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Esther
Esther stood staring into her closet. All her clothes looked the same. Zoe was right. She did have a wardrobe problem, and she wasn’t sure how to fix it.
She thought back to how she used to dress for Russell. She’d been good at it then. She’d known what colors looked good on her, what cuts flattered her figure. But clothes were different now. She was different now.
She didn’t really have the gumption to go clothes shopping. She hadn’t been in a fitting room in over a decade. She couldn’t afford new clothes, either, and even if she could, she wasn’t going to find anything suitable in Carver Harbor. She’d have to go all the way to Ellsworth or Bangor. She didn’t have time for that. And so it was back to surveying the same ten outfits in her closet.
She heard Zoe come in and glanced at the clock. It felt early because Zoe had been going to church after school for the last several days, but it wasn’t that early. Zoe was just home on time.
“Hi, honey.”
Zoe stepped into the bedroom. “What are you ...” Her backpack was slung over her shoulder.
“Oh good, you got it back.”
“Yep,” she mumbled, “and there wasn’t even any anthrax in it.”
“What?”
She shook her head. “Nothing.”
Esther frowned. Kids these days had the strangest sense of humor. “Speaking of lost bags, your luggage showed up.”
Zoe laughed. “What?”
Esther nodded toward the front door. “Yeah. A carrier dropped it off today. Better late than never, I guess?”
Zoe looked at the bag, seemed excited, but then turned her attention back to the closet as if she had to deal with her grandmother’s crisis first.
Esther was touched.
Zoe whistled. “Gramma, did I inherit my fashion capabilities from you?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that we’re both terrible at it.” She looked at her. “Your clothes are all blue.” She looked into the closet. “Multiple shades of blue, but all still blue. You must really like blue.”
Esther stood up straighter, feeling defensive. “I do like blue. And if everything is blue, then everything matches.”
Zoe grimaced. “What time is he picking you up?”
“Around four.”
Zoe snickered. “Old people dinner time.”
“Hey!” Esther cried. “We’re going all the way to Blue Hill!”
“I’m just teasing you.” She looked toward the door. “I think we need some help.”
“Like who? Rachel?”
Zoe let out a strangled cry. “No! Are you joking?”
Esther laughed. No, she hadn’t been joking, but now that she’d thought about it, Rachel probably wasn’t the best one to call for fashion help.
“I said you shouldn’t wear blue polyester pants with a clashing blue t-shirt. I didn’t say you should wear a bright yellow out of season dress with a giant orange hat plopped on top.”
This description brought such a vivid image to Esther’s mind that she barked out a laugh that was probably too close to being critical of Rachel.
Zoe started laughing too, and Esther didn’t know if she was laughing at their conversation or at the sound that Esther had just made laughing. Ultimately, Esther decided it didn’t matter. The sight and sound of Zoe laughing was so beautiful and it brought her such joy that she laughed even louder.
Zoe gasped for air. “I’m sorry,” she said in a squeaky voice. “I didn’t mean to be mean to Rachel.”
Esther waved a limp hand at her. The other hand was on her chest as if clutching her chest could help her catch her breath. “No, no, it’s all right.” She tried to stop laughing and mostly managed. She took a long shaky breath and wiped at her eyes, which she hadn’t realized were as wet as they were. “But we must never tell Rachel.”
Zoe wiped at her eyes too. “I love Rachel. I really do. But those dresses! What on earth? And those hats? Where do you even get a hat like those? In comparison, the dresses aren’t so bad.”
Esther had mostly calmed down, but she still didn’t dare meet Zoe’s eyes for fear of going off again. “I don’t know, but I can tell you that she has been wearing those getups for years. So maybe you can’t buy a hat like that anymore.” She took a long breath and returned her eyes to her closet. “What am I going to do?” Most of her nerves had abated, probably thanks to the laughter, but she was still facing the same problems.
“We don’t have time to go shopping, probably?”
“No. And we don’t have the money.”
“Is there anyone else? Anyone from church who might loan you something, someone who doesn’t dress like Rachel?”
Esther thought about it. Most of the people in Carver Harbor dressed the way she did: drab. And some dressed even worse than her. A slew of people wore nothing but stained blue jeans and ripped flannel shirts. “I can’t think of anyone.”
Zoe stepped closer to the closet. “All right then. He’s only ever seen you in these clothes, and he likes you enough to ask you out, so let’s pick the best blue pants and the best blue shirt you have.”
