Retail Therapy! II-To Wendy's with a slight detour

Walking out into the Mall proper, Andrea heads over to the map kiosk and finds that Wendy's is upstairs on the other side of the Mall. After taking the escalator and walking halfway to the Boutique, she spies a store she, in a previous life, had only ever been past: Veronica’s Treasures.

Stepping into the riot of pink, gold, and white, Andrea looks through throngs of bras, bustiers, and camisoles on racks. Searching past piles of skimpy clothing, she finds a full lingerie set that looks straight out of a Honeymoon dream. “This’ll be a fun surprise for a later time, I think.” Grabbing one in her size, takes it up to the cashier and pays $80 for it without a word, still feeling apprehensive that she even belongs in a place like this.

Looking at her watch, she realizes she's got less than 2 hours before Caleb comes back. 'Fuck, I have no idea how long this fitting is gonna take and shoes!' Moving as fast as she can without losing any of her bags, Andrea finally makes it to Wendy's Boutique after fighting through the growing crowds.

Inside the Boutique is a strangely dim oasis of calm with pictures of women modeling different dresses on the walls and half-circles of full-length mirrors near the fitting room. After a moment, a thin, well-dressed dark-haired older man comes out from behind the racks. “Hello madam, how can Sergio assist you today?”

“Um, yes. I'm going on a date this evening and would like to purchase a new dress for it.” Andrea states rather diffidently in light of these more upscale environs.

“Oooh, wonderful, young love in the making, we must consider what you will be doing on this date, dinner, drinks… ” Sergio looks Andrea over with an appraising eye. “Perhaps a wild night of dancing for the lady?”

“Uh, something like that, I'm having dinner and drinks at a rather fancy place named Felicity's, and they do have a dance floor upstairs.”

“Oh all three? Well, come this way, set down your things and let us see what we can find for your wonderful evening!” Sergio claps his hands and bustles off towards the rear of the store, Andrea following in his wake.

Approaching a set of evening gowns, he starts sorting through colors and styles. “With your hair, eyes and beautiful skin coloration, I would suggest a warm color such as red, gold, orange, or even a pale chartreuse.”

“I thought every girl needs a little black dress?”

“Oh certainly, madam, black goes with everything, but perhaps a dark wine? Thin straps and a leg slit for easy moving, we certainly wouldn't want you tripping over yourself. Does madam know her measurements?"

Andrea rattles off her measurements from earlier as Sergio moves from rack to rack looking at the tags and selects a silky number in dark wine, one in black and another in dusty orange. "Here you are, try these on, madam."

Stepping into the changing room, she shucks the sundress she had been wearing and hangs it up, trying the dusty orange one on first as it was the most different. It felt and looked nice, but was way too bright for the atmosphere at Felicity's. Then the black one, elegant, timeless but perhaps a bit too formal versus sexy. Lastly, Sergio's recommendation, the fit was the same as the others but as she admired herself in the mirrors, the color seemed to strike a balance between being elegant and seductive.

"Have you decided, madam? Come out and let Sergio take a look at you." Setting the other two dresses back on hangers, Andrea opens the fitting room door and walks over to the dressing platform. “Oh darling, you are a vision in that. A little cooler than one might think, but you wear it well. Let me pin in the waist just a little and it will be perfect. Your gentleman suitor will be stumbling all over himself.”

“T-Thank you, I’ve never worn a dress this nice before. What would you recommend for accessories?”

Sergio looks her over, reaching to her waist to pull in the fabric a half inch and pinning it, before replying. “Well, if you don't already have them, I'd recommend heels as tall as you feel comfortable wearing and a small clutch to carry the essentials, both in black with equally thin straps.”

Andrea admires the modifications and her new look once more before stepping off the platform. “Amazing, thank you Sergio, you’ve been a great help today, Though, I'm rather afraid of the price tag on this lovely dress.”

Sergio lowers his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “Well, tomorrow we are having a sale on these dresses, so just between you and I it will be Saturday, yes? Go get changed and hang the dress over the door so I can box it up for you.”

“Oh thank you, Sergio!” Andrea exclaims as she races back into the dressing room and changes back into the sundress, throwing the dress gently over the door.

“Oh it's nothing, anything to make such a pretty lady happy.” Folding and boxing up the dress, Sergio stands at the counter as Andrea grabs her things and hands over her card with no small amount of trepidation.

“With the sale, the dress comes to $245.74. I have placed the receipt in the bag with the dress box. Enjoy your date, madam!” Sergio bows after handing the bag to Andrea.

Visibly relieved that it wasn't going to utterly crater her bank account, she grabs the bag and then checks her watch. 'Just enough time to get shoes, a purse, and some sunglasses.'

“Thanks again Sergio, have a wonderful weekend!”

“Buona serata, Signorina!”