Baltimore, Thursday Afternoon

[soniaroadsqueen]

With no classes on Thursdays, Ringo had decided to take her morning AT run in the city, so she'd left early. And it had been a great run, even if she'd had to be careful not to do anything too visible. No need to draw any official attention, after all. In fact, she'd gotten so caught up in the joy of riding in an actual city that she'd lost track of time and almost forgotten about her deal with Kathy.

Ringo and Kathy had been talking about a shopping trip for quite a while, but just this week they'd handwavily made plans to actually do one. A flurry of text messages had them agreeing to meet up at one of the stores Kathy knew in Baltimore.

She probably still could have made it on time if she hadn't gotten turned around once or twice trying to find the right address. American addresses didn't really make any sense, and she didn't know Baltimore that well, and thank goodness for GPS in phones.

So she arrived a couple of minutes late, face flushed from the rush, with a ripped pair of jeans and a tshirt that were a lot better suited for an AT ride than convincing anyone that she had a real fashion sense.

"Sorry, sorry," she said, already apologizing for making Kathy wait.

[NFB for distance]

Comments

[spin_kick_snap]

"Not in the least," Letty returned. "And I have too much professional pride to let you out of this store like that. I mean, if you wanna try a few things on here in the back room to decide that for yourself, I won't stop you, but you won't be leaving in it."

"She told me that, too," Kathy said. "I was looking at a cute skirt--"

"It looked like a smock for an artistic five year old."

"--And she told me I could try it on to see what it looked like, but the only way it would leave with me was if I stole it."

[soniaroadsqueen]

"And how did it look?" Ringo asked with a grin, rather suspecting she knew the answer to that one.

[spin_kick_snap]

"It was cute!" Kathy protested over Letty's snort of derision. "It was! I mean, granted, it was cute in a 'I'm five and on my way to kindergarten' way, but still cute!"

[soniaroadsqueen]

"So you stole it?" Ringo teased, putting her arms down at Letty's instruction.

[spin_kick_snap]

"Yeah," Kathy said, nodding. "I thought you might really like it."

Braaaaaaat!

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo rolled her eyes. Then stuck out her tongue in Kathy's direction.

"You didn't even know me then, I bet."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Are you really making another bet with me?" Kathy asked. "Do you not remember what happened the last time you did?"

"Umm, I don't," Letty said, threading the tape though Ringo's arms. "What happened? This sounds fun!"

"Ringo?" Kathy said. "Wanna share the grand story about how you doubted me and had to live with the consequences?"

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Ugh!" Ringo threw her hands up. "It was the worst. I had to agree with everything she said for a whole week."

Ringo's expression turned sly. "But if you want to go with the same terms this time, I'm game." After all, Kathy had been so fashionable since the day they'd met!

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy cracked up. "What are you kidding?" she asked. "No way, I'm not stupid enough to actually make that bet."

"Probably for the best," Letty said. "Because I remember that day and she didn't try to bribe me to lie to you about it. There," she said, finishing up with the tape measure and stepping back. "Finished there. I'll write them down for you and also keep a record here, so we'll have them on file. Now why don't you tell us about some of your favorite styles while you get dressed again. I need to have a baseline for what I'm working with."

[soniaroadsqueen]

Why not, Kathy? Ringo was stupid enough to make that bet, so you should be, too!

Ringo started by pulling on her jeans, humming thoughtfully all the while. "I guess I like all sorts of stuff? Like skirts that flare out when you move? Those are so fun! And I got this dress a while back that has all these frills and lace that's really pretty?"

She frowned slightly. "Oh. Kathy once mentioned a, um," what had she called it? "A LBD?"

[spin_kick_snap]

This was why Kathy was Ringo's senpai! She was an excellent role-model to live up to! Besides, the difference between this bet and the one Ringo took was that she knew what the outcome of this would be.

