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Dear Reader,
I was volunteering, helping my neighbor in her vintage clothing store, when a woman came rushing in an hour before closing time. The woman looked intent on finding something. From my own shopping experience, I imagined she was going someplace that evening and suddenly thought she needed something to go with her outfit. It must be a special occasion, which means I was dealing with a fashion emergency!
"Can I help you?" I asked the panicked woman. "Are you looking for something in particular?"
"Yes, I'm going to a garden reception tomorrow afternoon," she sounded frazzled. "I'm a new mother, so I only have two dresses that fit. One is dark blue, the other is a light cream/pinkish color and I thought maybe a vintage hat would give me a special look. Do you have any hats that might work? And I'm sorry, I don't have much time. Everyone is waiting for me out in the van."
We walked around the store together, but there wasn't a hat she fell in love with, and really nothing that would accent the outfits she'd described. There was a look of defeat on the woman's face, "Well, it might rain tomorrow afternoon, too," the woman sighed.
But ah, that statement made me think of the vintage umbrellas in the store. They were in fabulous condition--looked brand new. One light blue with an ornate, silver, swirled handle that formed a delicate curve, the other had a cream colored background with dainty pink flowers and a curved, pearl handle. "They're really pieces of vintage jewelry," I told the woman as I showed them to her.
The woman eyed the umbrellas, comparing each of them. A big smile suddenly appeared on her face, and soon she was "trying-on" the pink flowered umbrella, gently placing the pearl handled delight on one wrist, then the other, sashaying, bending her body slightly with a little feminine twist. She stood tall, grinning in front of the full length mirror, the umbrella resting gently over her arm. I could tell she was imagining herself at the garden reception. Ready for rain, but delightfully sassy and having fun in the meantime. The woman twirled around, took one last look in the mirror and asked if she could take the umbrella out to the van and show everyone.
"Absolutely!" I was as excited as she was.
In a few minutes she walked back through the door. "What did they say?" The suspense was too much. It was almost like I was buying the umbrella for myself. It was an absolute favorite of mine.
The woman's eyes looked down at the floor, the smile gone from her face. There were tears in her eyes. "Well, they didn't really like it."
The jurors in the van had given the woman the impression an umbrella was a strange accessory idea. How could they spoil her fun? A new mother, leaving maternity outfits behind, who only has two dressy outfits to choose from to wear to a garden reception. The vintage umbrella was an opportunity for the new mom to feel soft and feminine. I had to try to encourage the woman to ignore the verdict from the van.
"You love the umbrella and it would be such a special treat for you. What matters is how it makes you feel," I told her. But I knew the verdict from the van would stand and overshadow the woman's feelings. Unfortunately, the umbrella was out of "other people's" comfort zone, and with that, they stole away the joy of the umbrella for the woman.
Too bad she allowed them to do it. It's a sad moment when we miss out on joy.
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
AUTHORBUZZ: A HOARSE HALF-HUMAN CHEER: An Entertainment (Fiction) by X. J. Kennedy
My first novel for adults is a comic account of postwar 1946 at St. Cassian's College, named for a medieval teacher whose students stabbed him to death with their pens. Overnight the tiny school has expanded to 4,000, and the Newark Mafia find it a handy front for a racket. The story involves a seventeen-year-old nerd, a slightly alcoholic priest, and a mobster mistress.
Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on A HOARSE HALF-HUMAN CHEER to read more and to email author X. J. Kennedy, you'll get a reply.
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