Obsession: Callie Douglas, Book One

Chapter Thirty-Seven

At five thirty on the dot, Gabe texted Jenna to let her know that we were in front of the doors to her office building. Jenna came running out and jumped in the back seat. Gabe provided an explanation of what was going on before talk drifted towards the other topic that Jenna was interested in – my love life.

"What is it between you and Blake? Mrs. Fisher was telling everyone that you weren't feeling well and Blake, as your fiancé, was taking you home."

I rolled my eyes. "Blake and I have been friends for ten years and for ten years I've been telling him I'm not interested. It has been a little uncomfortable with him since I arrived in Rockville. Both he and his mother have taken my acceptance of the job to mean that I want to start a romantic relationship with him. I almost didn't accept the job because I was worried this would happen. But I did my residency in Boston and I wasn't happy living there. It was too big, but the town that I grew up in was much too small. My supervisor encouraged me to take this job as it would get me into a city that was the right size for me, as well as into this fabulous job. It was a plum opportunity and he told me I couldn't pass it up. So I took the job. The job has been everything I expected it to be and more, but my dealings with Blake have been uncomfortable to say the least."

"I was thinking we could do our shopping first", Gabe interrupted as he drove into a strip mall with a hole-in-the-wall clothing store, "and go back to either your place, Jenna, or Callie's, and order in pizza. Are you up for that?" Jenna and I both agreed with this. "It shouldn't take long to do your shopping with Jenna around", he said to me. "She's a power shopper and will have you in several outfits before the hour is up."

"I'm hard to fit", I said doubtfully. "I'm too little and too big, all at once."

"You're perfect", said Gabe.

Jenna led the way into the store and greeted the salesclerk by name. "I've brought a friend to shop today. Her place was broken into and all her clothes were trashed. She's in a professional job and needs new suits, dresses, pants, skirts and tops. Basically, anything that couldn't be washed in the washer needs to be replaced, and many of the things that do go in the washer need to be replaced as well. So, a whole new wardrobe from top to bottom. I told her that this is the place to go, as you have the best quality clothes for good prices. You're the first store that we're visiting today."

"And hopefully the only store. I hate shopping", I said.

"You have a perfect figure", said the salesclerk. "So many women would die for your figure. They get fake boobs put in, just to try to look like you. Mamma mia! I'm going to have fun. What colours are your favourites?"

"I really like neutrals that I'm able to mix and match, and if I go for colour or a lighter shade it usually is on my top, in which case I like the blues, pale pink, raspberry, creams, whites, colours like that. I like wearing more solids than patterns."

As I was talking, the salesclerk was flitting around the store, filling her arms with clothes. "Into the change room. I'll pass in things, and you'll come out and show us, yes?" Gabe sat down in one of the easy chairs outside the change room and stretched out his legs, and Jenna joined the salesperson flitting around the store, discussing finds as they looked. I went into the change room and removed everything other than my underwear. Soon, suits, dresses, skirts, jackets, pants and tops were flowing over the door as fast as I could try them on. "We need to see the failures as well as the good ones", called out the salesperson. "It will help us figure out what next to get for you." I tried on several suits, surreptitiously looking at the prices while I was in the change room. Jenna was right. The prices were reasonable. Out of the fifteen or so suits that I tried on, I decided to take two pant suits, one skirt suit, and one dress with a matching jacket. I took an additional three pairs of pants, two skirts, two dresses and two coordinating jackets. I also took three long-sleeved man-tailored silk blouses, two patterned blouses, four dressy tank tops, and two sweater sets.