Chapter 75

“Here’s the list I made of the clothing you’re going to need,” Jennifer said.

She handed me a piece of notepaper. “But if anything else catches your eye, there’s lots of room in your closet.”

I glanced at the list and gasped. “Is my closet really this big?”

Jennifer’s eyes sparkled with merriment. “If not, we have a lot more closets in the house. And with all the events coming up that you need to attend with Mr. Klein, you will need everything on that list.”

There are three ball gowns on this list. Is there some rule that you can’t wear a ball gown twice?” I asked

Jennifer laughed. “Yes, there is. A wealthy young lady like yourself never wears the same ball gown twice in one season.”

“Who makes up these rules?”

“Lunas, like Victor’s mother, make the rules,” Jennifer replied.

Jennifer had been full of excitement when she heard that Victor’s mother was going shopping with me.

I rolled my eyes. “Then it’s a good thing she’s going to pick out my clothes. Do I look good enough to be seen with her?”

I knew it was an honor to have her volunteer to accompany me to Gisele’s. But, most of all, I was grateful to her for keeping William’s mother from going with me.

As much as I appreciated Lily James’s advice, how she said it got under my skin.

“That taupe sheath dress you’re wearing is perfect. It’s dressy, but it will be easy to get out of when you try things on in the changing room.”

Jennifer picked up a comb. “But let me tidy your hair a little. Then it would be best if you went downstairs. She should be here soon.”

Lana Klein arrived exactly on time. Her chauffeur opened the car door and offered his arm to help me inside the limousine.

“Thank you, Ramsley,” Lana said to the chauffeur as he closed the door. Soon the car was gliding down my driveway toward the road.

“You look lovely today, dear,” Lana said.

“Thank you,” I responded as I looked around the luxurious vehicle. The U-shaped seats were huge, with a full-size television, a microwave, and a mini fridge.

“If it had a bathroom, a family of four could live in this car,” I complained to Diana. “And it probably cost enough to feed that family of four for a year.”

“It is extravagant.” Diana agreed.

“The money would be better spent helping others. But what the Kleins spend their money on isn't up to me.”

I smiled at Lana, grateful she couldn’t hear Diana’s or my thoughts.

Lana and I watched the news as the car sped toward our destination. Soon the chauffeur was helping us out of the limousine.

“Gisele’s Villa is such a pretty place,” I said. “It must have been a lovely home at one time.”

“It’s nice, but I prefer what is inside the shop,” Lana said and led the way to the entrance.

Gisele was delighted to see us. She greeted Lana first. “Mrs. Klein, how lovely to see you. And you also, Miss Wilson. How may I help you, ladies, today?”

“Daisy and I need several new ball gowns,” Lana replied. “And Daisy has a list of many other things she needs. Why don’t you choose some gowns for us to try on while I help Daisy browse for the items on her list?”

“Very good, ma’am,” Gisele said. She told her assistants to help us with anything we needed and hurried off to the back of the store.

“Look over here, Daisy.” Lana motioned for me to follow her to racks of cocktail dresses. “There are several here that are lovely and suitable for you.”

She pulled out several beautiful dresses in different colors and styles that would fall just below my knee. She handed them to one of Gisele’s helpers to hold.

“And you’ll need business attire when you start visiting Alex’s offices.” Several more items joined the cocktail dresses.

“I wish I could wear jeans,” slipped from my mouth.

“Clean, well-fitting jeans are perfectly acceptable for school, picnics, and other outdoor events,” Lana said. “There is no reason why you should not purchase several pairs.”

Lana found a rack of designer jeans in my size and draped three pairs over an assistant’s arm.

“Next on your list are swimsuits,” Lana said. But when my eyes strayed to the rack of wetsuits, she shook her head vehemently. “No, absolutely not.”

I blushed until I realized Lana was laughing.

“Don’t worry, Mrs. Klein. I learned my lesson about what not to wear to a pool party.”

She seemed to read my mind.

“You don’t need to wear anything that shows too much skin that it makes you uncomfortable.” Lana placed several of the most low-key swimsuits in the assistant’s hands.

“I admire your modesty, Daisy, but a wetsuit was taking it too far, but I’m ashamed to admit I had to laugh when Victor first told me about it. He saved the you almost drowned part of the story for last.”

“Yes,” I agreed. “That was another lesson learned.”

After Lana tossed several tops into the assistant’s arms to go with my jeans, she chose several pairs of shoes and purses to go with the outfits.

Another assistant appeared and helped the first carry everything to the dressing rooms.

“Now you go try everything on,” Lana said. “Take your time and be sure every item fits. Feel free to ask my opinion.”

I couldn’t believe how much stuff was waiting for me to try on. Again, all the money I was spending on clothes could be used by people experiencing poverty to pay for their rent and food.

I hated spending so much on things I didn’t really need, and I didn’t need the most expensive items available.

“Daisy, what’s the matter?” Diana asked. “I can feel how unhappy you are. Do you hate shopping this much?”

“I hate spending this much money on clothes, and it feels like Lana wants me to wear things just to project a certain image to other people. I’m tired of not being myself.”

“But all of these things are lovely,” Diana argued. “You’re lucky to have them.”

I picked up a pair of jeans Lana had picked and put them on. “Look at the jeans I’m expected to wear. They fit like a second skin, and one pair costs more than I used to pay for my entire wardrobe.”

“They look much better on you than those baggie things you prefer,” Diana said.

“They’re not as comfortable,” I said and put them in a pile to be purchased. I hated having somebody else tell me what to wear, but I didn’t want to insult or disappoint Victor’s mother when she was being so helpful and kind to me.

“Why don’t you talk to Lana about it later, maybe on the way home?” Diana suggested. “She is a lot nicer and more reasonable than you thought.”

“I will,” I said. “Thank you, Diana. Now let me try on the rest of this mountain of clothing.”

One by one, I tried on everything Lana had chosen. She had fantastic taste, but everything was so expensive. Yet they fit so well and looked almost too good on me. It was hard to put them into the discard pile.

Ultimately, I bought all the clothing and shoes Lana had chosen and three more gorgeous ball gowns.

After Gisele added up the price tags, I couldn’t believe the total. It was a small fortune.

“What’s the matter, Daisy?” Lana asked as Gisele’s assistants loaded the limousine’s trunk with our purchases.

I hesitated a moment, trying to decide if I should tell her the truth about how I felt.

“Tell her on the way home,” Diana said again.

“Can we talk on the way back to my home?” I asked Lana.

“Of course, Daisy,” Lana said. “And remember, you can tell me anything.”