She hadn't bothered swiping right on anyone for a while after that. She didn't have the energy to try and pursue or be pursued. She barely looked at the app on her phone. Just busied herself with everyday life and stopped looking at Airbnb for holiday cottages in the Cotswolds. She didn't even want to go to the Cotswolds. Just wanted to take time off work and go somewhere with someone.
Shopping. She could go shopping. She needed a new dress for the upcoming nuptials of the irritating Ursula and her ghastly fiancé. Ursula was the biggest show off in the office and had invited everyone no matter if she didn't like them. Hecate suddenly felt bored of the trusty outfits she had worn for so long. Time to get a new dress.
But she hated everything she saw. Why was everything so extreme and asymmetrical and low cut? She didn't trust online and didn't feel like scouring boutiques outside of the area. Passing by a haberdashery one afternoon, her eye was drawn to a fuchsia confection in the window. She wouldn't wear it herself but the silver and black trim on the cuffs took her fancy. She impulsively detoured into the shop to ask for a length of it.
'£1 a metre' said the lady at the counter, having it wrapped for her in a trice. Hecate looked around her in wonder. All kinds of treasures were stacked up in an array of marvellous confusion.
'Making something new?'
Hecate turned to answer confusedly. She wasn't sure. She knew how to operate a sewing machine. What could she do with it?
'How about reworking an old dress?' The saleslady suggested.
Hecate turned the thought over in her mind. That was a good idea. The saleslady laid out a few options, such as taking out the zip of an old dress and creating a new back to it. Hecate thought back to an old dress of her mother's that she kept in storage. She could do that. Decorate the sleeves with this magnificent trim and make a wider back for her to wear. She bought some thread and a splendid length of jersey crepe. She thanked the lady and hurried back home with ideas for the next weekend.