Cora in L.A. - Part Five

As we left Cora, she'd had a mild mental breakdown and had decided she could give a random client at the Wiltshire Beauty Salon, home of the famous fashionista Hilary Bumgarner, a makeover. I suppose we had better see what happened next.

Cora took her time looking over Mr. I-Ripped-My-Jeans-To-Look-Cool guy's outfit. She hummed and hawwed and made general clucking noises while Mr. Jeans Man stood sweating it out on the amazing self-measuring platform.

"You know, I have a pair of really cool ripped jeans, and I always wear bright red pumps with them. It totally sets them off, you know?"

Mr. I'm-Almost-Showing-Off-My-Undewear made a choking sort of noise in his throat.

"Oh, oh, oh of course, no, Ha! Pumps would not work for you, would they?" Cora laughed a little maniacally while Mr. Rips-a-Lot stood looking stunned - undoubtedly wondering what the fram he'd gotten himself into at this salon!

"Okay, we'll skip the pumps and just let this thing do it's measuring magic, dahling, shall we?"

A minute later, Cora had the information she needed. "Perfect! I have just the thing for you, dahling!"

"Uhhhhhh... o-okay?" the gentleman stuttered.

"Oh, yes! Oh, just take a look at that, will you? What a gorgeous suit! Oh my, sir, you look so dapper, you really do! No, really, look in that mirror and be astounded by the difference a nice suit does for a guy!"




However, Mr. I'm-Bored-With-This-Already was not as impressed with the suit as Cora was, it seemed. Personally, I think this has something to do with Cora's sub-conscious mega-attraction to men in suits. A suit was the obvious choice for her. A suit just meant "improvement" and "attractive" automatically. But the look on his face told her that her client was not of the same ilk.

"Meh, whatever," Cora sighed.

As Mr. I-Hate-Purple-Shirts left, Cora shook her head and tried to get a grasp on reality. "What the... Ack!" I'm still in this horrible dress!" Then she clapped her hand over her mouth and hoped to high heck that Hilary Bumgarner hadn't heard her.

Thankfully, Hilary was busy making someone else over in the next cubicle and was too involved with her own words to have heard Cora's. So, being as the station was free and all, Cora stepped up onto the platform.

"Hmmm," she mused, "surely I can do better than this for our wedding."

"Maybe something a little more traditional? Strapless, I'm thinking - and certainly nothing with a thick belt like this - it makes me look pregnant or something! Ick! Let's see, what colour.. Not blue! I mean, I know the saying is, "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue" - but this is ridiculous." She muttered that last part under her breath, mindful of Hilary in the next booth. "No, I'm thinking creamy..."

Of course, once she actually got into the boutique's closet, she had to create a new everyday outfit for herself. If you must know, Cora is something of a clothes horse - quite unlike her Creator, I might add.

She chose a soft lilac print and some frills - something a bit out of the ordinary for her, but she thought it might be nice for luncheons - if she ever managed to get to a luncheon, that is. In any case, it made her feel calm and peaceful, and she just stood there with her eyes closed for a minute enjoying that sensation. Life had been so nuts lately. Maybe it was a darned good thing Gary had kissed her this morning...

Shaking out of her reverie, she also found some softer shades of makeup to go with her softer mood.

Satisfied with those changes, she rummaged through the Wiltshire's closet until she found THE perfect dress.

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" she exclaimed in her head when she surveyed the results in the boutique mirror. "This is a dress I could get married in!"

She was so excited that she'd finally found something, Cora once again lost her head and forgot that she'd driven down to the Wiltshire. In her hurry to get home and show Gary what she'd found, she ran out the back door, up through the toolies, and around the corner to her home! Silly woman!

Thankfully, Simmified trees do not have brambles or snaggy types of bits on them, so Cora's dress made it home completely unscathed. She ran through the front door calling for Gary. Instead, she heard Ellis answer from the kitchen.

"Oh, Cora, you're home. Gary went out - I think he said to the library," Ellis told her as she flew in breathlessly.

"What? Out? Now? But... Oh fram. I was going to ask him what he thought of the wedding dress I found today." Cora was deflated. If she remembered right - although she felt so mixed up today - they'd made plans for when Gary had come home. Why would he leave now?

"Isn't it bad luck for the groom to see the bride in her dress before the wedding day?" Ellis questioned delicately, sensing her dismay. "Perhaps it's just as well that he's not here right now."

