Grin and bear it

‘Come on! You’ve been dreaming at this moment for so long! Get on with it!’

Maeve looked at herself in the mirror critically. Usually she would never worry about what she wore or what it looked like. If it was clean and comfy, it was good enough for her. But now, now what she looked like mattered. She was receiving an award for God’s sake!

She looked at her plump shape in the mirror, her mind blank and herself annoyed.

Why did she have to go there? Mingle, network, she could have very well done without all that, but, in a moment of euphoria, she had accepted, and she could not go back on her word.

The small bedroom was swamped in clothes as, gradually, she had taken everything out of her wardrobe, trying some of them on and then discarding them as not viable.

When had she gotten so puffy? There were dresses there that she was one hundred percent sure would fit her, but when she put them on they were all tight and uncomfortable.

Jeans were out of the question, she knew that and felt sorry for herself longingly looking at her favorite pair of jeans sitting there tauntingly, nice and clean.

What was making things worse was that, she was feeling herself sweat despite just having showered thirty minutes before. If she did not find something soon, she will have to go back in and there was no time for that.

This was proving beyond frustrating. Looking at the gaping hole that had become her wardrobe, she was toying with the idea of calling in sick. It can happen, people can get a sudden something that prevents them from doing stuff. Yeah, like panic attacks for example.

But she was fine and she was not a cheater, she had promised to go, people were counting on her presence. They were even sending somebody to get her.

Maeve had to accept it. The fancy clothes she had were too tight, so a creative solution had to be found.

Sitting there, on the side of her bed, in her knickers and bra, all sweaty and desperate she remembered it. In a rush of excitement she went to a large drawer where she kept scarves, hats and all sorts, and after a bit of rummaging she pulled out something that looked like a huge scarf.

Maeve laid it on top of the stuff on the bed and looked at it pleased, yes, yes, yes. This will do the trick.

It was a bright colored, silk kaftan dress, adorned with the most beautiful large purple flowers with a yellow center. They looked like poppies only they were different shades of purple, and they were in different stages of bloom. The light bounced off it making it seem sparkly.

Maeve was over the moon, for sure this was perfect!

She combined it with a pair of yellow pumps, and, just as she was finishing up her hair the door bell rang. Pleased with herself Maeve floated down the stairs, enjoying tremendously the swishing sounds the silk made when she moved.

When she opened the door Maeve was faced with a young woman, mid twenties maybe, beautifully made up and wearing a revealing, sequin dress, while perched up on elegant, high heels.

‘Hello! I am Hellen, such an honor to meet you! …’

Maeve broke into a smile …

‘Oh, I see I just caught you out of the shower, no worries we still have time, I will wait for you in the car. Make some calls!’, and waving a large phone she turned around walking to the car parked in front.

Maeve’s smile broke.

She slowly closed the door and turned to face herself in the hallway mirror.

The kaftan dress was glorious, bright, happy colors, the silk had a luxurious, soft feel, shining under the hallway light, and her yellow pumps just made it all playful and not overly serious.

Maeve looked at her hair and long dangling earrings, she looked like an ancient Roman woman, at least how they were depicted on TV, she had never really known how they looked. To her surprise she loved it, and the jeans were removed as an option.

Even if everybody there thought she had just come of the shower, it was well worth to grin and bear it.

To top it all off, the kaftan had hidden pockets and Maeve happily put a tightly wrapped face tissue in one. You never know when you might need it!

She took her bag, stuffed a large scarf in it, it might be chilly in the ballroom, you never know, and pleased, she walked out.

Hellen jumped out and, judging by her face, the blunder she had made was now becoming clear to her. This made Maeve feel a bit sorry for her, but just a bit.

As they were driving away Maeve could see that Hellen had gotten all red and tight lipped.

As nice as she was, Maeve was not planning on taking the burden of clearing the air on herself, if Hellen wanted to make amends, that was perfectly fine, if not, Hellen would just need to grin and bear it.

The silk felt cool and comfortable.

Grin and bear it.