The Dress

Robert kept his word.

When she opened her eyes the next morning, the first thing that Mary noticed was a large box, wrapped beautifully in blue shiny paper, on the table beside the bed.

Just clicked my fingers! Mary remembered the line from the first date with Robert.

She yawned, stretched, and in an effort to prolong the pleasant feelings of surprise just a little longer, she wandered into the bathroom in readiness for a shower.

In quiet excitement, since it was her birthday, she sat in front of her mirror, and opened the box. A greeting card was on top, the invitation and the voucher for the jewelry shop – next to it. First she took the card.

The birthday card displayed a hand-drawn picture. Flying above the flame-like red digits ‘twenty-one’, a white dove held a banner with her name. Mary smiled, and looked inside. She read: “Dear Mary, you are a big girl now. Hugs, best wishes, Robert N.”

She adored his handwriting – so clear, legible and definitely recognizable, showing his ability and self-confidence. She kissed the birthday card, and hid it in her jewelry box.

Afterward, Mary took the invitation, looking for the date of the event.

“So I have three days to get ready,” the girl mumbled to herself.

She put the invitation into a drawer, the coupon – into her wallet, and carefully took the garment out the box. It appeared to be a light brown dress.

She had never seen a designer dress up close before. The brand name meant nothing to her, and the girl still wouldn’t have liked the color. Beige? Yuk!

Naively, she tried to find labels with the size and type of fabric, but in vain.

She shrugged her shoulders and tried to put the dress on. The design seemed very simple, and she had no problem putting it on. Mary stood up straight, tried to straighten her hair out as best she could, posing elegantly. She looked intensely at herself in the mirror.

The sight before her eyes affected her deeply. For one, she could not recognize herself, because, for two, she was admiring a princess, a fairy, a goddess! For a long time, she was only able to gaze at her reflection, feasting her eyes on this miracle.

Gradually, though, her excitement subsided.

“Not bad,” she murmured, turning around to study herself from all angles. It hugged her shapely breasts and tight tummy, and she loved the way her hips and buttocks appeared. “Fabulous! But coffee-and-cream… Hmmm.”

It makes my skin look kind of dull, she thought. Better if it were green.

She had some free time to spare, so she carefully folded the dress up, and left the campus.

From her schoolmates she had learned of an actual good dry-cleaner. Very expensive, Jewish or Italian, Mary did not remember which, for sure, but she had heard they provided an excellent service.

She found the store, a simple building with a basic all-glass facade completely out of tune with the rest of the neighborhood, and laid the dress carefully on the counter.

The venerable cleaner perched a pair of horn-rimmed glasses on the end of his long hooked nose. His eyes bored into the gown, searching, assessing.

His hands were trembling when he lifted the dress, treating it as if it were an ancient fragile vase. Mary watched with amazement how delicately he held the fabric and how hard he studied it, inch by inch. He even took out a magnifying glass, and checked the stitches.

“Wow,” he said finally. “What seems to be the problem, miss?”

“I would like to dye this dress a different color,” Mary said uncertainly.

“What?” His mad howl startled the girl.

“I… I…” Mary stuttered, carefully taking the dress and walking back towards the exit.

“Get out, you blasphemous monster!” the wild-eyed man screamed at her. “Don’t ever, EVER come here again!”

Scared to death, Mary shot outside and ran down a few blocks before she regained her senses. She looked at the gown in amazement.

What’s the big deal? she wondered. She looked around. Well, it’s not the only cleaning service in town.

Not fifty yards from where she had been somewhat brusquely evicted, she saw another cleaner, and went in.

The clerk, obviously of Chinese origin, took the dress from her, and checked it out.

“What you would like to do with it, Miss?” he asked politely.

Mary sighed with relief. A friendly face.

“I’d like to dye it bright green. Emerald-green to be precise.”

The clerk nodded. “Tomorrow after 10,” he said.

A worrying pang squeezed Mary’s heart. “Are you sure you won’t ruin it?”

The clerk nodded again. “You’ll pay nothing unless you are completely satisfied with the results.”

That’s not exactly what I wanted to hear, she thought, hesitant.

***

She was on her way back to campus, when her cell-phone rang.

She answered, and smiled on hearing Robert’s voice.

“Happy birthday honey!” he said. “Have you received the dress?”

“Oh!” Mary’s cheeks blushed in embarrassment. “Yes. Sorry, I didn’t call!”

“How do you like it?”

“It’s magnificent!” Mary admitted. “How did you deliver it? ‘Click of the fingers’?”

“Exactly, sweetheart! I did not want anyone disturbing your beauty sleep.”

“Agh, you are considerate. What time will I see you?”

There was a pause.

“Hi Robert? Are you still there?”

