Chapter 16: Violet

I made my way back to the Jeep and followed Madge’s directions to Target. It took twenty minutes on the dot and a big red Target sign loomed in the distance. The parking lot had a lot of open spaces. It was mid-week, and more than likely people were at work or school. I parked next to the cart trolley and grabbed a stack of cash from the glove box. I didn’t want to run out of money and embarrass myself if I needed to come out and get more.

I put my sunglasses on and made my way to the front of the store. A mom with her baby attached to her back in a backpack type deal walked into the store. The doors slid open, and she walked in. She looked exhausted and the day had only started. I followed her lead and walked through the door; it slid open just as it did for the mom.

Red carts lined the right of the door, and I grabbed one. There was so much to look at. To the right of me, gift cards lined the wall. To the left it looked like a coffee shop that had a line out of the entrance. In front of me hung a variety of clothes. That is where I was going to start. I walked past racks of clothes, occasionally stopped, and touched a sweater or shirt.

I was so lost. I would look at one thing and then get distracted by another. Some items looked like they were in the wrong era. A high collared dress with long sleeves hung in front. Then behind it was a cropped shirt that was low cut leaving nothing to the imagination.

“Excuse me?” I heard a woman’s voice behind me. I turned to see someone about my age, wearing a high ponytail, face done up pretty with makeup and wearing a red smock. “You look lost. Are you looking for anything specific?”

“Oh, thank God. I guess I haven’t been shopping in a while and I find that I have absolutely no clothing except what I’m wearing.” I said and spread my hand over the clothes I wore.

“Oh my. Not to be rude, but you definitely need to get something,” she said. She shook her head. “I’m Amy and I’ll be happy to help you get some clothes.”

“I’m afraid I pretty much need everything. Clothing, underwear, shoes, bathroom supplies and a cell phone.”

“Well consider me your personal shopper!” Amy said as she made her way through the racks. “What do you consider your style to be? Funky? Business? Boho?” She pulled an oversized sweater off a rack and put it close to me.

“Um. I really don’t know. I never had the opportunity to figure that out.”

“Ok, I think you are going to be a challenge. Good thing for you I love a good challenge.” Amy started to throw articles of clothing into my cart. “We are just going to start broad and then narrow it down. We are going to try on a few things and see how you feel.”

When my cart had a large pile of clothes, Amy directed me to the changing room. “I’m going to hand you clothes, try them on together and we can mix and match as we go.” She was someone who knew exactly what she was doing.

She handed me a pair of dark wash jeans and a white T-shirt. It felt weird to pull on a pair of jeans that hugged my legs. I wore mostly loose clothing my entire life. This was the first time I could actually see my body. I looked at my figure in the mirror. The jeans made my ass look amazing, these were what they called skinny jeans, and I was a fan. I pulled on the white shirt and looked at myself. This simple outfit looked great.

“Come out, let me see.” Amy demanded on the other side of the changing room door.

I walked out in my bare feet and looked at her.

“Oh my god. Who would have thought that under the baggy sweatpants and sweatshirt you would have a bangin’ body.” she said as she swirled her finger around gesturing for me to spin. I complied.

“Bangin’ body?”

“You’re hot,” Amy laughed at me. “We start with basics and add. The fit is amazing, and you look great. Put this on.” She said and held up a large cardigan. I pulled it on. I still liked what I saw in the mirror.

“I really like this.”

“Since it’s fall, you will need warmer clothes and this cardigan will look great with those jeans or these leggings.” Amy handed me a pair of leggings. “Try these on with what you are wearing. You know I aspire to be a personal shopper for my true career.”

I went back into the changing room and pulled off the jeans and put on the leggings. With the cardigan it looked cute. I walked out and showed Amy the new outfit. Amy continued to talk about her future and how she was going to move down to Los Angeles and make it big as a designer one day. I walked out of the changing room.

“Now if you wear leggings you will want to button that cardigan and I would pair them with a cute pair of boots. I can show you a cute pair later.”

I continued to try on clothes with Amy for a while. I came away with three pairs of jeans, two pairs of leggings, five sweaters, seven undershirts and an assortment of other mix and match clothing. When she was satisfied with everything in my cart, she pulled me to the shoe section.

“What size shoe are you?”

“Um, I think seven or eight.” I said as I looked at the variety of shoes.

“Ok, try these on, they are a seven.” She handed me a pair of knee-high boots.

I put my foot in, but they pinched my toes. “They are a little tight.”

“Great, try these.” She handed me the same style of shoes but a larger size.

They slid on with ease and felt amazing. I stood and walked down the shoe aisle. “These are so cute!”

“See those will go great with the leggings and cardigan. Try these on.” She handed me a pair of white tennis shoes.

She kept on handing me different shoes and asked me to try them on. When we finished, I had two pairs of boots, one in brown and one in black, a pair of tennis shoes, a pair of heels, that I wasn’t comfortable in, but Amy insisted I may need them. And two pairs of flats that were interchangeable with all the outfits.

“What else do you need? This is fun!” she said eagerly.

“Um, I need underwear, pajamas and bathroom supplies. Oh yeah and a cell phone.”

“Oh yes, underwear! We have cute deals; you can mix and match five for thirty-five dollars.” She directed me to the shelves of underwear.

I held up a string. “This is underwear?”

“It’s a thong.”

“What is it used for?”

“It’s underwear. Have you never worn a thong before?” She said and laughed. “Did you live under a rock?”

“I guess you could say that.” I dug through the different underwear and found a few pairs that looked like they would fit.

“You have to be a little adventurous. Come on, buy a couple thongs and maybe some of these cute lace ones. You may be surprised. You might like them.”

“Ok, fine!”