After she finished her call to Claire, Suzy stood up and opened her office door. She refused to hide away and have a pity party all afternoon. She’d be cheerful and carefree even if it killed her.
As she was going to sit back down, she saw Beth standing in the doorway hesitantly. She gave her a warm smile and waved her in. “Is this a good time to go over the schedule for the rest of the week, sis?”
“Sure, fire away.” She knew Beth was studying her for any sign of a chink in her amour, but she was determined that she wouldn’t find one. She’d always hated people who brought their personal problems to the office. It’s not that she was unfeeling, but she was really at a loss as to how best help someone who was crying all over their day calendar. She generally asked them if they wanted to have a drink that evening and then prayed the rest of the day that they would recover before then.
Suzy was considered somewhat of a gypsy or free spirit at work, but it didn’t take people long to realize that she was tough as nails when she had to be and sugary sweet when she needed a favor from a vendor. Until Gray, she’d always been very careful to keep her personal life disconnected from Danvers. Her job had been her escape when she’d broken up with Jeff. When she walked in the door at work, it was time to leave her problems at the door. She joked around with her co-workers and teased her friends but at the end of the day, she had a job to do.
Suzy was surprised to see that it was almost lunch time by the time they had finished. “Did you ask Ella if she wanted to go to the mall with us?”
“Yeah, she’s on board. I told her we would meet her at the elevators. Are you ready now?”
“Oh crap, I forgot to ask Nick if we could borrow his van. Hang on while I call him.” As Suzy started to pick up the telephone, Beth pulled a key ring from her pocket and dangled it in the air. “I’ve got it covered.”
Suzy gave her a high-five asking, “When did you get it? I didn’t see Nick come through.”
“Oh, I just thought of it earlier and buzzed up to his floor to ask. I knew it would be easier for you and Claire to travel in.”
“Well that’s good. Why in the world is she blushing? Does she think I’m going to be pissed because she dared to leave her office and go to another floor without asking? Geez, I’m not that bad am I? “Let’s see if we can head Claire off at the elevator so she won’t have to walk all the way down here.”
Suzy positioned her crutches and followed Beth down the hallway. Claire had just walked up to Ella’s desk when they got there. Soon they were all settled in the van and on their way to the mall. Beth and Ella were indeed nice enough to drop them at the entrance and they walked inside the door to wait for them to park the van.
When they were all together again, they started browsing in the stores. Beth and Ella had picked out a few items, but Suzy had yet to find ‘the dress.’ By the fifth store she was starting to wonder if she ever would. Claire had split up to go into the Baby Gap, a store that gave her cold chills. Why couldn’t they at least put heads on their mannequins? Seeing those little bodies without them kind of freaked her out.
Surprisingly enough, she found exactly what she was looking for in the store next to the Gap. Now I see how it goes. You buy a sexy dress and a pair of ‘do me’ shoes and then in nine months you end up shopping in the Baby Gap. Note to self, buy a case of condoms and double bag that sucker!
Beth and Ella stood outside the dressing room as she went inside to try it on. She hoped it looked as good as it did on the hanger. The dress looked simple from the front. It was an emerald green in a slinky, jersey material with boat neckline. It almost looked demure until you got a look at the back. The dress draped very low and exposed her back almost to the curve of her hips. It was both elegant and sexy, exactly the combination she’d been searching for.
Even though she knew it was crazy since she could only wear one, Suzy found a beautiful pair of sandals with mile high heels in a tan color. The sandals were simple with thin leather straps over her toes and ankle. Surely she could wear one heel along with her cast. If it was too uncomfortable, she’d make do with a flat shoe. She couldn’t wait until she finally got the cast removed in a few more weeks.
Finally everyone had their purchases and they grabbed a quick sandwich in the food court before heading back to work. There must be something to retail therapy because she did feel better when she got back to the office. Hopefully if she just stayed busy, the rest of the week would fly by.