Chapter 3

What was she doing, Allison asked herself for what must have been the thousandth time that day. Not only had she asked out a coffee boy, but now she couldn’t figure out what to wear. It was times like these she wished she had friends to help her. Someone to tell her she wasn’t stupid for asking Collin out; to tell her whether she should wear slacks or a skirt or if a dress was more appropriate.

She sat in the middle of her closet and picked up her phone. She began to scroll through her list of contacts: Bakery, she ordered croissants for Sundays; Baileys, her mechanic; Chinese, her Saturday dinner was always ordered in; Elizabeth, her assistant; Georgia, her hairstylist; Jack, short for Jack of All Trades which was a bookstore she frequented. Elizabeth’s name reappeared in her mind. It was the only number, as of now, that led to a genuine person.

Thinking that she could always back out at the last minute, Allison called her assistant. “Hello?”

“Elizabeth? Allison Graham here.” She didn’t know why she always felt the need to be so formal.

“Oh yes, Miss Graham,” Elizabeth responded with a bit of surprise. “What can I do for you?”

“Um,” her professionalism faltered. “Sorry to interrupt your weekend, but are you busy?”

“No, Miss Graham.”

Allison was left with no choice. “I was wondering if you might be able to help me,” If she was going to go through with this, professionalism just had to go, “with a personal matter.”

Confusion was evident when Elizabeth replied. “I’m not sure I know how I can be of any help to you.”

Allison let her head fall into her hand. This was even harder than she had imagined. “I, uh, I asked out the guy who makes my morning coffee and I don’t know what to wear.” Admitting to not knowing something made her feel weak and a bit stupid.

“Really?” Shock was evident in Elizabeth’s question and it made Allison want to hang up. She managed to control the impulse though.

“What, is that bad? I know I shouldn’t have, but—“

“No, no. It’s great. I was more surprised that you called me for guy advice. That’s all. Where are you guys going?” The crispness in Elizabeth’s voice had gone as her speech became informal.

“Out for drinks. At Stacy’s.”

“That place on the corner of 30th and Baltimore? Kind of pricey isn’t it?”

“Damn it. I hadn’t even thought of that. I just haven’t been out in forever and it was the first place I thought of and…”

“Miss Graham, Miss Graham, please calm down.”

“Allison,” she breathed rubbing her head.

“Allison, if he accepted, then he must be able to afford it or he has no idea where you’re meeting. Take some extra cash just to be safe. But I think the issue at hand is what you should wear.”

“Yes, and I have no idea what I’m doing.”

“It’s ok,” Elizabeth gave a small laugh. “Let’s start with color. What colors do you have?”

Allison looked around her closet. “Uh…black, navy blue, brown, black, a red shirt, black, black—“

“All right,” her assistant interrupted. “Let’s ignore all the black. Now, what other colors do you have?”

Allison’s responses came much slower. “Um, a gray suit…cream top, burnt orange skirt…plum dress, a teal—”

“Stop, go back. What kind of dress?”

“A turtle neck, sleeveless kind that hits just above my knees. I’m—”

“That’s the one,” Elizabeth interjected.

“What?” Allison wasn’t used to being repeatedly interrupted, especially by someone who worked for her.

“I said, ‘That’s the one.’ That’s the dress you need to wear tonight. Do you have a wide cream belt?”

“I think so,” she replied slowly. Elizabeth was moving much too quick for her.

“Good, wear it. Go for cream heels with an open toe. Also, pearls, but no necklace. As for hair, work the bangs. Got it?”

“I think so. Cream belt and shoes, pearl earrings, work the bangs.” Allison took a deep breath thinking it over in her head. “Thanks Elizabeth.”

“Lizzie and it’s not a problem. Make sure you have a good time.”

“Thanks, you too…doing whatever it is you’re doing.”

Allison hung up feeling confident, if only about her outfit. She got dressed just as Lizzie had instructed and tried her best to “work the bangs.” Amazingly she was ready early, but far too restless to wait any longer.

Traffic had been nearly unbearable, but she still arrived at Stacy’s nearly ten minutes early and was surprised to see Collin already sitting at a table. He was easy to spot in the mostly empty bar. The majority of the business crowd had gone home and the night owls hadn’t made it out yet. She took a deep breath and tried to appear confident as she walked over to him.

“Wow. You look gorgeous,” he said before she had a chance to speak. He was on his feet in an instant and kissed her cheek. Pulling out a seat for her he continued. “I hope you don’t mind, I arrived early and ordered myself a beer. I would have gotten you something, but I wasn’t sure what you’d want.” Although the pauses between sentences were brief, his speech was articulate and unhurried. Allison found it to be oddly calming.

“Thank you,” she said taking the proffered seat. Collin remained standing and she soon realized he was waiting for her to suggest a drink. She normally wasn’t one for alcohol, but felt it could really help her nerves and said the first thing that came to her mind, “I’ll have a cosmopolitan.” She went to open her clutch, but his voice stopped her.

“You may have invited me, but I insist on paying.” He smirked a bit. “Screw political correctness.” The smirk turned into a smile and Allison found a goofy grin spreading across her face.