Author Anon

“I never knew you were a skier,” says Paul. “Ashley always shies away from anything physically demanding. That is, any outdoor activities.”

Chloe laughs. “That’s why I can never get her to go on a ski trip with me.”

“Where do you go?”

“That depends on how much time I have and how much is in the bank. I enjoy the Rockies and I’ve been to the Alps once. But most of the time, I have to stay local. It may not be the best skiing, but it’s something to do.”

“How about coming with me this weekend to Shimmering Mountain?”

“I’d love that.”

——————————————————————————————–

“As much as I love winter, I’ve had enough of this snow,” says Amanda. “I feel shut-in by it. When we were kids, we’d be outside playing in the snow. Now, we have to get up and go to work and it gets harder and harder to drag myself out of bed.”

“Is the snow the only reason it’s difficult for you to get out of bed?” teased Michael.

Amanda puts her arms around his neck. “Of course, there are other inducements to keep me in bed, but the two are not mutually exclusive.”

“How about getting away this weekend?” asks Michael.

“Is it to keep me in bed or to get me outside?”

“That will depend on your mood once we get there.”

——————————————————————————————–

“Miss, I’d like to return this dress,” says a lady. “You took my measurements, but it doesn’t fit.”

“Maybe I can fix it,” suggests Leslie. “If you’ll come to the back, we can remeasure.”

“I don’t think so,” says the lady. “I can’t even get it on. You’ll see there’s a tear in it already from when I tried it on.”

Claire and Emily watch as Leslie helps the lady. “Claire, these clothes are hideous. The materials are cheap, the colors outrageous. She’s destroyed Belle’s designs.”

“I know. Belle’s pretty upset about that.”

“Who could possibly want to buy these clothes? I’m surprised they even have customers.”

“There are many different tastes out there. Their clientele is probably not what we want to cater to. But we’re here to watch them.”

“I don’t know what to watch for. There’s just the two Black girls.”

“Do you see any other sales staff?”

“No. The girls look harrassed.”

“Let’s see if we can try to look in the back.”

“Can I help you?” asks Carrie.

“Yes,” says Emily. “I’d like to try this dress on.”

“That should fit fine,” says Carrie. “But you can use one of the fitting rooms in the back. Follow me.”

“Miss, can I get this dress in this color?” another lady asks, holding up two dresses.

“I’ll be right with you,” says Carrie, sighing softly. As she leads Emily and Claire to the back, she turns to Leslie and asks, “When is Charlotte coming back?”

Leslie shrugs, looking anxious. “I don’t know.”

——————————————————————————————–

“It wouldn’t be safe for you to go back to your apartment,” says Gavin. “Carl is bound to show up there. Besides, I want to keep my eyes on you.”

“Well, staying with you or having you stay with me is bound to raise hell with Ashley,” says Belle. “Carl is unlikely to want to kill me until he gets his jewels.”

“We need to get Ashley out of town somehow,” says Gavin. “Maybe you can take her away for a short period, Nicholas.”

“Oh, no. I’m not going to give her any ideas,” says Nicholas. “And I’m definitely not going to miss any of the action around here.”

“Then to hell with Ashley,” says Gavin. “If you insist on staying at your apartment, I will stand guard there. I’ll just keep out of the way so that neither Carl nor Ashley will know anything about it. After all, Claire is in the same building.”

——————————————————————————————–

“You and Paul are going to Shimmering Mountain?” asks Ashley. “It’s not fair. I can’t even get a hold of Gavin or Nicholas. I must be losing my touch.”

“Calm down, Ashley,” says Chloe. “You’ve never had any trouble. But I think you’re throwing yourself too hard to both of them. They’re different from other guys.”

“I wouldn’t have said that about Gavin before, but now he seems so distant. It’s almost like he’s indifferent to me. I could have sworn he was falling in love with me, but now he looks at Belle as if he really notices her. Nobody ever notices Belle when I’m around. And to top it off, she’s got Nicholas!”

“Which of them do you want, Ashley?”

“Both!”

——————————————————————————————–

Filed under: All That Glitters