Little Black & White Dress
Mia passed by the little clothing store every day on her way to work. The store was hard to miss. Its window was laced with tinsel and shimmering lights for the holidays. They framed a simple dressmaker’s mannequin in the center that wore a white cashmere sweater dress with black silk trim. The dress appeared to glow in the festive spotlight. It stopped her in its tracks that day — and the next day, and the next day.
She dared not enter the store knowing her bank account balance. Even when her boss handed her and the rest of her coworkers gift cards in lieu of holiday bonuses, she knew it barely made a dent in the amount on the price tag hanging from it.
Mia’s office holiday party was taking place on the Friday afternoon before Christmas. How gracious of her boss to enforce a mandatory work gathering for his team instead of allowing them to travel to see their families for the holidays. That morning, just as every one for the past week, she passed the store on her way to her day job. She stopped to hold her head just inches from the glass, just enough to fog up the window. She wiped it away to reveal the black-and-white masterpiece, the cashmere object of her affection.
A blonde woman with flawless skin and an elegant wool coat burst out the store’s entrance. She almost ran into Mia and cried out, “Don’t waste your time here!”
Mia was startled. “Oh, I—I’m not—”
“—not coming back, that’s right!” The woman threw her shopping bag on the ground. “Their return policy is just unreasonable. My husband is an attorney, and he’ll make them regret turning me down just because I cut off the tag before trying it on. It doesn’t fit! How is that my fault?”
The woman spun around on her stiletto heels to look at the pitiful sight of a disheveled Mia, utterly and visibly not looking forward to the day ahead of her. She saw the same dress that was in her bag, picked it up, and held it out for Mia to grab.
“That’s what I bought. Please take it. It looks like it’ll fit. I was just going to throw it in the bin anyway.”
Mia’s head spun. She muttered thank you, gave the woman an awkward hug, and ran to work. She put it on in the bathroom and stepped into the office with newfound confidence.
A few hours later, everyone at the office gathered to grab boxed wine and bring it back to their desks for a working lunch. Mia’s boss proceeded to announce to the rows of desks that due to corporate downsizing, their positions had been eliminated effective immediately. She walked over and extended her arm just far enough to throw her wine in his face without letting a drop splatter on her beautiful, new dress. She strutted out the door with a euphoric grin plastered on her face.