Sometimes you have a plan of where you're going and sometimes you just follow your feet and the invisible pull of a compass within you. Preston didn't know what he was looking for, really, so he followed that strange compass.
"I think I know where to go," he said to Kate as they got into the car. "I've heard people talking about it..."

Preston drove her to Enchantment, the store he'd heard about. He walked past it sometimes and stopped to look in the windows, wishing he could afford to buy Kate clothes like that. She'd look good in them, that was for sure...
"This is the place," he said and smiled over at her. "I've been wanting to bring you here for a long time and here we are finally. Whatever you want from here, I'll get it for you." Kate's heart froze the moment she looked out the passenger window. Of all the stores in London, why did he have to bring her here? And he was so excited about it too! She couldn't go back in there, not after what had happened before. She had to get them out of here.
"Oh Preston, I don't know, it looks really expensive, and I'm not really dressed for an upscale place."

Preston glanced at the store again. "Well, it's a little expensive, but... this is special. I want to be able to get you something really nice this time... we don't do things like this often. And everyone else will be dressed nicely. I'd love for you to steal the show and knock them all dead!"

"What happened to worrying about competition? Really Preston, it's very sweet of you, but I don't need something fancy like that. I'd be just as happy with a simple little dress from the department store."

"No, Kate... I really want you to have something nice," he said. "Come on, let's go look at the dresses at least. And if something looks good, I don't care how much it costs, we're getting it."

"I told you to pick, I don't really need to go in. Just grab one in my size and I'll see it at home. It'll be a surprise."

Preston shook his head. "Come on, baby, we're going in there and we're gonna get you a treat like you deserve. Come on." He offered his hand, grinning a little. "I'll even come in the dressing room with you, if you want... you know, sneak in and give you an opinion or two."

"No!" Kate said, much louder than she intended. "I mean, I just don't want to. Why does it have to be this place?"

This was definitely not normal. Something had happened to Kate, that much was becoming very clear, very quickly.

"Why shouldn't it be? Is there something wrong with this place? Come on, Kate, what's going on?"

"Nothing! Why does there have to be something going on?"
People walking by were starting to take notice of her raised voice.

Preston looked back at her, taking a deep breath. He wasn't going to be able to back down from this again. He was going to have to face it headlong, even if it got loud and ugly. "Something's going on, Kate. You're not telling me something,"

She crossed her arms defiantly. "No there's not!"

"Yeah, you don't usually act like this. I've never seen you act like this. It's like I'm dealing with someone I've never even met before, Kate. You're acting weird and you're not talking."

She softened a little. "Preston, please don't make me go in there."

"Why? What is it about this place that's got you spooked? Did you come here earlier or something? Do you know someone who works here? Come on... just talk to me, baby."

Her eyes started watering so she shut them tight and shook her head, her arms now hugging her body.

"It's nothing, it's just stupid" she mumbled.

"No, it's not stupid," he said and moved closer to her. "Come on, Kate. Come on, talk to me, baby, talk to me. We don't keep secrets. I love you, you can trust me. Tell me what's going on..."

She sniffled. "It was stupid; I just had a little panic attack or something".

He felt compassion sieze his heart and he reached for her. "It's okay, Kate... you don't have to feel bad about it. Why do you think it happened? Was it too hot in there or something? Were you hungry?"

"No, no, it was nothing like that. I don't know what happened. I was just trying on a dress that Candy and the sales girls liked, and everything went crazy and my head hurt and I couldn't breathe. I felt so stupid. They must have thought I was insane."

"Aww, honey... I don't think you're crazy. Things like that happen sometimes. It's okay." He shrugged. "I mean, weirder things have happened. Maybe you just didn't like all of the attention... I knew a guy that passed out in school when he had to give a speech. And I knew a couple of guys who threw up when they were put on the spot."

"Really?" Stray tears spilled onto her cheeks as she looked up at him.

"Yeah," he said and smiled a little. "No kidding. This one kid was throwing up all over the place... and he ended up going home crying. You know, from all the attention. It's normal... but you're so beautiful, you better get used to it... the whole world's gonna love you someday, I just know it." He winked.

Kate couldn't help but smile when he said things like that. "I don't want the whole world to love me. I just want you."

"Alright, well... I'll be giving you plenty of attention," he said and kissed her cheek. "Now, come on... I'll go in with you... and we'll look together."

