“Let me know if you need any help,” she said and went back behind the counter and started flipping through her magazine.
“These are all so pretty, Anna,” Margie said.
“Do you have any dresses?”
“A couple that are for special occasions only. My grandma got them from the thrift store.” She sounded proud of them.
Margie’s eyes went wide, and she practically ran to a display in the center of the store. She stared at the little girl mannequin. It was wearing a white and yellow summer dress with daisies printed on it. Margie didn’t ask me for it, but instead just carefully touched it with her hand.
“Do you want that dress, Margie?” I asked her.
She nodded her head.
I thumbed through the few laying on the table next to her.
“Do you know your size?” I asked.
When she shook her head, I had her turn around so I could peek at the tag on her shirt. It was a size five. I grabbed two dresses off the table. One in size five and one in size six. I hadn’t even glanced at the price tag. I didn’t really care what the price was. The look on Margie’s face meant everything to me. I asked the old woman to let us into a fitting room.
When we got inside, I had Margie remove her shirt, shoes, and shorts. I turned around and handed her the size five dress. “Here, try this one on first.”
She put it on, and it fit, but I felt it might not last all summer.
“Let’s try on the other one.”
I helped her remove the dress, and then we put the other one on her.
She looked at herself in the mirror. “I’m so pretty,” she said and stared at her reflection.
“Yes, you are,” I said.
I had her change back into her clothes. When she was done, we left the fitting room, and I handed the smaller dress to the lady, and then we went over to the shoes. I had her pick out a pair of sandals. She chose a white pair, and I told her it was the perfect pair.
We went to the counter and the lady rang the items up. “$75.32,” She said.
I wasn’t shocked at all. The dress and shoes were very nice. I handed her my credit card, and she swiped it.
“Have a great day,” she said when she handed me the bag and my receipt.
“You as well,” I said.
Margie waved at her. “Thank you,” she said when we left the store. I loved how polite she was.
“You are welcome, Margie,” I said as we made our way back to the gym.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Justin
As soon as Anna and Margie walked out the door, I saw Margie grab Anna’s hand. I smiled to myself and watched them until they were out of sight. I wasn’t at all worried about Margie. I knew Margie was in great hands. She loved Anna so much. It was amazing to me how quickly they bonded, but then again, I had fallen in love with Anna quickly also. She was so easy to love.
“Thanks for hanging back, Justin. I didn’t mean to ruin your plans, but you’ve got to practice hard. A lot harder than you have been. Your opponents have been getting tougher, and you need to make sure to be one step ahead of them at all times,” Artie said to me.
I nodded my head. “I know, Artie.”
“Your next fight is Friday. You can’t slack like you did at the last one. If you want to win, you need to go all out from the very beginning.”
“I know.” No matter how many times it happened, I still hated being lectured.