Chapter Eleven #2
I bite my tongue to keep the obligatory I’m sorry from slipping from my lips. Instead, I offer her the only thing that makes sense to me: reassurance. “You deserve that relief.”
She looks to me with misty eyes. “Thank you.”
She doesn’t take us outside to meet her parents, explaining that her mom is having a good day and Daria wants her to enjoy that time with her dad, uninterrupted. As she leads us toward her office, I ask her a question that’s been eating at me. “Do you mind if I ask how you knew Tanya?”
To my knowledge, Daria was born in Ohio and lived in New York and London before settling in California, but never in Baltimore.
They both traveled a lot, so it’s not implausible that they would’ve met elsewhere, but I guess I’m curious why I didn’t know about it, especially given Tanya’s proclivity for arranging playdates for the adults in her life.
Daria hums. “We met years ago at this show at the West End. She was there to see one of her mentees and I was there to see a friend. But we left together after the two of them—who were apparently dating—had a nasty breakup backstage. And then, her mentee threw her tea in my face because she thought I was a side chick.”
Beside me, Micah barks out a laugh. He holds his hand out in apology. “Sorry, sorry. That caught me off guard.”
Daria smirks in return. “No, it’s okay. It’s funny now, but back then I almost killed her. Tanya stopped me, and my so-called friend barely threw a napkin in my direction as he ran after her.”
“Was the tea hot?” I ask before I can stop myself.
“Room temp. Which is probably the only reason I let Tanya hold me back.”
“You couldn’t break free of her hold, could you?” Micah jests.
She chuckles. “I really couldn’t. She had a strong ass grip.
Anyway, after that we stayed in touch. You know, she had this way about her that just made her impossible to forget.
One day, we’re sending each other the occasional ‘hope you’re well, hope you haven’t gotten any more drinks thrown in your face’ message.
And the next, we’re visiting each other’s homes and I’m naming my cat after her. ”
As if on cue, her black tabby, aptly named Holden, sashays through the room, rubbing against each of our legs, escaping just as Daria bends over to pick him up. She sucks her teeth and swipes her hand in the direction he went.
“Asshole.” She turns back to us. “He and Tanya were kindred spirits. And then, a few months ago she came to see me and requested I make you a dress and Micah a suit. Funny enough, I didn’t even know you knew each other until then.”
“She did that?” As I ask, Daria opens the door to her office and shines a light on the dress and suit in question. I’m stunned by the garments on display.
As a brand, Magnolia is a flawless depiction of Daria herself. It’s elegant with a bite to it. You could wear the clothes to a high-profile dinner and then turn around and wear the same outfit to an underground concert.
The bodice and train of the dress are a beautiful soft pink, elegant in a classic way, but the rest of the dress is both risqué and artistic.
The right side is sleeveless while the left side has a long sheer sleeve covered in fabric flowers so detailed they look as if they’ve been plucked from a garden.
The flowers continue down the side and over the thigh.
The bottom of the dress is also sheer, giving the illusion of flowers floating down a river.
Most of Micah’s suit is the same soft pink as my dress, but the right side of his blazer matches the floral effect. Together, we’ll make a beautiful landscape.
“Daria, these are … these are stunning. I don’t even know what to say,” I praise.
She does a small curtsy, puffing her chest out as she stands straight again. “I do. You could tell me what I made these for. All she said was that you would need them, and you’d reach out directly when you were ready to come get them.”
We tell her about the gala Tanya requested in her will as well as how we figured out we needed to come see her.
“Damn, she’s brilliant,” Daria says in awe. “There’s just one problem.”
“What’s that?” Micah asks.
“Am I supposed to know where your next clue is? Because I don’t.”
I’ve been too busy trying to find out everything there is to know about Tanya and Daria’s bond that I haven’t even thought about what comes next.
I step toward the garments, carefully brushing the material between my fingertips.
There’s nothing on either the dress or the suit that looks like a clue.
And how could there be? Tanya never even saw the finished products.
Daria said the only direction Tanya gave her when she requested them was that they be fitting for a formal event and to trust her instinct.
She gave no opinions on color, theme, or design.
So where do we go from here?
Tanya’s note floats to the forefront of my mind. What is it that we’re supposed to rediscover about ourselves?
