"It's awfully cute" said the woman in the fitting room.
It reminded me of my Nana, the way she said it.
I adored my Nana. She was a champion of mine. She encouraged me, indulged me, and loved me deeply. That summer in University I’d spent with them, she’d found me a music teacher and drove me to my lesson every week. She’d tell me tales of her exploits, she’d laugh, and sing. She’d dance across the kitchen floor with a swift footstep, laughing at my clumsy attempts to copy her.
I shook my head from my reverie. The woman was looking at me with an expression that told me I’d taken too long to respond.
I looked at myself in the mirror again.
“Yes, I suppose it is” I said.
The reflection looking back at me was elegant in a way that I wasn’t used to. The suit fitted perfectly, and I loved the feel of the luxurious fabric. My swiftly pulled back hair resembled a chic tousled ponytail.
“I love it” I said quietly.
She nodded and beamed back at me. Appreciation flooded through me. She could have dismissed me - untidy, scruffy thing that I must have appeared in the elegant opulence of this place - but she had treated me like gold from the first.
“Let me know if there’s anything else you’d like to see” she said. “Or a shoe to try?”
I glanced at my toes under the rich fabric, and at my scuffed shoes in the corner of the elegant fitting room.
“Oh yes please!” I answered.
She scurried off with another smile. I looked at my reflection again. I sensed Nana with me.
“I’m going to leave in this suit” I told us - my reflection and her spirit.
Yes my darling, you absolutely are.