Claire picked another good ‘fashion’ film of Doris’s for the following week’s film club meeting—That Touch Of Mink. Who couldn’t love those beautiful, understated classic dresses of Doris’s? Or Cary Grant?
However, when Kitty, Grace and Abby arrived just before the film started, Abby didn’t look as if she’d been made over at all. The vintage girls were looking perplexed and Abby wore a scowl twice as dark as last week’s. When the film finished, she shot out of her seat and scurried off before Claire could investigate further. She walked over to Kitty and Grace, who were deep in conversation.
‘I just don’t get it,’ Kitty was saying, ‘all of those dresses were gorgeous!’
‘I know,’ Grace replied. ‘And I had no idea she was going to freak out like that.’
Uh-oh. Claire pasted on a smile and joined them. ‘How did it go?’ she asked, looking from one to the other.
Grace’s expression remained aloof, but Kitty pulled a face. ‘Not so great,’ she said. ‘We took along some great stuff – mostly mine, because Grace is taller than me and Abby. Of course, with vintage, you often need to do a few alterations and Abby’s flatter in the chest than me, although I’d kill for her legs—’
Claire put a gentle hand on Kitty’s arm. ‘What happened?’
Kitty shrugged. ‘I don’t know … One minute we were trying things on and then I said something about none of the dresses fitting and she totally lost it, kept saying things like “Of course they didn’t” and then she flatly refused to put one more thing on.’
Reading between the lines of Kitty’s very reasonable-sounding explanation, Claire managed to paint herself a picture of what might have happened. She cleared her throat. She was going to have to handle this carefully. ‘Do you think that some of the dresses might have been a little … full-on … for Abby?’
Both girls frowned at her.
‘What do you mean?’ Kitty said sharply.
‘They were divine,’ Grace insisted. ‘Abby was lucky Kitty would think of lending them to her!’
Claire nodded sympathetically and, while she did, she tried to think of how she could get her point across. ‘How do I explain this …?’ she started. And then it came to her. ‘You two, you’re very confident in how you dress and how you look, but Abby isn’t like that.’
Kitty humphed. ‘That’s why we were trying to help her.’
‘I know. But think of it this way … You two are more like Marilyn but Abby is a little more Audrey.’
For a moment both girls looked at her blankly.
‘More classic, less sexy,’ Claire explained. ‘Don’t think Breakfast at Tiffany’s but “My Funny Valentine”, especially the beginning part.’
For a moment their expressions didn’t change, but then Grace said, ‘Oh,’ and her eyes lit up. The revelation hit Kitty a few seconds later.
‘She’s a little bit shy, a little bit awkward, and not comfortable with this fashion stuff. Do you think you could find something a little less … Well, you know.’ She added a crafty trump card. ‘If anyone can find the right thing, it’s you two.’
Kitty and Grace looked at each other, determination in their eyes, and then looked back at Claire.
‘We won’t let you down, Pres,’ Kitty said, giving a little salute. Grace just nodded seriously.
‘I know,’ Claire replied. ‘I’ll chat to Abby and see if I can persuade her to give it another go. You can all come round to my place next week, if you like. I’ve got a spare room with lots of space and a full-length mirror.’
‘Oh, that would be wonderful!’ Kitty turned to Grace. ‘Come on! We’ve got to go and start planning!’