Divergence

Dress Stand

It's Saturday - the day before you and Eli travel to his parent's house for Sunday dinner.

You have no idea of what to wear.  And if even if you did have an idea, you wouldn't know how to properly coordinate an outfit. 

Your afraid of looking like a hobo, even though you wardrobe is destined to make you look like a million bucks.

You stare at all your clothes, looking for something, anything to pop out at you.

But it's all a blur - a colorful but indistinct blur.

You reach out and let you fingers drift across all the different textures and fabrics, hoping to feel something that you like, something that not only appeals to you, but also is appropriate for the occasion.

But they are all pretty to you.  You can see why the wealthy and the power buy clothes like these.  They are all so well-made, so much so that they will last forever. 

You can also see why the masses desire to get their hands on one of these elegant pieces.  Not only are they pleasing to the eye, they are the ultimate status symbol - the flashiest way to tell the world that you've arrived.

You don't feel like you've arrived.  You don't know where you're at, really.  It's been several days since you've escaped, and while you find your tensions easing little by little, you're still unsure of what happens next.  You've tried your hardest not to allow Gabriel to reside in your thoughts - a paramount task to say the least - and you've tried to think more about where to go from here.  You know you can't stay holed up in this loft forever. 

You can't live in fear forever.  You're going to have to face the world sometime.  If you wanted to live in fear and loathing, you'd have just stayed with Gabriel, crushing those damn eggshells in your abundant frustration because you can't do much else.

No...you've got this new life now, so it's tme to start making some hard decisions on the course of this new life.

Yet you can't even choose what you're going to wear to the dinner tomorrow.

...This isn't starting off well.

 "What the hell are you doing?" You're so engrossed in your wardrobe that you barely hear Eli yelling at you.  "See, this is why I didn't want my mom to buy you all that shit.  You'll do nothing to but look at it all damn day.  It's pathetic."

"I haven't been here all day," you tell him, getting very defensive.  "I just want to look nice for the dinner tomorrow." You wrap your arms around your chest, hugging tightly.  "I just want to make a good impression on your parents."

"My mom dropped a mint and a half on clothes for you after meeting for you all of five minutes." His tone is dry and matter-of-fact.  "I don't think you have to worry, darlin'."

"Well, what about your father?  I haven't met him yet - "

"Stepfather."  He's quick to point out.  The way he says stepfather makes you feel a little uneasy.  "Besides, Arthur maybe loaded, but he's a very easygoing kind of guy.  As long as you don't act like a total ass in front of him, he'll like you."

"Ah...I see." You have so many questions you want to ask about his family, but you bite your tongue - for now.  "Well, I still want to look nice.  I have a feeling that I should put a little effort into this, since this is no ordinary kind of family dinner."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Now, he's on the defensive.

You tell yourself to stay calm, to point out the truth, but gently.  "Eli, your mother drives as luxury car that your Da, er, Stepdad bought as a birthday present for her.  She wears designer clothes from head to toe, and, as you mentioned earlier, spent a mint-and-a-half on me to have all these clothes.  Now, I could be wrong, but it's pretty same to assume that we won't be pulling up to a cardboard box in Lower Wacker Drive."