger Linda in a more mature form." Her eyes met Linda's in the mirror. "You look gorgeous."
"Thank you," Linda's voice caught as she glanced back at her image. The woman standing before her was not the same woman who'd arrived in Sweet Blossom Bay a few days ago.
As Maggie moved to adjust the blouse, Linda caught the glint of the locket around Maggie's neck.
"Is that new?" Linda asked, turning to point at the locket.
Maggie stood and pulled it out of her top to show Linda. "Yes." She nodded. "Well, it's antique..."
