the girl in the yellow dress - part 12

“I only have twenty minutes,” Alice told Clare.

Whereas most friends agreed to meet in a coffee shop for a catch up, Alice was glad of the break from being a barista and enjoyed meeting Clare next door at the charity shop.

Clare was methodical looking through the racks not wanting to miss a thing, which always surprised Alice because in the flat she was the scatty one. Alice looked by size and colour, nothing too bright which stood out too much.

She picked up a black top and held it up for size. Clare caught her from the corner of her eye, swiped the hanger from her and put it back.

“Not another black top, how is Prince Charming going to notice you if you dress so drably?”

“Makes a change in him seeing me in my work outfit.”

“Which is also black.”

“But this top has sparkles.”

Clare gave her a stare. “How is Charming today?”

“Sad looking,” she sighed. “He’s never going to notice me even when I give him my best smile. I want to learn to do love hearts to put on the top of his coffee but he drinks it black so it won’t work.”

“Won’t work anyway if he has a takeaway cup with a lid on!” Clare moved over to the vintage rail.

The yellow dress caught her eye immediately but she still looked through everything in front of it first albeit a bit quicker than usual.

The dress was the colour of a bright daffodil on a sunny day with exquisite lace three quarter length sleeves and a lace neckline. The body of the dress was satin in the exact same shade. The skirt was full length and tiered, alternating lace and satin layers.

The fabric felt soft to touch and moved beautifully but there was a real quality feel to it. She surveyed the label, an exclusive French designer she’d only ever read about. The price tag said £20, which she knew was an absolute bargain.

“Does that come with sunglasses?” Said Alice.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” The expression on Clare’s face was lit up by a golden glow making her appear like a magical character from a fairytale.

“Are you seriously going to buy it?”

“The colour would look good on you actually.” She held the dress up to Alice.

“It would need some serious alteration, like three feet taking off the bottom and a creating a bigger bustline!” She pushed out her chest stretching the buttons at the front of her work blouse to their absolute limit.

“All perfectly doable.” Retorted Clare as she hung the dress over her arm and continued to browse the rails for any more bargains.

While Alice dreamt about meeting the perfect man, Clare’s daydreams were about dresses and working for a glossy fashion magazine.

Alice looked at her watch, “Well I’m going to have to get back to work. See you later.”

However Clare never replied; she was lost in her own little world.