Cora blinked. "Oh! Right! Yeah, I guess that's the superstition, isn't it? Geepers, what was I thinking?"

Ellis just smiled.

"Well, then - what do you think, Ellis? Is it okay? Do you like it? Does it - do you think - does it make my butt look big??" Hilary's comments simply would not stop running through Cora's head!

"It most certainly does not make your butt look big!" Ellis said vehemently. Cora's relief showed on her face.

"Oh good," she breathed out. "Sorry - I probably shouldn't have even asked. I'm just feeling a little ... off today. Nervous. No, not nervous. Just tense. No, not tense. I'm just feeling... I don't know. I've got such a headache now, and my neck is all kinked up, and things are so weird today and..." Cora stopped talking, feeling foolish for blabbering to her butler like a mad woman.

"It's understandable that you're feeling a bit frazzled," Ellis offered kindly. "Getting married is no small undertaking. So many things to do and to prepare, the whole thing with ending one part of your life and starting another. It can be very harrowing at times."

"Yeah," Cora agreed slowly. "Yeah, it is." She was strangely comforted that he was so understanding.

"Look, I know a little trick - a bit of a massage thing I picked up whilst working for a massage therapist on the other side of town a couple of years ago. I could try it out on you - maybe get rid of that headache for you?"

"Oh?" Cora was intrigued. "How do you know so many little tricks like that, Ellis?"

Ellis chuckled and turned her around gently. "Tell me where it hurts. Here? Or here?"

"Ow! Yes, that's it, " Cora said when he found the spot. He started rubbing and oooooh, it felt nice. But her question had been unanswered and she was still curious. "You haven't told me how you learned all these things, Ellis."

"Oh, you know - here and there," he replied enigmatically. "I'm just good at remembering things. Always have been. I see something being done, and I remember it. That's all."

Well, the way he was working those tense muscles seemed like he'd taken a few years worth of training, as far as Cora was concerned. She completely relaxed under his massaging hands, concentrating only on how good it felt and how warm his hands were on her bare back, the little rustle of his tux as he moved, and the clean scent he always had.

When he finally indicated he was done, Cora moaned happily and stretched like a cat after a good nap. Oh fram, it was wonderful to feel so loosened up again! The man had magic hands!

Meanwhile -- I'm sitting on my chair yelling and waving madly at Cora, trying desperately to get her attention. Didn't she know what she was doing to this man, stretching all provocatively like that??? But she didn't see me and the next thing I know, Ellis is chuckling quietly again.

"That dress definately does not make your butt look too big," he said softly. "I'm pretty sure your butt would never look anything but amazing, no matter what you were wearing."

I am now in full panic mode. "Cora!" I began screaming. "Over here! The Controller! Remember her? Yeah, that's it, over here! I -- we picked Gary, remember that, huh? Remember that day on the street? Remember that night in the park?? Remember the hot tub???"

Cora stood facing Ellis like a deer caught in the headlights for a minute, and then she looked over toward the kitchen as if she'd actually heard me. She was quiet for a brief moment, seemingly gathering her wits about her. Then she spoke, avoiding Ellis' eyes at all costs.

"Oh, that's good." She let out a squeaky laugh that got cut off with a bit of a choke and started to blush a deep pink. "You know, I'd better change out of this before Gary gets home. Thanks for, uh, for the massage. I'm feeling much better now." Then she turned and high-tailed it out of the kitchen like a vampire getting out of the daylight.

She did more than change out of her dress once she was safely in her bedroom. She took quite a long time finding one hiding place after another for it - which only served the purpose of avoiding Ellis for a longer time as none of the hiding places would have been ones Gary would have found. Then she snuck into the bathroom and locked both doors, poured herself a really hot bubble bath, threw in the rubber ducky for good luck and an extra boost of peace, and settled under the suds to mull over her day.

It had been quite the day! From a strange and impulsive searching for Ellis to stir-crazy drives to the Wiltshire, to fending off a haircut-mad stylist and then to slipping into some kind of odd, ego-maniacal sense of fashionista herself, to becoming sane enough to pick out the perfect wedding dress and then to totally lose her mind again and run home in that dress and get lost in the touch of another man!

Good grief! Was this what the wedding jitters were all about? Because if it was, she wanted no more of it!

----------------

Well, Cora seems to be at one of those proverbial watershed moments when choices have to be made. Let's hope I can fix their lot so we can find out what choice it is!  LOL