"Excuse me, Mr. Emerly," Vonne walked through the pocket doors into the dining room, "A telephone call for you."
"Excuse me, Dana. This must be very important ... Vonne wouldn't have interrupted us if it were not."
Vonne lingered by the table, "Are you and Mr. Emerly making progress?"
"Oh yes!" I laughed. "He's a shockingly remarkable man. Listening to his stores has been ..." I struggled for the right word since Vonne had never given me any indication that she knew of his checkered past and I didn't want to betray a confidence. Finally I just ended my thought with one word, "educational."
Those green eyes of hers twinkled and she smiled at me, "Oh, I know what you mean. I've never had a dull day since coming to work for him ... there's always something in the works ..."
"Have you worked for him long", as I grabbled an extra cup and poured coffee. She took my wordless invitation and sat down.
"No long, really, just a few years. I graduated from Tulane with my MBA. I really didn't have any interest in going into my mother's business. It wasn't a problem, she understood. She'd been wanting to divest herself of business demands, so she began doing just that. Luckily, Mr. Emerly needed an assistant, so here I am.
Jackson returned, "Dana, I'm afraid I have to go out of town for a few days to take care of some business. Perhaps this will give you and Vonne a better chance to get acquainted and a few days off would probably do you good."
Vonne beamed at me, "What do you say? How about we go into Savannah tomorrow and make a girl's day of it?
I noticed once again her startling greens eyes filled with fun and I decided that it would be fun to get away ... even though Tanglewood had at least offered me the illusion of seclusion for a while ... I could use a day of diversion, so I promptly agreed. After croissants and coffee, we jumped in her car and headed toward town.
Mid-week, mid-morning the traffic had thinned out and it took no time at all for us to get to the shops lined up along the Savannah River. It's usually a place that attracts tourists with funky little shops and boutiques ... but that's what made it fun, too. We wandered and picked up tacky souvenirs, discretely laughed at the snowbirds down from the north ... but they were laughing at us as well ... maybe not at us, maybe with us.
As we were chatting and paying for one of our purchases, a woman standing next to us interjected, "Say something ... please, just say something." Vonne's head shook a little at the odd request, "What do you want me to say?"
"It doesn't matter ... I just love hearing that accent! Just say anything!"
Without hesitation Vonne pressed the back of her hand to her forehead and with an exaggerated thickness to her accent sighed, "Ta-maw-raw is ano-tha day ..." The three of us laughed and continued on our way.
We drifted into a little shop and I was immediately drawn by the music playing, when I inquired of the shop owner, she told me it was a traditional Celtic album offering the compositions of the last great Irish baird, Turlough O'Carolyn. I picked up the disc and turned the cover to find this music was over three hundred years old, yet soothed my heart with a timeless refrain. Even though there were three discs in this series of music, I decided to only buy one until I found out if the rest of the music was as mesmerizing.
Vonne and I continued our rounds, chatting as if we had been friends for years. We tried on silly hats and just wandered from one shop to another. At the perfume emporium I sampled a new scent, "Sung" and its fragrance made me feel a bit naughty with its hint of sensuality, so I added to my purchases.
A window mannequin caught Vonne's eye, "Look Dana ... you were made to wear that dress!" As she pointed it out I had to agree that it was exquisite ... perfect for holiday parties ... burgundy velvet. The dress cinched at the waist and fell to a graceful tea-length skirt. The bodice was daring ...fashioned like a bustier and low cut. The right woman wearing that dress could turn every head in any room ... but not a woman such as I ... ordinary and typical. I usually simply blended into the wall paper at any gathering.
Vonne was already walking toward the boutique and I had no choice but to follow, "Vonne, it is beautiful but not exactly my style ..."
"Nonsense! Come on ... let's go in and see if they have your size!" They did and before I knew it she was ushering me into a changing room. She handed me the dress, "While you trying it on I'll go see if they have any shoes ..." The door closed and I stood there holding the dress ... why not? So I began to undress. I looked at the dress hanging there ... it was beautiful and sexy and classy and simply wonderful. I removed it from the hanger and stepped into it. After adjusting the waist and my bra so that the straps would not show I zipped it up. When I turned to the mirror I was shocked!
The dress fit me like it was custom made ... my waist looked small and the bustier bodice pushed my breasts high and proud. The modest tea-length skirt countered the daring neckline so that the over all effect was one of sophistication.
There was a tap on the door before Vonne entered, "God, Dana! Look at you! That dress brings out all your best features ... look, the burgundy even pulls out more color in your cheeks." She spun me around to face the mirror while the loosely took my hair and pulled it to the top of my head ... the result being more skin revealed above the bodice.
"Here, try on these shoes ... I'm going back to look at jewelry ..." and she was out the door again. I sat on the little bench and slipped on the 3" black patent shoes she had picked out for me ... they, too, fit like a glove. As I stood to face the mirror I noticed how the height of the heels subtly altered my posture ... I turned from one side to the other inspecting myself ... not damned bad! Why hadn't I seen myself like this before?
Vonne came charging back in with a hair clip and earrings. Once again she gathered my hair to the top of my head and clipped it loosely in place. "Here, these earrings are perfect! Just enough sparkle to draw attention to your face ... I don't think with that neckline you need a necklace to draw more attention to your bosom! There! Come into the shop so I can see how the dress moves when you walk!"
