Wanted A Real Family(26)

The next day, Sara treated her last client of the morning—a microbiologist with neck and shoulder tightness due to too much time spent at his microscope—with the certain knowledge she could help the man manage his profession and his recovery if he was willing to make a few changes. Change was so hard for anyone, including her. Could she change her thinking about becoming involved with a man again to explore her attraction to Jase? The soiree might be the first step.

Before she could attend the party, she had to find something to wear. She realized she might not be able to find anything in the half hour she had at lunchtime. However, she was going to try. Marissa had seemed confident she’d find a dressy dress at Thrifty Solutions. But when Sara thought about the winery and the main house and Ethan and Jase, she knew she needed something classy and maybe even a little spectacular.

Knowing the odds of that, she decided to settle on the classic little black dress. That would have to do.

Thrifty Solutions sported a green awning with green-and-white trim. The window display was attractive, with both men’s and women’s apparel. When Sara entered, she was surprised at the amount of racks and clothing. Lots of residents must donate and that made her feel good. Ever since the fire, she’d realized Fawn Grove was a giving community, and she and Amy were a part of that.

To her surprise, she saw Kaitlyn at the counter at the cash register. “Hi there! I didn’t expect to see you here.” She had called Kaitlyn yesterday to ask about babysitters. Kaitlyn said Marissa had already been in touch and she’d be glad to watch Amy and Jordan for the evening.

“Thursday’s my day off. After hospital rounds, I volunteer here for a few hours. Are you looking for something special?”

“A dress for Saturday night. I’ll check the racks for something simple and black.”

Kaitlyn studied her with an eagle eye.

“What?” Sara asked.

“I might have just the thing. I started unpacking boxes in the back and I saw some dresses you might like. Can you watch over things out here while I look?”

“Sure, no problem.”

Kaitlyn wasn’t gone long and no one came in or out of the store while she was absent. Sara had drifted from here to there, thinking she really should pick up some tops for Amy.

When Kaitlyn returned, Sara had to blink twice. She was holding a color-blocked black-and-white sheath with glass beads stitched along the bodice and around the checkerboard hem. In her other hand a flaming red dress dangled on a hanger. Both were eye-catching and beautiful.

“I wouldn’t expect something like those to be here.”

Kaitlyn laughed. “We get everything from sandals to ostrich feather hats. But these... We have a donor who lives in Sacramento. Actually, I think she goes out and buys some of these dresses and donates them. I received a note from her last year in one of the boxes that said, ‘Everyone should feel pretty.’ So here’s your chance. I think they’re your size. Why don’t you go in the back and try them on.”

Sara checked her watch. She had about fifteen minutes. She could do it.

In the back, amidst cartons and racks, price tags, shoes, shirts and jeans, she quickly slipped out of her scrubs and into the red dress. With plunging décolletage, it just wasn’t her. She hung it on a waiting rack. She tried to find tags after she slipped out of it, but they had been snipped out. She slipped on the black-and-white sheath. Immediately she felt like a celebrity. She didn’t think she’d ever had on a dress that felt so sumptuous.

She went to the doorway of the shop and smiled at Kaitlyn, holding her arms out.

“What do you think?” she asked.

“I think it’s perfect for you, and it’s perfect for the party.”

“Have you ever been to the soiree?”

“A few years ago. My life was entirely different then.”

She didn’t say any more and again Sara wondered what her story was, and why she was so involved with The Mommy Club. But one thing she’d learned in her practice was a respect for other people’s privacy. She usually knew when to poke and when to keep silent. Whatever the reason, this seemed to be a time to keep silent.

“How much is it?” Sara asked, now worried that she couldn’t afford it, even if it was in a thrift shop.

“That box had a label on it. Everything in it was supposed to be ten dollars.”

“You are kidding.”

“This is why we have benefactors. Take it, Sara, and enjoy it.”

* * *

Hours later, at the Fawn Grove Physical Therapy Center, Sara was setting aside case notes on her last patient of the day. She’d seen Ramona twice now and her heart went out to her. The woman had been bicycling when a car’s tire blew and the vehicle hit her. Sara still couldn’t believe the condition the woman was in. With a pin in her leg and a long scar across her cheek, she was still weak. Sara was working on helping her strengthen her whole body while her leg healed. She helped her work her good leg on the table mat, use hand weights to build up the muscles in her arms again. They also worked on stretching Ramona’s neck muscles and loosening her back muscles.