"They're all going to look at me."

Preston tugged on her hand. "It's okay if they look. I'll be right there and if you want me to, you know, deck one of them... I will. How about that?"

"You? Deck someone?" she smirked, "well I'm not counting on that, but I guess I'll go. Just don't make me try on that dress, ok?"

"Alright," Preston agreed. He had to laugh a little at her saying she didn't count on him decking anyone. He'd never really hit anyone in his life, except when he was in elementery school. "You only try on dresses that you want to. Deal."

"You pick them though! I'll just have the option to veto the ones I really hate."

Preston laughed and kissed his wife's hand. "Alright. I'll pick the dresses and stand by like Andy Warhol while you twirl around in them. Wait, strike that. Not Andy Warhol... like a man completely in love with you. How about that?"

"Alright, but keep those salespeople away, okay? I don't want them all watching again."

Preston nodded. "Deal." He opened his door and climbed out of the car, and then hurried around to open the door for her. He offered his hand, like a real gentleman, but as soon as she got out, he kissed her neck and grinned. And slipped his arm around her shoulders.

"We'll never make inside like that Preston" she giggled.

Preston nuzzled her neck again. "Ah, well... that doesn't sound so bad," he whispered. He held the door open for her when they got to the front door of the shop.

“Are you sure you still want to go in? We could just go home instead... might be more fun…”

“Of course we’re going in!" Preston said. "Hey... it's gonna be fine." He winked at her again and walked into the shop with Kate.

She clung to his hand and looked away when she saw the same ladies were still working in the store. There was no way she could go unnoticed with how she had behaved before. She pressed her cheek to his shoulder and kept her eyes focused on the floor, letting him lead her blindly. Preston gave a quick nod to the employees and started glancing around. Honestly, he was way out of his element in a place like this, but it didn't mean he couldn't try to be helpful. He saw a red dress that might look good, and a low cut white dress... he saw a few plain black dresses that didn't interest him, and kept looking around.

One of the sales associates approached them cautiously. "Did you, uh, want another dressing room? For those?" she glanced nervously back and forth between Kate, Preston, and the gowns.

Preston spotted something then, a black dress, different from the others... quite a nice little thing, too. He couldn't take his eyes off it. He could just picture Kate in it, and a grin came to his face. "Hey, baby," he whispered in her ear. "What about that one?" He motioned at the black dress that had gotten his attention.

"No!" she snapped, causing heads to turn in her direction. "Not that one."

He looked at the dress again. "Why? You don't like it? I think it'd look good on you." He slid his hand slowly down her back and then pulled her towards the dress a little. "You'd look great..."

"No, no, no Preston please, no." Her voice was barely above a frightened whisper

Preston raised an eyebrow. "What?" he whispered back. "What's wrong, you don't like it?"

"No, no I hate it, no. That's the one when it happened. No."

Preston looked at the dress for a long time, studying it from a slight distance. Nothing seemed any different about it from the other dresses. Sure, the price tag might scare people, but that was pretty normal in a shop like this. He moved closer to the dress, raising an eyebrow. Nope, nothing so weird about it.

"Why do you think?" he ventured to ask, trying to keep his tone conversational.

"What do you mean? I thought we went over this, Preston. I don't know why it happened. I was just wearing that one when it happened and I don't want to put it back on!"

"Uhhh... okay," Preston said. "Why don't you look around then, and I'll look around and I'll see if I like anything else." He really just wanted to get closer to the offensive dress, though, check it for some kind of alien spores or something. Honestly, it didn't make sense that she was freaking out over a dress, and certainly not one like that...

"Alright, but promise me you won't put that dress in the dressing room."

Preston felt a little guilty but he nodded. "Sure, whatever. I won't put it in the dressing room," he agreed. He hadn't promised her he wouldn't look at it, though.

Kate watched him skeptically while she backed away slowly, still not sure she believed his intentions were perfectly innocent when it came to that dress. But then something gold glittering in the light caught her eye, and she turned away from him to dig out the hanger.

Preston smiled after her, waiting until she was sufficiently busy with some gold dress, and then hurried over to the black dress. He looked it over, front and back, inside and out, at the price tag and even considered smelling it- but that was dumb wasn't it?- so he finally glanced around to make sure Kate wasn't watching. She was still busy, back turned. He pulled a salesperson aside.
"Hey... I guess my wife was in here earlier?" he asked the saleswoman.

