Tony was in the middle of his sophomore year at Columbia in New York. Libby knew he had recently decided on a journalism major. It made sense to her; Tony had a way with words. He always told the most bone chiling scary stories when they were kids. “So wil he be going to the wedding … with us?” Libby felt her face heat up and began concentrating on the hem of the gown in question. It was too humiliating that she couldn’t even muster Mel’s level of false casual tone.
“He doesn’t have a date if that’s what you mean.” Mel’s grin split open behind her, but the mirror stil gave Libby three horrifying views of it. “It’s is about time he noticed you weren’t a little girl anymore, and that dress wil get the message across loud and clear.”
“Don’t be ridiculous Mel.” Libby blustered her denial even as she made the decision to buy the red gown.
A girl was only young once right? And she could put in some extra time at the bakery over Christmas break anyway.
“Please, you have been drooling over him for years.
Not that I know why – you have seen his bedroom right?
The whole room ought to be condemned!”
“I don’t make a habit of hanging out in your brother’s room.” Libby caled from inside the dressing room where she was hurrying into her own clothes. It wasn’t precisely true, but there were some things a girl couldn’t share even with her best friend—especialy if that girl was in love with her best friend’s brother. “The red dress. You’re right, it is perfect and with your discount I can afford it.”
“Good. I am pretty sure my lunch break was up like 4 minutes ago.” Mel held out her arms for the dress as Libby emerged from the dressing room, and the girls headed for a cash register. “I’m not exactly glad that things with Cory didn’t work out, but as far as dates go I could do worse than you.” Mel linked arms with her best friend. The only reason Libby even had to spring for the stupid-beautiful-look-how-grown-up-I-am dress in the first place was because Mel and her boyfriend, Cory, had split up after Mel had rsvp’d a plus one. “I am glad you are going you know. I don’t know what you see in my slob of a brother but you would be a way improvement over miss cat’s eye glasses and turtlenecks.”
“Sorry, what?” With many years of practice Libby was usualy good at keeping up with Mel’s flitting train of thought, but she was genuinely stumped now.
“Over thanksgiving when I went to visit Tony in New York, and I had the most amazing Christmas shopping trip. Got more for myself than anyone else on the list, but totaly worth it. I do wish I had gone back for those boots…”
“Mel!”
“Right, sorry. When I went to visit him this Stephanie girl was always hanging around. They have a bunch of English classes together I guess. She wore turtlenecks al the time. It isn’t that cold in New York, and she wears cat’s eye glasses. We are not talking retro look how cute I am sun glasses. Oh no. These were ful-on 1950’s everyday eye-wear cat’s eye glasses. They might as wel have been on a lanyard!” Okay so the glasses thing was al Mel. Personaly it mattered very little to Libby what sort of eye-wear a person preferred, but a girl? Hanging around with Tony? And he hadn’t mentioned her… she would certainly have remembered that.
“So they are dating, but not go to a wedding with me dating, or not fly to North Carolina for a weekend with me or…” Libby couldn’t go on. It was too awful. Tony.
Girl. Cat’s eye glasses. Suddenly she completely agreed with Mel that 1950’s eye glasses were obviously tacky.
“I don’t know. I got the impression they had gone out a few times but it isn’t like I found her name scrawled next to his on his school books or anything. He is going to love the dress. You know he and Olivia have never been very close. I didn’t realy think he minded missing out on the wedding, and then the other day I told him about Cory
—and that you were my new date. Voila, home for the weekend. Makes you think.”
But al Libby was thinking of as she walked to her car with her bags was little miss turtlenecks and her cat’s eye glasses. Stephanie. She even had a stupid name.
Actualy Libby had an aunt named Stephanie, and the name had never bothered her before. But she hadn’t been thinking objectively then, and of course now she was al about objectiveness—right. It shouldn’t matter. She knew about objectiveness—right. It shouldn’t matter. She knew Tony dated, she knew he had had girlfriends. Some of those girlfriends had been to the Marchetti’s for dinner on nights when Libby was also there. But now, wel was it her imagination that she and Tony had gotten closer lately?