Boyfriend Shopping: Shopping for My Boyfriend / My Only Wish / All I Want for Christmas Is You. Earl Sewell

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      “May I help you find something?” asked a sales associate as soon as she saw us.

      “No, thanks. We’re just looking,” I said to her.

      “Well, what are you looking for? Maybe I can help you find it.” She was determined to be helpful in some way.

      “I’m not sure, but we’ll know it when we see it,” I said, hoping she would pick up the hint and move on.

      “What do you think about this one?” Lauren had moved over to where the dresses were located while I was busy getting rid of the help.

      “That’s cute,” I said as I touched the material. Lauren held the dress up to her body.

      “Hmm,” I said.

      “What? Be honest,” Lauren insisted.

      “I’m not too crazy about the color.” I raised my eyebrow and twisted my mouth a bit to indicate that the shade just wasn’t right for her.

      Lauren and I moved on to several other smaller stores. Eventually we ended up at another large department store that had a selection of dresses that suited both our tastes. I let Lauren try on her dress first while I waited. She had picked out a red velvet scoop neck and draped flowing skirt that fastened at the waist with a black patent belt. When she emerged from the fitting-room stall, I was there to scrutinize how the dress fit and looked.

      “That looks so hot on you,” I complimented her. “Turn around so I can see the back.” Lauren turned and looked over her shoulder at me to gauge my reaction. I smiled.

      “Do you really think it’s nice?” she asked again.

      “Yes. You look perfect,” I said.

      “So you think I should get it?” she asked.

      “You would be crazy not to.”

      “I’ll have to find some shoes and earrings to go with it,” she said.

      “I know the perfect place we can go,” I responded, thinking of one of my favorite shoe stores that was on the other side of the mall.

      “Go try your dress on. I’ll wait out here for you,” Lauren said. I took my dress into the fitting room. I had picked out a classic A-line sheath dress. If it fit well I planned to purchase a silver heart locket and some silver star earrings that dangled. I would also need to double back and get the red high-heel pumps with the silver bows adorning the heels that we saw at another store.

      When I stepped out of the fitting-room stall in my dress, I caught Lauren’s attention. When our eyes met I could tell something was wrong right away.

      “Does the dress really look bad on me?” I asked, feeling self-conscious. Lauren walked closer to me, looped her arm through mine and pulled me away from the fitting-room stalls into another area where the mirrors were.

      “What’s going on?” I demanded to know.

      “Shh.” Lauren quieted me. Once we reached a safe distance she began to speak softly.

      “Anna, Bernita is here, trying on dresses,” Lauren said.

      “What? Where?” I asked, taking a quick look around.

      “She’s in one of the stalls. She’s here with that girl over there.” Lauren nodded her head in the direction of a girl with luminous eyes and pale skin. I didn’t know the girl personally but saw her often around school.

      “Bernita is looking at the same dress that you have on,” Lauren said.

      “Geez, of all the stores she could be shopping in, why did she have to come to this one?” I wasn’t expecting Lauren to answer that question. It was just a thought that had run across my mind and rushed out of my mouth.

      “Well, I just wanted to let you know,” Lauren said.

      “Thanks and I’m glad you did. How do I look?” I asked.

      “I think you look great.” Lauren smiled.

      “Come on, let’s move back closer to the fitting-room stalls. We left our purses in there and I wouldn’t want someone shady like Bernita to see an opportunity and run with it.” We headed back toward that area and then stood in front of a large trifold mirror that allowed us both to look at ourselves from various angles.

      “Do you think it’s too formfitting?” I asked Lauren as I tugged on the dress, concerned that it was making my behind look bigger than necessary.

      “Why are you looking for something to be wrong? That dress fits you perfectly and Jeremy’s eyes are going to pop out of his head when he sees you in it.” Lauren swept away a loose strand of my hair that was on my shoulder.

      “Oh, no, you don’t have on that dress!” I looked in the mirror and saw Bernita.

      “Yes, I do and I look fabulous in it.” I put my hand in the air for a high five from Lauren, who gladly gave it to me.

      “You might as well put it back because you look fat in it. Your friend just doesn’t have the heart to tell you the truth.” Bernita’s low-as-a-cockroach personality emerged.

      “Who invited you into our conversation?” I said, allowing a frown of annoyance to tug at the corners of my mouth.

      “Seriously. Real talk. You don’t have enough cleavage up top to really rock that dress like I do.” Bernita made a gesture around her boobs like a hand model displaying a product.

      “Why are you even over here by us? There is another mirror over there.” Lauren waved her hand dismissively.

      Bernita scowled and looked at Lauren and me as if we were small. I could sense that Bernita was intent on getting in the last word. “You know, after seeing how ugly you look in the dress, I think I will put it back.” Bernita paused to gauge our reaction to her biting comment, but Lauren and I could not have cared less about the nasty remark she hurtled at us. Seeing that her words had no effect, Bernita flipped up her middle finger and thundered out of our area and back into the dressing-room stall.

      “Ooh, I can’t stand that girl.” I felt contempt flowing through my bloodstream.

      “She seems like a bratty version of Scrooge to me,” Lauren said.

      “Well, if that’s the case, it’s about time that Scrooge receives a visit from the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future.” I smirked and turned back to the mirror to look at myself again.

      “Thanks for having my back,” I said.

      “It was nothing. I know you’d do the same for me in a similar situation,” Lauren said. I stepped toward her and we embraced.

      “So should I be on the fence about this dress?” I asked, pivoting from side to side and second-guessing myself about whether or not to make the purchase.

      “Anna, you need to buy that dress so that you can rock it at the holiday party. If you don’t, I will choke you.” Lauren jokingly reached out with her hands positioned like two СКАЧАТЬ