Angelique Morris went from local Chicago fashion staple to international fashion star when Michelle Obama wore several of her dresses over the course of a weekend trip to London, including a spectacular navy evening number that she was photographed in with Princess Kate. Angelique’s career blew up. And being a Chicago girl, she’s kept her headquarters right here at home. It’s a huge get for Lynne, and I’m really excited for her.
“Signed this morning. We are taking over every aspect of her outside PR, and I’m her account director. I’ll be transitioning off of my other clients slowly as we ramp things up for her, and then focus on her work exclusively. I even have an office at her building!” Lynne is actually nearly giddy, and we all toast and sip the delicate bubbles. “I met her at a meet and greet for the DuSable Museum—Theaster Gates is trying to get me to join their board—and we hit it off. When she mentioned she was in need of a PR firm to do a bit more than her in-house team was able to do on their own, and she didn’t want to take on the care and feeding of new people for that department, I finagled a meeting and then went Full Lynne Lewiston on her. The lady didn’t have a chance!” Lynne has just managed in one breath to praise herself and her work prowess, indicate that the “join a charitable board” piece of her list is also practically locked up, and name-drop not one but two local celebrities. She is astonishing in her efficiency.
“Congrats, honey, that is just wonderful. Good for you!” Teresa says.
“Yeah, wow, that is major,” Marcy says. Marcy couldn’t care less about fashion labels, cobbling together her nonwork wardrobe at vintage stores and cheap boutiques in Wicker Park, and she has already cooked for more famous people than Lynne will ever meet in a lifetime, so she just doesn’t get fazed by it. “Congratulations.”
And then, there is an awkward silence as we sip our champagne.
“So, I guess you’ll win the bet, huh?” Marcy asks to break the quiet.
Lynne and Teresa both snap their heads around to look at her, somewhat shocked.
“So, you know about that, huh?” Lynne says, narrowing her eyes at me.
“Um, yeah, well, Eloise mentioned it, you guys helping each other get inspired to do some new stuff . . .” Marcy is stammering. Apparently the wine at glassblowing and now the champagne has loosened her tongue more than a little.
“Yes, well,” Lynne says, faking nonchalance. “We all have always supported each other in our endeavors. This seemed a fun way to spend the last months of our thirties.”
“It doesn’t matter, Marcy, of course you know, you’re El’s best friend! And it has been a good way to get us all out of our ruts. I’d say you should jump in and join us, but . . .”
“But you aren’t turning forty this May,” Lynne says, shutting Teresa down.
“Nope!” Marcy says. “I’ve got four more years for that.” Unlike me, who did a regular college degree before culinary school, Marcy went to culinary school right out of high school.
“Well, from what I’ve seen, you won’t need any bet to get you to do the stuff you need in your life. You seem to just really go for things. I really envy that,” Teresa says. She is great about seeing the best in people, and her impulse is dead-on. I can’t think of one thing Marcy ever wanted that she didn’t just go after.
“Aw, thanks, Teresa, that’s so sweet. I think because I lost my mom so young, and she was such a go-getter, I’ve always just had that drive to not waste any time questioning stuff, you know?” Marcy’s mom died of cancer when Marcy was twelve, but the whole time she was in treatment, she was still living life to the fullest—getting her pilot’s license, learning Spanish, raising money for medical research. Marcy said she never once wallowed or acted like a victim, she just tackled her treatment and her bucket list with equal passion, and instilled in Marcy a sense of appreciating life and being willing to take on a certain amount of risk when necessary to achieve your dreams and make sure that you are living your fullest life.
“Anyway, thank you all for celebrating with me. There will be a little party in a few weeks for Angelique’s housewares launch. Everyone who is anyone will be there—it will be celebrities galore! I’ll put all of you on the list!” And now we are back to talking about Lynne.
“Sounds fun,” says Marcy in a tone that indicates that it doesn’t sound like anything of the sort.
“Awesome, thanks, Lynne, that will be great,” I say, waving off Lynne’s proffering of the bottle to top me off. “It’s getting late, and I’ve got a big day at work tomorrow.” I just want to get out of here and call Shawn.
“Strenuous cooking to be done?” Lynne asks. “I’d imagine you’d be slammed with the season.”
“Yep! The family is hosting their annual holiday party this weekend, and while they cater some of the big parts of the meal, I’m in charge of all appetizers and desserts and a few of the side dishes.”
“Ugh, that fiddly stuff is so much harder than the big-ticket items,” Marcy says, immediately having my back. “I’d rather do a ham or a turkey than a ton of apps any day!”
“Yeah, I should go too, get home before my menfolk tear the damn house to bits. Great night, and congrats again, Lynne, super proud of you, girl,” Teresa says, hoisting herself up with the help of her cane.
“Well, thanks, everyone, for coming over.” Lynne gets up to walk us all out, and we head downstairs, where our cars are parked in the circle driveway of the building. We make sure that Teresa is all set before we get into my car and I head for Marcy’s Wicker Park apartment.
“Thanks for including me, El. I had fun,” she says as we pull up into an empty parking spot in front of her building on Evergreen.
“Sorry if Lynne was a little prickly.”
“It’s all good. I get it. She predates me and wants me to know where I stand.”
“Yeah, it’s weird. I mean, she’s known me longer . . .”
“But I know you better?”
“I think that’s probably it. She knows the me that I was, but you know the me that I am now, and you have been there for all the important stuff—my becoming who I am, my dad’s illness and death, the whole Bernard debacle.”
“Speaking of which, how goes your fledgling romance?”
“It’s fine, thank you.”
“Cagey. And why don’t you want them to know? I mean, Lynne is a tough nut, but she really seems to care about you, and Teresa would be planning your wedding.”
“Exactly. I want to know what I think and how I feel before I get any input from other sources, if you know what I mean. I don’t want Lynne to have her opinions, I don’t want Teresa pushing it to be more serious than it is or should be. I need to just be in the moment with him and see where it goes and how I feel about that before I have to listen to any voices besides my own, if that makes any sense.”
“It does. For what it is worth, I thought he was really awesome, and the two of you seemed to have very genuine and positive energy. I’ll wait to hear from you on how it’s going and if you decide it is time to go public.”