"Oooh, yeah, no you definitely need an LBD," Letty said. "So, you like cute, girly things? Lace, bows, frills. Stuff that's cute but won't get in the way of you moving fast, huh?"

She was taking notes on the same pad she'd written Ringo's measurements on. "Okay, now that you're dressed, go out and find some outfits you like."

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo nodded. "I do!" Then her expression faltered, and she looked awkward for a moment. "But, well, I'm willing to try other stuff, too? I've never really, um, explored fashion or anything like that."

She shot a glance over at Kathy. "You should probably pretend that I know less than Kathy did when she first showed up."

[spin_kick_snap]

"I'd have to see that to believe it," Letty muttered. Then, louder, she sadi, "We're starting with the stuff you like and are comfortable with," she explained. "From there, we can move onto things you're less familiar with."

"That's what we did," Kathy said, nodding. "As much as it pained her. Like she said, she's looking for a baseline."

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Okay." Ringo still didn't sound all that confident, but she looked around her, hoping that something might just jump out at her.

Still, she was surprised when something did. "Ooooh, what's this?" she asked, carefully taking a peach colored top and holding it up to examine. Then she spotted another, similar top which she picked up as well. The next thing she knew, she was also holding a long black skirt and frowning as she looked back and forth between it and the tops. "I'm not sure these actually go together." But she wasn't entirely sure.

[spin_kick_snap]

"Nice," Letty said, looking over the chosen garments with an appraising eye. "Good lines, minimal patterns. So far you're nowhere near as drawn to the gaudy as Kathy. I can't tell you how much of a relief that is. I don't know if my nerves could handle another one."

Kathy stuck her tongue out at Letty. "I think the skirt goes well, especially with the first top. It softens the lines of skirt and is kind of reflected in the cut-outs on the skirt. I like it."

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Really?" Ringo grinned. Then shot Kathy a superior look. "Another thing I'm better at than you."

Well, better than Kathy had started out being, anyway. It was a victory, okay!

[spin_kick_snap]

"Another thing?" Kathy asked, raising an eyebrow. "What are the other ones, exactly? Don't worry, I'll wait for you to figure something out. We've got time."

[soniaroadsqueen]

"I'm still better at AirTrek than you are," Ringo shot back smugly.

"Now you just sit back and watch an expert fashion, uh, expert at work."

It was a good thing Letty was there because Ringo would totally flub this on her own.

[spin_kick_snap]

Letty was just sitting back and snickering at the interplay. Oh, clients. You were so amusing sometimes. Especially with Kathy leaning back and sticking her tongue out at Ringo like a five year old.

"Okay, so what did you like about these pieces, Ringo?" she asked. "And from there, we can start working."

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo let her attention turn back to Letty, and then to the clothes she was still holding. "Well, I guess I like the tops because they flare out at the bottom? Like, they're close and the foof!" Good sound effect, Ringo. "And the skirt has these little designs in it? Those are really cute."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Okay," Letty said, nodding. "I'm going to go and see if I can find a few things I think you'll like."

She bustled out of the back room, a salesgirl on a mission, and Kathy looked back to Ringo. "Let's hear it," Kathy said with a sigh. "You looked like you had questions. Wanna ask me a few while we're alone?"

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Huh?" It took Ringo's brain a second or two to switch gears and remember the whole apartment fire thing. "Oh!"

She turned, eyes serious. "Are you okay?" First things first!

[spin_kick_snap]

"I am," Kathy said with a nod. "I had a nasty burn and some pretty bad smoke inhalation, but Anders healed those for me. Anything left is all surface injuries, nothing to worry about."

Granted, she probably would have told Ringo not to worry about it even if she'd still been limping around and wheezing.

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo gave Kathy a long look, then nodded. Accepting that for the moment.

"How dangerous was it?" she asked next.

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy's wince said a great deal. "I had Dante with me," she offered, like that answered anything. "He did most of the heavy lifting."

Great details, crap answer.