“Yes, I’m still here. Look, this is why I called you, my little lamb. I have a lot of things to finish. I’m afraid until the party, I won’t be able to get any time off to see you.”

“Oh,” Mary mumbled, feeling a bitter taste into her mouth.

“But I’ll keep in touch with you, my heart.”

“Okay,” she smiled, thinking; Maybe it’s for the best. What would have I done if he had asked me to show him the dress?

***

…Mary went to the dry-cleaning store, and handed over the receipt.

The clerk with an expression of indifference took out something green, and put it on the counter.

Mary looked down and froze with shock; it was a ghastly verdant rag, which didn’t even appear as a dress.

“You can have your money back,” the worker said calmly.

Choking, like a fish without water, Mary tried to inhale in vain; her legs went weak.

“I said, get out, you blasphemous monster!” The mighty voice thundered.

She looked at the clerk again, but to her horror, it was Robert.

He stared at her as he had before, a few times. This gaze always made her blood curdle, as if she faced a tiger, preparing to make his mortal attack.

“Thanks for ruining my gift,” he uttered with such menace that Mary fell to the floor as if she had roped down dead.

***

…Covered from head to toe in a cold sweat, she sat up in bed, startled, and pressed her hand to her chest, trying to get her palpitations under control.

“My God,” she almost cried. “What have I done? What was I thinking about?”

She looked at her clock.

“It’s five in the morning,” she mumbled, falling back on the pillow. “Just a nightmare, thank God! Oh, dear Lord, don’t let it happen!” She pressed her palms to her cheeks.

Mary was not able to go back to sleep, the images of a disfigured gown were implanted in her subconscious and she could not rid herself of the flashing nightmare scenario.

She knew, what could help her to regain her self-control.

Reverting to type, she went to the gym, and worked out until the time arrived to go and cope with her dress-related Fate.

***

Moving like a somnambulist, she neared the counter, and passed the receipt over. With her teeth chattering, Mary stared at the rack full of plastic bags with clothes. Her eyes ran over everything on display, but she didn’t spot a green one. Her legs couldn’t hold her up properly, and the girl leaned on the counter almost fainting with the terror of waiting.

The clerk put something in front of her. In her state of mind, Mary didn’t understand at first. She gasped, made an effort, and took the gown.

Dizzily bright green, the dress looked like it was made with real emeralds!

Mary carefully checked the whole garment. Not even the tiniest imperfection could be found! The shiny fabric shimmered brilliantly, and all Mary’s worries had immediately disappeared. She laughed with happiness, and pressed the gown to her chest.

“Do you like it?” the clerk asked, smiling at her reaction.

“It’s wonderful!” Mary mumbled, hastily taking out her wallet. Usually thrifty, that day she left generous tips, and rushed home.

***

When she dashed out the elevator, she collided with Father Frank.

“Sorry,” she murmured, showing a drunk smile.

“Mister Noirson called me about the party you are going to attend,” the priest said, and the girl gazed at him. “It’s a very important event. For the first time you’ll present our team all by yourself. Come to my office, I’ll give you the promotional material.”

“Right now?” Mary wanted to try on the dress first.

“No, dear, when you have time, of course.” The priest nodded.

***

In the apartment, Mary literally jumped out of her clothes, and with a broad smile, hastily put the dress on.

She sucked in a deep breath, patted the fabric against her thighs and tummy and looked in the mirror.

“Hah!” she said, satisfied. “It’s much better!”

She noticed that her color of choice showed her as less the innocent one and more the sexy young woman. It affected her likewise.

When she turned, she resembled a magic lizard. She was a goddess, but a goddess of lust. She loosened her hair and the gold mane made her look like a Nereid or mermaid.

She twirled and pirouetted enjoying the feel of her wonderful frock, so smooth and swishy against her body, so complimentary to her figure, so reflective of her joie de vivre as a young woman in love with a rich powerful sweet man like Robert. She was flushed, blushing and extremely sensitive when she finally took a breather.

“Wow!” Mary enjoyed the result of her experiment. “Watch out, party! Here I come!”

Keeping her eyes on her reflection, she took the phone, and dialed the number.

“Yes?” She heard Robert’s reserved voice and hazarded a guess.

“Are you busy?” Mary closed her eyes, desperate for her instincts to be completely wrong.

“I’m in the middle of a conference,” he answered. “Is everything all right?”

“Yes, sorry! Take care!” Mary quickly hang up, disappointed not to be able to share her excitement.

***

In the accessories store another wonder was waiting for Mary.

This time she surprised herself.

She could not choose the pumps! She liked them all. Never in her life had she experienced the choice of such fabulous footwear; so comfortable, light and soft!

“I can’t even feel them,” Mary mumbled, trying on the next pair. “My Goodness! It’s like I’m barefoot! I bet I could even prance wearing them! But which ones should I take? I’m not a centipede, for God’s sake!”