“No, you did your part. Thank you,” I acknowledge.
Daria’s lips twist into a frown as her brows pinch together. “Well, then, time for the best part. Time to try them on!” She grabs the clothes off their displays and practically throws them in our hands, pushing Micah into the nearby closet and me into the bathroom.
Like every dress I’ve ever worn from Daria, this one glides up my body like butter. There’s something about her clothes that always makes me feel my sexiest, most confident self, like she’s infused her own aura into every stitch.
After Daria helps me zip up the dress, I step out at the same time Micah walks out. He’s adjusting his sleeves and hasn’t looked up yet, so I soak in the view.
They say there’s no such thing as perfection.
They’ve never seen Micah in this suit. The brightness of the pink against his rich complexion is an exquisite combination. He’s the apple in the garden, too tempting to resist.
Micah finally sees me, and I watch every thought march right out of his mind.
“Dani, you look incredible.”
“Thank you. This dress is the most glorious thing I’ve ever put on my body.”
“It’s not the dress. It’s you in the dress.”
His words are so firm, I find myself standing a bit straighter.
“No offense, Daria.”
“Honey, you keep talking like that, you’re gonna offend me right out of my drawers.”
He laughs shyly, never taking his eyes off of me.
I clear my throat. “Well, you look great too.”
He beams at my compliment. Why does he have to do that?
Every time I think I’ve gotten a handle on this new dynamic between us, he looks at me in a way that drowns me in what we could’ve been.
Daria uses that moment to cut through the tension suffocating the air.
“Dani, I made yours based on your measurements from the last time we worked together and that seems like it worked out well. Micah, I did my best given the rough estimates Tanya gave me. I think we need to make a few alterations, though.” She instructs him to stand in front of her floor-length mirror so that she can mark the necessary adjustments.
“This is cute, I’ve never done a couple’s fitting at the same time,” she remarks, a safety pin hanging from her mouth.
Micah’s eyes shutter closed at her words. He can feel the chill they’ve just unleashed.
“We’re not a couple,” I correct.
Daria looks up at me in the mirror then back up to Micah.
“Never?” she asks.
“We never got that far.”
“We didn’t?” Micah interjects.
A low growl rumbles in my chest, but I do my best to suppress it. What I’m not about to do is air out our history in front of Daria.
“Oop, okay. I’ve stumbled into awkward territory. So sorry. Dani, why don’t you go change while I finish this up?”
Without another word, I rush back to my pseudo dressing room.
A soft knock at the door sends relief through my body that I don’t have to go back out there and ask Daria to unzip me.
“Thank you, I—”
My words stop short in my throat because it’s not Daria.
Standing only inches apart, I notice more details of Micah’s suit that I missed before.
While the design of my dress looks like flowing water, the jewels on Micah’s suit look like small rocks.
It’s as if the flowers are flowing down my river and landing atop his coast.
Focusing on those details is all I can do to avoid the blaze in his eyes.
“Where’s Daria?” I ask.
“I asked her to give us a moment.”
“You made her leave her own office.”
“Yes. Because I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“Why wouldn’t I be, Micah?”
“I don’t know, Dani. We just talked about being able to speak freely. I thought now might be a good opportunity to try that out.”
I fold my arms across my chest. “I don’t have anything to say.”
“No?”
As I shake my head, he rubs his fingers against his temple and leans against the doorjamb.
“Okay, well I do. Look, I know we never recovered after I left New York. And I know you don’t care to hear why. But our time together meant everything to me. I need you to know that.”
I don’t need to hear why things fell apart when he left New York.
I’ve pieced it together myself. It doesn’t change where we are now, so what’s the point in rehashing it?
I am not the woman I was back then. The woman I am today isn’t meant to be with a man like him.
“Thanks for sharing,” I say, placing my hand around the door handle impatiently.
He sighs, defeat descending over his body. “Do you need help before I go?”
My nose wrinkles. “Excuse me?”
He gestures behind me. “Your zipper. Do you need help?”
I chew my bottom lip while I consider his offer. “Uh, sure, yeah, thanks.”
I turn my back to him and move my hair to one side of my shoulder. His footsteps are quiet, but I feel the heat from his body at my back. His scent slithers around like a snake, crushing me with its intensity.