"Oh, um, yes, she certainly was." The woman never took her eyes off Kate for more than a second, as if she might burst into flames at any given time.

"Well, apparently she had some, uh... trouble?" Preston asked, his voice lowered. "With trying on a dress?"

"Erm.. yes, she did. That one you're holding in fact" she gestured towards it quickly before returning to Kate-watch.

Preston looked at the dress. "Any possible reasons why she did that?" he asked.

"You're asking me? One minute she was fine, and then she was on the floor freaking out about something, then her and her friend took off."

"Ah." Preston nodded, though he honestly had no idea what any of this meant. "Did the dress look good on her?"

The woman looked him in the eye and perked up at this. "Oh absolutely! It's like it was made for her! It was absolutely perfect. Such a shame it didn't work out."

"Hmmm..." Preston said and looked at the dress again. "I can imagine... maybe I should suggest she try it on. Gently. You know. I think she'd look great in it..."

The woman bobbed her head excitedly. "Oh yes, definitely. Maybe if she sees it on again and hears it from you, she'll come around!"

Preston nodded finally and walked towards Kate, holding the dress. He just hoped he wouldn't make her upset with it.
"Hey, honey?" he called quietly. "Babe... just do me a favor, please.. please, just try the dress on."

Kate spun around, seeing red the moment she recognized the dress in his hand. "Preston, no! Why can't you just let it go? I don't want to put that one on again! There's a store full of other dresses, why do you have to insist on that one?"

"Because you're a knockout in anything but I really think you're going to look great in this one. Come on, just try it on, for me. I want to see you in it, please. Come on, babe." He stuck out his lower lip playfully. "Come on..."

"Preston, I'm not kidding around about this."

Preston just kept up, though. He even moved a little closer and planted a kiss on her neck. "Please. For me. I'll come in there when you try it on. Come on."

She could feel her walls crumbling in his warmth. "Preston..."

He put his arm around her shoulders and hugged her to his side, holding the dress in front of her. He gave her one more puppy dog look.

She let out a long breath. "Fiiiiiine, but we're not getting it."

"Alright," he agreed and tried not to smile. Alright, well... at least his powers of persuasion still worked. That was how he'd gotten their first date, after all... he'd nearly chased her down into traffic to get her phone number.

Kate trudged into the dressing room holding the offending dress away from her like it was diseased. She decided she might as well try that one on first and get it over with so Preston would leave her alone about it. Then he would either see her have another attack, and feel rightfully guilty, or he would be satisfied that she tried and let it go. Slowly she undressed, trying to put off slipping into the dress for as long as possible.

Preston waited just outside, smiling at anyone who glanced his way. "How's it going?" he called after a while, wondering what was taking her so long.

"Do I have to? What if it happens again?"

"I'll be right here," he called back. "I promise."

A moment later, Kate shoved open the door with a scowl on her face, and a gorgeous gown hugging her body. "There, are you happy now?"

Preston had been planning to just be nice about it, smile and say a few nice words but he found he couldn't even speak. Oh, it was perfect alright. Perfect. It fit her like it had been tailored.
"It's... great," he said at last. "I mean it, Kate."

"Yeah, I know, Candy and the salespeople told me. I'm going to take it off now."

"No, wait..." he said and walked around her, looking at her. "No, no... Kate, you have to buy this. Seriously. It looks... perfect. I'm not kidding."

"Preston I told you when I agreed to try it on that we weren't going to buy it. I really don't feel comfortable in it."

“Please Kate,” he put his arm around her, “I’ll be right there with you, the whole time, just like this. You’re always comfortable with me, right? So you’ll be fine.”

She looked up at him with uncertainty. “I don’t know Preston.”

He leaned down to press his lips against hers softly. “It’s just you and me, like always. You’re still you, I’m still me, and that’s never going to change, no matter what you’re wearing.”

“I guess you’re right,” she sighed, “and if you really like it that much, then I’ll wear it. Just for you.”

He grinned and kissed her again. “You’ll see, we’ll have such a great time that you’ll forget all about what happened with the dress, I promise.”

She wasn’t convinced at all, but he loved her so much, and she knew it would be a cold knife in his heart if she couldn’t trust him, so she nodded and forced a smile. It was one night. She would pretend everything was alright, and then it would be over. It wouldn’t be enjoyable, but it would worth the luminous smile on his face.