Dinner was exquisite, the jambalaya was spicy yet not to hot and it a very rich and tangy flavor to it. For Charlie it was like an explosion of taste. A dish that served as the perfect introduction to the different and exotic flavors that existed in the culinary world. She wondered if there was a way to cook this meal back home.
"So what do you think?" Alastor asked Charlie.
"It's amazing." She said. "Your mother had wonderful tastes."
"Thank you. Mother was a gifted cook."
"Yeah her jambalaya is the best." Beth said. "But just wait til you try her gumbo. Can you make that tomorrow night Alastor?"
"I'm afraid I already have dinner plans for tomorrow night. Angel has begged me to aid him in his latest attempt at wooing a potential significant other. Tomorrow night I'll be accompanying him and his new acquaintance at a local dinner theater." He turned to Charlie. "And I was wondering if you would like to accompany me Charlie?"
"Sure but what's dinner theater?" She asked.
"It's when you got out to eat and a show is put on while you dine."
"Sounds cool."
"Can I come?" Beth asked.
"I'm sorry Beth but Angel begged me not to bring you along. Apparently, in matters of dating, you're bad luck." He chuckled.
"Oh please." She rolled her eyes, and then something occurred to her. "Wait a minute is this like a double date?"
"Um...Not quite." Alastor coughed. "Only Angel and this new lady friend are romantically involved."
"Oh so he's going after women again." Beth said. "He's definitely going to get turned down. But that aside, you and Charlie aren't going as a couple are you?"
"Of course not. Ha-ha! That's so silly!" Alastor fake laughed. "No I'm just helping out my oldest and dearest friend with his crush. Nothing more. Also I thought it would be nice to introduce Charlie to the glory of live theater."
"Okay." Beth said. "But tomorrow, Charlie is going out with me and Rosie."
"Well I can just join Al and his friends for dinner after that trip." Charlie said. "What time are we going?"
"5 o'clock." Alastor answered.
"That'll work just fine, though I don't know exactly what we'll be doing with Rosie."
"Neither do I." Beth said. "But she promised that it would be fun."
Alastor had a pretty good idea what they were going to do tomorrow and he had wisely informed Rosie to keep it a secret from Beth til the time arrived. You see Rosie was going to take Beth shopping for training bras, pads, and tampons but she was also going to take Beth out to buy something for her to wear on the 4th of July festival. A dress. Beth hated dresses. She hated anything overly frilly and girly. If she knew that this trip involved her wearing a dress, she wasn't going to leave the house.
First Rosie would casually ease Beth into it, telling her about training bras, tampons, and pads, and explaining the necessity of them. Then they would go with Niffty to shop for training bras and help Beth try them on. Next they would causally move from the pre-teen underwear department into the pre-teen dress department.
"I don't see any bras around here." Beth observed.
"That's because this section sells dresses. Niffty and I are going dress shopping for the 4th of July festival."
"Okay. Hey wait a minute, if we're shopping for dresses for you two then why are we in the pre-teen section?"
Rosie and Niffty suddenly stopped, looked at each other, and then nodded as if they were giving each other a silent signal.
"Um why are you two looking at me like that?"
"Grab her!"
At once Rosie and Niffty gently but firmly took hold of Beth and pulled her into the dressing room.
"What the heck do you two think you're doing?!" Beth cried.
"I'm sorry about this Beth but my club has a reputation." Rosie said. "That means all my employees and all associated with my employees must look nice on special occasions, such as the 4th of July festival."
"So we're going to buy you a really pretty dress." Niffty said.
"No!" Beth said. "No, no, and no! Not happening! Sorry, wrong number! I won't! I refuse!"
"But Beth you'd look so pretty in a dress." Niffty said. "I mean you're already a pretty girl but a nice dress would draw everyone's attention to that."
"No way! I am not wearing a frilly pink dress!"
"It's not going to be frilly." Rosie said. "But it is going to be nice. I don't want you at that festival wearing those dirty shorts and old jeans. And neither does Alastor."
"Rosie I'm not the prim and proper type like you."
"Oh I know you're not and I'm not going to dress you like the prim and proper type. I know just the type you are. Charlie, Niffty, you two keep Beth here while I pick out the dress."
"Charlie you can't let them do this to me!" Beth said.
"Well..." Charlie said. "I am curious to see what you would look like in a dress."
"Traitor!"
