Brody and Evie walked into the boutique while Adrian stayed behind in the car. On stepping into the boutique, the first thing that caught Evie's attention was the way about five female workers in uniform arranged themselves on a straight line with their eyes glued to the ground.
"Good morning Mr. Kronides." They greeted in unison and he just nodded his head. Brody walked her to a part of the boutique that was like a dressing room.
"Evie, do you know what we are here for?" he asked staring into her confused eyes and she shook her head.
"We're here to get you clothes, okay? All you have to do is pick anyone that catches your eyes." He then looked at the women that already joined them with their heads still down. "You know what to do." he said to them.
"Yes, sir. Miss, please come with us." Reluctantly, Evie stood up. The entire situation was so confusing to her. Did he just stylishly sell her off, pretending to get cloths for her? But it seemed like those women were workers in the boutique. She looked at him and he gave her an approving look. She followed behind the woman. There were clothes shoes, bags and jewelries everywhere. It was all so mesmerizing to her. "Miss, pick any cloth of your choice or you can tell us anything that you feel you might like." One of the workers said to her.
*thirty minutes later*
"Miss, you really don't see anything you want to buy here?" Another worker who had her hair packed up in a neat bun asked her.
"Don't you like them?" She didn't know how to reply. The clothes there were all so beautiful and attractive but she was not ready to buy any. The price tags had too many digits and the total amount of money she had at the moment had exactly zero digits. How exactly was she going to pay for it?
With her lips pressed in a thin line, she stared at the floor with teary eyes. She was so frustrated that she couldn't talk. She really wanted to scream and run away. The pressure was too much. Those women kept persuading her and showing her different brands and designs. What sort of situation did she put herself into to deserve this. It was like asking an ant to provide an elephant. Where was she going to find that kind of money? After some seconds, Brody walked in.
"What's going on here?" he asked standing straight with his hands in his pocket.
"Uhm... sir, the Miss has refused to pick any clothes." One of them replied.
"Leave us." They heard him say. He walked closer to her and gave her a hug. "Are you okay." he asked and she nodded her head. He held her shoulders at arms length and stared into her eyes. "Do you like the clothes here?"
'nod'
"So why aren't you picking any?"
"I-" she paused for a moment not knowing how to reply.
'Did she just try to talk?' Brody asked his surprised self. He closed the gap between them and held her face between his palm. "What's the matter?"
"I... don't have... money." she said in her lowest voice but he could hear her still due to his sharp hearing. A small smile appeared on his face. 'So cute.' he thought.
"You don't need money in this particular place. Just pick whatever you want. It's all free."
'Free? But...' "The price tag" she voiced her thoughts.
"I'm going to be paying for them, okay. Do you have a hard time choosing?"
'nod'
"Okay, how about I choose for you. Is that fine?"
'nod.'
"Mariah!" Brody called out.
"Yes, sir." she rushed to him in her quickest steps.
"Why are you all so jumpy today?" he asked after noticing how restless and over respectful they were.
"Pardon us, sir. What am I supposed to do, sir?"
"Take her measurements and get every trending teenager's cloths that suits her. All of them. Nothing too revealing."
"Yes, sir."
Mariah hurried to get a tape rule to get her measurements. Brody leaned closer to her (Mariah) and said; "Underwears too."
Brody and Evie walked back to where the waiting area was after Evie's measurements had been taken.
About an hour later, the five workers approached them with multiple bags in their hands. "How about you change into something more comfortable, hmmm?"
'nod'
"Mariah, pick out something good for her. Something comfortable."
"Yes, sir. Follow me miss."
Evie looked at him as if to seek permission to go with her and he nodded. Ten minutes later, she came out looking all dressed up. She wore a white long- sleeve body- hug top with a gray joggers and white sneakers.
Brody scanned her from head to toe and thought; 'This is more like it.' Evie loved the fact that she got to wear something that was her exact size. Although, she lacked a normal healthy glowing skin, her body size was still normal and didn't have any sign of malnutrition. From the extra large fashion textbook that she found in the attic, she knew the right combination of clothes and colors but didn't have any clothes to show for it. But she was certain that the clothes she was wearing at that moment was a good combo. If the remaining clothes that those women brought were hers, does that mean that she would have other opportunities to put on clothes like this one? 'But why is he doing all these? He's just confusing me further. If he gets to pay for the clothes, that means I'll have to pay him back. But I have no money. How about I work for money and then pay him back later. I hope he can understand. He really is nice, to actually get clothes for me, give me a room and give me food...' Her train of thoughts were interrupted when she heard him say;
"Come on, we have somewhere else to go." He stood from his seat and took her hand. The workers hurried after them and put all the bags in the car trunk.
The workers kept nudging each other and whispering. 'You say it.' 'No, you say it.'
Brody was about to open the car door when he heard Mariah say; "Mr. Kronides, sir, uhm... I- huh- I mean, we have something to say."