Page 78 of Finding My Charming

I watched the exchange with acute fascination. It looked like they were on regular speaking terms. I didn’t know Grandma was such a shopper. She had great style, always had. But there was a difference between being a seventy-year-old fashionista and shopping for an eighteen-year-old. I hoped she wouldn’t be picking anything out for me that was pink or frilly or something with kittens. I cringed but quickly returned to a smile as the women continued speaking about me as if I wasn’t standing in front of them.

“Elle is moving into the dorms in a few weeks, and we need to get her everything she needs to make it comfortable as well as functional. She also needs to update her wardrobe, but we’ll be going to a few other stores to do that.”

Martha gave me a knowing smile and ushered us to the more casual living section. “We’ll start by looking at color options so we can build around that. Do you have anything in mind?”

“She needs something modern and sophisticated, but we need to keep it bright so the space doesn’t feel smaller than it already is.”

Apparently, I wasn’t going to have a say in any of the decisions today.

Martha turned and took us down another row. “Shades of gray are very in right now, but when coupled with other colors, we can create a very modern palette. Do you have any favorite colors that we could incorporate?”

I opened my mouth but was cut off with Grandma’s response. “A pale purple or lavender would be perfect. That’s her favorite color.”

Martha looked to me for confirmation, but I was frozen, staring at Grandma in shock. How did she know that? I had never worn the color, but my room had a few pillows and candles in lavender shades. She must have paid more attention than I had given her credit for. I finally snapped out of it and nodded at Martha.

Grandma continued to pull off the right answers for each decision. I ended up with bedding, artwork, storage bins and organizers in shades of purple with a gray duvet cover.

I began to relax when we left that department store. Not only had she successfully picked out the perfect pieces that I loved, but she’d paid for it all. When I panicked at the total as we were checking out, she patted my arm and smiled. “I take care of my family, darling.”

We walked the bags out to the car before returning to the mall for round two: clothes shopping. I couldn’t do much about the situation, so I followed her into a different department store where she again headed straight for the junior department.

“I’d like to see you dress up a bit more in your casual clothes. You look nice at the office — I asked your father — but I only see you in poor fitting t-shirts and jeans when you’re home.”

I focused on my faded Converse and tried to think of an excuse. Truth was I didn’t feel much need to try to look cute. I was the brain child. The studious one noticed for academic achievements, not how I looked. Beth and April were the pretty ones with perfect style. Most of the time I dressed to make it through the day. Heels and skirts were not conducive to that mentality.

“Elise, you are a beautiful girl, but you aren’t doing anything for yourself by dressing so frumpy. You should want to stand out, not hide behind your clothes.” She raised a perfectly arched brow and waited for me to agree.

She did have a point. If I had any chance of being noticed this year for something other than my brain, I needed to pay more attention to my appearance.

Professors would have the potential to refer me for assistant positions and internships and wouldn’t want to recommend a sloppy-looking girl, no matter what was in my head.

“Okay.” I tried to say it with conviction, but it came out weak.

She looked me over and raised her chin slightly. “Start with your posture. You’re a slouch.” With that, she turned and started toward the dress section.

I rolled my shoulders back and stood straight behind her back. By the end of the day, I was going to look more like a Kennedy than a college student. I had a feeling in the pit of my stomach that matching pantsuits and tweed skirts were in my near future.

I was surprised that she didn’t seek out another associate to help us. Maybe she thought we could handle this part by ourselves. Depending on what she had in mind for me, I could use a middle man to help talk her out of dressing me like a business woman.

We’d gone most of the morning without talking much, so I was surprised when she stopped in front of a display of multiple summer dresses and looked back at me. “Do any of these stand out? If you find one that isn’t overly seasonal, we could find a cardigan to go over, and you can wear it into fall.”

That didn’t sound too bad. It definitely wasn’t something I would have considered, but it sounded practical while still being cute. So far, this wasn’t too bad.

The dresses on the display were all knee-length and ranged from strapless to three-quarter-sleeved with varying shades of bright colors. I steered away from the strapless numbers I knew I wouldn’t be comfortable in and stood in front of a sleeveless white-and-navy striped dress that looked modest without being shapeless. I pointed at it while giving Grandma a questioning look.

She took a step forward and picked up the bottom of the skirt and rubbed the fabric between her fingers. “This is a good choice. It’s made of jersey, so it won’t wrinkle, and it will be easy to add a jacket if you’re cold. April has a pair of brown leather sandals that would look perfect with this. We’ll have to find you a similar pair.”

I tried to hold back my grin. She’d approved of my first selection. Either I wasn’t as hopeless as I thought, or she was going easy on me. She sized me up again and sorted through the selection before pulling another dress off and handing it to me.

I checked the tag and held it out to her. “I’m a size up.”

Grandma looked like I was exhausting her. “No dear, you just don’t know how to dress your body. Trust me.”

I folded the dress over my arm and shuffled behind her.

“Pick up your feet, Elise, and pull your shoulders back. You didn’t even last three minutes.”

I stopped behind her with my mouth gaping wide. She was facing away from me. How did she know?