Roselynn awoke the next morning to another stack of clothes on her dressing table and the brush returned as well. When she crossed to the table, she noticed the stack contained clothing that was clearly meant for a woman's form and a note taped to the mirror.
Lynn,
I borrowed these clothes from Mrs. Grant across the hall. She has a couple daughters around your age and, I believe, size. I told them you were visiting from out of town and your luggage had gotten lost on the journey. They were kind enough to loan you some clothes until we can go shopping. If you don't like what I've laid out, there are a few more options in the closet along with some boots and other shoes. I had to go to class, but I'll be back for dinner. Make yourself at home, there's coffee on the stove, and various breakfast foods in the fridge and pantry. I'll see you later this afternoon.
-Warren
She smiled at his thoughtfulness and looked through the clothes on the dresser, finding a pair of women's trousers, a blouse, and a pair of socks. She set to work pulling her hair back as a knock sounded at the front door. Roselynn pulled on and tied the old robe that laid on the foot of her bed and went to answer it. When she opened the door, she found a woman a little older than her mother, with greying hair and warm brown eyes behind thin rimmed glasses, flanked by younger versions of the woman who must have been her daughters.
"Roselynn?" The woman asked.
"Yes, that's me." Roselynn looked at the woman quizzically, "May I help you?"
"I think it's more like if we can help you. I'm Ruth Grant and these are my daughters, Maureen and Evelyn. We live across the hall there," The woman introduced as her daughters waved and smiled kindly at the sound of their names. "May we come in?"
"Oh, yes, of course. You must be the neighbors that Warren mentioned." Roselynn stepped aside letting the women in and gesturing to the sofa in the living room. "Please take a seat, I was just about to get coffee, would you like some?"
Choruses of acceptance rose from the ladies as they sat in the room, setting the pink bags in their hands on the ground next to them. Roselynn set to work in the kitchen gathering together cups, spoons, sugar, cream, and a carafe of coffee together on a tray from the china cabinet. "Here we go, ladies," She smiled, carrying out the tray, "I didn't know if you took cream or sugar." She explained as she set the tray on the small table.
"You don't have to explain a thing to us, dear." Ruth smiled, waving her away and taking pouring coffee for the women in the room before handing Roselynn a cup doctored with cream and sugar, "When Warren came over and explained your predicament, we were more than happy to help. After he left it occurred to me that if your luggage was lost, you may not have undergarments either. We figured we'd save you, and sweet Warren, the embarrassment of a trip to the lingerie store."
"We didn't know what size you were, so we picked up a few different sized bras that might fit a girl of our size." Maureen chimed in, "We also picked up some panties for you; I hope you don't mind."
"Now, when you're done with that cup, you go try on what's in the bags; the underwear should fit you fine. Just bring out whatever doesn't work." Ruth added.
"Thank you," Roselynn smiled. As the women drank their coffee they talked amicably about this and that. As soon as her cup was gone, she was handed the pink striped bags and shooed into the bedroom to try on the undergarments the other women had brought.
She found that what Ruth had said was accurate, the panties that were in the bag fit perfectly when she put them on. She quickly put on the socks and the pants that had been laid out for her, which also fit nearly perfect, if not a tad loose. She then set to work on trying on the rest of the undergarments. It took her a few minutes to figure out how to put them on, as she had never worn one before, most women in the Nine Kingdoms still used corsets beneath their dresses. It took her a bit longer to find the right size. While she was still struggling with it, a knock sounded at her door followed by Ruth's kind voice.
"Is everything okay in there?" The older woman asked.
"One minute," Roselynn responded, pulling on her robe before opening the door. "I'm having a little trouble finding a good fit. To be completely honest, we don't have these where I'm from so I'm not exactly sure how they're supposed to fit."
"No worries, dear. We can figure this out together." Ruth smiled warmly, before sizing the young woman up and, checking the tag on one of the bras that now laid on the bed, handed it to her before pushing her gently towards the closet. "Try this one on, let's see how it fits."
Roselynn did as she was told and came out a minute later wearing the pants and bra. "It's a little tight, I think." She informed the other woman.
"Okay, let's see what we have here," Ruth circled her taking in the fit before going to the bed and grabbing another bra, "Looks like you need a little bigger cup size and a bit more length around the body. Try this one."
Roselynn repeated the routine of going into the closet, putting on the bra and returning to be inspected. This process was repeated a few more times until she had a few bras that fit her well enough. A cream one that Mrs. Grant said would do well under t-shirts, whatever those were. The beige colored bra that she was now wearing would, as Mrs. Grant informed her, work well under blouses. Lastly there was a lacy black bra that Ruth insisted she take, "For a special night on the town." The woman had said with a wink before sweeping towards the door before tossing over her shoulder, "Now if you hurry up and get dressed, the girls and I are going to take you shopping."
