choose one. Just one. You might not even need that,” she added. “This is a working weekend for Michelle, remember. And I seriously doubt that you are going to eat at fancy restaurants. I mean, my guess is some hamburger places or Thai food.”
Maeve looked crushed. “But what if…?”
“ONE,” Charlotte repeated firmly. “Which do you like the best?”
Maeve took almost three minutes to decide. “The blue dress. I think.”
“Great.” Charlotte picked up the dress. “Now you can put aaaaaall that other stuff back,” she instructed.
“But Char—”
“Put it back, I say!” Charlotte ordered, desperately trying not to laugh.
Maeve reluctantly removed the extra skirts and dresses.
“That’s great, Maeve. Now where’s your warm jacket?”
Maeve frowned. “Huh. I didn’t think about that,” she admitted. “You really think I need one?”
Charlotte nodded. “Definitely. New York is pretty much the same as Brookline, and you know how cool it gets at night.”
“Okay, okay.” Maeve went downstairs and came back with her favorite parka.
“How about walking shoes?” Charlotte asked, looking at the mountain of shoes on the bed.
Maeve wrinkled her nose and pointed at her closet. “Walking shoes? Ew. Very uncool.”
“Very important,” Charlotte said as she picked up a pair of comfortable-looking pink sneakers and handed them to Maeve. “You know everyone in New York walks everywhere. Besides, you’ll be standing on your feet at the show. Trust me, you’ll thank me later.”
“You sound like my mom!” Maeve wailed as she flung herself on the bed.
“Awesome,” Charlotte said. “After a whole day of helping models with their clothes and hanging up stuff and running errands, you’ll want to kissthese shoes.” She tossed them in Maeve’s suitcase.
“Please, Charlotte! I would never kiss shoes that have touched pavement. Gross.”
Charlotte rolled her eyes and looked nervously at the three suitcases. “Okay.” She sighed. “It’s time to be ruthless.”
They reached several compromises. Charlotte agreed to let Maeve take a pair of rhinestone-studded shoes to match the blue dress ICOF (Maeve’s acronym for “in case of formal”). In return, Maeve agreed to leave the majority of her pink shoe collection at home. Instead of the dramatic floor-length nightgown, Maeve packed an oversize T-shirt for pj’s. Charlotte, in exchange, allowed Maeve to take one hat (it was better than nothing) and a pair of long silk gloves. Maeve packed several sets of underwear and socks and reduced the toiletries to a toothbrush and toothpaste, dental floss, shampoo, conditioner, and soap. Charlotte approved the final load, except for one thing: “What did I tell you about the big curlers, missy of the already curly hair? They stay!”
Maeve insisted that she couldn’t cut down on her clothes unless she brought more accessories to “dress them up.” She sorted out earrings, rings, bracelets, scarves, and two handbags, and also packed six pairs of pants, two pairs of jeans, eight shirts, and three sweatshirts. The results were now sloppily stuffed into two of the wheeled suitcases. Charlotte knew she’d open them up again to wrinkles galore, but she didn’t bother mentioning it, or Maeve would probably pack an ironing board and iron as well!
Two hours later they’d significantly lightened Maeve’stravel wardrobe. Maeve, frustrated, was near tears because she thought she should be taking much more. Charlotte, exasperated, couldn’t get Maeve to understand that she could actually survive on even less.
“Really, Char! I don’t know how you managed to travel all over the world,” Maeve complained. “You might not know this, but I have a really hard time throwing fashion out the window. This is terrible! I’m going to be a disaster in front of all those models and designers in New York—I just know it!”
“I promise, they won’t even notice your clothes,” Charlotte assured.
Maeve looked crushed. “But what if…?”
“ONE,” Charlotte repeated firmly. “Which do you like the best?”
Maeve took almost three minutes to decide. “The blue dress. I think.”
“Great.” Charlotte picked up the dress. “Now you can put aaaaaall that other stuff back,” she instructed.
“But Char—”
“Put it back, I say!” Charlotte ordered, desperately trying not to laugh.
Maeve reluctantly removed the extra skirts and dresses.
“That’s great, Maeve. Now where’s your warm jacket?”
Maeve frowned. “Huh. I didn’t think about that,” she admitted. “You really think I need one?”
Charlotte nodded. “Definitely. New York is pretty much the same as Brookline, and you know how cool it gets at night.”
“Okay, okay.” Maeve went downstairs and came back with her favorite parka.
“How about walking shoes?” Charlotte asked, looking at the mountain of shoes on the bed.
Maeve wrinkled her nose and pointed at her closet. “Walking shoes? Ew. Very uncool.”
“Very important,” Charlotte said as she picked up a pair of comfortable-looking pink sneakers and handed them to Maeve. “You know everyone in New York walks everywhere. Besides, you’ll be standing on your feet at the show. Trust me, you’ll thank me later.”
“You sound like my mom!” Maeve wailed as she flung herself on the bed.
“Awesome,” Charlotte said. “After a whole day of helping models with their clothes and hanging up stuff and running errands, you’ll want to kissthese shoes.” She tossed them in Maeve’s suitcase.
“Please, Charlotte! I would never kiss shoes that have touched pavement. Gross.”
Charlotte rolled her eyes and looked nervously at the three suitcases. “Okay.” She sighed. “It’s time to be ruthless.”
They reached several compromises. Charlotte agreed to let Maeve take a pair of rhinestone-studded shoes to match the blue dress ICOF (Maeve’s acronym for “in case of formal”). In return, Maeve agreed to leave the majority of her pink shoe collection at home. Instead of the dramatic floor-length nightgown, Maeve packed an oversize T-shirt for pj’s. Charlotte, in exchange, allowed Maeve to take one hat (it was better than nothing) and a pair of long silk gloves. Maeve packed several sets of underwear and socks and reduced the toiletries to a toothbrush and toothpaste, dental floss, shampoo, conditioner, and soap. Charlotte approved the final load, except for one thing: “What did I tell you about the big curlers, missy of the already curly hair? They stay!”
Maeve insisted that she couldn’t cut down on her clothes unless she brought more accessories to “dress them up.” She sorted out earrings, rings, bracelets, scarves, and two handbags, and also packed six pairs of pants, two pairs of jeans, eight shirts, and three sweatshirts. The results were now sloppily stuffed into two of the wheeled suitcases. Charlotte knew she’d open them up again to wrinkles galore, but she didn’t bother mentioning it, or Maeve would probably pack an ironing board and iron as well!
Two hours later they’d significantly lightened Maeve’stravel wardrobe. Maeve, frustrated, was near tears because she thought she should be taking much more. Charlotte, exasperated, couldn’t get Maeve to understand that she could actually survive on even less.
“Really, Char! I don’t know how you managed to travel all over the world,” Maeve complained. “You might not know this, but I have a really hard time throwing fashion out the window. This is terrible! I’m going to be a disaster in front of all those models and designers in New York—I just know it!”
“I promise, they won’t even notice your clothes,” Charlotte assured.
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