Chapter 37
Jennie stopped at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Rodeo Drive and stood still for a moment, taking in the scene. The sidewalks were surprisingly full of pedestrians - a stark contrast to the notable absence of foot traffic she'd observed everywhere else she'd been in LA since arriving here last week.
She let out a small sigh of satisfaction, watching the people in the crowd jostle for position as they peered through the glass at the glamorous window displays. Finally, Jennie thought to herself, something in LA that didn't make her feel like she was from another planet.
In fact, if she took away the palm trees, the scene here didn't look so different from the ritzy section of Fifth Avenue back home. Every major city in the world had a shopping district like this one. It was the one part of town where the fashionable elite mingled shoulder-to-shoulder with camera-wielding tourists dressed in sneakers and jean shorts.
She scanned her eyes along the street, taking in the names of designers she recognised. Chanel. Prada. Valentino. Celine. Oscar de la Renta. Gucci... where to begin?
Jennie hadn't anticipated counting herself among the few actual shoppers on Rodeo Drive, but she couldn't say she didn't find the prospect alluring now that she was here. It had been Lisa's idea this morning. They'd been chatting companionably over coffee and pastries when Lisa had been interrupted by a phone call.
"Sorry." Lisa muttered to her, picking up the phone on the first ring. "Bat phone. Got to take this."
Lisa had left Jennie alone at the dining table to speak privately, and Lisa had made a gagging face when she returned a few minutes later. "I have to do an interview with Access Hollywood." she'd said. "Will you be ok here on your own this morning?"
Lisa had looked at Jennie apologetically as she tossed on a pair of jeans and a blue t-shirt that had been balled up on the living room floor. That was
when the bright idea hit Lisa to let Jennie take her Amex Black Card for a little shopping spree on Rodeo Drive.
"No way." Jennie protested. "I'll go check out Rodeo Drive, but no way am I taking your credit card."
"Why not?"
"Because I'm not that kind of girl!"
Lisa had laughed. "Oh, come on. I want to get you a present." Lisa come
towards Jennie and put her arms around Jennie, kissing her lightly on the lips. "What's wrong with buying a little something for the woman I love?" Lisa asked, cupping Jennie's face in her hands.
Now Jennie had Lisa's credit card burning a hole in her pocket, but that didn't mean she had to use it. She probably wouldn't even buy anything - just have a look around. Where to begin? Chanel, Jennie thought to herself, setting out again down the street. Wasn't that where Bambam's girlfriend, Kendall, had said her outfit was from the other night?
Jennie found herself inside the elegant boutique a moment later, and she paused at the threshold, hesitantly looking around the store. A saleswoman approached her almost immediately. "May I help you?"
"Yes," Jennie replied. "I'm looking for..." What was she looking for, exactly? She hadn't really thought it through to be honest. Something that would make her feel less like an imposter next time Lisa took her out with her on a double date. "I'm looking for something interesting," she began, "but... simple."
"Interesting but simple?"
"Well, you know..." Jennie said, struggling to find the right words to communicate what she was picturing in her mind. "Like I'm not trying too hard?"
The saleswoman squinted back at her, saying nothing, and Jennie felt compelled to keep talking to fill in the silence. "And youthful..." she continued, "... but still sophisticated."
"I'm not quite sure I understand."
Jennie felt her cheeks flushing, shamefully aware of the fact that she was babbling. How to explain?
"Well..." Jennie began again. "I guess I'm looking for the kind of dress you would have in your closet if you were a rock star's girlfriend and you needed something you could just throw on at a moment's notice. You know,
like, say for a double date with the lead guitarist and his supermodel girlfriend."
"Ahhh." The saleswoman nodded slowly, carefully maintaining the look of studied professionalism on her face. "I see..." she said. "Let me pull a few options for you to try."
Jennie felt herself start to relax again as the woman walked away and ducked out of sight through an open doorway at the back of the store. The walls of the shop were lined with clothing racks, and Jennie browsed through a few of the items as she waited for the saleswoman to return. Minutes ticked by, and Jennie strolled towards the back of the store to pass the time. As she approached the room where the saleswoman had disappeared, she couldn't help but overhear a snatch of whispered conversation.
"... the mousey one... nah, don't bother... just a tourist..."
Were they talking about her? Jennie drew up her shoulders indignantly. Just a tourist? She wondered if the woman was even going to come back out. Maybe that was how they got rid of the undesirables - just go into the back and never come out again. At least it was a step up from being actively asked to leave, like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman.
Well, she wasn't about to get pushed around by some pretentious shop girl. She was perfectly capable of picking out some dresses to try on by herself. She started flipping through the clothes on the racks more purposefully, gathering up a few of the less elaborate looking cocktail dresses and then heading toward the end of the store where the dressing rooms were curtained off.