After the older woman left, Roselynn quickly pulled on the blouse and buttoned it up. Grabbing the new garments, she slid them into one of the dresser's drawers. Sitting at the vanity, she quickly brushed and braided her hair before rejoining the women in the living room. "Thank you all for your help, and for loaning me the clothes." She smiled at each of the women. "I'll make sure that Warren reimburses you for what I kept."
"You will do no such thing." Ruth insisted. "Think of it as a gift from us to you."
"Thank you," Roselynn blushed, "I am a bit nervous about going shopping. Unless Warren gave you something, I have no currency that is of any use here." Pulling out a few of the gold hoods that she'd had in her pocket when she crossed the mirror, she showed them to Mrs. Grant, "All I have are these, but I fear they are no good here."
Picking up one of the pieces and looking it over before weighing it in her hand. "I've never seen such a coin in my life, but it looks to be made of gold."
"They are," Roselynn confirmed, "22 karat, I believe."
"Well, you're right they'll not do you much good in the way of payment," Mrs. Grant mused before handing the piece back to Roselynn, "But if you are not too attached to it, you could sell it for its market value. A piece that size could fetch you enough to buy some things to see you through for a bit."
"I think I could part with a piece or two, if that means not being a burden on Warren," Roselynn nodded, "I don't know how long I'll be here and I don't wish to take advantage of his generosity."
"Then it's settled," Mrs. Grant said matter-of-factly, "Ladies, grab your jackets we are headed to the pawn shop and then off to find new clothes for our new friend."
The women quickly pulled on their jackets and followed the older woman out the door. As they walked down the street they fell into an easy conversation; Roselynn found that Maureen was a year older and Evelyn was a few years younger than her. Maureen was going to school to become a doctor. Even in the Second Kingdom where women held high offices and other important positions, a female doctor was unheard of to Roselynn. She was pleasantly surprised to hear that women could do such work in the Tenth Kingdom.
Evelyn said she was still in high school but would be graduating at the end of this year and was hoping to go to college to become a teacher. She said she wanted to work with little children who were just entering the school system. Roselynn thought this was fascinating as she'd always wanted to be a teacher herself and work with children, but was unable to pursue her dream due to her station. "I wish I could become a teacher." She mused
"I don't see why you couldn't be." Evelyn stated, "You said yourself you don't know how long you'll be here, you could apply to take some classes at the community college and see how you like it. You may love it so much you'll stay though graduation. Even if you don't, I'm sure some of the credits would transfer."
"I don't know if that would be possible for me," Roselynn shrugged, "But I'll talk to Warren and see what he thinks of it. He's a college student himself so I don't see how he would have a problem with it. I'm not from here so it may be a little harder for me to be able to go to school here."
"Perhaps," Maureen chimed in, "But it couldn't hurt to try. They would probably just have you take the graduate equivalency exam like they do with home schooled students."
Roselynn nodded thoughtfully, "I shall have to talk to Warren about it tonight when he gets home."
"Here we are," Chirped Mrs. Grant cheerfully, "I know the owner and I'll make sure he gives you a fair price." The older woman's daughters giggled light heartedly, leaving Roselynn feeling as if she had missed out on the joke.
Roselynn nodded at the older woman as they ducked inside the storefront. A gentleman, a little older than Mrs. Grant's age stood behind one of the counters. "Ruthie, girls!" He greeted them jovially, kissing each one on the cheek before getting to Roselynn, "Forgive me my dear, but did we gain a third daughter and you not tell me?"
Mrs. Grant just giggled a bit and playfully slapped the older man's shoulder, "No, Maury, this is Roselynn, she is a friend of our neighbor Warren who is visiting for a while. Roselynn, this is my husband Maury." She introduced the two.
"It's very nice to meet you," Maury smiled at Roselynn warmly, "So what can I do for you? I take it you didn't just come here so that Ruth could introduce us."
"No sir," Roselynn smiled back, "I came to see if you would be interested in purchasing some coins I have in my possession. They are of little worth here as currency, I fear."
"Well now, let's see what we have," Maury smiled, pulling on glasses and stepping back behind the counter as Roselynn pulled out two of the Hoods that were in her pocket. The older man inspected the coins humming to himself as he did so. He then took out a bottle and dropped some liquid onto the coins, "To test the metal," he explained. Once that experiment was done, he weighed the pieces, and punching a few numbers into his calculator, he looked Roselynn in the eye. "Well my dear, it seems, based simply on the fact that these coins are nearly pure gold, the weight, and the market value right now, these pieces are each worth about $2000 American right now, not a bad piece of money."
