Of Lorenz Theory & Love

A is for Azores, Z is for Zouganeli

26 A is for Azores, Z is for Zouganeli

Noon-2 pm, To Vivlio Bookshop, Zouganeli Street, Mykonos, Greece

Macy had no idea how to address a baby, now an aged seventy-something-year-old, who was too young at the time to know that Harry had rescued him from a life of violent servitude. She sat at a bench next to Harry with stationery she bought from To Vivlio, the locally-known bookshop in Mykonos, and began to write a very long letter.

2 pm, To Vivlio Bookshop, Zouganeli Street, Mykonos, Greece

Harry bought a Grecian guidebook containing important details (such as scenic overlooks and fine dining restaurants highly-rated in the general vicinity), and thumbed through it, bookmarking one tab. While Macy was engrossed in her letter writing, he ducked out to borrow the bookseller's phone, dialing the number in the guidebook. He reached a most effusive, friendly gentleman by the name of Panagiotis Tsoukatos. In halting Greek, Harry asked, "Me synchoreíte miláte Anglika? Ta elliniká mou eínai tromerá (Do you speak English? My Greek is terrible)." The speaker on the other line, Panagiotis, chuckled as he switched to English, a language growing more common due to the heavy influx of American tourists. After a couple minutes of hushed discussion, Panagiotis reassured Harry that his request was able to be taken care of that very evening, and not to worry at all.

3-4 pm, Valtadoros Boutique, Zouganeli Street, Mykonos, Greece

Harry told Macy that for the purposes of blending in, they should probably do a bit of clothes shopping at the Zouganeli boutiques that surrounded them. Macy, for once in her life, agreed that spending money would be prudent for that reason. They agreed to meet up at 5 pm afterward at the nearby Stefanou Street corner to figure out additional logistics (e.g., dinner).

Macy stepped into a preppy dress boutique ("Valtadoros," the sign read) and was greeted by a bright blue-eyed older female storekeeper wearing beaded bifocals. "American?" she asked. Macy nodded. "What are you looking for?" the lady asked, leaving the register to rifle through the various white blouses, dresses, and other feminine outerwear.

"I-I'm not exactly sure. Something nice to wear in Mykonos? And perhaps something to wear to dinner tonight?" hesitated Macy, looking at the mannequin on display. All tall, willowy figures, without a single realistic human curve. Had she come to the wrong place?

"Oh, I have just the items!" the female storekeeper said. "Here is a white summer paisley blouse, with quarter-length sleeves, which matches a pair of apricot-pink capri leggings. Of course, the whole ensemble would go quite well with these," the lady went on, producing a rather chic pair of comfortable straw-colored wedge sandals.

"Wow, thanks," Macy replied, surprised that they had items in her exact size, not to mention shoe size. It was quite challenging to find items in quarter sizes or half sizes, and her shoe size wasn't the easiest to shop for, if she wanted something ergonomic and stylish. "I'll go try these on in the fitting room—if that's ok?"

The woman nodded; "my name is Hesper, if you need anything," she responded.

Macy closed the door of the fitting room and tried the white blouse on with the damask leggings. Usually, Macy never wore light-colored clothing. It was so easy, working in the lab, to spill any number of chemicals all over herself if she was not careful. She had always opted for navy blue, or black—never white. And pale pink? It seemed really, obnoxiously girly, to her at least. Macy could not recall the last time she wore pale pink...anything. Not even in grade school. Her father Dexter always chose practical clothing without much frills or anything; it wasn't his fault—he was a guy and there's no way he could have known how to choose a little girl's dress set, once Marisol left.

"Everything ok in there?" Hesper asked through the door.

"Yes, everything's good—the outfit looks nice," Macy replied.

"Here are some dresses I selected for you—I'll drape them over the door," and Hesper departed to welcome a repeat customer who had just entered the shop. Macy pulled the stack of dresses toward her and began to comb through them. One black dress, one red, a pale baby blue strapless, and a light olive-green dress that looked vaguely promising.

Trying on the outfits, Macy made quick judgments. The black one, she thought, made her look like a Tarantino girl; it wrapped around her figure too tightly, amplifying her bust but hiding the rest of her behind a one-dimensional shadow. The red one screamed "tart," with its bright neon-like hue—definitely not a "Harry, kiss me now" look. More like, grab my tits and shove me up a wall...Macy rolled her eyes. She wanted Harry to romance her in public, not grope her like a horny, oversexed teenager.

The baby blue one made her look like a teenager at a prom. Nothing wrong with a prom dress, she thought, but it looked far too "innocent" and she knew she wanted a "head-turner." And finally, there was the light-olive green dress, which looked exactly like a "Neiman Marcus Norma Kamali Goddess Sleeveless Handkerchief Gown" she had seen as a Facebook pop-up ad and had secretly admired. She put on the dress, pulling the straps onto her shoulders, and looked in the mirror, surveying the casual-chic, elegantly pleated fabric.

It looked perfect.

Just then, Hesper knocked on Macy's dressing room door to check on her, once more. Macy twisted the doorknob and walked out towards a nearby floor-to-ceiling mirror; Hesper clasped her hands in delight. "Your boyfriend, he'll think—Wow!" Macy laughed good-naturedly. "Wait a moment—" Hesper stopped. "I know just the thing—" Macy watched as Hesper briskly walked to the costume jewelry section of the store and grabbed a pair of rose quartz chandelier earrings off of the shelf. "He'll want to propose marriage, and then you two will have beautiful, beautiful babies!"

"I wouldn't go that far," Macy laughed. "We've only just begun seeing each other."

"The look in his eyes," Hesper pointed two of her right-hand fingers at her eyes, then at Macy's for emphasis, "he cannot take his eyes off you."

"How much for the outfit ensemble, the dress, and the earrings?" Macy asked.

Hesper listed the price, "but I give a 40% discount on the earrings, especially for you." She winked slyly, as if to say, knock 'im dead.