Red(22)

She approached the gown reverently. It was just as beautiful up close, and the fabric felt silky and expensive between her fingers. Though it was a little pricier than she’d hoped, it wasn’t unreasonable. She turned to call her friends over, but Haylie was already by her side, her eyes the size of hubcaps. “Oh my God,” she gasped. “It’s the perfect dress!”

“I know!” Felicity clawed through the hangers until she found the gown in her size. Only when she had it in her hands did she realize that Haylie was searching through the rack with equal enthusiasm. “Hays, it’s okay, I found one.”

Haylie looked at the dress Felicity was holding, perplexed. “That’s a size six.”

“Well, yeah. That’s my size.”

Haylie pulled a size two off the rack and hugged it to her chest, comprehension slowly dawning on her face. “Oh no. You want this one?”

Felicity stared at her friend across the rack of identical gowns, and Haylie stared back. Of all the dresses in Iowa City, how could they fall in love with the same one? Felicity tried to tell herself it was just a dress. Surely she could find another, and it would make Haylie so happy to have this one. But she couldn’t make herself back down. She needed that prize money far more than Haylie did. She had to look her very best for this competition, and she knew she could do that in this gown.

She tried to think of something articulate to say, but all she came up with was “Well, this totally sucks.”

“Why don’t we both try it on?” Haylie suggested. “Whichever one of us looks better in it gets it. And the other one has to promise not to be upset. It’s just a dress, right?”

“How will we decide who looks better?”

Felicity and Haylie both turned to Ivy, who said, “Oh, hell no. I am not getting involved in this.” She was out of the store so fast it was as if she had vaporized.

Haylie sighed as she watched Ivy retreat. “I guess we can decide for ourselves, right? We’re always honest with each other.”

Felicity thought of all the times she’d lied to Haylie in small ways over the past few weeks. I can’t come over—I have to pick up the twins. I only let Gabby sit at our lunch table because I felt bad for her. I put sandalwood oil in my hair because I love how it smells. Nothing’s wrong, I’m just tired. A huge wave of guilt crashed over her. But those lies couldn’t be helped. They were for her protection. This time, she would be forthright.

“Of course. I’m sure we can be impartial,” she said.

They found the fitting rooms in the back of the store, each of them carrying her dress as if it were a precious relic. There were two blondes and a brunette waiting in line, and Haylie shoved right past them. “Um, excuse you,” one of the blondes snapped. “There’s a line.”

Haylie stared at her. “But we’re red—” she began before Felicity grabbed her shoulder and gently pulled her back.

“Sorry,” Felicity said to the girls. Even at home in Scarletville, she tried not to cut lines, though redheads who did usually weren’t frowned upon.

The blonde eyed Haylie’s Scarletville High School Dance Troupe T-shirt with disgust, then turned away. “Scarletville girls,” she muttered to her friend. “They think they’re God’s gift to the universe.”

“Someone needs to learn her place,” Haylie whispered, and Felicity’s stomach twisted. She gave a noncommittal smile in response.

They only had to wait a few minutes before two fitting rooms opened up. Just before Haylie closed her door, she turned to Felicity and said, “Listen, I really don’t want us to fight about this dress, okay? So if either of us starts getting mad or upset, nobody gets it, and we’ll both find something else to wear. Deal?” She stuck out her tiny manicured hand.

Felicity was touched; she could see in her friend’s eyes how much she wanted the dress. “Deal,” she agreed, then shut the door behind her.

The dress felt alive in her hands as Felicity unzipped it, stepped inside, and pulled the silky fabric up around her body. There was an unexpected slit in the skirt that reached the middle of her thigh, just high enough to be sexy but low enough to be classy. When she zipped it and tied the halter top, the gown embraced her like an old friend. She turned around to look in the mirror, and her heart fluttered when she saw her reflection. Her very best self was smiling back at her.

“How’s it going in there?” called Haylie.

“Good. You?”

There was a little pause. “Good. You ready to come out?”

“Yeah, are you?”

“Yeah.”

Felicity stood with her hand on the doorknob for a long moment. Until she saw Haylie, she could pretend this dress was hers. She glanced back at her reflection one last time, admiring how the fabric hugged her body as if it had been made for her. But she heard Haylie’s door creaking open, and she knew it was time to face her friend.

She took a deep breath and stepped out of the dressing room.

For a full fifteen seconds, the girls appraised each other in silence. Haylie looked beautiful in the gown, but she was a little too short for it. The slit in the skirt hit her leg in a weird place, and three inches of silky fabric puddled around her feet. But those things could be corrected with a little tailoring. A voice in the back of Felicity’s mind whispered, Give up the dress. Haylie deserves this more than you, you big artie fake.