Beth dreaded whatever garment Rosie was going to pick out for her to wear. She pictured some hideously, pastel-colored dress with frilly sleeves and bows. Something itchy and hot that would make her look like a five year old. And why was she expecting a dress like that? Because those were the type of dresses Alastor would buy for her to wear on her birthdays and to church. Poor man didn't know anything about clothes and style and a person's type. He just grabbed whatever he thought would look cute on her. He finally stopped with the dresses and allowed her to wear dress pants when Angel pointed out that the dresses were tacky and way too young looking.
"Ah, this will be perfect." Beth heard Rosie say.
Beth closed her eyes when she heard the dressing room door open, and she then opened the slowly, fearful of the atrocity she was about to be forced to wear. But to her surprise, the dress wasn't at all what she had been expecting. In fact she actually liked how the dress looked.
It was a charming yet understated red, white, and blue printed fabric in a Summer classic pattern which included eyelet lace between pintucks in the front bodice, as well as spaghetti straps and an elastic band. Not frilly, not itchy, not hot, and definitely not five year old looking. A simple and sweet dress that would make her look like a young lady.
"Oh Rosie that is just precious." Niffty said.
"I love the colors." Charlie said.
"Let's see if it fits." Rosie said.
The dress was a perfect fit and Beth hated to admit it but she kind of liked how she looked in it.
"So, do you like it?" Rosie asked.
"Yeah. I mean it's not bad for a dress." Beth said looking at herself in the mirror.
"Did you really think I would dress you like some life-like doll?" She chuckled. "I know you don't like all the frou-frou and extravagant glitter, you're a tomboy. But a tomboy with a girly streak so I knew that your type was pretty but understated. Primary and neutral colors. Which goes remarkably well with that gorgeous red hair."
"How do you know all that? How did you know that I was a little girly but not the stereotypical way?"
"Because your Mama was just the same."
"I thought Mama was prim and proper like you."
Rosie laughed.
"In front of strangers perhaps but no, no she had a wild streak. She loved to run, hop fences, fish, hunt, get her hands dirty. She once dived right into a bayou. But other times she liked to be feminine. She loved to cook and sew, plant flowers and dress up. But she always dressed in an understated look. In matters of clothing, she believed in looking nice and being comfortable."
"You know it kind of amazes how much you know about Mama. There are things you know about her that not even Alastor knows."
"Well that's because your brother and I each only know one side to her. Your brother knows her only as your mother, I on the other hand know her only as the woman who was my friend. I'm sure there are lots of things Alastor knows about her that I don't know."
"I wanna know all the sides of my mother."
"Well I'm sure Ally and I would be happy to tell you everything we know."
Rosie then bought that dress for Beth and the ladies adjourned to the boutique where the adult women would pick out their dresses. Niffty already had a dress in mind, Rosie just picked up her usual, Charlie was the only one who needed to look around and think about what she wanted. It was hard for her, everything just had so many different colors and styles.
"I don't know which one to pick." Charlie said. "They're all so pretty."
"Well I see you wearing blue all the time and even though it looks stunning on you, I think this occasion calls for something different." Niffty said.
"I agree." Rosie said. "Something to bring out those rosy cheeks and shimmering eyes. Wait a minute, I have just the dress for you. Of course it'll need a little redesigning to match this time period and perhaps a few embellishments, but the color is perfect and the style will compliment you beautifully."
"What dress did you have in mind?" Charlie asked.
"My great aunt Blanche's Spring dress. It's a little old-fashioned and vintage but I can modernize it no problem."
"Will it fit me?"
"You're about the same size she was in her youth. But I'll have you try it on when we get back, just in case alterations need to be made."
"Can I try it on tomorrow? I have plans for tonight."
"Of course."
After Rosie and Niffty purchased their dresses, they dropped Charlie and Beth off at the house and then set to work on fixing up Charlie's dress.
"Niffty be a doll and go get the embellishments from my closet." Rosie asked her. "They're in a medium, brown basket on the top shelf."
"Alright."
Once Niffty was out of sight, Rosie went upstairs to the attic and brought down a large box. Rosie opened the box and brought forth a 19th century pink ballgown made from silk and satin.
"It's a beautiful dress Auntie and you looked like a queen in it." Rosie said gazing at an old painting of a young, lovely, fair-haired woman wearing the exact same gown. "But I'm afraid I'll have to make a few changes to the design for Charlie. I hope you can forgive me."
Rosie then opened a drawer and grabbed a very special sewing needle. She proceeded to run the needle through the edges of the dress, causing the shape and design to change to one that matched the present century.
"Just wait til I'm finished." She thought eagerly.