“It’s awful. And it’s going to cost about ten thousand dollars.”
On hearing that figure, Scarlett was struck silent. Lola went through the bags, trying to calm herself down.
“This isn’t a party for me,” Lola said. “It’s a party for them to show off and make it all official. All I have to do is be gracious. I picked these clothes out, though. Now look at this. It’s for you.”
She went over to one of the garment bags and unzipped it, revealing a dress. Even at a first glance, it was clear that it was perfect for Scarlett. It was midnight blue silk, with a fitted bodice and a full skirt, with a wide swath of steel-silver silk at the waist that wrapped around and tied at the front. At the very bottom, there was a fringe of silvery-gray tulle.
“It’s very Grace Kelly. And it will be amazing with your hair. And here are the shoes…and the purse…” Lola was already fishing around in a bag, producing silver shoes and a bag. “Now, if you don’t like this, it can go back, but I think you will…or I hope you will…and I have a seamstress who can do all alterations in twenty-four hours, and you don’t even have to go anywhere, she’ll come here, but I know your size so this should fit, but…”
“It’s amazing,” Scarlett said.
“And this is to go with it,” she said, handing Scarlett a small blue jewelry box from a shop on Madison Avenue that she had passed a million times but never been in. Scarlett took the box a bit warily and opened it. Inside, there was a heart-shaped platinum necklace set with a large blue stone.
“It’s a sapphire,” Lola said. “Take it out, look at it in the light. Go on!”
The chain of the necklace was very delicate, so Scarlett carefully removed it from the small velvet bindings that kept it in place. She held the heart up to the window, allowing the light to shine through it.
“Isn’t it pretty?” Lola asked eagerly. “I thought you would love it. If you don’t, they have loads of others, but I thought…”
“How much did this cost?” Scarlett asked.
“Don’t worry about that. Do you like it?”
“Yeah, but…I thought you just had a little allowance…”
“This is different. Try on the dress! Try it on!”
Lola pulled a tiny shopping bag out of a larger one, and then extracted from that a pink tissue-wrapped bundle.
“New bra to go with it,” she said, unrolling the paper.
Scarlett accepted the bra and changed into it, while Lola lifted the dress off its hanger. She lowered it down over Scarlett’s head, trapping her in a world of blue satin with occasional scraps of tulle. Lola tugged it down firmly, adjusting it over her hips, tugging at the back, zipping and hooking everything into place.
Scarlett looked in the slightly dusty mirror. For a moment, she tried to fight loving the dress, but it was simply impossible. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen, and she could barely believe it was hers. This is what it meant for something to fit well. This is what people meant by real artistry in clothing. This was the feeling of silk nestled against her skin, forming a shape around her that was graceful and elegant, making her into a new kind of person—a beautiful person. A more confident person. A more together person. A…
A richer person.
“Oh my God, Scarlett,” Lola said, putting her hand over her mouth. “I knew it would be good on you but…oh my God. You’re so beautiful.”
Scarlett smoothed her hands over the fabric of the skirt.
“I hope they all turn out this good!” Lola squealed. She fussed around Scarlett for a moment, tugging material this way and that, feeling around the waist, examining the hemline from the floor, checking the shoulders, and finally studying the strain of the material around the chest.
“You’re bustier than I realized,” Lola said, checking to see if there was any material to spare. “We’re going to have to have this let out a little. But that’s an easy fix. This is the only thing we need to do for yours.”
She got out a big notebook covered in light blue leather, flipped through a few pages of scrawled notes and swatches of fabric, and wrote something down.
“It’s just a party,” she said, mostly to herself. “It’s just a party.”
“You obviously don’t want the party,” Scarlett said. “So why don’t you just tell them no?”
Lola looked up from the book and sighed.
“Mom and Dad said the same thing, but…the Sutcliffes have to make a statement in order to be happy. They have to spend a bunch of money and have the right people see that Chip didn’t just run off with his girlfriend, that it’s all approved of and correct. It has to look right. It’s like a show, and I just have to be in it, and then we’ll have peace.”
“What makes you think they’ll be any different after the party?”