Point of View: Narrator
Kayla held up a blue suit coat and looked it over. "This would make his eyes look gorgeous," she said to Zoe, turning the hanger so Zoe, who was sitting on a bench a few feet away, rubbing her knees, could see it.
They'd been trolling Los Angeles looking for the perfect suit since that morning when Zoe had gotten Nick's measurements from Brian, who'd gotten them from the Backstreet Boys' stylist. Zoe's requirement was that they find one that could be easily altered, so she could take it in a few inches so it wouldn't be too baggy on him. It had been the general consensus that the pants would need to be one waist size smaller than the measurements called for also.
Kayla ran her hand down a seam that ran down the center of the back, "You could nip/tuck here," she said, pointing to the seam.
Zoe held out her hand and felt the fabric and the seam and shook her head, "I don't like this one."
Kayla rehung the suit jacket and sighed. "Aunt Zoe, we're running out of options here. It's Los Angeles, for crying out loud, it shouldn't be this hard to find a nice suit." She sat down next to Zoe and looked at her hands.
"I think we should look for a brown one," Zoe said, imagining Nick.
"Brown?" Kayla asked, "But blue looks so good on him..."
"Brown does too," Zoe argued.
Kayla got up and started digging through the racks of brown suits.
As Kayla searched, Zoe leaned back against the bench and let her mind wander. It'd been a long time since someone had recognized her as Zoe Sinclaire, the star of Deces d'un elegant Entre. Kevin's words that morning had been churning inside of her all day. His sincerity had cut her to the quick. She'd forgotten the magic and the sensation of someone appreciating her work... of truly complimenting the pieces she'd worked so hard upon that her toes had bled.
Zoe watched Kayla carefully as she remembered the things she'd done to create some of those pieces, the pain and hell she'd put herself through.
The thing was, Zoe understood Kayla far more than Kayla could ever realize because Zoe knew what it was like to feel inadequate for the thing she loved most. Kayla felt that way about Nick, and Zoe had felt that way about ballet.
"How about this one?" Kayla came around the corner with a brown suit with those leather elbow pads. Zoe crunched up her nose. Kalya sighed and returned to the rack with the suit.
Zoe looked around the store with a sweeping glance. Maybe it was time to change stores yet again. Clearly they weren't getting anywhere at this one. She struggled to her feet, "Kayla," she called, "Why don't we try some place else?"
"Okay..." Kayla started toward Zoe, "Yeah, I don't think they've got the right one here," she agreed.
The two stepped out of the store into the hot California sunshine. They moved slowly, Zoe's arms and legs getting tired, and made their way through the outdoor shopping mall. Zoe glanced in shop windows as they passed them. Kayla paused outside of one store to look at a spectacular sequined gown. "If I ever win a Grammy award," she laughed, "I want to wear something like that," she declared.
"You'd look like a poodle," Zoe fretted.
Kayla laughed, "But I'd be sparkly." She smiled.
Zoe smiled at Kayla's smile. "You'd be beautiful."
"If I could fit into it," Kayla laughed.
Zoe's voice was solemn, "You're still beautiful." Kayla smiled sadly, but didn't argue.
The two women made their way along until they found Hugo Boss. Zoe glanced into the window. Right there, a mannequin was standing in the window, wearing a dark, almost black, charcoal suit with a blue dress shirt and a black tie. Zoe stopped and stared. "That's it," she said.
Kayla smiled, and reached for the door to open it for Zoe.
Brian tugged a t-shirt on, shaking his head to fix his hair. He had just started tucking it in at the waist when Leighanne walked into the room, carrying several of Baylee's toys under her arm, her hand absently placed on her stomach. Brian turned around, "Hey," he said, the look of someone caught in the act of doing something they shouldn't be on his face.
Leighanne gave him a once-over. She cinched her eyebrows, "What're you doing?" she asked suspiciously.
Brian shrugged, "Getting ready..." he muttered, turning back to the mirror and finishing tucking his shirt in.
Leighanne raised an eyebrow, "Where are you going?" she asked.
"AJ's," Brian answered. "Well I'm meeting AJ, rather. Not going to his house." He'd made the plan before he started getting dressed. He was going to pull the old sleeping-over-so-in-so's house routine that he and his friends from Kentucky used to say when they were really spending the night in the tree house by the creek.
"What're you and AJ up to?" she asked.
"Getting a bite to eat," Brian answered, tucking some stray hairs behind his ears.
Leighanne nodded. "Sounds like fun," she said. She moved to the night stand and pulled out a sewing kit she had tucked away in there. "Let me know before you leave, I'll be downstairs in the den. Baylee has some clothes that need mending and Curious George underwent some physical abuse this morning," she explained, holding up the old stuffed monkey that Baylee had carried around as a toddler. "One of the dogs got a hold of him." The stuffing was coming out of his knee.
"Poor George," Brian said in a voice he'd used to talk to George when Baylee was still young enough to find stuff like that amusing.
Lately, Brian kind of got the feeling his voices and antics were beginning to wear on Baylee's patience. His son was growing up and soon enough he was gonna be just the lame-o dad that yelled at him for breaking curfew.
Brian looked at Leighanne's smooth stomach and pictured it round and craving Jello again. He smiled up at her, "Did you make the appointment with the doctor by the way?" he asked.
She smiled, "Yes. I made sure it was after Nick's trial so we could focus on Nick first, though."
Brian nodded.
"I'll be downstairs, Bri-Bear," she turned and left the room.
Brian sat down on the bed and sighed. He felt bad lying to Leighanne, of all people, but he needed to get that evidence, and he knew that she, like Kevin, would want to call the police and would never approve of him going by himself. Brian wasn't even certain that he approved of him going by himself. But it wasn't like he had much choice.