The pile of the shoes on the floor became bigger, and bigger. Mary wanted to cry.

“You can take a few pairs,” the worker finally offered.

This phrase sobered Mary up. Ashamed and amazed about herself, she chose the three pairs that she liked the most, and left the store.

***

As Farther Frank requested, Mary went to his office, and over the course of two hours, they discussed and browsed the orphanage’s promotional material.

Mary took a pack of brochures, and leafed through them. She adored the design.

The second page made her smile. There was an article about Noirson’s Corporation, and hot wave of excitement washed her all over when she saw the photo of her beloved Robert.

But then, with her heart in her mouth, she carefully read, and re-read a section of text.

Frowning, Mary pointed her slender well-manicured finger at a line that had grabbed her attention for rather less warming reasons than she expected from studying a brochure about good works in the community. She addressed the priest. “Look, Father.”

Frank obliged and read out loud; “I, the LORD, do all these things. Isaiah 45:7. So, Mary, what’s your point?”

“Out of context this phrase sounds as if Mister Noirson is the Lord, and it is his Corporation that the rules the world!”

Father Frank was surprised with her words.

“Mary, you did study marketing, didn’t you? The designer just abbreviated the passage to save some place. They pay by the word, you know, and every penny counts!”

He frowned at the irony of his words, picturing the sorry state of affairs with the orphanage budget. He continued, “And, anyway, it sounds okay to me.”

“Read it again,” insisted Mary. Frank sighed, shook his head and repeated it slowly. He looked at her again. “Mary, when I read it, I do not detect any connection between Mister Noirson…” He paused, and added, unable to hold back a smile. “However, I do understand why you did.”

Mary blushed, ashamed, Oh My God, is my crush on Robert so noticeable?

She grabbed a mouse-pad with combined logos of Noirson’s Corporation and her team, and subtly used it as a fan to try and disperse the warm feelings that had made her mouth dry and her fingers tingle.

Making a complete hash of staying cool after Father Frank’s throwaway comment, she stuttered, “Nice work!” and treated the mat like an antique dealer would a delicate Etruscan vase, studying it all over, practically holding it up to the light. “Who designed this?”

The priest was enchanted by her naive reaction.

Not all the youth of today have lost their innocence, he mused. “You probably know this girl. Last month she won the award in the art contest for the best sports sketch.”

“Oh, yes!” Mary beamed. “Sure, I know her! She’s a gifted girl all right. We should send her to design classes.”

“I don’t know,” Father Frank drawled, thinking. “I’m not sure we have that sort of spare money on hand at the moment.”

Drawing on another aspect of her charm, a quiet but clever line in persuasion, Mary persisted, “Father, you paid for my management training. Isn’t that investment paying off?”

“Yes, my child, of course it is. We are a non-profit organization with limited resources, but thanks to your skilful management we now enjoy the luxury of a successful gymnastics’ team.”

Flattered by his appreciation, Mary’s heart again pounded in her chest. Unable to press Father Frank further, in an attempt to calm herself down, she lowered her eyes, placed the mouse mat back on the desk and took a bookmark instead.

But what she observed did quite the opposite of reduce her body temperature. On one side was the information presenting the orphanage, and on the other, smiling young soldiers and the quotation from the Bible; “‘I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.’ Matthew 10:34”

Oh, dear, here’s another example, Mary thought. This phrase has been torn from the text and now it is conveying a completely different message to the one intended originally!

An awful suspicion struck her like a lightening bolt from the highest heavens. Her hands were trembling. Unable to breath properly, she browsed through the promotional material again.

“Oh, my!” Mary blurted. “Look at this, Father, all of this stuff contains Biblical quotations, but the context is so…”

Without looking up from an article he was speed reading, Frank sighed, “So what, Mary?”

“It is so strange, Father. What is this all about, do you think? Editorial errors or blasphemy?”

She looked intensely at the priest, who seemed totally unmoved by her concerns.

After a brief hesitation, she decided not to continue with her argument. He obviously thinks I am being stupid and picky, maybe even paranoid. Father did read them, after all, and if he didn’t find anything strange, it’s probably only my imagination.

She took a deep breath and exhaled gently through her nose. It was an effective trick and instantly she pacified the thought processes that were upsetting her, a good catholic girl.

However, despite her peace of mind, an unwelcome concern had quietly settled on the very bottom of her sensitive soul.

***

The day had come.

From early morning Mary bustled, getting ready for the first ball of her life.

She did her make-up and hair thoroughly, as never before. Then checked the invitation, and the pack with promotional materials.

She laid down on her bed, still, relaxing in a state of meditation.

The doorbell rang at her door, which made her jump, and her heart ran fast, like a horse under starters orders. She took her purse, and opened the door.