PUMPKIN
by ardavenport
- - - Part 4
John 'Johnny' Gage called the next evening.
Doris put him off with excuses about having to work late and being too tired to go out. It was only a half-truth, but John Gage cheerfully accepted it. He was working the next day anyway.
They were busy; just typing letters and calling people with their new address was taking days. Plus a new inventory, dealing with the insurance company, the hospital bills, assembling a new samples box along will their usual import business work. Floyd was driving all over town, reassuring customers and vendors that they were still operating. But when he was out and when they got off work, Doris and Louise were making plans. And doing some serious shopping.
This was the make-over that was years overdue by Doris's standards. She reminded herself constantly that Louise couldn't help being raised by a mousy mother and an overbearing preacher father, the brother-in-law who Uncle Floyd truly despised. But it was hard. Louise balked and whined about everything. She was as cheap as a miser and Doris knew Floyd paid her more, so she could easily afford it. But she squinted and gasped at every receipt.
The beauty parlor came first with a decent hairstyle. Just cutting the split ends off alone was a huge improvement. And Louise grimaced and squirmed through the first manicure in her life.
Then there was make-up. Louise didn't even know how to wear make-up when she first came to LA. Doris had given her the basics, but Louise stubbornly refused to go beyond that. And she seemed to choose lipstick colors at random. This was her chance to get it right. Mascara did wonders. And matching eye shadow, rouge, lipstick. Doris didn't even suggest jewelry. Louise was protesting enough about the cost of the hair and the clothes. She'd never agree to spending enough to get anything decent. Costume jewelry was just cheap, worse than nothing at all. She would loan Louise a few things for this.
Clothes came next. If Doris had her way, she would rip up every white blouse Louise had. Her roommate was definitely an autumn and white just washed her out. She looked terrific in warm beige or forest green. The green even brought out auburn highlights in her hair and the green tint in her hazel eyes.
The hardest thing was the shoes. A person just couldn't learn how to walk in heels in a week. The best compromise was sandals. Fashionable, but comfortable with low enough heels. It was summer, so there was plenty of time for Louise to learn later. Or not. Doris did not have any counter arguments to Louise's remarks about appropriate accessories for escaping from burning buildings.
Johnny Gage called on his next off day and Doris put him off again. He seemed undaunted. He worked every three days, so she had a little more time to work on Louise. And she now had extra incentive to unload Gage.
His name was Steve. Doris and Louise met him at the lunch place near the new office space that Uncle Floyd agreed to share with the accountant. Tanned, fit and blond, Steve was a trainer at a neighboring gym. He drove a convertible, dressed nicely in white slacks and short sleeved shirts and occasionally traveled with some of his wealthier clients. Louise said she thought he was okay, but when he sat at their table she just silently ate her sandwich and watched them flirt like an observer at a tennis match. Doris didn't say anything about it, but she thought it ridiculous for her to blush. Louise was no innocent virgin, the offense that her pious father had thrown his unmarried daughter out of his house for, over three years ago.
Doris was now very motivated to dump Johnny Gage, And Louise was about as presentable as she was going to be She called him at his fire station during his next shift and told him she could meet him for dinner the next day. Even better, she had a dinner-for two certificate at Red Hat's.
It was a big sacrifice. The dinners had been a gift from one of Uncle Floyd's clients, but he passed on it because he couldn't stomach any 'froo-froo' food. Dinner at Red Hat's would have made a perfect first date with Steve. But Johnny Gage was far more likely to accept the bait-and-switch with Louise if he didn't have to pay for the meal.
Everything looked like a go, except that the closer they got to the time to leave for dinner, the more Louise started to act like she was standing on the ledge of a burning building. She fretted about how she looked, her clothes, what she would say to him.
Doris tried to reassure her. "Believe me, this guy hasn't updated his dating technique since high school. You'll do fine." But when Uncle Floyd drove off, giving Louise a ride to the restaurant to meet him for dinner, she was a nervous wreck. Doris shrugged. She had done everything she could. Tonight, she was going out with Steve.
- - - End Part 4