"Would you be willing to purchase them from me?" Roselynn asked hopefully.
"Yes, my Dear, these coins are very interesting pieces, I'm willing to offer you full market value for both, so about $4000. Is that something you wish to do?"
"Yes sir, I would,"
"Okay then," Mr. Grant said, grabbing a sheet of paper and starting to write, "Now I'm assuming since you are visiting, you don't have a banking account here, do you?" Roselynn shook her head in response, "In that case then, I'm only going to buy one from you right now, don't want you walking around with that kind of cash unless it goes straight into the bank. I just need some identification."
"Um…" Roselynn responded, taken a little aback. "I don't have any identification."
"Her things were lost on her travels here," Mrs. Grant explained, "She arrived with nothing. Is there any way we could do it if I vouched for her?"
"I suppose that would be alright," Mr. Grant nodded, "You seem like a decent and trustworthy sort." He winked playfully at his wife before setting to work filling out the requisite forms for the sale and having both women sign before counting out the money for them, placing it in an envelope, and handing it to Roselynn, "Here you are my dear, this should help you to get on your feet."
Roselynn thanked him and she and Mrs. Grant rejoined Maureen and Evelyn. Mrs. Grant excused herself from the group saying that shopping for clothes was a young woman's activity and she was leaving Roselynn in the hands of the daughters. As the older woman went back inside the pawn shop, the younger women set out to find some clothes and needed items for Roselynn. Since she was going to need nearly a complete wardrobe of clothing and accessories, the ladies' first stop was at a department store.
Roselynn had never seen anything like it in her life, three floors with every item imaginable. Each of the higher floors looked down on the lower each with railings of chrome and glass that gleamed. Her new friends smiled a bit at her reaction before pulling her towards the display of accessories including various purses and wallets. After a little thought, Roselynn settled on a small wallet as well as two purses. Her friends insisted that she needed a larger one that was big enough to hold her wallet, keys, and an umbrella for day to day use and then a smaller purse to be used for special occasions. Once these items were purchased the ladies went up to the next floor which housed the women's department where they would spend the bulk of their day.
Four hours, a quick lunch in the store's café, and several changes of clothing later, Roselynn was fairly well stocked with a more than a few skirts of varying length and style from casual to dressy, some casual dresses, a couple sets of pajamas, several tops including blouses, sweaters, and a few casual t-shirts, now that she knew what they were, which Roselyn found quite comfortable. She thought the next step was to find boots and perhaps a pair of shoes, but her friends insisted there were a few more things for her to try on. Within moments several fancy dresses of various shape, lengths, and fabric were handed to her.
"You have to have something nice to wear just in case Warren wants to take you to dinner or a show." Maureen informed her. "Let us know if you need any help zipping any of them up."
Roselynn modeled the stylish dresses before settling on a sleeveless vintage-inspired deep red dress with a sweetheart neckline and black lace overlay. She loved how the A-line skirt brushed her knees and swayed gently as she walked and turned. The other dress she got was a slinky midnight blue wrap dress made of chiffon that had a cap-sleeved bodice that tied at her waist, accentuating her figure from the V-neck that allowed for just a peak of her assets to the flowing fabric that skimmed over her hips before flirting just shy of her knees. She had never worn anything as short as these dresses but was amazed at how feminine they made her feel; not that the ball gowns she wore back home didn't, but this was somehow a bit different.
"You should definitely wear the blue one when Warren takes you to the theatre." Maureen smiled at her approvingly as Roselynn turned in the dress. "He won't be able to resist giving you a good night kiss."
Roselynn stopped mid-turn and looked back at the other woman. "Kiss?" She asked blushing.
"Yeah, a lot of people kiss on their first date here." Maureen explained; she had caught on some time ago that Warren seemed to be old fashioned and Roselynn seemed to hold similar tendencies to her stoic friend.
Roselynn blushed as she stepped back into the changing room and changed back into the clothes she'd put on that morning. Gathering the clothes that she planned to purchase, the women went to the counter and paid for their finds before going back downstairs and finding shoes to go with the clothes she'd just bought. She found a couple pairs of boots, a few sets of casual and dressy flats in various styles, as well as a pair of silver heeled sandals that Evelyn and Maureen insisted would look fantastic with the blue dress. She also got a pair of peep-toe black pumps and a shawl to go with the red and black lace dress.
Bags in hand, the three friends headed back toward the apartment. Quickly unloading the bags and boxes in Roselynn's room, they bid each other goodbye as the sisters departed and left Roselynn to change and start dinner.